Loving Our Neighbours

SPECIAL EDITION

#2 2020

ACC COVID-19 COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Loving our neighbours

INSIDE: COMMUNITY NEWS, SNAPSHOTS & REPORTS FROM ACC CHURCHES

MEALS

HAMPERS

SURPRISES

MASKS

Loving our neighbours

W

e’ve will always remember 2020 – when Covid-19 radically changed the way we did church. I have felt incredibly proud of all our churches and how they stepped up to embrace and adjust to the sudden restrictions upon us. First of all, using technology and digital platforms to take our services online; and secondly, for looking beyond ourselves for innovative ways to reach others, particularly those in vulnerable positions.

This has been a time of recalibration, where instead of people coming to our church buildings, the Church has gone out to the people. We have found that our faith can be active 24-7, with every believer personally taking more responsibility for their own devotion and spiritual life, and the need to care for others.

Being confined to our homes, we have never had greater opportunity to demonstrate the command of Jesus to “love your neighbour”.

From the outset, we had to find innovative ways to care for people who were feeling the burden of Covid-19: for those who have been made redundant or unemployed; those struggling to get supplies; those in isolation and left alone; the elderly, and these essential workers on the frontlines.

Hearing the ways about how churches across our nation have reached out to their communities has been so inspiring. We may not have been able to go into people’s homes or physically connect with them, yet I love that the Church didn’t draw back but pressed forward with new and creative options for community engagement.

I pray that we will continue to build on the acts of kindness and goodwill, and that our streets and neighbourhoods will know that God loves them and the Church is here to help.

Thank you so much to every local church and their people for showing the love of Christ through their kindness and generosity.

– Wayne Alcorn ACC National President

FROM THE OUTSET, WE KNEW WE NEEDED TO FIND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO CARE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE FEELING THE BURDEN OF COVID-19.

– WAYNE ALCORN

Simple joys

A bear in our window! Just something Lyn wanted to do, to provide a little joy for local kids walking with their families...finding the teddy bears. (Though I must confess, it did give me a fright the first time I saw it. I thought it was a cat!)

Creative Connections

Kindness rules A little bit of kindness goes a long way. The starting point is often simply a friendly note to make a connection and make it known you are there for them. Many churches took the opportunity to let their community know they care and are there to help.

HOW CAN WE HELP? Riviera CC took the initiative to print ‘How can we help?’ cards that were inserted in the local newspaper and distributed far and wide throughout East Gippsland. Not only have they been a great service to our community, but they came to the attention of the local MP who promoted them which has led to other partnership opportunities with his office.

SPREADING KINDNESS Centro Church printed kindness cards for their congregation members to use. “Hey neighbour, this is an unusual time for us all. Let’s work together and look out for each other. If you are self-isolating, I can help with...” and a list of options.

Senior Pastor John Hunt said, “Through our kindness cards, we have found people unable to collect groceries, wash clothes due to broken machines or just in need of a chat. This moment has brought me personally a number of moments to pray for people that otherwise would not have happened.”

Thi n of y king ou

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS Sonrise Church in Perth,WA decided to be intentional about sharing and caring for others. They challenged their congregation to find FIVE people who they could pray for and bless in the week ahead through random acts of kindness. Ides included: • A call to check up on someone • Go shopping on behalf of someone • Drop off a meal to someone • Purchase flowers or a gift to leave on the doorstep as a surprise • Purchase a gift card towards essential supplies • Be intentional about smiling and greeting people you meet

‘YOU ARE LOVED’ MyCity Church in Boyne Island, Qld put love into action, involving practically doing something for someone across their city – gifting a cake, plant, new book or flowers, along with their ‘You are loved’ cards.

Essentials All over the country, the Community Care arms of local churches swung into action as the pandemic brought greater financial hardship, with many unable to afford essential items. Through partnerships with local suppliers and established pantries, many community care needs were met through local church initiatives.

Supplies EMERGENCY CARE UP 400% “Emergency hampers increased 400% since Covid-19,” said CityHope Senior Pastor Mark Edwards. “We received $46,000 of donated goods from Good360 and our CityHope Care teams were busy making up and delivering emergency care packages for thos in need in our community.”

SOURCING SUPPLIES Nexus Care provides emergency food relief to northern suburbs of Brisbane. Their partnerships with local organsations help with fresh start items and they sourced hard-to-find items like toilet paper.

The substance of love Brad Bonhomme is the Senior Pastor of Horizon Church, located in the south of Sydney.

‘

‘

The cool days of Autumn, for some, have only reinforced a sense of aloneness and need.

Job loss, financial strain, physical incapacity and enforced hotel quarantine are just some of the fall out of COVID19.

Horizon Church has a strong community arm which has included the provision of emergency meals. We felt, however, that the surge of new need as well as the deep desire of our people to provide practical solutions necessitated The Pantry Project.

Each day through the lockdown, our people have dropped pantry staples in our doorstop collection boxes. Each day ‘Pantry Packs’ have been distributed as we have become aware of people who need ‘a little extra’ right now. Our Care Department has been discreet in this, protecting people’s dignity and preserving their anonymity. As a church, this is as important to us as the material need.

One family receiving a pack commented, “The timing could not have been more perfect.

We are hanging on by a thread this week.” Another was so grateful to know that they were not forgotten – the delivery was met with tears. In addition to those who simply need a bit of a ‘pantry top up’ at a time of financial duress, the project has served returning expats connected to our church. Groceries and care goods delivered during their two weeks compulsory hotel quarantine are a small way that we have been able to demonstrate love at a time where a hurried return has created, in some cases, uncertainty and disorientation.

Perhaps it really is still the little things that make the biggest difference. Perhaps we are all longing to be that kind of neighbour. Sometimes we just need to be given the opportunity.

Hampers Thousands of care hampers have been delivered by local churches during the Covid-19 restrictions. Church teams packed beautiful hampers and found creative ways to deliver and drop off to those in need. Thank you to local church congregation members for their generosity, for dropping off non-perishable items or made online donations.

Beautiful hampers packed and delivered by Life & Legacy Church in Brisbane to bless those in need in their local community.

FILLED WITH LOVE RVTLS Church partnered with Convoy of Hope’s ‘Hope in Every Home’ campaign to help get thousands of hampers out to the most vulnerable in our communities.

HAMPERS FOR BUSHFIRE VICTIMS ACCI partnered with ACC churches in bushfire affected areas who continued to do many different acts of kindness to bless their communities. Some of these areas have been hit consecutively by drought, fires and then COVID-19, so it’s wonderful to be able to help these families out in many different ways.

DRIVE THROUGH SERVICE The Empower team at Lifepoint Church in South Australia packed fresh produce and bakery items into grocery bags, and handed them out through a drive-through service.

Lifepoint Church were also able to continue their fortnightly Community Morning Tea (drive-through-style) and blessed guests with fresh fruit & vegetables, bakery items, as well as Easter gift bags full of yummy treats! (And some toilet rolls if needed too!)

The Influencers Care initiative, supported by their congregation, filled many hampers for their local community in South Australia.

HUG IN A HAMPER The Nexus Care team prepared special hampers to go out to people in the Brisbane community who they would have liked to to high five and give a hug to. It might have been someone feeling lonely, someone working in an essential service and is pulling long hours, or a parent that could just use some love.

The ‘Hug in a Hamper’ was simply devised because it is a tough season for so many and some just needed a reminder that someone sees and cares.

Reaching Temora We are a very small ACC church in Regional NSW who were already hit hard by drought, but thankfully not the bushfires. My heart has always been for our community, and we say that as we leave the church ‘you are now entering your mission field’.

With the Covid-19 restrictions, we wondered what could we do to continue to show our community we care.

• Community contact: We have been intentional about phoning and keeping in touch with as many people as we can during this time.

• Care Packages: Congregation members contributed funds and we put together 24 bags of essential groceries (including a toilet roll and soap) and delivered them to a local self-care aged persons village. we were very grateful to Woolworths who allowed us to purchase above the two limit for this. The residents were so thankful to know they were being thought of. We continue to gather more groceries to deliver to others in need.

• Kids Club: We didn’t want to forget our youngsters (most of whom are not members of our congregation) during our forced recess - so we delivered Easter Packs to them on Easter Saturday.

• Healthcare - I am the Secretary of the local Hospital Board which during Covid time has kept me busy forwarding Health NSW info to our members; as well as meeting with Hospital staff. To support the staff. I delivered a bag of Easter Eggs and lollies prior to Easter and Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday.

• Sunday Ministry: Our local radio station commenced a weekly radio broadcast of local church sermons. It was a stretch learning how to put together a 30 minute segment with limited technology and technical knowledge. The station provided a two hour block from midday on Sundays so people can listen to one or more sermons during isolation restrictions.

‘

‘

Patricia Morris is the pastor of Kings Church in Temora, in the north-east of the Riverina area of NSW with a population of over 4,000.

It’s not the size of our church that matters but the impact and influence we can have on our community.

MEALS OF HOPE Hope UC partnered with other churches and groups across the NSW Central Coast and into the Hunter region to bring ‘Meals of Hope’ in the tough times.

Meals The daily struggle to put food on the table became very real as finances were tight and staple grocery items were in short supply. Making and providing cooked meals was a great blessing to those doing it tough.

MEALS DELIVERY In Melbourne, Neuma Church partnered with St James Richmond Café to deliver 170 meals to disadvantaged families doing it tough and to nurses at the Alfred Hospital.

COMMUNITY KITCHEN The Lighthouse Community Kitchen in Wollongong NSW kept serving delicious meals to the community – just a little differently to keep in line with restrictions. Great appreciation to all the community volunteers who made sure those without food would have enough!

HOMEMADE COOKIES Shane & George Baxter delivered homemade cookies to their neighbours. “So as I snoozed on the couch, Georgie made brownies and cookies for our whole Court,” said Shane. “I felt like ‘Father Sweet Tooth’ as we went from house to house, I wanted to go down the chimneys but we couldn’t get on to their roofs. Our neighbours were both surprised and thankful.”

Surprise visits There is nothing like a surprise delivery. Local churches took the initiative to make surprise visits on special occasions and ‘just because’ drop-offs to make people with health challenges feel loved.

Hospital cheer GIFTS FOR KIDS IN HOSPITAL Lifestyle Church delivered Easter gift packs to the children at Gladstone Hospital to enjoy over the Easter weekend. Each pack contained gifts, activity packs, chocolate and a little message of hope and encouragement. A nurse who is a member of the church helped make this possible.

DELIVERY FOR PATIENTS Calvary Sunshine Coast delivered Easter gift packs to the children and youth at the SCU Hospital. The church’s kids and youth pastors prepared baskets full of gifts, chocolate and encouraging messages.

FRESH FOR THE FAMILY Shout out to Encounter Church in Newcastle who, in partnership with Box Divvy- Wentworth, gave groceries and beautiful fresh produce to a local family who have a very sick little girl.

...AND FOR THE MUMS Beautiful Mother’s Day hampers for mums whose children are in the Brisbane Children’s hospital were delivered by Hope Centre for Mother’s Day - to let these special mums know they’re not forgotten.

Driveway drop-offs To bring some joy to kids at home in isolation over the Easter school holidays, local church kids teams added some fun with surprise drop-offs on the driveways of local families.

Deliveries from Zion Church in Darwin brought Easter cheer to families in local Palmerston and rural areas.

The Church Unlimited kids team were very busy with the Easter Bunny visiting 52 homes in the lead up to Easter.

Edwin the Easter Bunny from Metro Church Gold Coast brought smiles and chocolate bunnies to local kids.

Aged care SUPERHEROES NEEDED Centrepoint Church in Perth put the call out early for superheroes – healthy shoppers willing to go shopping once a week on behalf of others to purchase groceries for elderly people in their community. The church partnered with the government to help those in complete isolation.

SONGS FOR THE ELDERLY Two members of the Hope Centre worship team stood in the car park of a local retirement village, playing and singing favourite hymns and choruses to bring good cheer.

Aid & Assistance

Frontline support Showing appreciation and practical support for the frontline workers from the community has meant so much to healthcare workers, police, teachers and everyone providing essential services. Let’s keep praying for them and cheering them on for the selfless jobs they do.

SUPPLYING MASKS RVTLS Church (Sydney) sourced boxes of facemasks through their partnership with Convoy of Hope. “Keeping the frontline safe is a top priority because these are the people who are trying to keep all of us safe,” said Senior Pastor Joel A’Bell. “We had the opportunity to drop 3,500 masks to St George hospital to protect the people who are protecting our community. This hospital had run out of masks so you can see why they are so grateful!”

APPRECIATION & PRAYERS Calvary Townsville took the time to celebrate those in the medical profession: The biggest THANK YOU to all of our healthcare workers serving in our communities. We love and appreciate you all and are praying for Gods protection to be over you all!

ADOPTING HEALTHCARE WORKERS Taking up the challenge in the local media, Energizer Church in Tasmania supported their local healthcare workers.

Beyond our borders ACCI RELIEF RESPONSE ACCI Relief has responded to the current global health crisis of COVID-19 in various parts of the world. Unfortunately a crisis such as this often disproportionally affects those living in poverty. ACCI Relief are working closely with our field workers and partners as they outwork activities aimed at preventing the spread of the disease and providing emergency support to families in crisis.

SOAP & SANITATION FOR FAMILIES Kelvin & Rebecca are busier than ever on the mission field helping more than 1,870 families with soap and sanitation. This is an enormous help as it means they no longer have to choose between feeding their family or good hygiene!

“All our missionaries are responding to the virus crisis providing information, soap, sanitizer and food for the needy. They have creatively used every means possible to continue ministering, teaching, leading, advising, mentoring and supporting their teams, churches and communities. Thank you to everyone who has supported their work. In these times our field workers are needed more than ever!”

– Alun Davies, ACCI Director

FEEDING RURAL AFRICAN COMMUNITIES The team at Calvary South Africa planned, prepared and distributed food within a 72 hour period to 1,033 people in three rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Calvary Senior Pastor Dustan Bell, said, “This will feed 150+ families for four weeks, seeing households through the nationwide lockdown period.”

FOOD FOR INDIA Heritage Church in Katherine, Northern Territory, have been supporting a church in India that was invited by the Central Government to assume responsibility for feeding 500 hungry familes. They bought pallets of rice,and 50kg bags of Dahl for distribution. This food gives the Indian church access to Hindu and Muslim families who are often stunned that Christians would want to help them! The goodness of God leads men to repentance (Rom 2: 4).

Seeing the need

Identifying needs CARE PACKS IN RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Cityhope Care responded to circumstances related to Domestic and Family Violence, providing Cityhope Care Packs for children entering care due to risk of/or exposure to harm/ abuse.

Packs were also available to support families facing an unexpectant health crisis, such as ndividuals with love ones entering intensive care units in our hospitals, due to unexpectant trauma injuries/ health matters.

To date, over $500,000 worth of Cityhope Care Packs have been created. These have headed out to our community including to Toowoomba, Gold Coast and the Scenic Rim.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS iSee Church teams in Queensland and Adelaide were busy shopping, packing and delivering hampers to help support international students who were struggling on their own during restrictions.

Thinking outside the box and seeing needs beyond the obvious, takes caring for the ‘invisible people’ to new levels.

Those who were struggling in silence behind closed doors were reminded that God sees and loves them through the acts of kindness from local churches.

CENTRELINK LINES Neuma Church in Melbourne saw the need to bless those queuing up at Centrelink. Those waiting in the lines received a coffee from Neuma.

GIFTS FOR WOMEN IN PRISON Desert Life Church in Alice Springs prepared lovingly hand-crafted gift bags as Mother’s Day Prison gifts.

HELPING THOSE WITH EMPLOYMENT Recognising that individuals who lost jobs and families on tighter budgets in these tough economic times needed more than donations, Hillsong held basic budgetting courses to build up confidence and dignity as well as a seven week course about securing the right job in and after a crisis included focus on reinventing your career and building a great resume.

FAMILIES IN QUARANTINE ACCI provided care and support for the missionary families who returned to Australia from overseas. Rachel and her three kids had to spend two weeks in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel before being reunited with Josh in Brisbane. ACCI provided a large care package to help them get through 14 days in a hotel room.

MOBILE SHOWERS FOR THE HOMELESS Pastor Ben Dacey and the shower truck team from Hope Centre took to the streets, giving dignity and providing desperately needed hygiene services to Brisbane’s homeless.

Working with reduced team members, with ramped up cleaning processes meant that they could repsond to the call from community leaders to serve the homeless and disadvantaged people in these challenging times.

Thank you.

Thank you to every ACC local church and their congregation whose generosity, love and care has brought smiles and made a difference in thousands of lives during the COVID-19 restrictions.

Let’s continue to find new ways to love our neighbours and serve our communities in the days ahead as we bring the love of Jesus to the world.

Wit h love

The ACC EMAG Newsletter is produced and distributed by the ACC National Office.

ACC National Office, PO Box 8093, Norwest NSW 2153. Enquiries: editor@acc.org.au