By Matthew Sims
Narre Warren Christian Church co-founder Keith Vethaak has always believed there was hope and love to be found in the most unlikely of places.
Surrounded by members of the community during the Monday evening service on 7 August, he spoke about about a young man he met as a pastor at the Reformed Church of Kingston in Tasmania about 40 years ago.
“The boy had cerebral palsy and he couldn’t talk,” he said.
“The first thing he wrote was “I love God and I want to know more about him.”
Mr Vethaak has now retired as a full-time pastor at the Narre Warren Christian Church, which has been operating as the Transit Soup Kitchen and Food Support service since 2009.
The Reformed Churches of Dandenong and Doveton founded the Narre Warren Christian Church in 1986 by as a ‘street level’ outreach church with the mission of providing a safe place and a healing community for all, but especially for those who are doing it tough.
Mr Vethaak said the church had transitioned fully to offering food support services about two years ago.
“We don’t hold Sunday services any more,” he said.
“We want to have a chance to help anybody that walks in,” he said.
“We want people to come here that need a helping hand.”
Mr Vethaak said on top of feeding locals in need, the service has also provided social support for people.
“It was an eye-opening thing to see the loneliness factor,” he said.
“Some of them were just so lonely.”
Born in Holland in 1950, Mr Vethaak migrated to Queensland in 1955 and started his religious studies in 1969 at the Reformed Theological College in Geelong, attaining a Bachelor of Divinity in 1974.
After a short stint studying at L’Abri in The Netherlands, he bgan his internship in Christchurch, before being ordained at the Reformed Church of Kingston in 1977.
Mr Vethaak then moved to become the first pastor of the Narre Warren Christian Church, which originally began with a congregation of about 60 people.
“At one point, we’d grown to about 200,” he said.
“It was always what I wanted to do, touching the lives of people who needed it,” he said.
The church moved into its current building on Webb Street in June of 1995.
“Although it was a basic factory without a ceiling, it was close to the station and fitted our vision of being an outreach to marginalised folk well,” Mr Vethaak said.
“We developed a close relationship with (the former) Narre Warren Station Primary School and ran after-school programs in the new building.”
Over the years, Mr Vethaak said the community’s need for food support became clearer than its need for religious support.
“Transit began in March 2009 after we became aware that Dandenong agencies were being overwhelmed with demand from folk in the Narre Warren area,” he said.
“We started with a meal each Wednesday, a pool table and other activities.
“Numbers rapidly increased from about a dozen to over 50 each week.”
Mr Vethaak said while people often call Transit a church, the service was welcome for people of all faiths.
“We try to be very respectful of everybody,” he said.
The service receives 15 pallets from Foodbank, OzHarves and Woolworths each week, with about 1500 people registered and 600 families accessing food relief each week.
More than 90 people visit the Transit during their Monday and Wednesday services thanks to the help of more than 100 volunteers ranging in age from 12 to 83.
Transit offers a free three-course meal from 5pm every Monday with groceries available for collection from 6pm to 7pm, with a free laundry service also available via charity Orange Sky, while a free three-course meal is also available from noon every Wednesday with groceries available from 1pm to 2.30pm and food support is available from 1pm to 4pm on Thursdays.
Mr Vethaak said the service had seen more and more people seek support as the cost of living rises, especially in the wake of the COVID lockdowns.
“It’s pretty scary,” he said.
Mr Vethaak said the main philosophy of Transit came from the words of Australian Presbyterian minister John Flynn OBE, who spoke about looking after all elements of what gives mankind hope.
“You need to feed your body, but you also need to feed your soul,” he said.
Volunteer Dot O’Neill said each service usually attracted about six new people.
“It means that some people can survive,” she said.
“It’s also a meeting place and a social thing for some people.”
Mr Vethaak said he was confident in his replacement, Casey City Church pastor Malcolm McQuie, who said the job had been “challenging” yet rewarding so far.
“I come to work with a smile and I go home with a smile,” he said.
At the age of 73, Mr Vethaak said he was looking forward to spending more time with his wife Tjitske and his 13 grandchildren, despite still acting as the secretary and public officer.
“I am still preaching in various churches many Sundays each month but my wife is happy to have me home a bit more during the week as we had fallen way behind on our property maintenance,” he said.
“We also need more time for our 13 grandchildren ranging in age from one to 16.”
Mr Vethaak said he was proud of his achievements in celebrating and supporting the hidden members of the community.
“I feel really blessed that I have been able to serve the most marginal people,” he said.
“I believe every human being is of infinite value.”
For more information about Transit, visit transitoutreach.org.au.
