Church a community of people, not a building

Geoff Pound, the man behind the mask.

Geoff Pound, pastor of West Melbourne Baptist Church, remains cheerful about the pandemic lockdown.

“I think it has reminded all of us that the church is not a building but rather is a community of people,” he says.

Geoff is strikingly upbeat as he outlines how his church has managed to stay connected with worshippers during these uncertain times.

“The pandemic has encouraged our congregants to be more purposeful about checking in with each other via phone calls and Zoom meetings,” he explains.

The church community has responded positively to the lockdown.

“We find our people are sharing with each other how they are feeling and how they have been coping or, sometimes, not coping. As a result, we’ve probably got closer as a community through doing that.”

On normal pre-pandemic Sundays, the Baptist community gathered in a multipurpose room in their ‘vertical-village’ Hawke and King Apartment complex.

“Our congregation had moved here, after over 150 years in a traditional church building, when we decided to be more community-centred,” Geoff says.

However, COVID-19 restrictions forced the temporary closure of the programs the church had developed to serve the local community. “We’ve had to put on ice our work with our health and wellness activities, and our playgroups and homework clubs,” he says sadly.

As a result, Geoff and his fellow workers have been considering alternative ways to support the community. With anxiety levels on the rise and many grieving as a result of the global pandemic, the church is actively addressing pastoral care support and is equipping congregants to better support their friends and family.

However challenging these dark days might be, Geoff remains optimistic and says he can see the lockdown’s silver lining. He emphasises that the church has been able to do things that in normal times are often left to the bottom of the list.

“We’re actively reviewing and improving our operations, and we’re taking the time to adapt and think ahead. The church building might be closed, but the church is still very much active,” he says.

Claire Yeoh is a new contributor to the North & West Melbourne News.

This article first appeared in the North & West Melbourne News, Spring edition, 2020,

Image: Geoff Pound, the man behind the mask.