St Luke’s Enmore/Stanmore is a Parish of the Anglican Church
of Australia that seeks to welcome all people into a Christian
fellowship where all share in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ
our Saviour. Our Mission is summed up in the statement
published weekly in the Parish Bulletin.
At St Luke’s we seek to share God’s
unconditional love of all people, regardless of age, gender, race,
marital or family status, sexual orientation, disability or
wealth.
- Historical Background
-
The Parish of Enmore was established in 1880 and was known as Christ Church Enmore. In 1963, the name was changed from Christ Church to St Luke’s Enmore. In 1968, the Parish of St Luke’s Enmore was amalgamated with St Augustine’s Stanmore and has since grown into a vibrant lively parish. The Parish identifies as Anglican, operating within the catholic tradition. We celebrated the 50th Anniversary
of the Re-naming of the Parish with a wonderful celebratory service on 20 October 2013. Ninety past and present parishioners joined together for a catered lunch in the parish hall.
- What Happens at St Luke’s
-
- Each Sunday there is a Sung Eucharist at 9.30 a.m.
- Every Wednesday at 10 a.m. there is a Service of the Eucharist in the adjacent St Augustine Chapel, incorporating a Healing Ministry. This service is particularly prayerful, meditative and reflective.
- Morning Prayer is said Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday in the St Augustine Chapel.
- Other special services and some special Feast Days are celebrated from time to time.
- The Services are from a Prayer Book for Australia. The worship is within the catholic tradition of the Anglican Church; both traditional and structured, but at the same time progressive and open to change. The ministers are robed; the Parish proclaims the Gospel, which is read and preached at all services.
- Music is a significant part of the Sunday Liturgy. In 2011 the Wordsworth & Maskell pipe organ (originally built and installed in the church in 1883) was restored. The congregational singing of the liturgy, the psalm chants and hymns is an important and much enjoyed aspect of the service.
- Lay participation is emphasised in the Sunday Service. In keeping with Anglican liturgical practice, lay members of the Parish take part in the services as Eucharistic assistants, servers, readers and as leaders in the intercessory prayers of the faithful.
At the time of Communion everyone in the congregation moves forward into our large open Sanctuary space to form a circle to receive the bread and the wine. Those who do not take the bread or the wine receive a blessing from
the Celebrant. While taking the Communion a simple repetitive
chant is sung. This act of communion and fellowship has become
a much-loved and distinctive way in which we share the Lord’s
Supper. It is precious to all parishioners and noted positively
by most visitors.
- St Luke’s is a praying community, believing that
mutually supportive prayer is essential to the maintenance of a vital
Christian community. The weekly Parish Bulletin contains (for
each day of the week) the names of several members of our Parish
family, for whom we pray. There is also the prayer list for the
sick and those in need. A Pastoral Committee also prays for
and supports parishioners, particularly the disabled/elderly and
those in nursing homes. We pray regularly for our Diocese, for
our Archbishop and our Regional Bishop, Robert Forsyth, for the
Anglican Communion world wide, for those in crisis and for the mission
of the church.
- The Sunday School meets each Sunday in the ‘Emmaus’
Room off the Parish Hall concurrently with the Sunday service.
The children and teachers come into the church and join in the
Service at the time of the offertory. There are 28 children on the
Sunday School roll and between 12-15 attend each week. The
children receive Bible-based teaching from a set curriculum and a
team of 4 teachers with helpers lead the classes. Parents are
required to stay with any child 4 years old or younger.
- Our Community
-
- Between 85 and 90 parishioners (plus visitors) regularly
worship at St Luke’s on a Sunday, with more than 150 active
parishioners currently recorded on the Parish Roll (Jethro
system). Some of our regular parishioners come from as far away
as Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and Liverpool-Casula.
- Visitors always remark on the warm welcome they receive at St
Luke’s and how helpful parishioners are during the Service and
in providing hospitality. There are a number of overseas people
who return year after year to St Luke’s while they are in
Sydney visiting family and friends.
- We are a diverse community. Apart from English, the most
common languages spoken are Hindi, Thai and Mandarin. The Hindi
Community (on the whole) speak and read English, the Thai Community,
however, has a number of members who speak or understand very little
English. During the Service, sometimes the prayers and one of
the Bible Readings are read in Thai, with an English
translation. This ethnic diversity has not separated us; on a
Sunday all parishioners worship together
as one Christian community. To help the Thai members who do not read
English, the Thai Pastor produces the weekly Parish Bulletin in the
Thai language.
- Mission Outreach
-
- Currently, St Luke’s Opshop is our most visible contact
with the general public. It is our ministry to the
congregation of the street and meets a need for many
people. Although money is not given, the Rector and Wardens use
their discretion help those in need with food through a local
Supermarket and goods are provided from the St Luke’s
Opshop. The Opshop which has now been operating for 20 years,
provides cheap clothing, shoes and household items.
St Luke’s Opshop is the best known and MOST loved Opshop in the
inner west - or so our clients/customers tell us. It is known
for its loving and caring volunteers, and for the financial support
of the Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip. This hospital is run
by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem and provides clinical care and
hospitalisation for all people, regardless of race or creed.
Anglicare also benefits from our Opshop.
- Many community groups and families in the inner west find it
difficult to locate community facilities or halls to use, as local
councils charge such high fees. The Parish hires out the hall
space at a reasonable rate. This creates an avenue of mission
for us and often results in people coming to worship, especially to
our Christmas Pageant (The Play without Rehearsal) which gets bigger
and better every year.
- St Luke’s supports overseas missionaries and Partner
Churches by contributing financially and prayerfully to the Anglican
Board of Mission. Over the past 12 years the Parish has
sponsored the Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Wontulp-Bi-Buya
College (Qld) for the training of indigenous ministers and
evangelists and Educational and caring Projects in the Solomon
Islands and PNG. The Parish strongly supports Anglicare here in
Sydney with some proceeds from the Opshop, as well as each year
supports the Toys’n Tucker appeal with goods and donations.
- Small Groups
-
A number of small groups and Bible Study Groups exist in the Parish:
- The Thai Bible Study meets in the chapel after morning tea on a Sunday;
- The Fijian-Indian (Hindi) Community meet monthly at Liverpool in a Parishioner’s home;
- During Lent, Study groups are held weekly.
- The Women’s Reading Group meets monthly;
- In Advent a Bible Study group often meets weekly;
- The Pastoral Care Group, Servers Group, Eucharistic Assistants, Readers, Intercessors and Welcomers meet on a needs basis.
All work performed in the Parish is done on a voluntary basis, from the preparation of the weekly bulletin to managing the Opshop; this minimises costs to the Parish. It contributes to the community spirit and provides a way for newcomers to get to know others.
A number of task groups volunteer to:
- Work in the Parish Office;
- Serve morning tea after church on Sundays;
- Arrange flowers/clean the church, hall and amenities;
- Weed the gardens;
- Manage the Opshop (Committee of 5)
- Work in the Opshop (currently 30 volunteers);
- Host Dinners for 6 and Boyz Nite-Out (these were initiated as social groups); and
- Fundraising through functions such as the Annual Wardens Dinner and the Annual Christmas Market.
- Website
-
St Luke’s Parish has a website (www.stlukesenmore.org.au)
with links to other churches and organizations. It is our
internet presence in the world, advertising our Parish to potential
newcomers and visitors.
- FINANCE
-
The Parish of Enmore/Stanmore is financially viable, meeting all
its financial obligations. The Parish supports the stipendiary
costs and all other allowances of a full-time Rector and a part-time
minister (Lay Thai Pastor - 3 days per week). St Luke’s
Parish in 2013 had a turnover of around $184,000. This includes
contributions to mission.
The church plant, which includes the church, chapel, hall,
carpark and Rectory are all well maintained. Re-painting of the
church sanctuary was recently completed in May this year. The
Rectory was fully restored in 2003 and only requires the normal
amount of ongoing house maintenance; it will be fully repainted in
February 2015, when vacant and the Wardens have already obtained
quotes for the work.
- The Future and Our Aspirations
-
The Vision of St Luke’s Parish is that all members will
continue the tradition of living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ
through prayer and deeds; reaching out to all people, keeping in mind
our Mission Statement – “At St Luke’s we seek to
share God’s unconditional love of all people, regardless of
age, gender, race, marital of family status, sexual orientation,
disability or wealth”.
We will invite a Minister of the Word and Sacrament to be our next
Incumbent, who will be sympathetic to these aspirations. He
would be an Incumbent, who would share these goals and this Mission;
an Incumbent who would be welcoming and sensitive to those who have
felt alienated by past experiences of church.
The Parish sees its future as extending its ministry and reaching
out to the surrounding inner city community; continuing to attract
into the St Luke’s community, the diversity of ethnic groups
within this area as well as the younger families. We see an ever
increasing need to help people recover a sense of the sacred in a
world which has neglected the importance of coming to know God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
