An interview with Rev. Marie-Jeanette van der Wal from Holy Trinity Church in Picton
The Chat Room is a fortnightly ministry run on Thursday mornings at the Holy Trinity Church Hall in Picton by Marie-Jeanette van der Wal and Stephanie Moore. I sat down with Marie-Jeanette to hear about how the Chat Room started and how it has impacted the Picton community.
Can you share the story behind The Chat Room? How did it start?
When I first came here, I was looking at whether God wanted me to be here. I saw the hall and thought that it would make a wonderful cafe! I thought of how wonderful it would be to support parents from the area and reach out to them through this cafe. That was my first vision. I also wanted to provide a place. I’m a counsellor and a mother, and I remembered from my days being at home with my children how much I benefitted from having contact with other mothers and older women, but also how they helped to build me up in my faith journey, how they encouraged me through their life experiences and poured in some wisdom from the Lord.
Since The Chat Room started, how has it evolved or changed over time?
We started in August 2023. The focus is on the parents, but there are plenty of toys for the children, so we thought it would be that we asked for a donation for the coffees or that we would have speakers. In actual fact, just being here and just the conversations that the ladies have sitting around the table proves to be what they like already. We decided to just host it and say that no one had to pay anything, but that they were just welcome in this space. In that sense it’s a real outreach rather than a cafe. The ladies are contributing by bringing baking and sharing recipes, but they also know that this is a safe space for them to talk about any personal matters.
Can you share a memorable story from someone who has been impacted by this ministry?
One lady comes every time with or without a child present. The ladies often drop their children off at daycare or kindy and then just come to The Chat Room for themselves. We were talking with the ladies about how there are other facilities in Picton that are focused on the children, but there are no other places that are safe places especially for the mums. The number of ladies who come fluctuates. Sometimes it can be 2 or 3 and sometimes it’s 17, including the children - 11 adults and 6 children here in the one space. That was beautiful too, but with the smaller number we have deeper conversations. It’s not about the number, but it’s the quality of the conversations.
How do you see God working through this ministry?
One lady has been very open to ask questions and is very curious about Jesus. She knows a little bit from her childhood and now she is asking questions. When she comes she knows that she can ask those questions without having to go to a Sunday morning service. So it’s actually offering an alternative place to ask questions that they would normally think they’d have to go to church to learn about. But here they can ask directly. For instance, this lady asked if I could explain about Easter, because she knew that it’s not about the bunnies and the chocolate but that it has to do with Jesus, but she didn’t understand. She asked if I could explain it for the children so that the parents can also explain it. We may do that if the other ladies are interested as well.
How do you see The Chat Room growing or developing in the future?
I’m co-hosting it with Stephanie Moore and we are hoping that The Chat Room would be advertised through word of mouth, that more parents would come here and know that if they want to talk about faith matters, they can, but it is not pushed. Some of the ladies have been talking and their friends have been asking whether they have to be Christian to come, because it’s held at an Anglican church and asked if it’s about faith? They told their friends that it’s not. They are welcome to be who they are, as they are and can choose whether they want to talk about faith. If they want to talk about it, they bring it up and they really appreciate that. So there’s an invitation to ask questions, but it’s up to them to bring it up.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
An interview with Rev. Marie-Jeanette van der Wal from Holy Trinity Church in Picton
The Chat Room is a fortnightly ministry run on Thursday mornings at the Holy Trinity Church Hall in Picton by Marie-Jeanette van der Wal and Stephanie Moore. I sat down with Marie-Jeanette to hear about how the Chat Room started and how it has impacted the Picton community.
Can you share the story behind The Chat Room? How did it start?
When I first came here, I was looking at whether God wanted me to be here. I saw the hall and thought that it would make a wonderful cafe! I thought of how wonderful it would be to support parents from the area and reach out to them through this cafe. That was my first vision. I also wanted to provide a place. I’m a counsellor and a mother, and I remembered from my days being at home with my children how much I benefitted from having contact with other mothers and older women, but also how they helped to build me up in my faith journey, how they encouraged me through their life experiences and poured in some wisdom from the Lord.
Since The Chat Room started, how has it evolved or changed over time?
We started in August 2023. The focus is on the parents, but there are plenty of toys for the children, so we thought it would be that we asked for a donation for the coffees or that we would have speakers. In actual fact, just being here and just the conversations that the ladies have sitting around the table proves to be what they like already. We decided to just host it and say that no one had to pay anything, but that they were just welcome in this space. In that sense it’s a real outreach rather than a cafe. The ladies are contributing by bringing baking and sharing recipes, but they also know that this is a safe space for them to talk about any personal matters.
Can you share a memorable story from someone who has been impacted by this ministry?
One lady comes every time with or without a child present. The ladies often drop their children off at daycare or kindy and then just come to The Chat Room for themselves. We were talking with the ladies about how there are other facilities in Picton that are focused on the children, but there are no other places that are safe places especially for the mums. The number of ladies who come fluctuates. Sometimes it can be 2 or 3 and sometimes it’s 17, including the children - 11 adults and 6 children here in the one space. That was beautiful too, but with the smaller number we have deeper conversations. It’s not about the number, but it’s the quality of the conversations.
How do you see God working through this ministry?
One lady has been very open to ask questions and is very curious about Jesus. She knows a little bit from her childhood and now she is asking questions. When she comes she knows that she can ask those questions without having to go to a Sunday morning service. So it’s actually offering an alternative place to ask questions that they would normally think they’d have to go to church to learn about. But here they can ask directly. For instance, this lady asked if I could explain about Easter, because she knew that it’s not about the bunnies and the chocolate but that it has to do with Jesus, but she didn’t understand. She asked if I could explain it for the children so that the parents can also explain it. We may do that if the other ladies are interested as well.
How do you see The Chat Room growing or developing in the future?
I’m co-hosting it with Stephanie Moore and we are hoping that The Chat Room would be advertised through word of mouth, that more parents would come here and know that if they want to talk about faith matters, they can, but it is not pushed. Some of the ladies have been talking and their friends have been asking whether they have to be Christian to come, because it’s held at an Anglican church and asked if it’s about faith? They told their friends that it’s not. They are welcome to be who they are, as they are and can choose whether they want to talk about faith. If they want to talk about it, they bring it up and they really appreciate that. So there’s an invitation to ask questions, but it’s up to them to bring it up.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
