Why ‘Riverbank’?
Riverbank’s Name
“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
The book of Ezekiel 47:12
Riverbank was founded on the text above.
Riverbank’s founder once shared these thoughts which help convey some of what this text looks like when lived through Riverbank:
“One of the questions we often get asked when people first meet us is ‘why “Riverbank”?’ It’s not a name, I suppose, that you instantly associate with families or women! But names are important. They are part of who we are, our identity; they mark out our place and existence in the world. So let me tell you about ours.
We love our name. In our beautiful borough of Richmond we have a river that winds its way through our community and along its banks are bars, houses, footpaths, parks, life in all its rich tapestry and colour. Some parts are dirty, some bits are a mess. At some points the rivers swells and rushes, other parts are calm and gentle. For us it is such a picture of the lives of many of the women and families we meet. There is much turbulence at times, there is mess and pain but there is also hope and beauty and joy and it is our pleasure and privilege to be those who walk alongside each mum we meet, on the bank of their river, through whatever season she may pass through. Through homelessness, through debt, through addiction, through the pain of past abuses and memories that still haunt.
We believe that Riverbank has been named to be a ministry of God’s love to those who are used to being abandoned, used to being treated with shame and disrespect, and it is our passion and purpose as we walk alongside single mothers to care for everyone with respect, dignity, and love as people made and passionately loved by God.”
— Ellie, Riverbank Founder