His Eminence Archbishop Makarios was at Sydney’s Hart Park, near Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon, the 5th May, to be with people who with dedication fulfill the social ministry of the Orthodox Church and put in practice the Christian teaching of love and compassion for their neighbour.
His Eminence was welcomed by the Parish Priest of the Church of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene, the Very Reverend Archimandrite Prohoros Anastasiadis and members of the Ladies Philoptochos of Liverpool who, for the last six weeks, are successfully implementing a new program “Homeless Feed” which is aimed at primarily helping those who are homeless but generally anybody who is in need by handing out meal parcels.
The program commenced with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and embraces the wider district of Liverpool. It also has the support of the local authorities and actively helps members of the community by offering food items and packaged meals. The program feeds about 40 people every Tuesday by providing packaged meals that have been prepared by the women of the Ladies Philoptochos of the Parish of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene. It is worth mentioning that in the early stages of the initiative, before the social distancing measures were imposed in order to restrict the spread of the coronavirus, the meals were prepared on site and the volunteers together with the recipients enjoyed talking with each other in a friendly atmosphere of love and camaraderie.
During his visit to Hart Park, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios took the opportunity to speak with the volunteers and to congratulate them for their God-pleasing work that they perform. He encouraged them to continue with the same zeal and fervour and then did not hesitate to put on the gloves himself, observing the required protective measures, and to assist with the distribution of the meals.
At the same time, he praised Fr Prohoros for the program’s excellent organisation and indicated that it may be used as a model for similar initiatives taking place through other parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. It must be noted that many similar schemes are being undertaken throughout Australia and His Eminence expressed the desire and expectation that they intensify their efforts and become even further organised to better meet the great needs faced by our fellow human beings. It is also worth pointing out that the program, “Homeless Feed” is open to all people without exception and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality or anything else. As His Eminence characteristically pointed out, “we look at the face of our fellow human being, whoever they may be”.
