Connect09

Neighbour Day

Sandy Grant

Friends, the second great command of the Old Testament says to “Love you neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). When a religious man wanted to limit the command’s scope to manageable proportions, he asked Jesus, “But who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied with one of the most famous stories ever told: the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). He reverses the question by asking who we could be a neighbour to. This warns us never to try to limit this to easy extents. It could be with someone across the street or around the globe. But helping another can take believers right out of our comfort zones!

My old friend, Lionel Windsor, recently summed it up by a play-on-words on the famous Medecins Sans Frontieres. He said Christians should be ‘Neighbours without Borders’!

Our problem is that we often struggles to be neighbourly even in our own street or block of flats. Sometimes charity does not even begin at home. Even our secular society realises it…

Andrew Heslop founded Neighbour Day in 2003, after the remains of an elderly woman were found inside her suburban home. Mrs Elsie Brown had been dead for two years – forgotten by her neighbours, friends and family. Since then, the concept received quite widespread media coverage and support. Even Kevin Rudd is telling us to have a go!

So Neighbour Day is Australia’s official celebration of community, bringing together the people next door, across the street or on the next farm for a beer, a barbie or just a cuppa.

Held on the last Sunday in March every year, it’s the perfect day to say thanks for being a great neighbour. According to their website – neighbourday.org – it has Five Principal Aims:

1. Strengthen communities & build better relationships with the people who live around us.
2. Create safer, healthier & more vibrant suburbs and towns.
3. Promote tolerance, respect & understanding.
4. Break down community barriers.
5. Protect the elderly, the vulnerable & the disadvantaged.

How could Christians disagree? Connect09 urges us to connect in our own communities. Of course, as Christians, we love it when we get chances to point people to the hope we have in Jesus Christ. But we want to love those around us regardless of their response to the gospel.

And Neighbour Day gives us a chance to get to know them better and to say thanks. Last year, the kids and I took some homemade biscuits around to some of our neighbours, with a card using the Neighbour Day logo, saying how much we enjoyed living in our street and thanking them for being our neighbours. People were surprised but appreciative!

This year Neighbour Day is next Sunday 28 March. Why don’t you be the one to start something in your street or apartments or retirement village? How you celebrate is entirely up to you. Whether it’s a simple cup of tea and a slice of cake with an older neighbour, hosting drinks and nibbles with the people next door, or having a party for everyone in your street. Starting small is fine. Because it’s never too late to be a neighbour. As the official slogan says, “The community you want starts at your front door.”

Warmly in Christ, Sandy Grant