Over the past week, I travelled from Adelaide to Sydney, then on to Queensland to visit in Brisbane and Toowoomba. I moved through busy airports, long stretches of road, and very different landscapes. While the locations kept changing, the relationships did not. Our schedule moved between congregational gatherings, conversations with Mission Centre staff, and meaningful visits in people’s homes. Each encounter had its own tone and setting, but all of them were marked by hospitality and a genuine desire to connect.

What stayed with me is how often people spoke about their need for one another. Not just to attend services or events, but to be known and connected. To stay in relationship. There was honesty in these conversations. People named their loneliness. People named their gratitude. People named their hope that this faith community will remain a place where they can belong and where they can still be held when life feels challenging.

This week reaffirmed for me that we need to lean toward our relationships and to make time for them. Not everyone is able to gather in person anymore. Many live long distances from a congregation. Others have health concerns, limited mobility, or career obligations. And yet the longing to stay connected has not faded.

Community is such a blessing , even when it can’t look the way it once did. A phone call, a message, a short visit, a livestream, or a handwritten card can still carry warmth and convey recognition. These small gestures remind people that they have not been forgotten and that they continue to matter deeply.

Perhaps our invitation is to be more intentional about how we reach across distance and limitation. To ask who is not in the room and how we might draw them back into the life of the community in whatever ways are possible for them. Because even when miles or limitations create barriers, the bonds of care and belonging can still be held.

Who might be missing from our circle right now, and what small step could we take to bring them back into our shared life?

Meredith Carr
Australia Mission Centre President