When the Rev Gordon Boughton walked out of Malabar's local cake shop, he made it clear it was his neighbours he was shopping for.
Mr Boughton, senior assistant minister of St Mark's, Malabar, and his wife Lay Lee made yesterday's Neighbour Day their own as they held an afternoon tea for their street, inviting neighbours in the fortnight beforehand.
"I'm holding this partly to thank some of my neighbours, who mowed my lawn when I was in hospital last year, but also as a way of making contact with others in my street as part of Connect09," he says.
Over 25 neighbours came along, and found the experience so worthwhile that they are now talking about holding a street party in the park at the end of the road.
Bishop Rob Forsyth, enthusiastic about the potential the event holds for connections, wrote to all senior clergy in the South Sydney region alerting them to Neighbour Day as a Connect09 opportunity.
"It's a nice way of adding a little something to Connect09," he said.
"They mustn't use it directly evangelistically, but simply to say ‘we're neighbours too and we want to be part of the neighbourhood’ " it's a great opportunity to do that."
The day was created by Andrew Heslop, whose concern for a decline in community values has been motivated partly by the story of Elsie Brown, whose death in her home in a Melbourne suburb went unnoticed for two years.
"We're very happy to talk to friends on the other side of the world, but we are not enthusiastic about talking to someone a couple of metres away," Mr Heslop told the Southern Courier recently.
An easy challenge
Rector of St Mark's, Malabar, the Rev Andrew Moore says he gladly promoted the day, encouraging members to hold their own afternoon teas, street parties or barbecues to get to know their neighbours.
"Malabar has a village atmosphere to it in the sense that many people go to the same local shops and so it does have a community feel, and yet there is also a very profound disconnection between neighbours, which the older generation lament," he says.
"We want to be as natural as we can with sharing our love for Christ with others and Neighbour Day gives you permission to do that because it's saying, "get to know your neighbours" and ‘look out for each other’.”
Parishioner Robyn McCarthy also took up the challenge, handing out invitations in her street, along with an article about Neighbour Day.
She invited neighbours to bring fold-up chairs and their own cold drinks, while offering them tea, coffee and home-made slices and a chance to chat.
At least 20 turned up on the day.
"We just had a garage sale and we enjoyed that all our neighbours came to see us then. So I thought, this is another thing that can sow seeds for communication," she says.
"We may not have deep theological discussions on the afternoon but we get to know them better and they know we go to church, so that when they want to talk about something more, they know we’re available."
While Robyn is only one of two who took up the opportunity at St Mark’s, Mr Moore says Neighbour Day is an achievable hassle-free event the parish will aim to do more often.
"For some people, doorknocking freaks them out " but they could do Neighbour Day," he says.
"You don't have to organise much " you just put a table out and invite people over."
The creation of this nationwide event is yet another indication that the Connect09 is scratching where the community is itching, Bishop Forsyth indicates.
"It's interesting that the word "Connect' is everywhere at the moment and not just from us," he says.
"Our Connect09 is part of a wider sense in which people are looking for community."
Photo: Scott Webster
