On this week’s episode of Stories by the Wayside, Jon is joined by someone who lived in Kings Cross in the 1990s. Her time in the Cross is embedded in her long history as an accomplished journalist, author, and advocate for sustainable living.

This conversation taps into the magic of unplanned moments, her obsession with whales, processing grief after family tragedy and the power of nature to heal.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made. 

On this week’s episode of Stories by the Wayside, Jon is joined by the life and memories of a man who has a real penchant for adventure. He set sail at only 16, and travelled the world on a ship, following the sun for many years. His tales are both vast and intimate.  

From marrying at Wayside in the 1980s, to his deep commitment to preserving the green spaces around Sydney, our conversation touches upon the significance of community, the essence of open spaces for mental health, and the delicate balance between loneliness and solitude.  

He met Rev Graham Long, while he was selling the Big Issue, and Graham’s commitment to buying the magazine from him week after week, led him to Wayside. 

At first, he was a visitor, and now he's a friend.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.

On this week’s episode of Stories from the Wayside, Jon speaks with someone who inspires and challenges many with  her intellectual curiosity, her honesty and her rare ability to tell complex, crazy and compelling human stories. She’s always been drawn to stories of vulnerability, and to people who live on the edges. 

A few years ago, Jon wrote to his Inner Circle about the urns I have sitting in my office – cremated ashes of people who have died on our streets, sitting unclaimed, contested, or forgotten.

The woman you’re going to hear from today took it upon herself to learn a little about the lives of three of them.

Read the story here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/24/the-unclaimed-the-ashes-left-waiting-in-sydneys-wayside-chapel 

As a journalist, she’s explored the lives of the famous and the notorious, and widely covered social justice issues, but it’s her research and writing on loneliness that we unpack today– as it’s been a touchstone for our strategic work at Wayside. 

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.

On this week’s episode of Stories from the Wayside, Jon speaks to a  good friend and a resident of Kings Cross for 30 years. 

He served for seven years on the board of Wayside Chapel and is currently chair for the NeuRA Foundation (Neuroscience Research Australia) an independent, not for profit research institute, looking to address mental health in creative ways. 

He grew up in a home surrounded by mental illness and violence. He wears scars from years of school yard bullying, as a young gay man, in a white macho, rural community in the 1980s. His 20s were chaos, fueled by anxiety and drug addiction. 

Decades later after getting back on his feet, he wanted to help others and got involved with Wayside.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made. 

On this week’s episode of Stories from the Wayside, Jon speaks to a clinical psychologist, author and public speaker. In this far-reaching conversation – Jon and his guest discuss modern masculinity, what team sport can teach you about life,  tips on being a better listener and getting a good night’s sleep. 

This guest devotes much of his working life to ensuring people are at their best, which can be pretty challenging, when you yourself suffer from clinical depression. They discuss how wanting to be happy all the time is ‘absurd’ and how a good life is about generosity, volunteering, and connection.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.

On this week’s episode of Stories by the Wayside, Jon is joined by someone who has been involved with Wayside for a very long time.  Since he found himself on the streets as a boy of 12, already dependent on alcohol, trying to numb the pain of a traumatic childhood.

He met Rev Graham Long, while he was selling the Big Issue, and Graham’s commitment to buying the magazine from him week after week, led him to Wayside. 

At first, he was a visitor, and now he's a friend.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.

On this week’s episode of Stories from the Wayside, Jon is joined by a graphic artist and a musician who's drawn the Australian landscape in paint and song for five decades now.

Over the last few years, his incredible talent has played out across a huge body of work that has tackled everything from climate change and refugee rights to mental health. 

This is a bloke who has a darkly comic headspace – just sitting with him and having a yarn, you traverse the thoughtful and serene to the bizarre and ridiculous. 

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made. 

On this week’s episode of Stories from the Wayside, Jon is joined by a long-time friend and ambassador of Wayside. A woman who has had a turbulent, unorthodox upbringing in Kings Cross & has now become a well known and loved Australian public figure.

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.

Welcome to Stories from the Wayside, a podcast by Wayside Chapel. 

This podcast is a tribute to love and belonging, loneliness and loss, and the rich kaleidoscope of chaos that comes when life is lived from the gutter up. 

Join Jon Owen , the Pastor and CEO of Wayside Chapel since 2018 as he invites friends from the Wayside for honest, big-hearted conversations about the crisis of disconnection in these overwhelming times. 

If you’d like to hear more stories from the wayside, be sure to Subscribe to our Inner Circle: https://www.waysidechapel.org.au/inner-circle/ 

Stories by the Wayside has been made in conjunction with MIK Made.