St Paul's
Beaconsfield

Anglican Church near Fremantle, Western Australia

Elders' Morning Teas

Our parish is a community that seeks God and the fullness of creation by finding ourselves in relation to others. Our giving to the common, to the other, our sharing of ourselves is our commitment to this endeavour.

From The Beak Summer 2007

For the past four years we have been hosting a monthly morning tea in our Hall, the purpose of which is to honour the elders in our Church and the community. The intention is to give them a taste of how teas used to be organised in the good old days. Each month they receive a handmade invitation associated with the theme for that day - these include French in July for Bastille Day; Easter bonnets in April; Mother’s Day in May.
On the 3rd Tuesday of the month, about 30 seniors assemble in the Hall. They are seated at a perfectly set long table down the length of the Hall and are served two courses of food by a number of willing helpers. Most months there is also some form of entertainment, music, poetry readings, a quiz, holiday snapshots and so on. Our favourite meetings are those when we are graced with the appearance of the choir from Beaconsfield Primary School or the young String Beans orchestra. The inter-generational contact is wonderful to behold and both the young and the old come away feeling that they have experienced something meaningful.

We hope the tradition continues so that those older and wiser members of our St Paul’s family feel honoured and spoiled for just one day in the month.

Several of the guests at these morning teas expressed their appreciation of the delicious food, the artistic invitations and the beautifully-laid tables. They also appreciated the different themes and forms of entertainment devised for these mornings. Dee and Ruth say how much they appreciate the diversity among the seniors and their wealth of interesting experiences.

There is a wealth of experience and experiences hidden away here. Some elders tell us about themselves and what they did long ago. Talking with them quietly at the table, Ruth says she learns so much. For instance, she heard from one lady about her nursing in Darwin in World War II and then subsequently in the outback, real outback, helping the Aborigines for many years. Surely this sort of stuff is worthy of being “ Oral Histories”? Fascinating.

Some were born in foreign lands. These people bring a wealth of cultural knowledge. One day Thea and Nelson fed us on scrumptious Indian fare. Another day we had a German quiz. Lee knew plenty of the answers!

Dee and Ruth admitted that some are very old and even resent that magic 70th birthday which gives entry into such spoiling. But all say they love these mornings and feel proud and privileged to have been invited. Joan appreciates the very special time given to the elders to these morning teas and Corrie says that she has been attending our elders morning teas for four years and feels very blessed to be a member of a church where the elders are treated with such love and good will.

All the people who attend have heartfelt thanks for Peter, our priest, for his inspiration and organisation of the entertainment and for Kim and her band of helpers who prepare and present the meal. Their efforts make everyone feel so special

Kath Jordan

	Chinese August 2008	Elder's Morning Tea July 2008
Elder's Morning Tea June 2008	Elders Morning Tea May 2008	Elder's morning tea April 2008
Elders Morning Tea 18 Dec 2007	October Fest Elders' Morning Tea October 2007	Elders Morning Tea August 2007

Elders' Morning Tea

Galleries of Morning Teas!!!

Elders morning Tea with Beaky kids 2007

Elders Easter Bonnets 2007

Elders Shrove Tuesday 2007

Christmas 2006 Elders Morning Tea

Elders India 2006