Attracting many new community contacts, Mowbray Anglican Church successfully launched a new event in their church's calendar in 2008: the Christmas Night Market.

"We wanted to expand our outreach," said organiser, Lauren Smith. "After three years of Gingerbread House evenings, we found we were getting the same people. We hoped to reach a wider range."

Some Sydney Anglican churches, such as Leichhardt, have used fair trade markets to build a community presence. Mowbray have taken this to another level.

Inviting charitable and fair trade organisations to set up tables of merchandise, the church asked locals to come and shop for Christmas. Each shopper paid a $5 entry fee, received a carry bag and freely browsed stalls from World Vision, Tribes and Nations, Cambodia House, Canaan Fair Trade, Ethica Accessories and Jewels of Hope. 

There were many highlights but, for Lauren, the greatest was the sight of new friends taking Christian reading material from the "freebies stall' from which shoppers could help themselves.

"We chose the stalls based on the interests and the values of the people in our church. We wanted to get as many people involved as possible," said Lauren. "We were thrilled to see the way our people from different congregations embraced it."

"The result was a friendly evening, where people saw a community of Christians caring for others around the world."

All proceeds from the evening went to the charities represented.

The evening featured a talk from Jasmine Lee, a member of a neighbouring parish, who grew up in Hong Kong and has just completed a Masters degree at SMBC. She spoke about Christian charity and the great gift Jesus has for us all.

The market helped kick off a busy weekend of community contact for Mowbray: after a brief Sunday morning service the congregation began doorknocking for the Anglicare Toys'n'Tucker campaign.

If anyone had been skeptical about the way the event would run, their reservations had disappeared by Sunday morning.

"We're encouraged about what we've learnt. We'll be building on our experience to make the event even better in 2009," said Lauren.

Sharing Resources to Connect
The Rev Tim Costello,
Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Australia

Wonderfully, Connect09 has inspired churches to look to their wider communities, seeking opportunities to reach out and to genuinely connect.

Yet with congregations of already overburdened, time-poor Christians, some churches may feel nervous about generating new events and new activities.

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Rather than initiating new programs and trying to attract visitors, it might be wiser to look at some of the existing events that appeal to people outside the church door.

With the basic structure and ideas in place, we can use our creativity to adapt them to our particular circumstances.

Like many other worthy organisations, World Vision Australia already has a calendar of events and programs that have a good base of support with people from all walks of life.

The well-known 40-Hour Famine, Child Sponsorship and SMILES Christmas Gift Catalogue programs sit alongside partnerships with other groups, such as the Micah Challenge in June and Stand Up for Poverty in October.

The Maternal and Child Health campaign (February) and the Don't Trade Lives campaign against slave labour (November) are morally important for Christians to support.

Even in this short list, there are lots of opportunities to get people involved and to connect with the community's desire to make a difference in the world. We are about demonstrating Christian love and concern for the world's poor and marginalised. There are many concerned Australians out there who are willing to join the cause. Let's team up with them and help them to meet Jesus in the process.

It is a gospel where our own salvation is so rich and freeing that we are provoked into action. It is a call to do justice, show mercy and walk with God. It is a call to a new way of living, which can change everything.

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