What is that in your hand?
“What is that in your hand?” God asks Moses as he calls him to a life of service in pursuit of freeing an oppressed peoples. That same question was posited to a group of Young Adults on the first night of our annual ritual of taking a small group of young leaders to experience and participate in the community outreach work of Alpine Uniting Church in Jindabyne.
“What is that in your hand?” God asks Moses as he calls him to a life of service in pursuit of freeing an oppressed peoples. Moses is holding a shepherds staff, a stick really, an ordinary tool of his very ordinary trade. Then God takes that ordinary shepherds staff and magnifies it - turning it into a symbol of all God was going to do on behalf of the enslaved Israelites. Perhaps the same is what happens for us when we attune our lives towards God’s purpose. God takes the ordinary thing - our skill, hobby, talent, passion, work, ordinary everyday living - and magnifies it to bring about something great for the community around us.
That same question was posited to a group of Young Adults on the first night of our annual ritual of taking a small group of young leaders to experience and participate in the community outreach work of Alpine Uniting Church in Jindabyne. A church that looked at their own hands as they wondered how God might want to magnify their ordinary to do something great for their community. What did they do? Well… soup. Lots and lots of soup. Like, feeding of the 5,000 levels of soup (almost!). Of course, this is not an abnormal thing for a church to offer its community - there are many a community meal all over this country. So, what stands out so remarkably about Alpine Uniting Church? They sought to understand the community they are in, its challenges and injustices, and have reached the conclusion that a Monday night meal specifically for ski field workers is exactly how God is calling them to magnify what is in their hand.
Throughout the snow season every year they run a Monday night dinner. It attracts upwards of 250, mostly young, ski workers every week. These ski workers are typically on short term or variable contracts that means income can come and go and are often left short on the basics. In addition they often find themselves crammed into accommodation that far exceeds its capacity, and has nowhere to cook real food for themselves. This tends to result in a combination of expensive pub meals and cheap under-nutritious microwave food when money gets scarce. Monday is the end of the pay cycle and when this pinch hits hardest. So every Monday night, Alpine Uniting Church, looking at their own hands and wanting to do something to support their community, hosts a home cooked meal. Around tables, with laughter and good conversation, eating seconds, thirds, and sometimes fourths, people gather for an experience of home away from home. They are served soup and bread, dessert, and can even go over to the chapel for a hot choccy and a chat about life or a prayer. Having taken a group of young leaders for three years in a row now and seen the impact this has on peoples lives - I truly believe that a generation or two from now these same young people will be telling their grandkids the story of the church that cared for them while they were on the adventure of their lifetime spending a season in the Aussie snow!
For our young leaders who get to experience this, it is an opportunity to see a church that has not only asked the ‘what is in my hand’ question, but has also deeply embedded themselves in the community they are a part of. This year they got to be a part of Snowy Stitches - a community event at the church where people gather for dinner and sewing, leading the church service, and serving 128L of soup + desserts and hot drinks to over 250 young people. They came away having spent a few days deepening relationships with one another, worshipping together, participating in a truly inspiring ministry, throwing a snowball (or ten!!), and feeling reenergised for leadership and outreach in their own contexts.
Magnify what’s already in your hand
If you’re reading this wondering if your church should start a soup kitchen, pause, and wonder instead what is in your hand? Then go and embed yourself in your community, seeking ways to magnify what’s already in your hand to serve the genuine needs of those around you. Or if you’re reading this thinking, I know a young leader who needs to experience that weekend away, let Pulse know so we can invite them next year!
