Photo Credit: Church in the Fields

Special thanks is extended to Orette’s Catering Services for its generosity during the 28th Constituency Meeting of the Greater Sydney Conference on 23-24 August.  Orette’s Catering Services was responsible for providing the meals to attendees of the event.  The Catering Services donated approximately 60 packs of leftover food from the event to support ADRA ELIM’s Community Kitchen, hosted by members of Church in the Fields.

The Community Kitchen, which runs fortnightly on Sundays, is a platform created for church members to connect and build relationships with families in the local community. The distribution of the food packs was hosted at Mallee Rose Cottage, one of ADRA’s newest community centres located in the heart of Macquarie Fields.

The team of volunteers was split in two groups: one group remained at the cottage to give food packs to people who were passing by, some of whom dropped in to share the meal; the other group took the food packs to the houses surrounding the cottage.

Because the ADRA ELIM Community Kitchen is still in its infancy, the team from Church in the Fields used this opportunity as a non-intrusive way to introduce themselves and let their neighbours know what they are about.  It was the first step in building long-lasting, positive relationships.

With God’s aid and guidance, they were able to give away all of the food packs to members of the community.  Once again, thanks is given to Orette’s Catering Services for supplying the food and the members of Church in the Fields for their generosity and willingness to support this program.

Pastor Beez Deojee says, “I pray that God continues to bless this service so that we, as representatives of Christ, can further connect and share the love of Jesus with families in our local community.”

The name of the project, “ELIM,” comes from Exodus 15:27, “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.”  The name was chosen because it symbolises refuge — a place of peace, safety and security.  ADRA ELIM Community Kitchen wants the project name to attract families from across various demographics.

Open up my eyes
Fill my heart with your compassion
Free my mind from all distractions
Use my hand, to set the captive free
Move my feet to follow after you
Lord, change the world and let it start with me
– No Other Name

-Contributed by Pr Beez Deojee