Like worshipping with rock-stadium lighting and mega bass? Great! You'll love worshipping at…read moreHillsong Church. It's got the intensity of a U2 concert and with songs that are instantly singable this is the place to raise your voice and your hands and go for some heaven-touching worship. The ushers are super friendly and welcoming even if like me you enter from the garage at the side on Danks Street. Looking around the packed auditorium I noticed people from just about every nation on earth here. It's definitely not a place anyone would feel out of place with a multi-cultural, largely young and vibrant crowd attending. You would be hard pressed to hear a dud, boring message at Hillsong with lots of international visiting speakers giving the locals a constantly new and fresh feast of solid spiritual teaching. Every sermon created to uplift, inspire, motivate and be totally relevant to modern day-to-day life in the city. And each message is always big on humour and take-home-points - a nice touch. And this church runs to clock-like precision - where time is valued and honoured. Not a moment is wasted or empty. Each service is 1.5 hours and it starts bang on time. And ends the same way. This church is bursting at the seems and so the garage is converted to a cafe and meet and greet area complete with a BBQ grill serving bacon and egg rolls for a couple of dollars. Another nice touch. No car? No worries. The thing that most impressed me from my very first visit was the Hillsong buses from Central station. I joined the very long line at Central Station and jumped on one of these busses - and I recall that day it was raining so on arrival there were greeters with umbrellas offering commuters shelter from the storm. Yet another nice touch. With lots of weekend services to choose from on Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday night you won't have an excuse to miss out on a great time at Hillsong church.

When did going to church become one big Coldplay concert?…read more My dear old mum wanted to give Hillsong a shot to see what all the fuss was about, so I went with her to their Waterloo campus, and man, has Christianity found it's feet in the 21st century. It's unrecognisable from the Catholic Church I knew as a kid. For starters, it's in a big industrial warehouse, not a sombre, architecturally splendid old gothic church. It was rammed, completely overflowing with people, and they were all between 20-30, unlike the two old pensioners and a cat in a handbag you get at some suburban traditional services. People were losing their minds with enjoyment, hands in the air, closed eyes, fist bumps, hugs, grins, spontaneous cries of jubilation. As opposed to the shh-don't-talk sobriety of an old pastor mumbling his way through some scripture while the congregation nods off. There's a cafe on site, they do hot dogs, there's free bibles, there's a band on stage, there's lights, action, singing - so.much.singing - and every part of the complex there's meeters and greeters and huggers and holders and everyone's in expensive trainers and scoop neck t-shirts and beanies, yes beanies! In a church! I know, right?!

I should mentioned that I know two of the and previous rectors of this church quite well, so I'm…read moreprobably a little biased, but not in a bad way. I've actually been here a couple of times, namely to pop in and say hello to them, but to also check out their services. I actually found that this place was pretty friendly, and they were more than happy to welcome me, even though I was basically just a visitor. It's a pretty good church, though I should mention that it's probably only good for families and younger people, if you are an older single or a childless couple, then you probably will find some difficulty fitting in.

Hope Sydney is friendly and welcoming, an excellent international church with great music and…read morevaluable teaching.

Architecturally, this is a great building and definitely one of the important and recognizable…read morebuildings in Sydney. Located right next to Sydney Town Hall, this cathedral is in great condition and is a unique building with great gothic design. While I didn't get the chance to enter the cathedral, I did admire the exterior of the building. There is some seating outside so it's a great spot to rest, eat, meet or reflect...even in the seating areas outside the cathedral, one can see the bustle of the CBD, but still feel a bit removed from everything...pretty cool!

For those who are here for the architecture, it's a gorgeous building. It's one of the oldest…read morecathedrals in Australia. As a church, it's also lovely. I've been on Sunday evenings. As it's late considering Sunday evening prep, haven't stuck around but sense that it's close knit, but not exclusive. I have always left with great food for thought which is entirely connected to modern society. There is q & a at the end. I'm surprised and impressed that the parishioners are so diverse in age, background, etc as the whole thing really appeals to my ever-questioning side. On Wednesday evenings, they have the healing ministry. This has been such a game changer. Can't fully articulate the positive impact this has had. For me, it is stripped of everything that's generally put me off with church. I love that they have people to pray with you if you wish, without it being overly touchy feely and intrusive. I'm not going to edit this until later because I'm lazy like that.

Do you love cathedrals? I do!!…read more After seeing St. Mary's Cathedral from the Sydney Tower and several times on the Hop On/Hop Off Bus, I knew that I had to try to visit it on our last day in Sydney. So glad that I was able to spend some time exploring this beautiful spiritual landmark. Located across from Hyde Park, St Mary's Cathedral is unusual among large cathedrals. Due to its size, the plan of the city and the way the land falls around it, it is oriented in a north-south axis. The cathedral is laid out in a traditional English cathedral plan with a cruciform shape. Love the towers, naves, spires and transepts. The cathedral is constructed in local sandstone. The Gothic Revival style of its architecture pays respect to the great medieval cathedrals of Europe. It was built in phases starting in 1866. The spires were added most recently in 2000. The design draws on many architectural elements. The long nave looks like many medieval English cathedrals while the entrance facade with the twin towers and a central rose window looks more like Notre Dame de Paris, a typical French Gothic cathedral. Walk around the cathedral to see many medieval elements of European Gothic cathedrals. Flying buttresses. Canopies. The text of the Ave Maria. Statues of saints. Towers. Turrets. Menacing gargoyles. Inside the cathedral, you will feel enveloped with the tranquility and richness of the church. As you enter the main doors, you may feel the pull to enter and absorb the stunning views along the length of the nave. The columns and vaulted ceilings of the main arcade are constructed of the same warm local sandstone as the exterior and interior walls. So beautiful. So inviting. Look around to see more saintly statues, chapels and stunning stained-glass windows. Light a candle. Make a donation. Enjoy the peace and tranquility of this sacred space in the early morning on a warm summer day. Truly a beautiful and historic cathedral to visit while exploring Sydney.

Copy and pasted from their website: "St Mary's Cathedral…read morestands on the site of the first Catholic Chapel in Australia. Constructed in local sandstone, the Gothic Revival style of its architecture is reminiscent of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe." Quality/Quantity - Beautiful cathedral, both inside and outside. See pictures. Atmosphere - They were having Mass when we arrived, so to not interrupt, we did not stay. But again, what a beautiful cathedral both inside and outside. Copy and pasted from their website, as I can NOT say it better: "The stained-glass windows in the Cathedral were crafted in England, at the Hardman studios of Birmingham, from 1881 onwards. In the area of the Sanctuary and transepts, the windows mostly depict the 15 "mysteries of the Rosary", climaxing in the great north window with the "Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The windows in the nave mostly show scenes from the New Testament, and the first four on each side also show notable moments in the history of the Church in Sydney prior to completion of the Cathedral. The 14 large oil paintings of the Stations of the Cross were acquired by Cardinal Moran in 1885 during a visit to Europe, and hung in the aisles near the sanctuary prior to the extension of the Cathedral. In 1997, the Canadian organ builders, Orgues LeTourneau, were commissioned to build a large new organ to be located in the west transept. This splendid 46 stop instrument was installed and blessed just prior to Christmas, 1999." Service - N/A. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since pre 1865, when a fire burned down the previous cathedral.

I was at the Church last night for "Medicine Rhythm presents Water" a music and dance event to kick…read moreoff "Mindful in May", a month-long mediation fundraising "festival". The Church itself is pretty cool, and it's great that it lends itself to such positive spiritual celebrations. The large, serene space with raised platforms at the front was a good fit for the event. Some of the artwork on the walls was a bit off-putting, though, I thought. The event itself was a mixed bag for me. I'll be the first to admit: this is not my scene. I've been purposely trying in the last few years to not limit my exposure to things. And this was a very happy and positive celebration, with music and dancing and everyone trying to produce a good vibe. And raising money for Charity: Water, a charity I myself helped with fundraising when I helped organise the 2010 Twestival. I liked the ambient band that greeted us, the Yelp Elite group, on arrival. And I thought the taiko drummers were fantastic. I could have listened and danced to them all night. And I liked some of the calm, quite moments; I think cultivating a restful mind is something more people should do. But ultimately the sage smoke blessing, the belief in connectedness, the water dance, and the general spiritual beliefs going on amongst everyone else were something I couldn't share. I am a (former) scientist and a materialist. And I had a sick wife at home. So I slipped our partway through. It looked like people so inclined were having a great time, so I think the event went well. Good for them. The focus of the night was on water, and besides all the mystical attributes that were given to H2O there was a brief statement about not using water in ways that were harmful. The examples given for this were fracking and adding fluoride to it. As a scientist and a materialist I can get behind the fracking thing. But railing against fluoridated water? That's pure anti-scientific ignorance.

Another Elite event. Was (and still am) grateful to have been invited to the "Medicine Rhythm…read morepresents Water" event to kick off the Mindfulness in May event, where all of us are encouraged to meditate for 10 minutes a day in May...all it takes to find some inner peace and joy in a hectic, busy world. My five stars goes to both the venue (Paddington Uniting Church) as well as to the event in equal measures, yet more so to the event. It felt like a nightclub inside, and despite a full house the space was just right. Enough room for some 'big kids' to play, as if we are swimming in a sea of water. The 'water' was cleansing us up and lubricating our joints, as in a form of meditation. All of the Yelp family agreed that it was a different, yet amazingly a cleansed and a great Saturday night spent out on the town. Loud, fast music surprisingly attuned to meditating, and a nightclub like vibe with a few bright lights and happy, enlightened people (for a change) was refreshing. So cool, words cannot explain. We arrived at 7pm, and Linda and I left at 10:45pm while we both started to get sleepy after some more dancing, and had to rely on public transport to get us home. I slept like a baby afterwards with glitter (the last remnants) on my face to prolong the occasion with a wash and a cleanse this morning. Kings Cross did not seem so full on after all... Oh, and speaking of cleansing, some sage smoke was poured around some of us in tandem with drinking some milky spinach upon arrival. Some ethical food was available, and the salad was unique. Great organic chocolate samples too. Acai berries anyone? Yes they were on sale too with a bottle of soul water to cool us down from the heat of the water inside, protecting us from the super chilly weather outside. The fans had to be used too. Sweat, love and water brought us into a state of trance and gratitude for life. It worked. The night made all the difference to hopefully scoring my second book publishing contract. I have just finished, 31,000 words in a record five days, voila...I have now just finished writing my fourth book on the back of this, and the deadline is next week, from something I have just been invited for in my business, and this event helped with one paragraph on spirituality. Thank you, the two more powerful words we can ever say, and this is what last night was all about. See, it pays to be Elite. Thank you so much to Ben and to Yelp Sydney. Pity none of us could stay right to the end. If that's awareness in April, kick starting a mindfulness month, then we're in for a meditative treat...May will be busy...yep...with other meditative events like Vivid Sydney and the like, phew. And sorry I could not take any pictures, my phone did not last as long as I did yesterday, and that is now saying something! Other attendees, please feel free to post your pictures on this review! Danke.