Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of visiting Good Sammy Enterprises (GSE), an agency of the Uniting Church which provides training services and meaningful work for people with a disability, through retail and social enterprises across Western Australia. The occasion was a sad one – Adam Blair, an invaluable member of the team who participated in retail collections and deliveries, had died. His death was sudden, unexpected and a devastating blow to all those who knew him.
It was an honour to meet and speak with staff and volunteers there, both individually and in groups. GSE has in total some 600 working in the agency. Many were reflective and still coming to terms with the reality that they would never see Adam, as he was to them, again.
Adam was a 42-year old man who had worked at GSE for the last 20 years. He worked on the Good Sammy trucks, collecting pre-loved goods and clothing from collection points and delivering them to the Good Sammy shops.
From my conversations with his colleagues, I gathered that Adam was “the encourager” and “the supporter” in his team. He would exuberantly tell his colleagues how good they looked and how well they worked. He had a contagious, confident smile – he inspired, he exuded life and vitality.
It was good to learn more about GSE where Adam had spent his working life. It is an impressive enterprise of academy training programs, confidence-building initiatives, inclusion, employment and some 25 pre-loved clothing shops all focussed around improving the lives of people with a disability and using their gifts for the betterment of the community. GSE nurtures their talents and capacity to reach their goals and aspirations. It includes people with a disability in the social and working infrastructure of our world.
I visited the GSE warehouse and watched clothing deliveries arrive from the yellow Good Sammy community collection bins scattered around Perth. Men and women with a disability received them, sorted them and packed the useable clothing and other goods for onward delivery to the Good Sammy stores which we all know and recognise in areas like Fremantle, Mandurah, Booragoon, Subiaco, Ellenbrook, Wanneroo and Butler. It is a very well-run enterprise and it would be after some 60 years of operation.
As I chatted with Adam’s colleagues, I got the distinct impression of the wonderful creation of God he was and how much joy and purpose he brought to those around him. He was love, he was loved, he was included and he was a vital part of a living and working community. To see him gone was a loss to all those who knew him. Perhaps as you are reading this, you are feeling his loss too.
While talking with Adam’s colleagues, many of them were philosophical about life and death. Some were Christians of different faiths and had an outlook of eternal life. One of them burst into tears – he told me that he knew that, one day in heaven, he would meet Adam again.
I ask you to pray for Adam, his mother Carol, his family, his team of colleagues and for the CEO, staff and volunteers at GSE who are so deeply affected by his loss. Not only was Adam a part of GSE, he was a part of the Uniting Church through GSE, and thus a part of us all.
Although it was short, we give thanks for the wonderful life of Adam.
In closing, the words of Jeremiah 31:13 give comfort and hope:
I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
Susy Thomas
Moderator, Uniting Church WA
Revive Magazine 
Thanks Susy.