historic Sydney church destroyed

St Barnabas', on Broadway was  destroyed by fire this morning.   I used to attend University Church services there many years ago.  Barney's catered to uni students, the youth in the district and also to the down and outs of the area.

For many years, the church was famous for its slogans on the notice board on Parramatta Road.  They were usually pithy and hardhitting.  The game was to see if both Barney's slogan and the response from the pub window opposite could be read while one travelled past in the  bus.  The hotel proprietor did a good job in keeping up his end of the competition and the two together were often thought provoking and humorous.

Unfortunately the pub was sold and is now something else entirely different.  No more quick repartee from it and the church board has succumbed to the wishy-washy sentimentality of  some  "bottled" slogans to which many Anglican churches here seem to subscribe.  Little wit and not much thought provoking either from them.

A sad day for St Barnabas' indeed, even though the rector pointed out that the community was more than the building.