Boorowa Parish has been stepping out in faith, and have introduced some new ministries in their community, which appear to have hit the spot – literally.
In October 2020, they set up a recycling program for the whole town of Boorowa – collecting plastic bottle caps, bread tags, soft plastics, and blister packs. The soft plastics are donated to REDcycle who have collection points in major supermarkets. The plastic bottle lids are sorted and sent to Lids4Kids who granulate the lids and send them to be made into many different and useful items. The bread tags are sent to Aussie Breadtags for Wheelchairs, who sell them to fund wheelchairs for those who need them in South Africa. Blister packs are sent to Banish for recycling by Terracycle.
The community of Boorowa has embraced the initiative, and are now collecting the lids which they would normally have thrown away. A spokesperson from St John’s Anglican Church, Kathy McLennan, said ‘Even though we have kerbside recycling in Boorowa, there are not many opportunities for people to recycle things that don’t go in the kerbside bins. As a church, we are conscious of caring for the beautiful world that God has created. This is one way we can help the earth, as well as connect with people in the community.’
Ron Hoile and Derrick Mason take a breather from playing Table Tennis.
The parish has a 24-hour collection bin at the front of the hall, and encourages people to bring in their clean, dry and empty lids and plastics at any time. On Tuesday mornings, the community is invited to bring their lids and stay for a cuppa and cake, at the Recycle Café.
As a progression from meeting on a Tuesday morning, one parishioner suggested that there might be some older people who would like to play table tennis. A Table Tennis table was set up in the hall, and some advertising went out. The ministry has been so popular, that they soon had to get a 2nd Table Tennis table, and are now advertising for a 3rd.
The group is called Table Tennis for Seniors, and it runs every Tuesday morning at the same time as Recycle Café. It is a casual group who enjoy chatting and laughing together, as much as playing Table Tennis. Derrick Mason, who was the original instigator of the group, is 86 years old, and walks with a cane. However, he finds that Table Tennis is a good way to get a little exercise without moving around too much. And there are plenty of chances to have a rest in between games.
‘Meeting new people and forming friendships with them is a wonderful ministry of the church.’ Derrick says, ‘I have lived in Boorowa all my life, and it has been great catching up with old friends as well as making new ones’.
by Kathy McLennan
