By: Jer
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend our local library’s 50th anniversary celebration. If you can imagine, it’s one of the smaller libraries in Toronto. They held the actual celebration in the basement with some fold up chairs. The head librarian shared a few words and then they invited a speaker who shared about the history of the Don Mills area when it was all farm land (just a bit over 50 years ago!).
Because it’s actually my local library, I’m quite familiar with the staff there and they know my kids. The head librarian also works closely with the Hub and knows a few of us from church. What struck me was how happy they were to see us there. Our presence was all we needed to offer.
At first glance, you may be wondering, what kind of community work is this? When I mentioned to a few people I was going, they assumed I was helping out somehow, but I wasn’t. When I said I was just going to be a part of it, they asked “why?” as though it would not be worthwhile if I wasn’t “serving” in any way. Yet, if we are to truly to engage with our neighbours, we need to both celebrate and struggle with them, otherwise it just becomes about us doing things for them. Simply by being present, we demonstrate that they have something of worth to offer to us. In a very real sense, we are witnesses to the kingdom of God all around us when we celebrate with our neighbours.
I write this knowing that the Hub is celebrating its 7th anniversary this Thursday from 3-7 pm. As one of the anchor partners, ET has been there since the beginning and we’ve seen some great partnerships and relationships develop. It’s probably one of the ministries that I am most proud about that we participate in at ET. My invitation is that you attend and simply offer your presence. You don’t have to do anything, but simply celebrate with our community.