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Lifeline Sydney and Sutherland telephone counsellors from the past and present celebrated the 46th birthday of the telephone counselling service on 26 March. CEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission, the Rev. Keith Garner joined attendees at the NSW Commission for Children and Young People in Surry Hills to celebrate the occasion.

A DVD on the history of Lifeline was shown and a Lifeline volunteer was honoured for his service to the program. A superb birthday cake from Wesley Mission Catering Services was enjoyed by all..

Current telephone counsellors received certificates for achieving full accreditation, including completing a six-month training course and regular fortnightly shifts for twelve months.

Lifeline was developed in 1963 by the Rev.  Alan Walker, the CEO of Wesley Mission at the time.  Dr Walker was receiving dozens of phone calls a day from Sydneysiders in need and he couldn’t help them all. After months of prayer and discussion, some of Dr Walker’s friends decided that a centre should be set-up where people could call for counselling support and advice. 

Lifeline opened on 16 March, 1963. Within three years of Lifeline’s inception there were fifteen other centres opened across Australia. Currently there are 42 centres countrywide, with Lifeline Sydney and Sutherland being operated by Wesley Mission.  It is estimated that the two Wesley Mission centres have taken over 800,000 calls since that time.

Mr Garner praised Dr Walker, a friend of his, for his service to the people of Sydney.

“Alan had a passion to help people and he would make things happen,” Mr Garner said. “Lifeline was born because Alan saw the power of the telephone as a means of providing safe access for people to speak to someone who cared.”

Ron Freer, who has been at Lifeline since its inception in 1963, was recognized for his “extraordinary commitment” to Lifeline. Mr. Freer has been a telephone counsellor for 45 years and continues working today as a Supervisor on Call.

Ivan Reichelt, 92, helped start Lifeline and was the special guest at the birthday party. Mr. Reichelt and his wife Alice were telephone counsellors with Lifeline for over 23 years before Mr. Reichelt moved on to become a spiritual counsellor for Wesley. Reichelt still attends Wesley Church on Pitt St. in Sydney every Sunday night.

Mr Garner said that despite the current financial crisis, Lifeline will remain a core part of Wesley Mission’s service to the community.

“Wesley Mission has great financial challenges, but we will do whatever is necessary to continue the Lifeline service,” Mr Garner said.

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