A few weeks ago, I was able to head out to Bathurst for a day to help some people set up an independant Christian shop. It was such a fun day, spent with some great colleagues, and having fun with an amazing amount of space trying to make products look good enough for people to buy!
The best bit though was the community feel of the space! The space I was looking after happened to be the shop front window (yippeeee!) which meant I was in a position to be the one people spoke to when they walk past, parked in front of, popped out of their shop front, or, because the local paper was at the corner, receive the business card of one of the writers!
It was so fun to talk to people who came by asking what was going on, giving tips and pointers, encouragement (you're in a great location), or hmm... it's a quiet street...! One was really pleased and committed to praying for the shop, and people working there, while another was going to tell everyone at church all about it!
In all, it was a lovely day of seeing community at work and at its best. Positive, encouraging, helpful, and connected. While I have been part of commnity, I haven't really been part of such a connected community for a long time, so realised again that I missed it.
Hopefully new opportunities will unfold for communities, especially as my footsteps take me to new places, and away from the community I have started to become part of where I am living now, but till then... I guess community it where you make it, and we need it here and I am enjoying supporting and encouraging these amazing people as they pursue the challenge of making this amazing shop a success:)
I have to say though, that every time I think about it, the theme song to Cheers comes to mind..:)
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