Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
It's an misty Sunday morning in Sydney and I'm sitting in my favourite chair in the lounge room, laptop on my knees. There is a fledgling noisy miner on my window sill. He's chirping away loudly and his parents have just responded by feeding him a tasty grub. Perfect way to start the day.
Yesterday was our church market day that we hold twice a year. We need to fundraise to make ends meet, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pay the minister and the electric bill. Also, it is a great way to interact with our local community, many of who look forward to each event, not just for all of the homemade cakes and the cheap second hand goods, but also for the general atmosphere which we try to keep warm and welcoming.
It is exhausting for the church members, most of whom are getting on in years. For five hours of trading on a Saturday people have been working all week to sort and display goods donated to us or to bake/prepare for the cake stall and kitchen café. The church building is transformed from its usual purpose into a market, chairs removed, folding tables set up, gazebos on the front lawn, BBQ at the front fence etc and after we close down, everything is cleared away and in two hours the building resembles a place of worship again. I'm always amazed by the efficiency of this operation. When it is all over, tired as we certainly are, it feels very, very good.
In my reflective mood I'm thinking that it is great to belong to a community of people who come together for a common purpose and who work side by side for a cause. For all of my working life I had this because I was a high school teacher. Teaching could be seen as a solitary occupation because most of the time it's just you and your class but there are many occasions when you work as a team - the swimming and sports carnivals, school camps, fundraisers, school dances etc. Outside of paid work I've always belonged to some sort of community organisation where the same social cohesion was present - leader in a youth club and volunteer management committee for child care centres. Hubby and I served together on a committee that set up a new child care centre from scratch - talking to the architect, employing the staff and furnishing the building. We stayed on through all of the early years until it was well established and financially viable.
I'm following the example set by my mother and aunts and my daughter is following suit so it is at least a three generation way of life.
How important is community to you? Are you a member of any groups that satisfy your need to belong somewhere?
Yesterday was our church market day that we hold twice a year. We need to fundraise to make ends meet, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pay the minister and the electric bill. Also, it is a great way to interact with our local community, many of who look forward to each event, not just for all of the homemade cakes and the cheap second hand goods, but also for the general atmosphere which we try to keep warm and welcoming.
It is exhausting for the church members, most of whom are getting on in years. For five hours of trading on a Saturday people have been working all week to sort and display goods donated to us or to bake/prepare for the cake stall and kitchen café. The church building is transformed from its usual purpose into a market, chairs removed, folding tables set up, gazebos on the front lawn, BBQ at the front fence etc and after we close down, everything is cleared away and in two hours the building resembles a place of worship again. I'm always amazed by the efficiency of this operation. When it is all over, tired as we certainly are, it feels very, very good.
In my reflective mood I'm thinking that it is great to belong to a community of people who come together for a common purpose and who work side by side for a cause. For all of my working life I had this because I was a high school teacher. Teaching could be seen as a solitary occupation because most of the time it's just you and your class but there are many occasions when you work as a team - the swimming and sports carnivals, school camps, fundraisers, school dances etc. Outside of paid work I've always belonged to some sort of community organisation where the same social cohesion was present - leader in a youth club and volunteer management committee for child care centres. Hubby and I served together on a committee that set up a new child care centre from scratch - talking to the architect, employing the staff and furnishing the building. We stayed on through all of the early years until it was well established and financially viable.
I'm following the example set by my mother and aunts and my daughter is following suit so it is at least a three generation way of life.
How important is community to you? Are you a member of any groups that satisfy your need to belong somewhere?
