Charles Brammall continues his story of setting up a ministry to entertainers in the leafy Sydney Suburb of Artarmon.
North Ryde, where we initially set up church for our ENTER ministry, proved to be too far away for most entertainment people to travel, as they tend to live, work and study in the Inner City, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West and Lower North. So we needed to move as close to these places as we could afford, both for our accommodation and space for the ministry. In God’s grace we were able to move our church venue, and our home, to Artarmon.
It was the closest place to entertainment campuses and work places the mission could afford (although still not cheap!). We needed to be near Channels 9, SBS and ABC (then at Naremburn, St Leonards and Gore Hill). Also Bradfield College, Ensemble Theatre, and the TAFE Film and TV School (all at North Sydney). Also Tanya Pearson Classical Ballet Academy at Crows Nest, and many production houses around Artarmon, Crows Nest and St Leonards.
Artarmon was also close enough to Inner City venues such as Belvoir St Theatre at Surry Hills; Sydney Theatre Company, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Philharmonia, Ros Packer Theatre and Sydney Dance Company (all at Walsh Bay). Also the Opera House and Genesian Theatre, and Channel 10 and F2 (Fairfax’s Digital arm) at Pyrmont.
Also in Pyrmont, a screening room where I was asked to review Films by “Southern Cross” magazine, and got to know some high profile film reviewers. And Sydney Fashion Week at the Town Hall (where I was invited to be Chaplain by the designer Charlie Brown), Sydney Motor Show at Darling Harbour. Also Sculptures by the Sea at Bondi, where I worked for a time bumping in sculptures, and managing the volunteers.
Many of the boys in our Tanya Pearson Ballet Academy group, a lot of them believers, moved to Europe when they graduated, to dance with major ballet companies. These included large German cities such as Berlin, Cologne, Bonne, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Dortmund. What a great Gospel diaspora! And some of their family members joined ENTER’s church.
As an Anglican minister I met with Archbishop Harry Goodhew to share our plans and vision with him. With his evangelistic heart, Harry was very encouraging, and gave me the title of “Archbishop’s Chaplain to the Entertainment Industry”. This proved invaluable for opening doors at the executive level in the industry. It carried more weight when requesting a meeting with film studio CEOs, than just introducing myself as some “minister who looks after entertainment people”.
Harry’s title led to many fruitful relationships with industry executives. These included the CEO of Fox Studios, Nancy Romano, a God-fearer who donated us a venue for evangelistic functions multiple times. Also, Kim Williams, CEO of Channel Seven, and Mark Scott, chair of the ABC. In addition, David Gyngell, CEO of Channel Nine; Lynne Willams the principal of NIDA; and Maxine Kohler, Principal of McDonald College of Performing Arts. And Professor Ken Healey, NIDA’s delightful History of Theatre Professor and Literary Manager.
Industry people were fascinated by the title “Anglican Archbishop’s Chaplain to Entertainment”, and having it was a great blessing. When I introduced myself using the title people immediately had some idea of who I was. They were familiar with Army Chaplains (like Father Mulcahey on “M*A*S*H*”), Hospital Chaplains, Prison Chaplains, and School Chaplains. So it meant they had at least a vague idea of what I did, and what topics might be on the agenda (if they chose). They could either choose to chat about faith, spirituality and Jesus, or not.