No One Forgotten
The Revd Julie Baker, Chaplaincy Manager
Saying goodbye is never easy, but here at St Bart’s we make a special effort to ensure each person we support is properly farewelled when they leave us.
On a good day we get to celebrate with clients who find themselves at the top of the housing waitlist and assist them into their new, permanent home. Those goodbyes are bittersweet as we know we will miss the person that’s moving out of our community, but our mission is to be by their side as they step into independent, stable housing, and to fulfil that mission we have to let them go.
Sometimes the goodbye comes when a client dies, and our farewell comes in the form of a memorial service to celebrate their life and mourn their passing. As an organisation with an aged care component, we see a fair number of deaths each year and the chaplains have the privilege of preparing and delivering memorial services for each individual. We work to make these memorials special and as unique as the person we are remembering. Sometimes we are listening to their favorite rock song, other times its bagpipes and drums, whatever makes sense to evoke the memory we have of the person who has died.
But what about the many homeless people who die without support and with no one to mourn them? Each year, around the winter solstice, St Bart’s works with the clergy at St George’s Cathedral to remember all those who have died in the past year having experienced homelessness. This year was no different and we met on Friday 20 June for evening prayer where we rang the bells and lit candles for those we wished to remember and for those known only by God. The statistics are heartbreaking, with the average life expectancy for a person who has been homeless sitting at just 50 years, so we rang the bells 50 times to mark that staggering number. We also prepared an information pack for those parishes wishing to make their own memorial and we are aware of a number of churches that joined us this year – thank you to all those who got involved.
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Finally, and in the spirit of goodbyes, this will be my final contribution in the Messenger for St Bart’s as my time as Chaplaincy Manager comes to an end. Working with the incredibly special and resilient clients has been an absolute privilege and the mission of the organisation will continue through the dedication of the skilled staff team and the volunteer chaplains. The strapline, ‘We’re by your side’ is far more than a catchy logo, it is the lived mission of this organisation where those who experience trauma and instability can find support so that they no longer need to face the difficulties of life alone. If you would like to learn more or contribute to the work we do at St Bart’s, please explore our website at stbarts.org.au.