Bill Crews' 50-Year Mission: Love & Kindness

0:00This is Cory, and here's what is making news across Sydney right now. For over 50 years, 80-year-old uniting church minister Bill Cruz has helped society's most forgotten people with practical care. He runs the lows and fishes soup kitchen in Sydney's Ashefield, serving free meals like chicken casserole to anyone in need. At 80, he shows no signs of slowing down, driven by a deep commitment to loving kindness. The kitchen started in the mid-1980s, thanks to his friend, Admin John Singleton. Singleton won big on the horses and handed over the cash, saying to call it loaves and fishes. That simple act launched a lifeline for the homeless and struggling, funded by ongoing support. Cruz grew up in diverse St. Mary's near Penrith, playing with kids from refugee families who had little. A brutal boarding school later crushed his confidence, but has shaped his empathy. At 27, a calling led him to volunteer at King's Cross Wayside Chapel, quit his job and get ordained in 1986.

1:01He pushes back against church red tape that blocks hands on help, like the Good Samaritan ignoring rules to aid the injured. In a Kale refugee camp, he shared his own struggles with addicts from around the world, realizing pain crosses all languages. Huds from strangers restored him. Even now, Cruz focuses on listening without fixing everything, urging society to ease burdens on the disadvantaged. He plans to keep serving until his last breath, with a new documentary on his workscreening March 10th at Event Cinemas in George Street. DNN is sponsored by our partner. Check out the episode description. Your pillow, your podcast, your moment, made for listening in bed, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-L-O-D