VISTA
therecord.com.au December 11, 2013
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Paul Morrison, back row at right, has been a big part of the West Coast Eagles’ work in Cambodia over the past few years. In 2011, he recorded Picking Up The Pieces, a song inspired by the club’s trip which raised more than $50,000 to build a school in the Koh Kong province. Earlier this year, he recorded Love Lead Us Home to raise funds to build a second school. PHOTO: COURTESY WEST COAST EAGLES
Missionary to the football nation AFL club chaplain Paul Morrison says we urgently need to reach out to those in sports, as Matthew Biddle explains...
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USTRALIANS are arguably the most sport-obsessed people in the world. Whether it’s watching or playing, sport has become a mainstay of most Australians’ weekends, and has perhaps taken the place of organised religion in their weekly schedules. It’s an unfortunate fact, but one that we should use as an opportunity to engage with sporting fanatics, according to West Coast Eagles’ chaplain, Paul Morrison. Known simply as Morro, particularly in his role as program host for radio station Sonshine FM, the 41-year-old spoke to The Record recently about his role with the Eagles and the benefits of sports chaplaincy. “The opportunity for mission in sport is huge, that’s what I’m passionate about,” he says energetically. “I think it’s a growing mission field in Australia. If you look up the statistics of who goes to church as compared to who’s involved in organised sport every week, the contrast is amazing. “Rather than being afraid of it, it’s an opportunity for the Church to embrace it and... pastor to those in sports.” In an increasingly secular society where broken families are common, Morro says sporting clubs are desperate for the guidance that a chaplain can provide, particularly to the youth. “These kids look up to their coach, but the kids have got mums and dads who are having relationship issues, they’ve got addiction issues, and so they’re all going to the coach for help,” he says. “The clubs are saying ‘Send us a chaplain, we need people to give pastoral care to these people that are hurting, they’ve got life issues’.” A need for someone to provide spiritual support and guidance extends to those playing at the top level, as Morro knows firsthand. He joined the Eagles in 2009, shortly after the club had faced
numerous off-field issues regarding drug and alcohol abuse. “I remember praying with my kids in the car for Ben Cousins when I heard on the radio he had got into some trouble,” he recalls. “In a way I was already investing spiritually without knowing that around the corner this opportunity was coming up.” The chance to be a chaplain at the AFL club seemed to be the perfect role for Morro, who himself chose God over a potential football career. “I grew up playing footy in a country town,” he says. “I was the captain of my school team, but my parents were devout Christians and
“If you look up the statistics of who goes to church as compared to who’s involved in organised sport every week, the contrast is amazing. Rather than being afraid of it, it’s an opportunity for the Church to embrace it.” wouldn’t let me play on a Sunday.” Aged 15, Morro faced a difficult decision between playing football or going to church on Sundays. “I knew the fifth commandment was to honour your parents, so I made a decision to honour mum and dad, and I started playing basketball because it was on a weeknight,” he says. Although his choice may have ended his football aspirations, he’s now playing an important role at West Coast. “I’m passionate about sport and music, but my two real loves are God and people,” Morro says. A talented songwriter and guitarist, Morro has recorded two tracks with Eagles’ players and
their parents, with proceeds going towards two Cambodian schools the club has helped build. During the football season, Morro joins players on the training track, kicking footballs with the team and assisting with drills. He says joining the group was the best way for him to be able to relate to the players as a chaplain. “Blokes connect more when they’re doing something, so I decided to go to a couple of main training sessions a week,” he says. “They all hassle me about my kicking style, but I have a lot of fun.” Morro, who worked as a mechanic previously, says kicking a football with the players is a concrete way of speaking their language, which helps his relationship with each individual. “If you were to think of it in Christian terms, any missionary who enters a foreign environment would learn the language,” he says. “So if you can speak their language, which is football, that’s the most obvious contact point to start with, and then work back from there.” Aside from helping at training, Morro says the main part of his role is to simply be available when players or staff need a listening ear. “It’s just relationships, one-onone, I send a lot of text messages, and catch up with guys for coffee,” he says. “If guys have got issues they might give me a call and say ‘Morro do you want to catch up and have a chat?’” He says one of the biggest challenges when he first arrived at the club was dispelling “Christian stereotypes”. “For the first few years, you’re just continually trying to break that stereotype, to show I’m just a bloke like you,” Morro says. “As the years have gone by, you become more of a fixture around the club.” Although removing the stereotypes was a difficult process, Morro says believing in his own value as a chaplain is even harder. “Because the role is voluntary and because everyone else has an office
Paul Morrison performing Love Lead Us Home at Pattersons Stadium in Subiaco in June this year to a crowd of more than 36,000. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
and a title and is on the pay role, the biggest challenge is believing enough in what you’re contributing,” he says. “You have to walk in every single time and back yourself, having confidence that you’ve got something worthwhile to contribute.” Morro says his interactions with the players tend to revolve around questions regarding their family life and off-field well-being. “There’s a lot of pressure on these guys,” he says. “It affects them, their partners, their mums and dads, their extended family, it’s a lot of pressure. “I talk to the boys about keeping perspective about who they are outside of footy, who they are as a person. Their self-worth has got to be based more on greater things than how many kicks you get on the weekend.” Although he can’t kick goals for the Eagles on the field, Morro is
adamant that having a club chaplain positively affects the team’s performance. “If the players are not harbouring unforgiveness or unseen pressures and all that kind of stuff that’s causing stress in their internal world, I have no doubt that it affects their on-field performance,” he says. For those who enjoy sports and are devoted to God, Morro says sports chaplaincy is an ideal combination of the two. “If you love sport, you love people, and you love God, combine your passions and get out there, join your local netball team just to be the chaplain,” he says. “We’ve all got gifts and abilities and ultimately they’re for the glory of God and so for me to use my passion for footy and my love of music and combine it with God and people has just been an awesome privilege and blessing.”