Nourish: Imagine

We kicked off our last Gathering of 2019 on 18 October with Nourish where we spent the day with our pastors and their spouse to "Imagine” the possibilities and impact of being part of a movement of flourishing churches in Victoria together.

Our BUV Director of Mission & Ministries, Rev Daniel Bullock, led us in opening our minds to new possibilities by dreaming of what our churches might look like if we invited God to inspire those dreams for our Church, and to imagine how the Church might then flourish beyond all expectations.

Daniel said: “I have a dream of flourishing Baptist churches in every corner of Victoria – produce passionate disciples who will bring hope and transformation to our world, and I am looking forward to hearing the great stories of transformed lives and communities and I hope you share my dream, not only for your church but for all churches.”  

Using John 15, Dr Lynn Moresi from Whitley College encouraged us to imagine our churches transformed with Christ-like disciples whose encounters with all those around us were characterised by the love and welcome of Jesus.

Following a tasty and satisfying lunch, and a relaxed opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends, Rev Dr David Talathoti invited us all to imagine our churches filled with people from all cultures who felt a sense of belonging and identity.
He used the example of Dandenong Church welcoming members of their local community to weekly events, where many have found acceptance and friendship beyond the limitations of their cultural and religious restrictions.
 

Rev Carolyn Francis from Collins Street Baptist Church capped off Nourish by inviting us to imagine what it could look like to see a whole society redeemed and transformed by the faithful and genuine witness of all believers to the crucified and risen Christ.

“I valued the reminder that we are witnesses to redemption when, to people living in fear and confusion, we offer our vulnerability, woundedness, and peace.”
– Rev Alison Sampson, Sanctuary Baptist Church

Members' Dinner

In the evening, over 300 delegates attended the Members’ Dinner where we voted for Mick Turnbull to be reappointed as a member of the Union Council for another three years. We also thanked Rev Dr Allan Demond for his six years of service to the BUV as a member of Union Council and we invited nomination for a new Union Council member by Friday, 8^th November.

Debbie Uy, Director of Finance and Administration, presented the proposed 2020 Pastoral Stipends and proposed 2020 Membership Fee. The Assembly accepted both proposals by show of hands.

Rev Daniel Bullock provided an update on the Baptist Identity Project. He thanked churches for their input at the five Consultation Forums and confirmed that the current doctrinal statements and principles and ideals of faith documents will remain with a revision of wording and phrasing using modern language.

Our discussion topic for the evening was centred around Climate Change with Dr Keith Dyer from Whitley College, presenting on the Biblical and theological reflection. He pointed out eschatological misreading on heaven and rapture as not biblical, and stressed the earth needs redemption not annihilation.

We celebrated and welcomed three new constituent churches: Kangaroo Flat Karen Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church of Melbourne and Zomi Mission Church; three faith communities: Melbourne Agape Baptist Church, Ebenezer Karen Baptist Church and Radiant Church; and two new Missional Communities: Sandy Life Baptist Church and Social foundry. We also farewelled Thurgoona Baptist Church.

The evening concluded with Rev Daniel Bullock sharing a new vision for the BUV: “To be a union of flourishing churches with Christlike followers, that redeems society and brings transformation to Victoria.” He encouraged churches to use the Flourishing Church Framework to measure themselves and back up the rating with current stories of transformation.

“I am convinced that every church in our Union has some good news stories of transformation to share, I am convinced that most churches are flourishing in some shape or form. But I am also sure that we are not flourishing to the fullness of God’s intention and I want to make sure we in the Union office are directing our resources to help change that.” 

This framework will be communicated to all churches in 2020 as an assessment tool.

“I found the day both encouraging and inspiring. The BUV’s vision and flourishing church framework resonates well and will help us with our own visioning.”
– Rev Paul Llewellyn, Knox Community Baptist Church

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBBsnhsHlJU]

Nourish photos
Nourish Presentation slides
Members’ Pack
Members' Dinner slides
Minutes from Members' Dinner
Members’ Dinner photos

Source: BUV News

Now and Not Yet Community opened their community cafe in 2014 with the support of the BUV community grant and just recently they celebrated their five year anniversary. As a not-for-profit, social enterprise (with all profits going to the Warrandyte and wider community) – Now and Not Yet have been thriving and making remarkable achievements within their community. This funky-industrial café serves amazing coffee and fantastic food and is all about reinvesting their profits back into the community – so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the business.

“Now and Not Yet is a missional community that lives out its faith in and through the community cafe. The community also houses and employs refugees, women escaping domestic violence and homelessness. The amazing staff and volunteer staff – the heroes, play such a vital role in our day to day. I am so excited by what Now and Not Yet is and is becoming. A vibrant and positive place where you can grab a coffee, do business on our wi-fi, listen to music, chat, eat, celebrate a special occasion, create or just relax. It has become a central meeting place for the Warrandyte community” said founder, Derek Bradshaw.

Click on the video below and be inspired by how Now and Not Yet is giving young people a go by equipping them with skills to work in hospitality.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhm4RDMprn0]

Source: BUV News

What an opportunity it is to sit in a room alongside a group of Godly men and women, as we seek to faithfully bring the gospel to people in our worlds. Earlier in September we had our second Generations Network Day for this year, where Generations Pastors and Leaders gathered to be spoken into, and to share some valuable stories around helpful content.

We started our day together with a worship service. These Pastors and leaders are often in serving and leading mode on Sundays and rarely have the opportunity to just ‘be’ in a service and be ministered to. A team from Crossway came to lead us in worship and Rev Dr Allan Demond brought the message. He shared vulnerably about the realities of Christian leadership and gave a strong word of encouragement for our Generations Network – to seek fresh revelation from God and to be open to receiving suggestions and guidance through unlikely sources.

The rest of the day was spent in workshops – learning about Leadership Development and managing transitions between ministries/lifestages; as well as a fantastic workshop on Ministering to children with Additional Needs led by Pastor Angie Lee from Crossway – and enjoying great food.

The buzz in the room during times of interactions was a reminder of the energy and encouragement gained from being amongst peers and others who understand the realities of ministry and church life.  

Hear what some of our participants have to say: 

“Being someone in Generations Ministries in a Regional Victoria, it is often rare for me to be in an environment with a group of people who are journeying in similar ministries contexts and roles. This is one of the reasons I have found the Generations Network Day a really valuable time to set aside and get along to. It has been really key for me to network with these guys and I’ve been very blessed with the wealth of knowledge that is in the room and have come away with great encouragement.”
 – Aleisha Pryor, Generations Ministry Leader, Kerang Baptist Church

“This year I went along to my first Generations Network Day in September and appreciated the opportunity to focus on my development as a youth pastor. I enjoyed the sessions which were aimed specifically at common issues most pastors and leaders in the Generations area face. I felt encouraged in my role knowing there are many others who are experiencing similar issues to me. Most of all I loved getting the opportunity to meet and speak to other people who worked in similar roles outside of my church who I can hopefully continue to connect with in the future.”
 – Way Lim, Youth Pastor, Syndal Baptist Church

Source: BUV News

Going to Cambodia on a Global Xposure in January was a transformational experience! How you ask? Well, God opened my eyes to what His mission looks like, not only in Global context, also in my local context! The Xposure trip had me asking questions and reflecting about what I had observed and how we could bring our learning back home.

We had visited several incredible social enterprises that helped the Cambodian people on the margins to learn new trades, be rehabilitated, become educated and re-enter the work force. We saw the impact of faithful cross cultural workers who were serving, building relationships with their local community and making a difference in the lives of those they had met. Our team experienced local village life and community within the friendships of local workers. We feasted together, shared stories, shared life and saw what God was doing amongst the least reached people groups we encountered. The end of the trip was spent in reflection – there was a time of solitude, listening and hearing from God, times of laughter and fun, poignant times of sharing our hearts and coaching through our next steps as we headed back into our local communities in Australia.

Urban Xposure was birthed out of our Cambodian experience. How could we learn from what we saw overseas and use it in our local church context? How could we inspire the next generation to put down their devices and engage with their neighbours?

We started by having an Unearthed Feast in July this year with mission minded Youth and Young adults at Kilsyth South Baptist. Like in Cambodia, we ate together and heard from a young adult, Andy, a Global Interaction candidate. We had opportunities to share our stories, ask questions, dig deeper and reflect on what we had heard.

Our first Urban Xposure was to explore Creation Care, a social enterprise in the heart of our city! Having done some research, Creation Care and Social Justice Issues were areas that young adults want to engage in.

We had a group of seven Young Adult Leaders from various churches and backgrounds join us in September to visit ‘The Green Room,’ which is operated by Planted Places and run by Sherry and Geoff Maddock.

Sherry shared her heart for what they do saying “our generosity doesn’t have limits, we need to love people who do not feel loved, we need to wake up each morning with a lens of love.” Inspiring words that had us excited to hear and see more. Geoff shared their history and experience of mission in the US, reminding us that “social isolation is an epidemic.” Sherry encouraged us to “live a life that evokes questions, as we are the ones that hold the light to share Gods love in the world.” They shared about their mission, which is to directly address disadvantage through the cultivation of relationships with plants, people, and place. They do this by connecting with people experiencing social isolation and hardship, specifically asylum seekers, refugees and international students.

On reflection of their time in ‘The Green Room’ the team shared that Sherry and Geoff “were passionate, genuine, engaging and really transparent, their energy was contagious, what they are doing is incredible.” Another stated that “I really enjoyed the opportunity to come across a different type of missionary, it inspired me to try and involve the people I work with in a similar eye-opening experiences.”

Our Urban Xposure team then met for lunch and heard from Wendy, a Cross Cultural worker from Global Interaction, who had served there for over nine years with her family. She shared about their call, their Creation Care experiences, her involvement running a café and family life. She shared that “God lights up each step ahead, not the whole path” and that “we need to trust Him as we walk our journey.” Another inspiring story from an amazing woman of faith.

The team shared afterwards that “it was inspiring, and they loved “how strong she was,” and that “it was so real and raw.” One of the team shared how they felt after hearing of Wendy’s experiences “being a missionary is not easy, you have to go through a lot of difficulties at times, but if you put yourself in God, nothing is impossible.”

The common word to encapsulate our day was “INSPIRING!” We spent time debriefing and reflecting upon what we had learnt and what it may mean for our local context.

Our next step of the Urban Xposure is to have a Reflect Day. It will be running on Monday 28^th October in Warrandyte. We will spend time in solitude, learning about some of the Spiritual disciplines that help us to hear from God. We will meet Derek and hear how Now and Not Yet Café came to be, and be inspired by the part Global Interaction played in his story.

Why run Urban Xposure? We want to partner with churches, youth groups, young adults and individuals to start thinking about what Global Mission looks like in our own neighbourhoods. This will then give us the opportunity to look at what we already do well, and how we can use what we have observed and become creative in innovating what mission looks like in our local church context. It is a springboard to exploring what Global Mission looks like and how Global Interaction’s missiology is relevant in our daily interactions and walk with God.

Oh, by the way, I was so inspired and transformed by my Cambodian Global Xposure that I gave up my job as a Primary School teacher (15 years!) to work as the Young Adults Consultant at Global Interaction!

Sulari Nielsen
Global Interaction
Young Adults Consultant Vic/Tas

Source: BUV News

A monthly series showcasing different expressions and experiences of the role of a Pastor’s spouse. Stories span from the archives to the present. We invite you to contribute your story by emailing John Sampson at jcsampson406@gmail.com

Episode  4 – Part I: Preparing for Manse Living

Before her marriage Meryl Smith undertook a special program for prospective minister’s wives. It must have been successful because she and Lindsay are still married. I do not know if it worked for the others in the program but even if it did I do not recall that it was ever repeated. How do you prepare to be a minister’s spouse?

Here is what she has to say about it.

While our husbands/ fiancés/ boyfriends were busy learning homiletics, Greek & Hebrew, we girls-in­waiting were trying to support and encourage them as best we could.

Some women had children to care for. Others lived in the country where their husbands were in charge of a local church. Some even had paid employment (although this was normally discouraged once you were married).

Those of us who were engaged were usually working while we saved up for our glory box (most had 2 or 3 years to wait), and planned the wedding. We even surreptitiously passed over some of our hard earned wages to the man-of-our-lives so that they could take us out somewhere on the weekend. Films like Ben Hur, The Cruel Sea and Exodus could not be missed and fantastic live shows like Sound of Music with June Bronhill and Sentimental Bloke really needed our appreciation and applause along with the rest of the audience!

Even though the first Australian Baptist missionaries, Ellen Arnold and Marie Gilbert were sent out to Bengal in 1882 women were excluded from training for the ministry when Lindsay entered training. The nearest we females could come to those sacred halls of learning was if we undertook Deaconess Training. And I'm pretty sure that was only available to single women who were not involved in a serious friendship with a man. (There was an interesting twist here as Meryl’s future husband Lindsay was enrolled in the Baptist Training Institute in 1962, along with three other men Ken Green, Geoff Holland and Ian Staunton. Ken and Geoff were primary school teachers who completed the two-year B.T. I. course before going to New Guinea but Lindsay and Ian transferred to Whitley and became ordained ministers. Ed.)

Many of the women at the Institute came from interstate and while some prepared for work in the local churches as deaconesses others had nursing qualifications and were preparing to work with overseas missions. However, I remember that Mervyn Hymbury invited Jean Keyte to tell us what it was like being a minister's wife and he arranged for her to give a series of cold mid year lectures at Whitley.

Jean was the wife of the Rev Tom Keyte, a gracious, interesting and insightful lady who had years of experience. The only thing I remember her saying was that there were two kinds of ministers' wives. One fell in love with a man who was going into or was already in the ministry and the other felt a calling to be with her man in ministry. The first made a lovely home and did her best to help and support her husband, while the other had to be careful not to compete with her husband too much. The first could feel neglected when the demands of ministry interrupted her best laid plans for family life while the other could become so involved in ministry, either her ministry or their joint ministries that 'normal' (home) duties faltered.

Love and a calling were the words that expressed the attitudes of the early 1960s and they were so ingrained that we did not even think of it. All I knew that I was in the called group. When Lindsay started showing an interest in me, I called him out and laid it on the line – ‘I am a missionary kid with a different background, schooling and home life from you. I feel strongly called to be a missionary; therefore I am not ordinary wife material. So get lost! I am not interested in a romance’.

Where did I get such courage! I hate being different, but first things must be first with me. I would love a romance but not if it interferes with my calling. And besides I was just 16!

It turned out that he was also interested in missionary service and we ended up going to Tekin in Papua New Guinea, but I will talk more about that in the next article.

And that is how my journey to view the world from a manse started.

What is your experience of being a pastor’s spouse? If you would like to contribute to this series, please email jcsampson406@gmail.com

Source: BUV News

The BUV Code of Ethics for Pastoral Leaders provides us with a resource as we seek to be faithful to our calling and healthy in our practice of Christian ministry. It contains principles to aspire to and guidelines against which we are held accountable. The BUV Professional Standards Group has recently completed a revision of the Code. As part of that, Pastors were invited to provide feedback on a draft and that feedback was considered in the review process. Union Council has approved the revised Code and it is now in place.

Download BUV Code of Ethics

If you have any questions about our BUV Code of Ethics, please contact BUV Professional Standards Consultant, Brenda Williams at professional.standards@buv.com.au

Source: BUV News

Sometimes it is only in reflection we see God’s gifts other times we are so overwhelmed by them and are amazed at God knowing us so intimately and providing just what we need. God’s gift of Carey prayer group fits squarely in the second category. Since its inception in 2015 it has been God’s vehicle for creating community, personal growth, encouragement, friendship and answered prayer. 

God was behind this group from the start, using the grumblings of teenagers, “I think I am the only Christian at school” and the stirring of a mother’s heart to connect with other Christians for this group to start in a coffee shop in Camberwell. With the school chaplains support ten families quickly expressed interest in connecting with other Christian Carey Grammar families. The next event was a family dinner where a prayer walk around the school was organised.

The joy and blessing of the prayer walk led to a desire to meet regularly in the school chapel and with our three school chaplains. These times of prayer were mutually encouraging for the chaplains, school leadership and parents. Remembering our school founders and all those who have gone ahead of us praying for our school, students and teachers. It became clear through prayer that God was using our chaplains in a mighty way and we needed to be quite purposeful in our prayers for them.  This led to setting up a Carey Prayer WhatApp Group. The app gave us the opportunity to let the now thirty plus families know when our chaplains were running chapels or speaking at assembly so we could be lifting them in prayer.

We have been surprised at the blessing of being part of this prayer group, there are often messages from members saying they love starting the day with the reminder to pray for the school, or they have loved the community feel of being part of the group, or the blessing of being able to share prayer/praise points. Being such a large school every year there are families experiencing terminal illness and unexpected deaths which the chaplains walk closely with them through. Instead of feeling helpless in these circumstances we consider it a privilege to pray for the families and the chaplains through this time. The prayer group also gives us an opportunity to share our faith with others in the school community, sharing how it is an outworking of our faith to pray for the school and our desire to pray for them.

The blessings of encouragement, personal growth, friendship this prayer group has brought leave us in awe at God's faithfulness and love for our school community. We have appreciated the support of the Prayer Group for Schools, our school chaplains Gerry Riviere, Janine DePavia and Scott Bramley, the school leadership and Board. We would encourage others if you don’t have a school prayer group to pray about starting one. The joy and encouragement of having others to travel the Christian road at school with is a tremendous blessing. 

Source: BUV News

After almost fifteen years in formal ministry, one thing has become very clear to Kathryn: You don’t need to know the end to have a start. Who would have guessed that a short conversation on the school bus as a seventeen year old would have been the catalyst for the life poured out hence?

Kathryn Jensen, Associate Pastor at Mill Park Baptist, has enjoyed a heritage of faith through the women of her family, passed down from her grandmother to her mother to herself. Alike Timothy, her sincere faith coupled with her leadership gift, gave her opportunities at a young age. On a usual trip on the school bus, Kathryn declared her interest in “getting back to church” to her friend after she’d experienced teenager-drift from faith.

Two years later, she had started a Bible Study, begun a Young Adult Internship at Crossway and was studying Christian counselling. Life was busy with possibilities and steep learning curves. Kathryn relished the opportunities to grow, through taking risks and having a go. Her church community at Crossway likewise was prepared to fan into flame her leadership gift, appointing her to a staff position in her early twenties. Entrusted with this leadership from a young age has engendered in Kathryn a desire to grow leadership in others. 

Her role as Crossway’s Young Adult Small Group Coordinator reflected her passion to see people loved and finding a place to belong. This sense of belonging is more than a positional state. Being in a neighbourhood does not equate to belonging in that community, nor does being in a family necessarily forge a sense of belonging. Belonging is the result of being seen and known by one another. And it is this ministry of reconciliation that is the underpinning of Kathryn’s efforts and prayers.

While on a prayer retreat, God gave Kathryn a memorable vision that began her life in ministry. “I was sitting on a swing with Jesus pushing me from behind towards the Father.” The vision remains with Kathryn as a picture of God’s work of reconciliation. And in her reconciled state, she takes seriously the message being committed to us.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

So, from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

For Kathryn, the message of reconciliation is evident in every aspect of daily life. In her own family, she is an agent of reconciliation, bridging gaps of broken relationships. She reflects, “In a sense, I was born as a reconciler in my family.” And likewise, she is a reconciler in God’s family. Her role as Care and Connect Pastor sees people being connected meaningfully into the life of the church.

It was also with her heart for reconciliation that Kathryn helped establish Mill Park Community Care(MPCC) in 2013 in partnership with Mill Park Baptist Church. With a growing need for Christian Counselling in the Northern suburbs, Mill Park Community Care is now a thriving professional counselling service for the community. MPCC is entirely self-funded and, six years on, there are second and third generation clients (referred by previous clients) who encounter God’s love in the arena of faith-based, but not faith-biased counselling.

In addition, Kathryn has fanned into flame the vision of others in her church community to create spaces for belonging, empowering those with a dream to establish a weekly community meal for the lonely and hurting, or to establish a conversational English class for the marginalised migrants, or to envision and implement an International Expo to celebrate ethnic diversity. It is those on mission together who show up week after week and continue to serve in this way that is stirring Kathryn’s heart. She calls them ‘Missional Remainers.’ They are people who have discerned that following Jesus for them, means staying put, showing up and being deeply committed to a small geographic place. Missional Remainers are more needed now more than ever. They help create stability and welcome as Melbourne’s suburbs dramatically change, uprooting people, and marginalising many. 

From a recent study trip with the BUV Mission Catalyst team, Kathryn visited flourishing communities, where Missional Remainers were willing to take risks for the sake of the community they serve. These Missional Remainers don’t show up on their own terms or in their own timing, but find the shape of their ministry in their community. The future of mission needs Missional Remainers who are deeply connected to place and people. They don’t do this work alone, but are empowered and inspired by the God of creation who became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood in order to reconcile that creation to himself.

When asked what advice she would give to anyone thinking of stepping into ministry, Kathryn offers a great challenge: “The thing you can’t stand in the world is what God is calling you to change.” This should cause us to pause. And ponder.

For Kathryn, it is people who are disconnected. Kathryn is driven to walk alongside the lonely, the broken, the immigrant, those on the margins. This is a feeling that Kathryn has known, from the displacement of her childhood years (7 schools in 13 years!) to the challenges of ministry as a single woman in a world where marriage and family are often in the driving seat. She deeply loves this Jesus who entered the world as ‘other’, leaving behind divine privilege in order to become like those he sought to save. This is what fuels her passion for God’s commitment to reconciliation. This ministry demands of us a commitment to people and a commitment to place where everyone belongs. Everyone has a place. Everyone is loved.

Source: BUV News

The Kilsyth South Baptist Church (KSBC) has a three-part mission, “To Share Jesus, Encourage Christian Growth, and Caring for People” which we work towards achieving through various methods, a major one being outreach which we do through reaching out to the broader local community.

On Saturday 7 September an event was held at the Church in the form of a 3-course dinner and entertainment, the dinner was held in the new Church building with over 160 people attending, entertainment from a group called “After Hours” and professional catering from Chefs2you.

By receiving an outreach grant from the BUV, we were able to do several things to try and achieve our Church Mission, we were able to price the evening at a level affordable to people, we provided a table to the Chaplain at the Basin Primary School, were KSBC is involved with Kid’s Hope to allow him to invite parents who may be struggling to have a night out. We also provided two tables to our Playgroup Leader to invite parents who they believe could benefit from a night out. All those attending from this source do not attend KSBC and many no Church at all.

Our Pastor Peter Nielsen had just completed a series of sermons with the title of “BLESS”: Begin with Prayer, Listen, Eat, Serve, Share a Story.

As a result, 7 people booked a table and invited neighbors and friends to the dinner again these people are not regular Church attendees and through the neighbors commence a relationship which may develop to a better relationship and friendship.

The evening certainly met in total or in part our mission and the “BLESS” message and should the evening generate a small surplus in funds this will go back into other outreach opportunities in our community. From the 160 people attending more than 100 were people not from KSBC but from the actions of outreach.

We give thanks to our wonderful God who through this has led us to reach out and through our actions we can show others that Church and Christians is not a bad place to be.

Source: BUV News

Green Collect Awarded Top Enterprise

Melbourne-based social enterprise Green Collect has picked up the prestigious Social Enterprise of the Year award for 2019. The award, an initiative of the Social Traders, recognises Green Collect’s strong business performance as it generates positive outcomes towards environmental and social impact. 

Green Collect has a strong history with the BUV. Founders Sally Quinn and Darren Andrews started the business under a feasibility study with Urban Seed, then based at Collins Street Baptist Church. The initiative grew, thanks to the passion of the founders and their pursuit to innovate in the evolving waste-recovery industry. Active partnerships with Ashburton, Essendon and Armadale Baptist continue to build connection through care for the environment and job creation. Green Collect and the BUV are working to support the development of social enterprises, both through the Social Enterprise Guild and mentoring and sharing of knowledge.

Today, Green Collect employs over 30 people and focuses on delivering environmental solutions for office waste. They collect the folders, stationery, small electronics and computers that are frequently discarded as offices update or relocate. Last year, the service collected and sorted 125 tonnes of items, saving them from landfill. Items are individually assessed for their best environmental outcome and then either resold in Green Collect’s retail stores, upcycled into new products, or responsibly recycled.  

Sally Quinn, CEO, comments: “At Green Collect, we know we do things differently. We show that there are positive solutions to the problem of waste, and that those solutions can also deliver positive outcomes for people. Our workplace is designed around an inclusive model, enabling us to provide work opportunities for people who have previously faced barriers to employment. Through a more caring workplace, we enable people to build the skills they need for long-term work. 

Over the years, we’ve become the experts in finding the best environmental outcome for even the most difficult to recycle items. Our passion for saving things from landfill means we put in a considerable amount of time and effort into researching opportunities for the next life, particularly for complex problems like e-waste. We’re always looking for new ways to reuse items, and creative ways to make something new from something old.”

Green Collect also run two retail stores – their own outlets that on-sell the items collected from offices, as well as second-hand clothing and sustainability products. In their Braybrook store you can find a treasure-trove of computers and accessories, old video games, CDs and DVDs, and a wide range of salvaged stationery including highlighters, textas and folders. All saved from landfill. The Yarraville store is a boutique experience, offering second-hand designer clothing and new, highly giftable, earth-kind products. 

The BUV extends a warm congratulations to Green Collect on a very well-deserved award!

Source: BUV News