The Rev. Dr. Thomas Brauer, incumbent of St. John the Evangelist in Smiths Falls, told members of Synod last fall how receiving a Future Fund grant was helping the parish to enhance and expand a popular games night program in the parish.
“Back in 2018, prior to the COVID pandemic, people became aware of a different epidemic of loneliness. And the members of our congregation, working in partnership with Canon Catherine Ascah and with many in the neighbourhood, worked on the question of ‘how do we answer the epidemic of loneliness?’ And Games Night was born.”
He described the atmosphere of hearing the tick-tack sound of discs hitting pegs and landing in the holes on wooden crockinole boards and interspersed with the flip-flop sounds of cards being played and shuffled, and the sounds of people having fun together.
“On the first Friday of each month, the parish hall is available to parishioners and guests to participate in any number of games. Games that they might bring with them, card games, board games, table games, even shuffleboard if they can draw it on a floor themselves. There’s even food provided and refreshments. Nobody has to leave because they’re hungry,” Brauer said.
“Over time, it was observed that these events were achieving the initial goal of connection and relationship with community building among congregants. It was also observed that community and relationships were being built with non-congregants. The guests of church members who were accepting invitations to join in. The parish leadership, the council and corporation, and the congregation as a whole have been encouraged by the positive impacts of Games Night. And so, we sought support from the Future Fund Grant, and we were honoured to receive that support.”
Play is widely known to be essential to human development and well -being, Brauer said, but “it is often overlooked by churches and social organizations that seek to serve those who experience deprivation and poverty.” While the church might overlook it, God does not, he said, quoting a few passages from Scripture. “Zechariah 8: The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season, including a time to laugh and a time to dance. Matthew, “Jesus says, let the little children come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
“Play is central to who we are,” Brauer said. “So, this fund isn’t just a fund to get us working harder. It’s not just a fund to get us to do the right things. It is a fund to let us play. But not just us. To be able to play with those who may not have the chance to play on their own. For those whose situations in life are so awkward and so complex that the idea of even having access to play is unthinkable. And so, with this grant from the Future Fund, we are able not only to continue that tick tack of fellowship and the shuffle sound of friendship and fun and communion, but also to extend and expand the soundtrack of godly playfulness in a context of isolation, loneliness and deprivation.”
Brauer noted that Smiths Falls is a town that is counted by many as one of the poorest in Ontario with reports of 25 % food insecurity, 20 % social assistance, making the week possible. “With this grant, Games Night can grow to include movie night, as we are able to purchase better equipment and pay for film licenses. With this grant, Games Night can grow by printing invitations that can reach our friends and neighbors further beyond our pews. With this grant, Games Night can grow by making available new games, games we wouldn’t have ever thought possible as new friends join us and bring with them their desires for hope and play in community with us.”
The grant will also make it possible for the parish to buy coffee makers, he said. “Coffee makers would be now a gift to add caffeine to our communion,” he said wryly. It would also make it possible to expand the program to happen every week, not just once a month “so that new expressions of playfulness and fellowship can be enjoyed by so many,” he added, thanking the diocese once again for its support.
Saint Mary’s Church, Westmeath — Deanery of the Northwest