On a main road in Hawthorn there are two magnificent heritage church buildings. I wondered why one is the headquarters of a highly active Catholic parish while the other has become a beautifully refurbished office building which has just been sold to a Chinese investor.
Is this a sign that people don't find churchgoing valuable these days and so some churches are unnecessary?
"Part of the reason is, of course, demographics," says the priest of the Catholic church, Fr Des Dwyer. "When these churches were built people used to walk to their local church while now they drive to a church of their choice or just don't go near a church."
And why do the people in your parish go to church? "People are spiritual beings – when they ignore their spirituality they often find there's a lack of meaning in their lives. This explains a lot of the depression, anxiety and suicides in our population," says Fr. Des.
When you walk into the Hawthorn church you feel a wonderful sense of community. You're immediately welcomed at the door by the priest before you even sit down.
The church provides a model for the way a contemporary parish can operate. It is outward looking: a large number of volunteers care for the elderly, shut-ins and the mentally ill in the area, there is also a food bank that provides prepared meals for people in these situations. The church has four professional staff to support the priest in this outreach.
A nearby school is part of the parish's responsibility, with parents strongly encouraged to be a part of their children's community. Students from the nearby Swinburne Institute of Technology are regular worshippers here, particularly young Asians.
Because of the large number of national groups in the area, the congregation has always welcomed a significant number of immigrants. Indeed, for four decades the parish engaged chaplains to support newly arrived people – particularly those from Latvia and Hungary – to help them with their needs such as employment, housing and education.
The mistake too many churches make is they are too inwardly focused – the Hawthorn parish is outward looking
"Yes," says Fr. Des, "we're just not here for ourselves but to reach out. We should all give ourselves to others."
With such a clear view of what the Christian faith means I can't imagine that the Catholic parish church in Hawthorn will be up for sale as an office building any time soon.
Don Mackay is an Age contributor.
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