By Callum Ludwig
The River Valley Church in Millgrove is back in action for 2024 after a holiday break.
Church members are already back in the community holding their regular community outreach programs on top of the Sunday service.
River Valley Church member and Administration Officer Marion Drake said they were all really excited to get back and start the ministry again for the year.
“We’re such a community-minded church, I always say that we’re a seven-day-a-week church not just a Sunday church, and to connect with the community and help those in need is just really heartwarming,” she said.
“We’re doing something every day of the week to help somebody that needs help or needs companionship.”
Services held in the Millwarra Community Building are only part of the parcel; Millgrove Meals and a family lunch are held each month, Charge Prayer Night is held fortnightly and the Caravan Ministry is held weekly.
Ms Drake said the monthly meals were the vision of Pastor Adam Killeen who wanted to start a free meal because there are a lot of people in Millgrove and surrounds doing it pretty hard.
“We chose the last Wednesday of the month, the first night we had absolutely no idea whether two people would turn up or whether ten people would turn up and we ended up with about 40 or 50 people,” she said.
“We were very blessed to get a grant from The Ricketson Foundation to give us some money to buy the food to provide the free meal, and we’ve received donations from other organisations within the Valley who have heard about it and helped us with this,”
“Now we have 70 or 80 families who come and have tables for the children to do drawings and we pin them up on a board for all to see.”
The meals start at 6pm in the Millwarra Community Building on the last Wednesday of each month, while the family lunch is held on the first Sunday of each month after the service, though all are welcome.
Ms Drake said they all have food handling certificates, they have a modern new kitchen in the community building and all the work is done voluntarily.
“A lot of people might have just moved into the air and it’s a way of getting to know people while for others, it might be the only chance they get to sit down and have a full meal,” she said.
“I think it’s vitally important that people can relax and know that they can talk to us, the caravan ministry in particular, the majority of the people who attend are men and to hear them open up about their struggles is just incredible.”
The Caravan Ministry is held at the park in Millgrove every Wednesday from 11am to 1pm with a free sausage sizzle, bacon and egg rolls, coffee and cake for all who attend from a Millgrove resident to a passerby on the rail trail.
Ms Drake said while they are a Christian community, anyone is welcome to come and there are no issues.
“We certainly don’t push the Bible, they don’t have to attend church or they have to do this or they have to do that, they’re just welcome to come and enjoy the company,” she said.
“It’s just rewarding to see that people have got someone to communicate with and they know that we’re there and if they need assistance, we work as an advocacy as well to refer them to other organisations if they need help.”
Food parcel relief is also available for those in need, while the River Valley Church also works with the Wesburn Baptist Church and LinC Yarra Valley to help support the community.
Ms Drake said the community work follows everything that they’re supposed to do as Christians.
“We’re helping the needy and we’re providing comfort and solace and anything that we can do,” she said.
“It’s all Bible principles that we’re acting on and we’re certainly guided by God in what we do, but it’s just a wonderful ministry that reaches out to the lonely.”
Charge Prayer Night will return on Monday 12 February from 6pm to 7pm while the River Valley Church will continue to support the Millwarra Primary School, having distributed sixty hampers to the families of the Millgrove and East Warburton campuses for Christmas last year and providing scholarship funds of $500 each to two children to assist them in their transition to high school.
All are welcome to services and community outreach programs and anyone can contact the River Valley Church at 0493 473 501 or admin@rivervalley.org.au for more information.
