On Friday 23 December, we closed out the year with a bustling Christmas party for our patrons. Using the St John’s hall, and surrounding grounds, we welcomed over 150 people through the evening, serving them dinner and dessert.
The hall was too small to accommodate all our guests. But thankfully, it was a balmy Summer’s night.
Thanks to Glow Church, Sydney, we were also able to hand out a hamper or two to everyone who came. Glow Church spent hours preparing the hampers in the days leading up to the party and delivered them on the night.
Our volunteers and staff getting ready to serve their guests. (They were mostly volunteers)
We were overwhelmed by the generosity of people who provided the food and drinks as well as coming to make it a special night for many who wouldn’t normally have family or close friends to share Christmas dinner with. In all we had over 70 individuals who either served on the night or donated something. Among the volunteers were Martin Oldfield and James Gardiner who entertained us through the night with their terrific music and sketch-artist Peter Fasic whose portraits of guests made him very popular.
Two of the team from Glow Church handing out hampers.
Special thanks also to Garry Stokes and several of his colleagues from the Australian Culinary Federation , who on the night managed the heating and transfer of food to our hall using Jamie’s Kitchen across the road.
We had some wonderful people volunteer their talents to entertain guests, including musicians Martin Oldfield and James Gardiner.
Our hope is that many who experienced the warmth of community through these acts of giving were able to know something of God’s goodness, especially at a time when loneliness can be acute.