From a sermon, St. Peter's, Bundoora

When I am asked what kind of model I follow for the ministry we are doing at RMIT and La Trobe, I go back to Justin Martyr, a Saint of the second century. He had been a student and a teacher himself. And after his conversion, after becoming a member of the early church, he returned to the academy to talk to the scholars and students of his time about this new way of understanding what God might be about, and how God might be known in the life of Jesus and in the spirited life of the community that was gathering in his name. It took awhile, the intellectuals – educators and newly educated - of the time were suspicious of religions in general and this one in particular, so Justin took time to connect what he know of Christ to the work they were doing in those academies, to meet them where they were. And it paid off in the long run, That world was one of much creativity, chaos and change, a time of scepticism when old and new modes of action and reaction, belief and disbelief were up for re-evaluation: not unlike now. A great opportunity for beginning a new ministry, for sharing a living faith that is big enough for such a world.