Murdoch is the hub of a network of services and relationships that permeates the southern suburbs of Perth, connects to the rest of Western Australia, and reaches out to the world.
In the 1530s in Germany, Martin Luther argued that God’s revelation in Scripture and Nature demands the cultivation of every human mind to be able to respond. The Christian commitment to universal education was refreshed and publicly funded teaching began.
Today, Murdoch University has 2000 staff educating 23000 students including 2000 international students in Perth and another 8000 offshore from 100 countries around the world. Murdoch Uni seeks to advance knowledge with integrity, social justice, sustainability and global responsibility.
In 369 in Ceasarea, because of God’s mercy in Christ, Basil the Great established the first hospital. It included in-patient care, accommodation for doctors and nurses, and separate sections for different classes of patients.
Today in Murdoch, there are two hospitals both providing comprehensive health services to the southern suburbs of Perth. St John of God Murdoch is a Catholic hospital dedicated to futhering the values and healing mission of Jesus Christ. Fiona Stanley Hospital is a state government hospital including the State Rehabilitation Service and the State Burns Service.
In 1811 in Newgate, Elizabeth Fry felt called by God to begin almost daily visits to prisoners seeking to provide clothing, education, employment, and an introduction to the Bible, that started the snowball of changing the emphasis of prisons from punishment to reform.
Today in Murdoch, Wandoo Reintegration Facility is a minimum security prison preparing offenders to transition back into the community. It is the first prison in WA to cater specifically to 18-28 year olds, and houses 70 prisoners from all over the state.
And I could go on with examples of the fruit of God sending Jesus in to the world, in the Murdoch Campus of South Metro TAFE, the Murdoch Police Station, the Murdoch Fire Station, the numerous primary and secondary schools, the Murdoch Railway and Bus Station, and the sense of community as a sociogeographic crossroads of people from many nations and backgrounds.
At Three Crosses we want to be part of what God is doing at Murdoch.
Because Jesus changes everything.