Insights
February 2021
The BIG question: Why are we here?
Activitiy suggests a life filled with purpose, but what is the purpose? Why are we all here? I’m beginning to discover that the meaning of life is living in the moment.
December 2020
A great, COVID safe Christmas Day
I want to thank everyone who made our annual Christmas Day lunch such a wonderful success.
My Christmas 2020 message
COVID-19 has forced many unwelcome changes upon us all, so this Christmas I've recorded a short video sermon.
Finding peace this Christmas
Over the last few weeks I've been presenting a series of videos on the Advent themes of Christmas. This week I investigate peace and how to find it amid a world in turmoil.
The joy of Christmas
Christmas is just days away, so in this week's Advent video I'm considerng the theme of "Joy". I hope it resonates with you.
Loving compassion at Christmas
Love is all that matters at Christmas.
November 2020
Christmas is just around the corner
Christmas is just around the corner. It's meant to be a joyious time, but amid the darkness of the pandemic and current political events things can seem grim. Thankfully there is hope. Interestingly, Christmas has become a celebration for all in
Feeling lost in your own country: musings on NAIDOC Week
It’s hard for white entitled people to understand the feeling of being lost in your own country.
Remembering Lieut. Commander Don Wilson
Rev. Bill Crews' piece on Rememberance Day was both wonderful and sad.
Rest In Peace all who suffered
On this Remembrance Day we look at the attempts of the world to unite.
September 2020
Finding hope in a world of despair
How do you define who you are when the job you loved is gone?
August 2020
My earnest prayer is we come out of this pandemic a better people
As this pandemic progresses I sometimes wonder if some of us forget we are all in this life together. We too quickly forget we all actually depend on one another to survive. And that dependence spreads exponentially. I depend on
The hope that keeps me going through this pandemic
In Australia, the months of May and August are the months of the year I love the most. What I love about them is the intense blueness of the sky and the green of the vegetation. Some of my happiest
Political blindness to the poor may prolong this pandemic
The poorest can't afford face masks, so surely there's a moral obligation to provide free masks.
Hope. Musings in this time of Coronavirus
I was standing in the newsagency in my local shopping centre, Ashfield Mall. I was doing my best to social distance and I was angry with myself for leaving my protective mask behind. I was doing something normal, just being
July 2020
My Thoughts On Where This Pandemic May Be Taking Us
I have been wondering how long it would take for us human beings to realise we are all in this life together. How long it will take for us to realise “what I do affects my brothers and sisters and
People in the Shadows
There are people of the shadows. The invisible people our society walks past every day and ignores.
June 2020
Black lives really do matter
The age of Coronavirus highlights how connected we all are... that we should care more for each other. Black lives really do matter.
Bobby Kennedy – the best president America never had
I have always admired Robert Kennedy and the more the years go by the more my admiration increases. Bobby was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The third son of Joe and Rose Kennedy. Joe had amassed a
Ghosts of Tiananmen loom over Hong Kong’s future
Today is the 31st Anniversary of the horrific Tiananmen Square massacre. Like millions of others I was horrified to watch the massacre of the students by the Peoples Liberation Army on Tiananmen square in June 1989. Many of the images
April 2020
The times they are a changing
I love to sit in the middle of the Loaves & Fishes Restaurant, but the times are a changing.
March 2020
How we’re coping with coronavirus
See how we're coping with COVID-19 and still serving hot meals to the homless.
November 2019
How tragic that Margaret Court’s dogged tenacity is now her undoing
Your's truly writing in The Age on the controversy over Margaret Court's grand slam anniversary year. By Rev. Bill Crews November 7, 2019 I once interviewed Margaret Court on my radio program in Sydney. She was a person of devout
July 2019
Sydney Morning Herald’s Article On My Radio Work
I was honoured to have the SMH publish a profile story about my life behind the microphone at 2GB. I hope you enjoy it. By Michael Lallo June 30, 2019 While his 2GB colleagues earn millions, Bill Crews gets a
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama’s 84th birthday
July 6 was His Holiness, the Dalai Lama’s 84th birthday. I spoke at a function to commemorate that at The Hellenic Club in Woden, Canberra. What I said, I said “off the cuff”. Many people liked it and one of
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama’s 84th birthday
Today is his Holiness’s 84th Birthday so we should all say, “Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday”. One of the things I’ve learned in my life is that we might all be born free as people but there is always someone wanting
January 2019
My Days With The Refugees In Calais, France
On the forecourt of Liverpool Street station in London sits a memorial to the “Children of the Kindertransport”. The plaque says it is in thanks for the 10,000 unaccompanied, mainly Jewish children who were allowed to escape to England shortly
My Soul Restored
I am in Dharamsala the current home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama visiting friends. When here, I visit the Dalai Lama’s Temple to light a candle and pray. I find a visit there restores my soul. On this visit
December 2018
Why I love Christmas at Exodus
Every Christmas Day at my Exodus Foundation we hold a giant Christmas party. Thousands of poor, needy, lonely and homeless people turn up for a free hot traditional Christmas Day lunch with all the trimmings and a present from Santa.
October 2018
I was there as abuse survivors got apology
Yesterday I was honoured to be amongst the 400 invited guests in the Great Hall of Parliament House Canberra to hear the National Apology to the Victims of Institutionalised Child Sexual Abuse. Just getting here was a difficulty. I was
June 2018
RIP Robert Kennedy
Today, June 6, is always a sad day for me. Not only is it 74th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in France it is also (this year) the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert Kennedy. For many people hope
April 2018
When the homeless give you everything
I was sitting at a table in our Loaves & Fishes Free Restaurant for the homeless at the weekend eating lunch with two homeless men. Both were tall, skinny and wore the look of those who had spent a fair bit of
My experience washing the feet of the homeless
At lunchtime very Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, in our Loaves and Fishes Free Restaurant I wash the feet of as many homeless guests as I can in memory of Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples before
February 2018
My speech in support of the Kurdish people – 10th Feb, 2018
I regard myself as an ordinary Australian. Nothing more and nothing less. I do not regard myself as left-wing or right-wing, nor am I a member of any political party. I am an Australian and proud of it. Being Australian
January 2018
Walking the line in Bangkok
As many of you know, through my work with homeless, abused and traffickerd children I am on the Board of Childline Thailand. I do this through my Bill Crews Charitable Trust, of which I am the founder and CEO. Last
December 2017
My Christmas message
This Christmas many children won’t share our good fortune. They’ll endure bleak conditions of grinding poverty, but I have good news. My Bill Crews Charitable Trust has already given thousands of kids like this a better future and with your
August 2017
Government neglect made Martin Place homeless inevitable
The tent city in Martin Place arose out of a perfect storm of events. Events which not only result in an inevitable rise in homelessness, but also tend to make us all feel more fearful of the future. People are
July 2017
Dalai Lama’s religion will outlast the Chinese occupation of Tibet
Take a look at this photo. Take a careful look. The face of Lobsang Lozin. When I first saw it I was struck by the kindness reflected in it. It's a very compassionate face, yet there is an element of
April 2017
My hour with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Yesterday I went to visit my old friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Tibet. It was an absolutely beautiful morning as I spent time waiting for His Holiness on the veranda of His residence. I could see He
February 2017
Being brave enough to lose yourself
Every now and then I get tempted to put one of my sermons up on the blog. A rush of egotism I feel I might have something worthwhile to say. However, when I read the transcript I realise all I am
January 2017
We are leaving refugee children to die in the snow
The whole operation began on Calais station before the train arrived. I noticed a team of armed police arrive, followed by security types and then a policeman with a large dog on a leash. They grouped around the stairs leading
My Trip to Calais – January 2017 – Now the Jungle is Gone
For well over a year I have been visiting 'The Jungle" in Calais. My blogs tell of my anguish at first hand witnessing the hardship suffered by so many who were there. They tell of me 'coming in from the
Taking former unknown homeless man Frank Lawlor’s ashes back to the UK
Preamble In early June 2016 a homeless nameless man died one evening at our free Loaves and Fishes free food van in Sydney's Woolloomooloo. By early January 2017 I was returning his ashes to his family in Birmingham, England... For
November 2016
The Trump victory
When I was first asked to write a comment on the election of Donald Trump to be President of the USA I thought “no” because everybody and his dog would be commenting. However, on thinking about it I thought, why
October 2016
“Clearing” the Jungle in Calais, France
As many of you know, I have visited the refugee camp “the jungle” in Calais several times over the past twelve months. The site is a former asbestos dump on a floodplain, near the highway to England in Calais, France.
March 2016
Two real life stories from my spending one day in the slums of Cambodia
A mother had to get herself deeply into debt to get her husband out of gaol. He had been trafficked and escaped and ended up being gaoled. Now her husband could no longer work as he had been injured in
January 2016
A follow up to my blog “In Paris remembering Charlie Hebdo………
All my efforts to contact the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo failed. Not to be outdone, though I decided I'd add some of the compost to the Memorial tree either before or after the Memorial Service. I ventured onto the
Visiting “The Jungle”, Calais for the second time – This needs to be read in in conjunction with my earlier blog of 12th October, 2015 called “My trip to the Jungle – Walking with the Refugees on Wednesday, 7th October, 2015”.
I was apprehensive. How will I find it? Had it changed much? Had the attitude of the refugees there hardened? After all, three months had gone by since I was there last and the fear always was that if these
In Paris – Remembering Charlie Hebdo
Today, January 7, is the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo slaughter. I arrived in Paris yesterday with an urn of composted Martin Place flowers left at the time of the Lindt Cafe Martin Place siege. I intended to scatter some
The reason I am in Paris in memory of Charlie Hebdo
I'm here in Paris now because I buried Tori Johnson of the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place after the dreadful siege there. I was also in Europe at the time of the Charlie Hebdo slaughter and went with Charles Miranda of
What I have learned over the past few years
I now realise that I’ve spent far too much of my life ‘out in the cold’. As a child, not really bonding with my father life was tough and lonely. Consequently, much of my early years was spent never quite fitting in anywhere. Looking
October 2015
Some of what life has taught me in the last few years
I begin with this story:- A lovely little boy one day decided to go out and look for God. So he packed his little back pack with fairy bread sandwiches (tiny crystals of coloured sugar) and Popper Drinks (little packets
My trip to The Jungle – Walking with the Refugees on Wednesday, 7th October, 2015
Like many people, I have been following this European Refugee Crisis, probably closer though than most, because of my radio commitments. I have known for quite some time that I would have to be in the UK for a couple of weeks in
August 2015
An American girl reaches out to me for help
For me life as a child was not an easy one. I was born in England during World War II at a time when my father was away at the war. I was raised alone by my mother and grandmother
July 2015
Life is just beginning at 70
Here I am, 70 years old and I feel my life is just beginning! If we are the sum of all we've learned, experienced and suffered over the years then, this is it! I've been lucky, so lucky in my
A night with Bangkok homeless kids
On Wednesday night, 8th July 2015, I spent the night at The Hub in Bangkok. It's run by my Bill Crews Trust for the homeless kids of that city. I slept there in dormitory conditions with them. We slept on stretchers. These stretchers were
June 2015
A better world for all children
Today I was at the Graduation of our Literacy students in The Northern Territory. The students all seemed so young, innocent and beautiful! There were two groups of students there. One group comprised of 9 to 11 year olds
“There’s always someone trying to steal our freedoms!”
I found myself saying to a couple of friends recently as we were looking at the current Australian and world situation “Life is a compromise, isn’t it?” In order to live within family, community, nations and the world we need to
May 2015
Reflection at Myruan Sukumaran’s Funeral
Over the years I have been heavily involved in anti death penalty campaigns. Barlow and Chambers in Malaysia, Van Nguyen in Singapore and now Chan and Sukumaran in Indonesia.It'staught me a thing or two about what is of ultimate importance
April 2015
Chan – Sukumaran & Death: What we can learn from all of this
Yesterday, 28th April was quite a day for me. It was a day when I saw again and again the inherent fineness and goodness in many human beings. Ironically, it was at two places where I was dealing with death.
March 2015
No government help for child sex abuse victims
If you get damaged as a child, don't ever expect the government to help. The history of government's helping those in the most need, particularly if they are poor and vulnerable is abysmal. If it costs any money, governments are
February 2015
Kayla Mueller did not die in vain
When I first saw the photograph of Kayla Mueller, the young American aid-worker firstly captured by ISIS only to die in a blast somewhere, I got a real shock. I saw the open face of a young girl who, in
A plea for clemency for Andrew Chan & Myuran Sukumaran
Sometime this month (February) Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be led out of their gaol cells and onto a plane. The plane will fly somewhere and land. They will then be placed on a boat to sail somewhere where
January 2015
Paris, Martin Place. A way to build on this.
On many occasions since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 the world has come together in hope, only to have those hopes dashed by those forces of darkness that are innately opposed to freedom. I can well remember
Paris Reflections
In Methodist house in Westminster there is a room full of plaques. They are in memory of Methodist Clergymen and Lay people who went to Africa in the 1800's as missionaries. As I looked at the plaques the realisation came
December 2014
Christmas week was such a tough week for me!!!
I reckon I will never forget the events this past week, they have been so stressful for me. Firstly I had been asked to conduct the funeral service for Tori Johnson. That brave young Lindt Coffee Shop Manager in Sydney’s
My response to the events of yesterday, I hope it helps.
Like all of you I have been shaken by the events of the past 24 hours. Last night I felt compelled to spend time at my Loaves & Fishes free food van meal service adjacent to Martin Place in the
October 2014
A Call for Calm
A Call for Calm A few weeks ago on my Sunday night radio program on Sydney Radio 2GB 873 I invited a philosopher to speak on the causes of Islamic radicalism. The effect it had on some listeners was truly
No money for Literacy – Inner West Courier Article – Tuesday, 7th October, 2014 by Sean Thompson
The Exodus Foundation has helped more than 1500 children from across Sydney go from never opening a book to reading Harry Potter in six months. But now the program is on its last legs. On September 30, the State Government
September 2014
Let’s use this Mental Health Month to drive change.
This month of October is designated Mental Health month. After 40 years of working with people in trouble I genuinely feel that support for people with mental health issues is today worse than ever. It seems to me that the
Anonymous no more – An important lesson I’ve learned
For over forty years I have been aware of Twelve Step programs. Initially they began as Alcoholics Anonymous. However, as the years went by they evolved into other types of anonymous programs. In those early days I was intimately involved
August 2014
Surrogacy and baby Gammy
What about the terrible case of that Down Syndrome surrogate baby born for an Australian couple in Thailand. When the Australian couple found out the baby was suffering Downs, they reportedly rejected it. It’s left the baby with an impoverished
July 2014
What makes for a homeless child?
At the opening of my radio program on Sunday night, July 20 I lit a candle in memory of the victims of Malaysian flight MH17. I invited listeners to, in solidarity with me and victims, light a candle too and
The line between “homelessness” and “not homeless” children is blurred
At the opening of my radio program on Sunday night, July 20 I lit a candle in memory of the victims of Malaysian flight MH17. I invited listeners to, in solidarity with me and victims, light a candle too and
For the homeless nothing ever changes in spite of all the rhetoric
Late last night, I found myself once again in the back blocks of Woolloomooloo, Sydney. My memories of Woolloomooloo forty years ago are clouded by mental images of rotting terrace houses and slum dwellings. I can vividly remember nightly walking
Touching the Infinite – Saturday, 28th June 2014
This past week has been really hard. I have been struggling. Next week I am off to Cambodia to work with the trafficked and abused kids there. I always come back after that with PTSD of a kind as what
June 2014
Albie turns 100
At this time of year, as the temperatures drop I am always asking people to spare a thought for the homeless. As you know, my Exodus Foundation’s Loaves & Fishes Free Restaurant provides almost a thousand meals daily to Sydney’s
Three Donations
A few years ago I received a phone call. “I’m a nurse in XY ward at The Royal Hospital. We have a patient here Mary Smith* who is dying. She has asked if you can come in and see her”.
And the little children suffered
I am so saddened, I really do not know what to say. The headline in the Australian newspaper really said it all. 796 Irish orphans in septic tank tomb ...... a researcher found records for 796 young children believed to
May 2014
Lest we Forget – Tiananmen Square 1989
You all know there are two things I value highly. One is the democratic society we live in and the other is freedom of the individual. Because I believe passionately in these, I feel I have to stand up and
Is welfare becoming a business – are NGO’s really saving any money and who’s reaping the benefits?
Welfare is becoming a business – like McDonalds - Are NGOs really saving any money and who’s reaping the benefits? Successive governments have decided to get out of welfare. They feel NGOs both church and secular can do it better
My response to the Budget
For the past week or so I have been in London getting my Big Picture Social Justice Film Festival off the ground. As you know, following its success in Sydney, Odeon Cinemas here have expressed interest in hosting it in
Upon Visiting the Bronte House – Haworth, Yorkshire
I gotta confess, I have never read any of the Bronte sisters works. Not Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, any of them. In a sexist kind of male way I probably felt they were more women’s books and while not actively
Doing freedom – it’s a hard job
You know, freedom is a wonderful thing. I’m sitting here in Balan’s coffee shop in Soho, London one sunny spring Saturday afternoon watching through the window the thousands of people who walk past up and down the street outside. I
Can you help me in these troubled times?
Because I am fairly well known through my welfare and media activities and not afraid to speak my mind and because I try very hard to do what I say I will do, people often approach me and ask for
Kids from The Hub in Bangkok
A few weeks ago I had to undergo a Hiatus Hernia operation. “Not very difficult”, I was told, it involved key-hole surgery and I would be out and about in no time. Which I was. A few weeks later I
The Kids of The Hub Bangkok just Grip my Heart
A few weeks ago I had to undergo a Hiatus Hernia operation. “Not very difficult”, I was told, it involved key-hole surgery and I would be out and about in no time. Which I was. A few weeks later I
April 2014
Post-Easter Musings – 2014
The last Sunday before Advent (the four weeks leading up to Christmas) is called the Sunday of Christ the King. On this Sunday the Bible reading has Jesus standing in the synagogue addressing the crowd. The Chief Priests and the
An Easter Meditation – 2014
Whatever opinions you have about Christianity you must agree that the events of that Easter two thousand years ago, however you see them to be, changed the world. Being a Christian minister I often think about the significance of Christianity
The Big Picture Film Festival all over for another year
What a great festival it has been! Firstly, I would like to thank everyone involved with this year’s Big Picture Film Festival. I think it was a triumph in all ways and the effects of watching these films both individually
March 2014
Musings – five days after the Royal Commission
It is five days now since I held Mary Farrell’s hand in the witness box of the Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse of Children while she gave evidence about the abuse she suffered at the hands of those who, as
Don’t get homeless in Darwin
When I first started taking in homeless kids in Ashfield, many of them came from Central Railway station in the city. Central Railway station is the hub where all the railway lines of NSW collide. Country and suburban. To go
February 2014
Suffer the little children to come unto me – not
Mary Farrell, a former Kings Cross runaway kid, asked me to sit beside her as she told her story to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. I was only too willing to agree. I first met
Governments failing to care
A few years ago, when my children were young, we bought them some pet mice from a pet shop. In our home we had a large fish tank and we put the mice with the little mouse house and treadmill
January 2014
I won’t resile from speaking up for the poor!
If anyone lives a vulnerable lifestyle today, it’s the poor, isn’t it? If you’re poor you have to struggle for every cent. You have to wait, queue, walk, starve and as well as that, negotiate a welfare system that was
Capital Punishment demeans us all!
That ”Good Ol’ United States” tag is really tarnished today, eh? That, for want of a more appropriate word, ‘execution’ of Dennis McGuire last week was disgusting, don’t you think? Now I know he was guilty of the rape and fatal
Thank you Barry O’Farrell
I just want to say “Thank you” to Barry O’Farrell and the NSW Government. Now of course the changes don’t go far enough but they appear to me to be a genuine attempt to begin to change a culture of
To Barry, a plea for Newcastle Solution today
Dear Barry, The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education has research from Newcastle to Norway to London showing a direct link between venue operating hours and increased levels of violence. That’s pretty conclusive, isn’t it and FARE is a very
Again: more live animal export horror stories!
Another day, another live animal export trade tragedy. This time we learn an incredible four months or 120 plus days later that in August, that’s right, last August over 4,000 sheep died of heat exhaustion whilst being shipped to Qatar
No wonder so many want nothing to do with religion
Yesterday, all Britain woke to a horror story which, I’m sure just added another one to a long list of reasons to have nothing to do with religion at all. In lots of ways we’re almost immune to it now,
When will the Booze industry wake up to itself?
So, Daniel Christie is no more. Although, it is not fair to say that as he will live forever more in the hearts of those who knew and loved him. I know that because that's how I feel about my
My long overdue tribute to Cliff – and my eternal gratitude
There are some people you are forever grateful for knowing and, as time goes on you realise the profound impact they have had on your life and how that has impacted on so many people. In my life I have
December 2013
George Street is the epicentre of Sydney’s drunken violence
I notice in todays SMH, it says George Street is now the epicentre of Sydney's drunken violence. A couple of weeks or so ago I had to drive into George St at Four O'clock in the morning. I went there
Let’s stop the cruel export of our live animals for overseas slaughter
Every now and then, a little shaft of light penetrates the darkness of what engulfs so much of our world today. During the week I was so pleased to read segments of a speech given by Ken Henry to Voiceless.
November 2012
Confessional mustn’t hide crime
I can understand why Premier Barry O'Farrell struggles with the fact that the Catholic Church might enable pedophiles to hide behind the secrecy of the Confessional. Barry, like most modern thinking people, sees the danger that represents. We in the
Church abuse and a Royal Commission
What a sorry state of affairs. I guess this is what comes of decades of lies, obfuscation and cover-up. Average people have been asking me just how far Church loyalty lends itself to cover-up. How far does it stretch it’s
November 2011
Is good management creating a moral vacuum?
In our western world we are suffering a crisis of genuine leadership because we are confusing good corporate management with good leadership. The two are totally separate and quite different. In many ways “management” is amoral; it works out the
August 2011
Perhaps I’m refreshing, perhaps I’m challenging?
This morning I preached at Killara Uniting Church on the topic of Jesus' words "Who do you say I am?" and in the context of the sermon I also about the work I do. Afterwards, Arthur, who ran the whole
If you’re Aboriginal it is quite probable the system will hold you back
I first became involved in Aboriginal issues in the very early 1970’s. At that time I made enduring friendships that last to this very day. I began working with Charlie Perkins and speaking alongside Aboriginal activists such as Gary Foley,