One of Redfern’s much loved residents
and workers, John “the Rev”
McIntyre, rector at St Saviours
Anglican Church, is leaving to take up
a new role in Gippsland,
Victoria, as an Anglican Bishop.
Over coffee last
week, John shared that leaving Redfern was producing
a large measure of sadness for himself and his family. Certainly, added
to this, he said, there was a feeling of excitement about the new challenges
and opportunities. There is a semi-surreal feeling about what is going on for us,
John continued.
How else could they feel when you realise that John, Jan and their grown-up kids
Jessica, Paul and Lisa have lived in Redfern for 15 years. The kids had grown
up here,
and the family had developed support networks and made many significant friends.
The McIntyre family’s deep attachment to
both their church and the community of Redfern-Waterloo was strongly evident at the farewell
luncheon at St Saviours Church hall on: the 27th of November – one of
many farewells
prepared for them! Jan and
John, arm in arm, barely holding back their
tears, were visibly moved as they
responded to the speeches of appreciation and love from the church and sectors of
the community.
And church
members and people from various parts of
the community at that function expressed both their rich, appreciation
for the McIntyre family and their sadness, mixed with grieving, at having to say
farewell. Tanya Plibersek, Federal Labor MP, thanked John for his community work, noting his
compassion for the people. Faye Williams from the Inner City Regional Council for Social Development
shared how, though she is a
non‑churched person, John supported her in a
time of great loss. She had slipped
into the church and said a prayer of
thanks to God. This event illustrates
how John has made the church a
significant part of the community,
melting it accessible and meaningful
to everyone. And even Jack Carnegie
the self-confessed atheistic spoke about
the significance for his life of
John and his family and the St Saviour’s
community.
John McIntyre is the peoples man. Chris Carbin calls him a “roughie”, someone who represents his community
against the powerful. Over the years he has
raised his voice at many different forums always seeking to represent the interests of the community
and especially the most needy. What was most memorable
for John on these occasions, he informed me, was watching people come
together and working together for a cause even
if they lost the fight.
Patrons
at The Redfern Hotel in George Street have their own history with John. And
knowing that pubs are great places to really find
out what a person it like, I eagerly accepted Des Peyton’s
invitation to have a drink and talk to patrons who knew John. Des is the
Licensee of the hotel.
For patrons at
The Redfern Hotel, he is the “Rev” who is the people’s man. Bert, a regular patron, told me, The Rev won’t
push religion on you, but if you want help, he will give you as much time as you need. He related a story about John dropping in
to his place for a few minutes, only to stay for a few hours when Bert told him he
needed support. As Bert and other
patrons spoke about John’s contribution to their community, of baptisms, marriages, funerals, personal support, just being present and socialising, I realised what
they were describing was the traditional
English Vicar. And of course, there
were the golf stories and the bus
trips on Saturday golf outings, full of humour, earthiness, and the boast that they had
helped John improve his golf handicap. Des Peyton could not convey in
words what John had meant for them all.
Tips were passed on to the work of
Crossroads, the Anglican Aboriginal ministry operating out of George
Street. With a smile, Des remarked that John likes to keep up his Irish connections, with a
Guinness or two.
Some of the primary
values that
motivate John are to connect with
people and to be open to meet them where
they are and on the basis of their
need. One story, which he shared, illustrates these values, at a very literal level.
John had come to Sydney from Melbourne. In one of his
former churches, in the Melbourne suburb of Thomastown, John and his family befriended a local, notorious street gang, some of
whom ended up dead or imprisoned. “Our house was their refuge, and we
never locked our house”, John said
quietly. “But the upside was we never lost a thing”, he added
with a warm smile. Theirs was the only house that was never burgled!
My interview with
John was as
memorable as my five years working
alongside him. I leave you with a final
story from his work symbolising his life and work in Redfern. “It’s about a guy who
has been through the heavily into
drugs”. John had known this person in Melbourne ‘and
tried to provide him with support. “He ends up in Redfern and gets himself straight for the sake of. his kid… he doesn’t believe
in God, but wants his son to go to
church… He ends up being a
significant part of the – church community… Then, he ends up back on drugs, due to various pressures, and dying of an overdose.” For John, this is no success story and it symbolises what life
is like for some people. And to Redfern and its community, John has attempted to just
be faithful and express grace, compassion,
seek justice, walk humbly and then believe that God will work in people’s lives.
We wish John, Jan and his family all the
best for their new life, and thank them for
their faithful time amongst us. As
Chris Carbin has said, Redfern has prepared John really well for his new
role as Bishop of Gippsland.