A group of Sydney churches are banding together in a simple act of love for asylum seekers.

The ‘Simple Love Project’ is the brainchild of Coco Knight and Lucy Sharp. The concept? A grocery drive. It really is that simple. And yet the concept has impressed the NSW Asylum Seeker Centre, which has expressed its gratitude to the churches getting involved.

“A group of local churches have come together to provide the Asylum Seekers Centre with weekly food drops up to Christmas…We are so touched and excited by the response and hard work that is going into this project—phenomenal!” says a status update by the ASC last week.

Groceries for asylum seekers, provided by Grovechurch – St Aidan’s in NSW.

Like many, Coco Knight had been following the news reports about asylum seekers and refugees, and was sad and frustrated. After seeing news footage of an asylum seeker boat sinking off Australia’s shores, and hearing of drowning deaths, Coco called the NSW Asylum Seeker Centre the next morning to volunteer for them.

“They said that food was actually their biggest need. So I called my minister and asked if we could do a grocery donation at church. We ran it the following week.”

Coco’s church, City Light Church, a new church plant in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Balmain, donated nearly 100 bags of food for their first grocery drive. The church was only four months old, with about 35 members, and Coco was encouraged by the enthusiasm she received for the initiative.

Another person encouraged by the practical love shown by City Light Church was Lucy Sharp, a friend of a friend of Coco’s who attends St Aidan’s Anglican Church in Hurstville Grove in Sydney’s south.

“I’d heard about City Light’s first grocery drive, and transferred some money to a friend who went to that church, so she could buy and donate some groceries on my behalf,” said Lucy. “Then, I decided to run our own collection at St Aidan’s. We collected about 50 bags of groceries in about a week!”

Clearly pleased with the churches efforts in June and July this year, ASC went back to City Light church in October, asking for more assistance as they were “frighteningly low on food again”.

The Christian church in Australia has been criticised from within for its lack of action on asylum seekers, and Coco is another who feels the need to change that. She decided to seek out a non-Christian organisation like the NSW Asylum Seeker Centre to offer her time as a volunteer.

“We felt that churches have been so quiet on this issue, and it was important for organisations like the ASC to feel like they could rely on churches again…we felt it was important to be in the community and working with them. We love the idea of the churches working in the community in a real and practical way.”

Now, the Simple Love Project has 12 churches confirmed to take part in the initiative, assigned one week each before Christmas to collect and deliver groceries to the ASC.

And while it’s primarily engaging church members with one practical way they can help in an area fraught with frustration and political maneuvering, it’s also attracting people outside the church community.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the number of churches volunteering and even with individuals wanting to visit nearby churches specifically to donate. We think the desire to give and do something practical is there, it’s just a matter of getting started. Many people have been more than willing to get involved, and were thankful for the opportunity to help out,” said Lucy.

In June and July, St Aidan’s and City Light churches donated nearly 200 bags of food. In the lead up to Christmas, and with involvement from other churches across Sydney, they’re hoping to hit 1000 bags of groceries.

Check out what the Simple Love Project is up to, and how to get involved, on their Facebook page.