A heart for those on the margins – A tribute to John U’Ren

Written by Tom Slater

 Earlier this year we farewelled our friend and SU luminary John U’Ren. 

In public, John was known as an SU beach mission volunteer in the 1950s, who would later start the Theos program in 1967, which continues to this day. He sat on the SU Victoria Council and from 1980 to 1989 he served as State Director. 

But behind the role titles he accrued over many years of Christian ministry, there was a truly remarkable man who loved Jesus, and people, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised.

There was a book that came out of Scripture Union in the UK titled People Matter More Than Things. This sums up the man I knew first as a beach mission leader, and later as a firm friend, colleague and mentor through my time serving in various SU ministries in Victoria. 

John certainly left his mark on SU’s Theos missions, which were run year-round in communities like St Kilda and Broadmeadows. 

Theos took SU’s ministries to the disadvantaged and those on the fringes who were completely detached from the church and had been marginalised in society. A double-decker bus was acquired, which became a mobile coffee shop and outreach centre, taking outreach teams to places as diverse as  schools and Hells Angels concerts. Another initiative was the Theos Sun newspaper which underpinned the outreach through the summer.

Under John’s leadership, SU’s annual training day grew strongly, equipping  and preparing hundreds to lead on SU camps and missions. This event peaked at 900 participants. The internship program in Victoria today can trace its roots back to the Christian Volunteer Service that came out of The Masters Workshop, headed up by Rev.Peter Corney and was launched during John’s time as State Director.

John’s impassioned editorials in our SU newsletters, included commentary on theology, ministry and mission, evangelism and the church. Occasionally his commentary on the church ruffled feathers, but his desire was always to see churches adapting to nurture the young people SU was reaching through its Theos missions.

John’s heart for the outsiders was not limited to the marginalised in society. Even within Christian circles and SU itself, he loved having people on staff that others may not have had time for. 

More than 400 people attended John’s funeral earlier this year. Among this number were John’s surviving family, his wife Rosemary, six adult children and 19 grandchildren, church leaders and leaders of parachurch movements, and many like myself who had the honour of serving God alongside John through SU. 

Also present were many whose faith journey had been impacted by John, including those who were closest to his heart – the marginalised and disadvantaged who have come to know Christ and in their turn serve him too..