not just monday
A beautiful thing happens behind the walls of 87 Church Avenue every second Monday. Smiling, giggling girls play with hula hoops, soccer balls fly through the air, adults sit around a table eating popcorn, drinking sugar-laden tea and laughing as another tells us Namaste is the Nepali word for "Happy Birthday". Communication is not always smooth, stories take longer to tell and strange looks on puzzled faces are the norm. There is always laughter. Most nights there is homework being done, stories told, games played and English language instruction. We are from all over the world. We all come for refuge, finding it with each other in this church building. We are a mishmash of community, a mosaic of different language, skin colour, faith, and tradition. The things we hold in common create more unity than those things that would separate us. We are family and this building our kitchen table. Recently we have had the chance to see so much more happ...