not just monday

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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 happen here than we could have imagined. No longer just a Monday place to congregate, now a different story unfolds. We hold the doors open while generous folks bring gently used belongings to share with those who are looking to begin life over. Those who've come from a conflict that feels worlds away have become a part of us; our own. People with names and kind faces, with outstretched, thankful arms, grateful for the little we can offer.  This a beautiful dance of giving and receiving.  We have the privilege to bear witness as this story plays out and blends with our own.  A kind of happy ending and renewal that can only come from the closure of one story and the beginning of a new one.

The world is showing up.  We welcome them in.  Our door is always open.

   السلام عليكم
As-salaam'alaykum
Peace be upon you
 


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