Finding the joy of coming together in community

When Michael and Sharon Nanai received a letterbox flyer inviting them to a community meal at Faith Lutheran Church Warradale in suburban Adelaide earlier this year, the chance to meet people from their neighbourhood drew them to go along.

‘I wanted to see what it was like and to talk to like-minded people and those who were struggling,’ says Michael, who was born and raised in New Zealand but moved to South Australia in 2002. Sharon has lived in the Warradale area for 40 years, but says the way neighbours related has changed over time, so she was keen to meet other locals. She also wanted to support Michael by attending with him.

‘When I first moved into the area, many neighbours knew each other; we talked over the back fence, and people saw each other out and about regularly,’ Sharon says. ‘A lot has changed, and people don’t seem to have the time much anymore. So, it was good to stop the rush of life to spend time with others.’

Michael remembers enjoying talking with people at the event who were experiencing homelessness, as well as meeting church members. Sharon says that first encounter with the Faith congregation reminded her of helping her parents with Lions Club community events in the rural Victorian region where she grew up.

‘What I found striking was how comfortable it felt and the joy of coming together with local community members,’ she says.

While both Michael and Sharon attended churches of other denominations as children, different circumstances led them both to stop going to worship years ago.

‘I had been involved in a number of churches in New Zealand,’ Michael says. ‘Faith and church are a very important part of Samoan culture, but I stopped going to church regularly because of my rugby football career. Representative games were usually on a Sunday.’

Sharon says going to church was ‘a very normal thing to do’ when she was a child. ‘Our small town had one church – Church of England – and most people went,’ she says. ‘My father was a policeman in the town, and for some reason, he stopped going to church. Mum didn’t drive at that point, so we all stopped going.

‘But church was also a very important part of my mother’s life. Since her passing, I have wanted to remember and honour all that she taught and gave to me.’

Since their first community meal at Faith, the couple have become regular worshippers and active members of the congregation, and have been confirmed in the Lutheran faith, something Michael calls ‘a new beginning’.

‘It just felt that the time was right, and that I should be connecting with a church community,’ he says. ‘Also, I wanted to renew my connection to worship.’

While Sharon and Michael agree that events such as a community meal can be ‘a safe and comfortable way to meet other people in the local community’, they say the most important gifts church members can give to their neighbours are the word of God, the invitation to faith and a sense of belonging.

‘The Holy Spirit is central to this and guides how we live and treat each other,’ Michael says.

The couple also believes it is important for churches to connect with members of their local communities because many people are socially isolated,

‘Feeling welcomed openly without judgment is important,’ Sharon says, explaining the attributes of a church community that may make newcomers want to stay and become involved. ‘Also, stepping into a group or community where it isn’t a hierarchy, where it feels like everyone is respected for their contributions and where collaboration and care for others is demonstrated and is authentic is appealing.

‘Now more than ever, coming together is important for everyone.’