Last Saturday, our island benefitted from three separate community events. The first event was a cleanup effort for Mr. Cleve’s property that took place first thing in the morning. The second event, offering flu and Covid vaccines, took place mid-day at the Fire House. The final event, a BBQ cookoff/fundraiser, was held in the afternoon at the public beach pavilion, now known as the Brandy Breese Memorial Pavilion. If you had been really ambitious, you could have worked up a sweat, taken care of some health care items, and then feasted with about 100 of your fellow community members. It was one of those days that demonstrates the beauty and breadth of our community.
It is easy to assume that these events happen just because of the type of community that we live in, but that is far from the case. For each of these events, one person had to first come up with the idea and then convince a few others to commit their time to it as well. Those folks had to then organize, come up with whatever supplies were needed, and then execute the plan. Then, of course, other people had to show up to make each event a success. Each step of the way required an increase in commitment to the event, and fortunately we have people here in our community who are willing to get behind causes that they believe in. However, unless someone starts the ball rolling, there won’t be something to get behind. For some reason, we are blessed here with people who are willing to try organizing events like these, and we are blessed to have people who will support them. But we should not take that for granted.
It is far too easy for me to envision a day when someone doesn’t want to put the effort into organizing a beach sweep or a flu vaccine campaign, or a BBQ cookoff/fundraiser. Unfortunately, I could even envision a day when something as well-established as the Community Thanksgiving doesn’t happen, because those things require that people volunteer and give of themselves so that many others have the opportunity to enjoy a community event. If we as a community don’t continue to foster what is almost an expectation that our citizens will volunteer and give of themselves to our community, those things could slowly fade into the distance. At one point, the slogan was “We’re all here, because we’re not all there.” While that poked fun at our collective mental state, it did suggest that we were all together in the same place, and we must not lose sight of that.
There are some wonderful community events coming up in the next few months, including the Fall Festival a week from Saturday, the Community Thanksgiving on Nov 19th, the Holiday Market on Nov 25th, and then the Christmas parade at some point in December. Please be sure to support these events, either by volunteering to help or coming out to enjoy, because they are a significant part of what makes our community unique. But as you enjoy these events, please keep in mind that none of them happens unless one person first stands up and takes ownership of the idea. For those of you who are newer to the Island, consider this your invitation to stand up and bring your passion to life in our community.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron