A Sausage Sizzle for South Sudan

Janine Paterson, dressed for action!

August 2012

Janine Paterson is an ABM supporter who attends the Anglican Parish of Mossman/Port Douglas in the Diocese of North Queensland. The parish recently held an event to raise funds for ABM’s South Sudan Program. Janine also assists at Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns. We are most grateful to all our supporters, such as Janine and her parish, for the hard work, enthusiasm and creative energy it takes to contribute to the work of ABM and our partners in mission. Thank you!

Mossman Markets is the place to be on a Saturday morning especially in August or September when the skies are clear blue and the weather not too hot. The tourists are plentiful too. These were some of the reasons why Trish Baxendell and I chose to run our fundraising campaign for South Sudan for the month of August.

Saturday 18th was a perfect day for our Sausage Sizzle. Trish and I started our work at 7am ably assisted by our husbands Pete and Barry.  At 8 o’clock, eight year old Brodie took over as our chef for the morning. He worked capably for three hours assisted by his grandmother and impressing everyone with his skill and lively prattle. His sisters Kyah and Bonnie assisted with sales and cooking before they went off to netball and then it was up to us organisers to resume our positions until we closed at 12 o’clock. 

For the past 3 years the parish of Mossman/Port Douglas has carried out a missionary project for Africa. These have been walkathons, which were initially well supported but that has diminished over time. Consequently, the coordinator of the walkathons, Trish, and I felt that we needed a fundraiser that was more in line with the ages of our parishioners and the organisers. We wanted an African one to give a balance to our Mission giving program. We try to give what we can to agencies in Australia and different parts of the world.

We searched for projects and concluded that the South Sudan ABM projects were most worthy of our support. We liked the fact that it involved Anglicans helping fellow Anglicans (members of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan) in the world’s newest country. There is a great need for funds because of the border conflicts and inter-ethnic violence. We found out through Julianne, Program Director at ABM, that the Anglican Churches in the South Sudan has a major role in assisting non-government relief organisations, like the United Nations, deliver aid to remote and often dangerous areas of the country through their churches. We also appreciated the support given by young Sudanese-Australians in the Diocese of Adelaide of sustainable development projects and humanitarian assistance.

Our long term goal is to support the Emergency Relief Fund this year, but from next year we will support the Girls’ Boarding School project and continue that for a number of years. In this way the parish can own a project and watch it develop over time.

Our parish is a small one which is sustained greatly through our Mossman Market Stall. This means that every Friday and Saturday mornings, parishioners are on deck setting up and cleaning our large market stall that now fills the entire old rectory. We sell everything. If it moves, we sell it. Customers must never put anything down. It might be sold. We are the recyclers and cooks of the region and the best value in town. We sell fruit, vegetables and flowers. We provide tea, coffee and biscuits as well as organise a Saturday Sausage Sizzle every week of the year. Ten percent of all funds collected from sales at our stall and all other church income is given to charity or missions.

The Church Sausage Sizzle is usually run by different charities each Saturday. The stallholders, who arrive at 6-7am, rely on the Sausage Sizzle for breakfast and lunch. They buy morning tea or coffee which can be drunk in our new undercover area where they can often chat to parishioners. It is our outreach. Trish and I decided to focus on a Sausage Sizzle for our fundraiser. That was until she felt that we should also sell some biscuits as well as sausages. Then I added some of the cards I make and jewellery too. Next she got some of her friends to make biscuits too. I decided that we shouldn’t just sell the biscuits on the one Saturday but could advertise the sizzle and inform the parishioners about the South Sudan projects. We could focus on the mission for the whole month of August and sell biscuits, cards and jewellery after church every Sunday during that month. Mind you, this was meant to be less stressful than a walkathon! We did both agree that it was though.

We were well supported by the parishioners and visitors to the market and church buying and helping at the sizzle. We were very happy with the result of $760 and will no doubt fundraise in a similar way next year.

Janine Paterson
August 2012

 

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