WHEN Robert is not helping fix the church from its aPoocalyptic pigeon problem and cracks in the walls, he’s out supporting the lay preachers of the land.
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A carpenter and joiner by trade, Robert Lees is the right-hand man of Echuca Moama’s Uniting Church minister, Michele Lees.
They met through the church as teenagers, what he fondly recalled as a “youth group romance” at the Beaumaris Presbyterian church in Melbourne.
“This was back in 1974 when Michele was studying at university and I was doing my carpentry apprenticeship.”
A lay preacher since ’84, Robert is now also the treasurer of the Lay Preachers Association of Victoria (LPA).
With 400 members scattered across the state, LPA is there to help members through training and financial hardship.
“In the past, a lot of lay preachers have been your average blue-collar workers, and money has been a major problem for them,” he said.
It wasn’t just last week, or even last year, but Robert tells the story of a member in the 1880s who had fallen on hard times.
“The lay preacher became destitute and sadly, died penniless,” he said.
“Those who associated with him realised the need to support each other through financial difficulties. And that’s what they did.”
Financial concerns are less of a problem today, but there is a more threatening challenge for the future of the church.
Right now he said there were too many congregations for the ministers available – qualified and in training.
Now Robert is part of a committee designed to access potential ministerial candidates for the church.
“A lack of ministers means the work load is rising for lay preachers and they may have to step into a more prominent role,” he said.
Robert said a contributing factor to the lack of ministerial candidates is due to the traditional church’s difficulty in reaching people under 30.
“We as a church struggle to keep up with contemporary issues and in the past have been slow to change,” he said.
“It took a long time for the church to find acceptance on the marriage equality debate.
“We came to the decision that everyone is valuable in God’s eyes; if we accept the fatherhood of God, we also need to accept the brotherhood of mankind.”
However, Robert said in recent months the church had been upping its pace of change.
“Echuca had its first same-sex marriage in our church earlier this year.”
Perhaps it’s the people behind the church as much as the institution who are chivvying things along, with Michele and her right-hand man taking the lead?
Surprisingly, for all his input, Robert happily refers to himself as semi-retired.
“After moving to Echuca last year, when Michele was offered the position as minister, I decided it was time to slow down,” he said.
“Michele’s transfer meant that I had to wind down my business.
“For nearly 25 years, I ran my own business as a building consultant in Bendigo.”
Nowadays, Robert uses his ‘free time’ and building background to fix the church.
“The Uniting church occupies a very historic building, and this is the first time someone with such extensive building knowledge has been a member,” he said.
“I found myself involved with their building committee.”
The church has cracking problems in the brickwork and faces a neverending battle with the pigeons.
“We have plans afoot to spend a lot of money on the blistering in the bricks,” he said
“And making sure the pigeons don’t block-up the stormwater systems.
“But, it’s a constant battle with the determined pigeons.”
Who’s to say what semi-retired is, God? Robert loves his life in Echuca and finds it a delight being woken up in the morning by kookaburras and not traffic.
“When you walk down the street on a Saturday morning, you recognise people, and it’s lovely,” he said.
“I am happy here supporting Michele
“Every minister needs a right-hand man.”
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