“It’s a fair bet that if Jesus Christ were around today, he’d be doing what the Owens are doing in Mount Druitt. They feed the poor and house the homeless. They lead the lost and counsel the conflicted.”

So writes Tim Elliot in a Sydney Magazine article about Urban Neighbourhood of Hope couple, Lisa and Jon Owen. It shows that culturally we still know instinctively what Jesus is like and that we want to celebrate it when we see it on display.

“They’re experts at unconditional love: alcoholic mums, runaway kids, petty thieves, everyone’s welcome at the Owens’ home, a four-bedroom brick house that for the past five years has been equal parts street kitchen and safe house, as well as a home for their daughters Kshama, 8, and Kiera, 7.”

Tim Elliott’s article explains: “Jon and Lisa Owen belong to a small Christian order called Urban Neighbours of Hope. Formed in Melbourne in 1993, UNOH’s mission is to relieve urban poverty by embedding volunteers in disadvantaged communities. UNOH workers take what amounts to a vow of poverty, surviving on an income from the organisation that is capped at the local poverty line, the idea being that they can better identify with their neighbours’ circumstances.”

More info and opportunity to give to UNOH