We Love our Hurley Sandwich

by Letters Editor · December 18, 2014

A Sandwich centre – what a wonderful analogy!

Site of the Denis Hurley Centre. “It is testimony to the magnificent legacy of Archbishop Denis Hurley, to the empathy and compassion of hundreds of volunteers and donors, and to our combined faith in our God, and in humanity.”

By referring to the new almost-completed Denis Hurley Centre in the heart of Durban as a sandwich centre Mr Kettle couldnt have chosen a more apt phrase to describe our communitys pride-and-joy new building.

Sandwich conjures up images of wholesome, no-nonsense comfort food, of different fillings being held together with bread. It doesnt take an English major to unpack the imagery implied here. The different projects; the different needs; the different challenges; the different communities: all held together by bread the body of our Lord.

As we all know, sharing bread is as an expression of faith and of obedience to Christ.

So thank you, Mr Kettle, for the gift of such a beautiful metaphor.

The Denis Hurley Centre (Artists impression)

However, we dont share your aesthetic judgment of our centre. We think the Denis Hurley Centre is designed and constructed with imagination and care, and working within the constraints of a hugely limited budget.

It uses to its maximum a relatively small and awkward triangular space, sandwiched (that term again) between Emmanuel cathedral, the Victoria Street market, the bustling inner city taxi rank, the iconic Madressa arcade and the imposing Juma Masjid mosque. In short, the centre is exactly where it should be to offer the maximum service and dialogue for the complex melting pot that is our contemporary inner city.

And, of course, we wanted the centre to be optimally low-maintenance and efficientto have a triple-storey building using natural ventilation and light that feels spacious and calm with custom-designed places for the myriad projects which will be housed in the centre.

Mr Kettle, you might never comprehend the magnitude of faith, commitment, passion and love that has gone into the planning, designing andmost especiallythe fundraising of every brick, every window pane, every door handle of our remarkable building. Already the Denis Hurley Centre has love and hope oozing out of every pore.

It is testimony to the magnificent legacy of Archbishop Denis Hurley, to the empathy and compassion of hundreds of volunteers and donors, and to our combined faith in our God, and in humanity.

For me personally as a Methodist volunteer who has been part of the enormous and amazing team that has helped to bring this building into a reality the Denis Hurley Centre is a dream come true. We are enormously proud and delighted with it.

I invite you, Mr Kettle, when you are next in Durban, to please visit our beautiful centre; spend some time with the remarkable selfless people who work there and see the astonishing impactful work they will be doing. Perhaps then we can change your mind.

Visit www.denishurleycentre.org to learn more.