Tales from the Team

  • 1 March 2022
  • Caroline Frykberg
Card Ministry – Caroline 
When Meg Matthews asked me to join a letter writing team during Covid 2020, I was delighted to join. I love receiving letters myself and can still recall the joy of receiving my first postcard, addressed just to me, and not my five brothers and sisters, when I was 6, showing a Welsh girl in national costume. It was  sent from my Godfather.  It started my  lifelong love of writing and receiving letters and cards in the post.  The most precious letters ever sent to me were typed and sent from the SMH London Bureau by my late husband in the‘70s – when phonecalls were pricey and emails nonexistent.  They are a great comfort to me to this day.  
As a widow myself I also understand the loneliness that Covid was creating for many people, so when Meg gave me a list of around ten women she thought might enjoy receiving a friendly letter  – I set about the task with great enthusiasm.  (It also helps that I also collect pretty stationery and have a healthy supply of stamps.) The team started sending cards during 2020 and to my great joy some of the ladies i had written to began writing back. Others telephoned or rang. The lines of communication were working.    The Covid situation improved and the letter writing campaign was put on hold once we started back at church in 2021 but that all changed mid June. I was lucky enough to be staying in Far North Queensland when the call came from Meg to reactivate the Letter Writing Team.  As a result I had the fun of shopping for cards in places like the Cairns Art Gallery, Port Douglas markets, the Atherton tablelands, and directly from several local artists. I ended up staying in FNQ for four and a half months and hope the ladies I wrote to who were stuck at home got a little bit of pleasure from my travellers tales.  Again, I had some lovely feedback in the form of letters (sent to my daughter’s address in Cairns or via internet or phone.) Being on holidays I had time to be reflective and I decided I should try to come up with an encouraging Bible verse each time I wrote. This was helpful to me as well.  
I became a regular customer at the Edge Hill PO, in Cairns, often requesting  “haven’t you got some new stamp designs?” – I was delighted when the post mistress found me lots of 20c Pineapple stamps🍍🍍!  
I do hope the ladies I wrote to felt a little bit of the love and care coming from South Head Anglican Parish during the tough months of lockdown, even when it came from a lucky escapee and the letters bore a Far North Queensland post mark.