Volunteers immerse themselves in joyful service
A large group of volunteers have honoured the Báb by assisting in the kitchen at Auckland City Mission, helping to provide 2,000 meals to the homeless community and other underprivileged people. The volunteers said they had a precious learning experience, immersed in the spirit of service, humility, smiles and respect.
Each day from 4–10 November, teams comprising Bahá’ís and some of their friends worked under the supervision of City Mission staff. There were seven volunteers in each day’s team. Some volunteers participated for two or three days or more. They helped as kitchen hands and servers, from 7.00 am to 3.00 pm each day.
The City Mission’s meal service is called “Haeata”, which means “the breaking of the dawn”. Every day it serves over 300 meals for breakfast and lunch.
In a speech to approximately 100 people — staff, invited Māori guests, and volunteers — the City Mission CEO, Chris Farrelly, talked of the importance of unity in diversity and welcomed the contribution of the Bahá’í community in this spirit. He explained that the Bahá’ís were offering their service at the City Mission to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of the Báb, and commended this meaningful way of celebrating. His remarks can be heard on YouTube.
Bicentenary volunteers developed warm relationships with City Mission staff that they worked with, and became especially close to the chefs. A wonderful atmosphere developed through their collaboration. It was unusual for a single group of volunteers to be present for a whole week, as more commonly there are volunteers from different businesses or organisations each day.
Each volunteer wore a cap bearing a bicentenary logo, which drew curiosity from diners as well as staff and led to a number of meaningful conversations. The volunteers started to get to know some of the regular patrons and hear their personal stories. In addition to the volunteers there were two musicians, Paul Bennett and his friend Joe Brown, whose performances prompted a few of the patrons to sing along, or even to dance.
The project emerged from the desire of a Bahá’í couple to make a contribution to the wider society in honour of the Báb. They enlisted the support of the friends in the Auckland City Sector and others in the Auckland region. Symbolically, the idea of the project was linked to providing 2,000 meals representing 10×200 years since the Báb was born.
The keynote of the project was service to humanity rather than sharing the Bahá’í teachings directly. City Mission staff and patrons were clearly touched by the sincerity and joy that the volunteers demonstrated over the course of the week.
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