Below you can read what the group had to say about the experience:
On Saturday morning we had the opportunity to do community service work for a local churches in London. Organized through Community Service Volunteers (CSV) with Cathedral Camps. Rebecca, the representative from CSV, welcomed us to St. Stephens Church located in Westbourne Park along with Gail who works with the church and Jeremy the pastor of the church.
We were greeted with warm coffee, tea and muffins, then Jeremy introduced us to the history of the neighborhood and St. Stephens Church in particular. The church was the focal point of local development until World War II when the building suffered damage from German bombings. Over the next four decades the church's building continued to deteriorate until 1991, when masonry from one of the church's columns collapsed and the building was closed. Then in 1994 the building was re-opened with aspirations of restoring the church to its former condition.
Restoration work continues to this day, however the church has been occupied and in use for many years since. Our community service focused on improving a side room in the church with the hopes of turning it into a future children's room.
Working in various groups around the church, some of us painted the trim and ceiling of the room while others vacuumed, dusted, and organized other areas of the church. The collective effort of our group was able to accomplish in one day what would have taken them weeks to finish and was greatly appreciated by the church staff.
Overall, the group walked away satisfied that our work had a positive effect on St. Stephens Church and, in turn, the local community. We witnessed the impact that a few hours of volunteering and service can do for others in need. It was a wonderful opportunity to give back and meet othes. We believe that the GLCM Program should continue to volunteer on future trips.
[Lindsay Carpenter]
