Sausages, saws, spades, heart-shaped shortbread, pool competitions and 'exit mould' aren't the first thoughts of most people when they think 'church', yet on Sunday 23^rd November, 2008 that's exactly what church was about as St Chad's in Meadowbank, Auckland threw open its doors and sought to serve the neighbourhood in their first 'Love Your Neighbour' Sunday.

Around 80 members of St Chad's, ranging from 4 days old to over 80 spent the morning participating in a wide variety of projects, from pruning trees at Plunket through to a hymn sing-a-long and gifts of home made shortbread at Remuera Lifecare.

There were initially six different options that people could choose from. These were:

• maintenance & clean up of the local Scout Hall;
•  pruning trees and tidying the gardens at Plunket;
• picking up rubbish, pulling weeds & painting out graffiti from thelocal streets;
• interacting with residents at the closest rest home through morning tea;
• a blokes pool competition;
• a hymn sing-a-long;
• praying for the community and offering prayer to people passing by; and
• preparing morning tea for the rest home and then a BBQ lunch for theworkers to return to.

By the Sunday, the initial plan from had grown with many people finding unique ways of serving their colleagues, neighbours and associates in a more individual way.

Meadowbank is like many middle-class city suburbs. It is highly transient and lacking of a centre around which people gather. While physical needs are not evident in the same way that they are in other suburbs there are needs around lack of time, and lack of real community with others in the area. By doing manual tasks the church members were able to get out into the places which are central to Meadowbank and spend the time tidying them for the enjoyment of the whole community.

Unfortunately the foot-traffic around Meadowbank was unusually low on the 23^rd so there was little opportunity for conversation with neighbours, and it proved almost impossible to give away the free sausages. But overall the morning was agreat success. As one participant says, "it was a great opportunity to get to know both others in the church and others in the community more deeply." Asked whether the morning should be repeated almost everyone involved agreed that it should, with more suggestions of what could be added or changed next time flourishing.

In 2009 St Chad's will begin building a long anticipated church & community centre. This new facility will hopefully provide a vehicle for regular interaction between the church and the community, and allow the 'love your neighbour' ethos to be felt widely in the community.

In the meantime, this first 'Love Your Neighbour' Sunday will be an event to be remembered as an amazing church service.

Jude Elwood (Associate Pastor, St Chad's Church, Meadowbank.)

Reprinted by permission from Love Your Neighbour New Zealand, Director Howard Webb.  www.loveyourneighbour.nz