A message from Jeremy Rensford, chair, Shepparton Ministers’ Association.
WE’VE learnt a lot about our city of Greater Shepparton in the last few weeks. As you are no doubt aware, a large percentage of our residents were recently in lengthy quarantine, and it caused chaos. As one of those residents not in isolation, I was able to witness firsthand through my work with Shepparton Foodshare and our many partners just how special our townsfolk are.
The surge of support we community leaders received was nothing short of astonishing. Equally important, and hopefully not lost in the celebration of what we collectively achieved, was the spirit of unity amongst the leaders, staff and volunteers of the critical response organisations.
We banded together, rolled up our sleeves to work hard, shared resources of all varieties and not only got the job done, but also showed what we can achieve in the future when the next obstacle inevitably arises.
The local churches around our town have been praying together for several years for unity to be in our city, and we would see what has happened as a direct answer to our prayers.
Jesus himself was a huge advocate for unity, petitioning his Father in heaven (God) with this prayer “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one”.
Many of these monthly articles have mentioned themes of unity (eg. agreeing to disagree, avoiding blame shifting etc.), yet little could I have known that our entire city would be so quickly tested.
In my opinion we did put aside our differences and achieved amazing things together as one city, a direct answer to our collective prayers.
I really look forward with eager anticipation further wins and breakthroughs for our city as we all grow together.
