An important new initiative has begun to support businesspeople in Lismore two years after the 2022 floods. 

Lismore Business Chaplaincy has been launched to bring a team of well-trained and organised pastoral carers alongside people in local businesses still working to recover following the 2022 floods.

The chaplaincy service is a joint project involving the Lismore Ministers’ Fellowship, the Lismore City Council, Business Lismore, the Catholic Diocese of Lismore, and the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network (DRCN, a ministry of the Uniting Church.  

This initiative follows a similar volunteer service that was instituted after the 2017 floods in a partnership between local churches, with the support of the Lismore City Council, and local psychologist Lia Hibner. This new iteration of the Business Chaplaincy has begun in response to the very difficult circumstances of businesspeople who continue to do it tough following the devastating 2022 flood. 

The project partners are excited to announce the appointment of the Rev John Latta who will coordinate the work of Lismore Business Chaplaincy.

John, a Churches of Christ Pastor, is working part-time in this role which is supported financially by the Uniting Church’s Moderator’s Fund. John brings extensive community care and disaster recovery experience and is a trained DRCN chaplain. In addition, John brings his own personal experience of being flood-affected as a businessperson. 

Joining John is a team of ten volunteer chaplains. Each has undergone specific training that has brought together disaster recovery chaplaincy and input from Business Lismore around particular issues and needs of business owners, their staff, and the local farming community in Lismore.  

Chaplains will be connecting with local business operators and available to listen and support. They will operate under a very clear code of ethics and guiding principles and are absolutely not in the business of seeking to proselytise or hit people with religion. 

“These chaplains will be available to simply be there for people, ready to listen to the good and the bad, without judgement or agenda” says Stephen Robinson, coordinator of the National Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network. “They will provide pastoral care, which genuinely cares for people in situations where there are no answers or quick fixes”.  

The DRCN and its partners are excited about this chaplaincy initiative and its anticipated impact to boost the business community of Lismore as the work of rebuilding lives, livelihoods, and communities continues.

You might come across Lismore Business Chaplains at local events or cafes. If you’d like to know more about how local people are supporting local people in the region through business chaplaincy, or where to find the chaplaincy team for a chat please get in touch with Rev John Latta, email johnl@nswact.uca.org.au or call 0428 452 737.