Jenan Taylor
14 February 2024
An eastern suburbs outreach ministry is helping Christians and non-Christians who feel alone and disconnected find friendship and common bonds.
Members of the St Luke’s Vermont board game ministry play board and card games, do jigsaw puzzles, carpet bowls and table tennis. Those who prefer to craft, can bring their knitting.
The monthly initiative is focused on cultivating a safe space in which they can combat loneliness and build relationships.
Ministry organiser Jack Thompson said a key goal was promoting honest conversation through developing sturdy friendships.
He said it was crucial for helping break down barriers between people, and potentially giving them a better understanding of each other’s beliefs and views.
“If you start a conversation with someone about faith, before you invest in their friendship or relationship, they won’t talk to you. But if you have spent time with them for months, or longer, then they definitely feel more open to speaking about it and being more vulnerable,” Mr Thompson said.
He said the ministry had been running since 2022 and attracted between 25 and 60 participants, more than half of whom were non-Christians or not religious.
Mr Thompson said they attended because they felt disconnected, not because they wanted to find out about faith.
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He said ministry volunteers focused on making the space social rather than religious for that reason.
“There was talk of doing a prayer or devotion, but I advised the other volunteers against it because I was worried it would be too confronting for non-Christians. It was a good decision because we ended up getting quite a few people that were Jewish, Muslim, or members of the LGBTQ plus community attending, which possibly wouldn’t have happened if we’d made it more religious,” Mr Thompson said.
The laidback, social atmosphere in church surrounds was what sparked questions and discussions about faith from some of them.
Mr Thompson said first time participants were surprised to find such an event in a church building, but by their third visit they seemed comfortable.
He said now that some of the attendees had gotten to know people from the church, they had started to attend some church services.
Aged in his early 20s, Mr Thompson said he started the ministry to bridge the gap between youth group, and adult men’s and women’s initiatives at church.
He said he felt there was lack of interest groups for young people who had left high school but were not quite old enough for more senior ones.
Mr Thompson became convinced there was a need for ways to tackle isolation because of his own struggles with loneliness while at university during the COVID pandemic.
He believed those feelings of loneliness were universal and that they persisted for many after the pandemic restrictions lifted.
Occasional participant the Reverend Dr Scott Harrower said being able to experience a safe place and safe people were among the ministry’s benefits for attendees.
As a mental health and wellbeing expert, he said the healthy, social connection it offered them was particularly valuable.
“Experiencing unconditional, positive regard by others could offer a new chapter in what may be a largely lonely story for many,” Dr Harrower said.
To find out more about the Board game ministry, please call St Alfred’s Blackburn North on 9116 4949.
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