Pause for Thought May 2015

 Many years ago during a  general election campaign every bit as close as the one that has just finished I saw  an old  car driving down the High St, in Wem, with a  sticker on the back window   “  It read; Don’t vote it only encourages them!"

But we have voted  and I stayed up as late as I could  to watch the results because  I just  love the drama of election night when we see raw  human emotions displayed for all to see- those candidates  so excited at victory ,they pump their fists  with sheer elation and hug their supporters at the count  – those trying hard to conceal their bitter  disappointment at their loss - that so much effort and toil  has come to nothing- those who simply can’t hide their despair  and bury their heads in their hands to conceal the tears rolling down their cheeks . What human drama !  Behind the rosettes of whatever colour there are living, breathing, emotional human beings

It reminds me of that other drama   played out so publically at this time of year - the end of the football season as the hopes and dreams of your favourite team are either realised or shattered in a 1000 pieces

Politics like football is intensely tribal but although some will disagree it really is more important

So what do I look for in a new Government? 

Well the bible doesn’t say much about political parties but it says masses  about the qualities of great leaders  and so

I hope for a government that has a servant heart

In the Bible

The mother of the disciples James and John asked Jesus to promise that they would sit in the top positions at his right and left hand in glory. Jesus said ,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant For Jesus the greatest ruler is the greatest servant

I hope for a government that is wise;  that has the wisdom not just to seek the party interest but has the wisdom to see the bigger picture ,serve the common good and make the right decisions in a competent way

I hope for a government that cares about justice because God cares about Justice

As the book of Proverbs says

A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

I hope for a Government that is compassionate

God cares for the poor and needy and the Bible lists some of those He cares for; the fatherless ,the widows , the sick the aliens, the prisoner  It is not always popular to care for these people but God calls us to do so,  for like the politicians themselves these  are real human beings made in the image of God Himself

So the posters will shortly come down, the long period of electioneering has now ceased , the people have spoken  but it’s worth remembering that God too has spoken and though Governments come and go and  parties rise and flourish and then decline and disappear  God is watching

He looks for us to serve people, to act wisely, to be just, and compassionate

In what ways will you demonstrate those qualities today?

Pause for Thought 1st Feb Radio Shropshire

The building looked just the same as when I had last seen it   some 10 years ago.

Inside it was painted the same colour had the same green chairs, the same carpet -Everything was as I remembered and so very familiar …    except the people..   I had not seen many of them for 10 years or more they had more grey hair, more wrinkles many of them were now frail.  More than once people came up to me  and asked” Do you know who I am ? and the truth was I often recognised the  slightly changed face but could not get the name…. but then I am getting older too

As is so often the case with reunions, we were gathered in chapel for a funeral …Pats funeral

When I was a young man Pat an older minister had been my mentor. He was generous with his time, wise with his advice, unstinting with his encouragement

Over the years we had become friends. Now I had come to this familiar chapel in the countryside to say goodbye

The hymns chosen by Pat before he died were well known - the ones I would have expected him to have chosen by the hymn writers I knew he appreciated most, but it was the words that were said that astonished me .

 Now I knew Pat was a dynamic minister a man of great vision,I knew that many years ago he had received an MBE for services to the church and community. I knew that he had once even persuaded Cliff Richard to come to  the chapel to do a fundraising concert for charity, but I listened to the speaker that day talking about Pats life I realised I  did not know the sheer breadth ,and indeed the depth of the work he had undertaken both at home and overseas

A man who had left school at 14 had blessed a surprising amount of people in a huge variety of ways.

When the service had ended with John Rutter’s magnificent benediction the Lord Bless you and Keep you,we mingled over sandwiches and tea and cake and person after person came up and shared how Pat had helped them, encouraged them through some tough time or other .How much his life had blessed their life

What a legacy he left in the lives of those he met.

We often measure greatness in human beings by the things they have or by the awards they have received, or the qualifications they have gained, or the wealth they have accumulated, or the family they have been born into 

Jesus defines greatness very differently

On one occasion He took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness by washing the disciples’ feet. The Lord of all becomes the servant of all

In that one act Jesus demonstrates that in the topsy turvy world of The Kingdom of God the greatest person is the greatest servant

By that definition Pat Goodland was a great human being

As we drove down the A 49 heading through the darkness, on familiar roads towards Shrewsbury I wondered what my legacy would be when my turn comes.

This Sunday you may like to ask yourself the same question.

Christmas carol service 2014 message

Not many more shopping days to go

My hope for you all is that you have an amazing Christmas filled with love and joy and peace That you will experience The Good will towards human beings on whom Gods favour rests

My prayer too is that blessed as we may be we   will   Be given grace to remember the hungry ,the lonely ,the sad,the bereaved the suffering  the prisoner this Christmas

Our world appears to be on the edge of a cliff Ebola ,ISIS, famine war disease and disaster fill our news papers and dominate our news bulletins this very week people have been murdered in a coffee shop in Sydney and The Taliban have massacred innocents  in a school in Pakistan

For people not least in the middle east and in the lands Jesus walked in his time on earth there is constant bloodshed and violence

With austerity still biting hard  and all the lonely people we do not remain untouched by sadness  in The UK

Yes there is much to be thankful for here in Monkmoor the work of good local schools ,the passion of Monkmoor friends the scouts  and many other people of goodwill Christian and otherwise who long to build a great community here

Of course there are profound problems but there are some great people who have been  blessed with the gift of tears  which they shed with those who are hurting and hearts and hands with which they bless others

What has all this got to do with Christmas ? A time of light and peace joy and if your lucky great parties

The answer is more than we may think

Travel back with me to that first Christmas God sent His Son into the world God is a lavish Giver ! He gave His best for us and it was not easy

Yes there were angels and stars there were Shepherds and wise men

there was also genocide ,mass murder on theorders of a tyrant King Herod a man who would kill his wives his children,his friends had no qualms at all at killing little babies

It is into this dark and dangerous world that Jesus is born Instead of making himself great He makes himself vulnerable He empties himself BECOMES DOWNWARDLY MOBILE

As one translation puts it he set aside the privileges of God ,took on the status  of a slave became human and moved into the community

As Herod begins his killing spree Jesus and his family become refugees in Egypt  yes there were angels and stars Shepherds and wise man that first Christmas but also suffering and pain and death

Suffering pain and death marked the arrival of a vulnerable baby the prince of peace born into a world of pain

Pain is still a reality for many people and many people here this evening too and that sense of pain is magnified at Christmas time

So Christmas tells us that God understands our suffering

For the baby born in the middle of mass murder

Hunted down so he has  to flee to Egypt

grows up to be a man who is persecuted mercilessly by religiouscpeople more interested in form and structure and ritual and power  than faith ands truth and love and at 33 years old having been betrayed by a follower and denied by a friend  he is put to death on a cross  for challenging the status quo

He understands your suffering your sadness your pain your loneliness  considerJesus as each  of these things – vulnerable, poor and on-the-run – speaks to me of a God who desperately wanted to experience the very worst of what this world has to offer.

A God who desires more than anything to be able to relate to us in our own poverty, brokenness and times of despair.

A God who is not distant but desires to be near. To walk amongst us as one who has been through everything, that we might go to Him with anything, so that He might be our counsellor, comforter, saviour and friend. God who is not only with us but for us

The second thing Christmas tells us is that you are loved

Many of us feel unloveable perhaps we feel unworthy ,unwanted alone

But the Christian message is this that God is love God is love God is Love

Jesus is the image of the invisible God if you want to know what God is like look at Jesus

Christina Rosetti wrote

Love came down at Christmas love all lovely love divine love was born at Christmas

And so he was Jesus values people he cared for those no one else cared for

He accepted those society rejected

He welcomed those the religious leaders despised the poor the vulnerable the rejected the bereaved ,the ill ,those with special needs and yes He loves  you you are loved you are so  so loved

Christmas shows that love wins

The bible says the light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not put it out

This Christmas the light is shining in the darkness

Things are not hopeless one day good will overcome evil life will overcome death

Indeed I see hope now

Hope in the  people the communities that open their hearts to the weak and the rejected

those who refuse to surrender to  hate and violence hope will one day crush despair light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it

Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday

Life overcomes death

The baby born in the manger died for us on a cross but is Risen and Is  alive today

The winter makes me sad  I ts not dramatic but I have a few down days every year at this time bit one thing that helps me is that in the winter I feed the birds so I head across in the autumn to the cheapest place i know to stock up on bird seed  hint ?

I bring it back and fill the feeders  when I get a  spare moment I sit amd watch the birds coming to the table  all are welcome all come and feed there is room at the table for them all they didn't buy the food they just have to eat it to receive it  it is a gift

To all who received Him  by faith Jesus we are told gives he right to become chidden of God  you don't have to earn this recieve it just to accept Jesus into your heart

Have a blessed Christmas have fun remember the vulnerable and remember the baby born in a stable is The Saviour of the whole world ! Amen

Reflections for leaders, and lessons to learn after Mark Driscolls resigantion

see here

Good Friday Video

We showed in church this morning
I think it is powerful
Press here

New Wine Leadership Harrogate 2014

Just back from the  New Wine Leaders Conference 2014  in   Harrogate

It was the second time I had been to this conference and like the first I came back grateful for the opportunity to be there

There were things that I struggled with and things that I was blessed by and this post is about those things

                                                                                                   

7 great things about New Wine 2014

1. .      There is a passion for Jesus that is evident everywhere from the worship to the teaching they really do desire to put Jesus front and centre of everything
2. 2     The teaching of John Tyson from New York, I had never heard of him before but he was a very clear expositor of the Bible text and also applied it to our context
3. .      The seminar programme  was very helpful and stimulated lots of ideas as we think about our next steps as a church in Shrewsbury .There was also an excellent seminar on the impact of Fresh Expressions
4. .      The chance to chat together with other church leaders in a relaxed environment including and indeed especially those from our own church
5.       The encouragement and affirmation  of the ministry of women
6.       The worship band were again wonderful and introduced some beautiful songs
7. .      The missional focus of  many of the speakers. I am not sure New Wine were first to the missional party but they have certainly arrived

Things I struggled with (note I am not saying these are wrong just that I did not find them helpful personally)

The endless appeals to go to the front for a whole myriad of reasons –I don’t ever get the impression that quiet reflection is a New Wine value ! At one session I personally felt the need to leave before the message was appealed out of me  Sometimes it is enough just to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work

·        The  fact that after a healing meeting when scores of people claimed they had been healed ,there was no follow up or mention of individual cases in the following days that I heard It would have been good to hear those stories

·        I don’t think New Wine has yet decided finally whether it is the charismatic wing of the Anglican church or a trans- denominational movement. It claims to be the latter but behaves like the former nearly all the time.

t

T

The need to change

I  think there is a lot the church can learn from this story
see here

Everyone Complete in Christ

   I  came across this very powerful blog post that should challenge the way we treat people with special needs  press here
I think it is well worth reading

Kahaila Cafe London

Great coffee and scrumptious cake is a wonderful recipe for a busy ,profitable and very friendly coffee shop in Brick Lane in London Kahaila is not just a coffee shop though ,it is also a small church planted primarily to reach the twenty's and thirty's age group.
This very new church not only runs a coffee shop,it also supports a mission to prostitutes and is in the process of gathering money and materials to open a safe house in the area for the victims of trafficking.The whole enterprise is about blessing the community

A group of us from church met with the pastor and leader ,a guy called Paul Unsworth who has carried the vision for Kahaila over the last few years .His passion to share good news relevant to his local community was very evident and a huge priority is given to relationships This is summed up on Kahaila's website
"We are a church, but not church as you might understand it. We do not see ourselves as religious we see our selves as being relational. We live in relationship with God and with each other, therefore we see ourselves as a family rather than as an institution. We are a group of people who aim to live life in all of its fullness, understanding that the teaching of Jesus Christ brings that fullness. We are people on a journey, we are not perfect, so we would ask you not to judge us before you get to know us and we promise not to judge you."
We were there on a Wednesday night for the churches weekly time of prayer and worship together which takes place in the cafe and which in this occasion brought together about 20 young people (and the 5 of us not so very young people)
The simple,but meaningful worship began with a time of singing beautifully led by a woman from the church and this was followed by bible teaching on Ephesians 4 and 5 delivered with humour, but also with real passion by Paul Unsworth who clearly wants to relate the bible in a relevant way so that the young people present understand more clearly what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
What we saw and learned at Kahaila will inspire us as we think about the next stage of the journey at Shrewsbury and we need time to think through the lessons we learned and to see how they might apply in our very different situation.
 Paul and his team had the courage not only to do something very different but to dare to do something very bold They have taken what Hybels calls big,hairy audacious steps of faith and God has honoured them again and again Following the teaching we gathered in small groups around the coffee tables to chat and attempt to earth the teaching we had heard in to our daily lives.we then prayed ,talked said our good byes and left with so much to think about   There really is nothing to stop us doing the same!

More on Kahaila here

Radio Shropshire Remembrance Sunday

95 years ago today in 1918, at  the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the First World War came to an end.. It is thought that about 9 million soldiers lost their lives, and about 27 million were wounded - many of them permanently disabled

So today we mark Remembrance Sunday a day to stop reflect and in the case of many people to give thanks to God for those who have given their lives not just in the 2 great wars of the last century,  but in many other conflicts as well including most  recently Iraq and Afghanistan, and Today I wear the  poppy not with pride but with a deep humility as I think about the awful loss of life and the continuing suffering and the deep pain of those left behind  and I will pray for peace with justice to come to the earth

I am also deeply thankful for the continuing committed indeed heroic work of The Royal British Legion who produce the red poppy that so many millions wear -an appropriate symbol  because a poppy grows so well in disturbed earth ripped open by war and was  one of the few things that would grow in the barren battlefields of The Somme and Ypres

In fact next year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War and the government has announced this centenary is to be marked by a four year programme of events that will commemorate that war- The events range from church services to educational visits

Many have questioned how appropriate this commemoration is In fact I heard this being discussed on the Jim Hawkins show last Monday morning

Some feel it is an unnecessary glorification of war

Others that it is a colossal waste of money

Others that in 2013 it is simply irrelevant to how we live today

Now anyone who celebrates war is plain daft  to put it very mildly but I have no problem with commemoration because we should never forget

The words at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them have authentic power ,for as someone once said If we fail to learn the lessons of the past we will be condemned to repeat them

A few years ago I visited the grave of a man I had never met His name was Fred Watson he was actually my mother’s uncle as a young man Fred  had emigrated to Canada from the family home in Scotland but at the outbreak of war he had out of a sense of duty come back to fight

in 1916 he was killed near Sanctuary Wood and unusually his grave is in Zillebecke Parish Church near Ypres

Today I will remember Fred and his brother Stan who died at Loos and whose body was never found and I will think of my dad who survived the Second World War but was forever changed by it

And thousands of you will have similar memories and some  of your memories  will be much more recent and far more personal

But even if you don’t have personal memories of those who gave their lives   their names are around wherever you are in Shropshire

 if  today you should you pass a war memorial whether in Tilstock or Telford ,Condover or Clun select one of the names engraved on those memorials and remember they too had hopes and dreams  ambitions and desires  before their  lives were cut so tragically  short

The writer Rudyard Kipling author of The Jungle Book was enthusiastic about  the outbreak of war and wrote pamphlets encouraging young men to join up and fight  he used his influence to get his own son John into the army despite the fact that John  was severely short sighted and had failed the medicals on more than one occasion

Tragically John too was killed at Loos and Johns body was never found and Kipling’s attitude to war was changed forever  It is Kipling who composed the words on every war memorial where the body of the deceased could not be identified  the inscription contains just 3 words Known unto God

As a Christian I believe every human being is Known unto God made in His image  we should  all seek to live a life that brings Gods love and peace to the people we come into contact with day by day

Leaders away day Cloverly Hall

On Friday afternoon the church leaders headed to Cloverly Hall near Whitchurch

It is a place we had been before set ,in lovely countryside with great food and facilities.

It was great in the middle of busy lives to put 24 hours apart to be together.There is something about eating,sharing, talking,praying,walking and even "wasting time" together away from some of the normal pressures of life

Sometimes leaders meetings can get crowded out by stuff that needs to be talked about and decisions that need to be made .

The urgent however is not always the most important though, and it was good at Cloverly to step back, and to build our relationships as leaders, to take time to think about our vision and how we present it ,to talk honestly about our personal spiritual lives,to share our joys and sorrows  

Much of our discussion was based around Bill Hybels " Courageous Leadership" which we had all read before we went and formed at least the starting point and the background for our sessions, 

We came away with some fairly concise thoughts & ideas about future direction and areas we need to concentrate on.We  we will work on these and share them more widely  but perhaps even more valuable was the fellowship and deeper relationships that resulted as we built team together 

we must do it again soon!

Rick Warren first sermon since his tragic loss

I must say I admire his courage and his determination to remove the stigma of mental illness that is still present in society see here

Casting Crowns video City on a Hill

Thought this was very powerful and judging from comments afterwards so did others at church

Somr thoughts from Nigel Wright on the blessing of same sex partnerships

Read   here  Fresh Streams website

Thoughts on Fathers Day -Radio Shropshire Pause for Thought

Up early today to get to the studios and appear on Mike Georges show here is my script for today

I picked up the phone the voice at the other end told me that  dad who had been in and out of hospital for months, and in failing health somewhat longer than that, was now dying.It was not unexpected news and yet I was surprised to find myself feeling strangely shocked.

It was a hot July day, my heart beating faster than usual  I dashed over to the hospice hoping that I would be in time

The journey took less than 15 minutes but when I arrived I was greeted with the news that he had died,minutes before Even though I had seen him very recently I felt distraught If only I had been there a short time earlier.

On reflection, I guess that’s how dad would have wanted it to be.  We had said our goodbyes I had told him that I loved him and the truth is He never did like fuss especially when it came to his health. I can hear him say it now There is nothing more boring for me to talk about and for you to hear than the story of my illness

I still have a self portrait he painted - in oil - grey hair ,casual jumper, glasses on a face full of lines and  character.  I look at that painting often and every time I do my heart aches a little.

We had very different personalities. we had different beliefs, different philosophies of life. When I was nineteen and told him I'd become a Christian he said "Don't worry I was a communist for 6 months at your age"

We didn't agree on very much but he was the only dad I will ever have and I loved him and I guess I love him still.

So today is Father’s Day.

For many people it's quite rightly a day of celebration, with cards addressed to the best dad in the world,  presents of socks, ties, and aftershave. Lunches and meals out.

At our church we're having a brunch to celebrate Father’s day.. and why wouldn't we? It’s worth celebrating our dads just as much as Mothering Sunday celebrates our mums.

And yet …I will also think today about  those who have not got a dad (or perhaps have never even known their dad).

 Those dads who've lost children, or lost touch with their children - those men who would love to have had children but for whatever reason - have not.  And I also think of those whose relationships with their dad was poor.

There is a wonderful story Jesus told called the Prodigal Son.

It is a story of a son who demands his inheritance, while his dad is still alive, takes the money  moves away from his family wastes it all ,ends up feeding the pigs eventually he swallows his pride decides to go home to see his dad expecting he will never really be forgiven or accepted for what he has done.

But unbeknown to the prodigal his dad has been searching for him every day he has been away, and when he spots him a long way off  he uninhibitedly  runs towards him throws his arm around him welcomes him home  and then throws a great party in celebration that his son has been found!

I don't know what your relationship with your dad is, or was like, brilliant or bitter, I don't know whether Father’s day makes you full of joy or makes you feel deeply sad,  but I do know that each of us has a Father in Heaven who loves us with a fierce and never ending love and whoever we are and whatever is always there for us.

The power of a story

There is nothing quite so powerful or so moving as a Christian saying what it is that God has done for them and how He has changed their lives
Yesterday Sandra was baptised and as part of what was a wonderful and emotional service she clearly stated what it was that God had done for her and how it was that others,including her husband Mike,  helped her towards her step of faith
I promise you that Sandra was not the only one in tears as her story came to an end ,but as she said they were tears of joy and not sadness

You can hear Sandra's short,simple but moving story by pressing here Sandra's story

Steve Barnwell's induction at Oakham Baptist

Yesterday I was present at Steve Barnwells induction as Pastor of Oakham Baptist Church
It was the third induction I had attended and taken part in , in the last 12 months, and was as enjoyable and meaningful as the other two, which you can read about here  and here
There is something very moving about a minister committing themselves to a church, and a church committing themselves to a minister as they promise to journey together into Gods future 
Steve had done a very good job in Shrewsbury and is missed but after yesterday and watching him interact easily with the people he is now called to minister to , I am convinced that he and the folk at Oakham have made the right decision and will grow the Kingdom together 

Roger Sutton spoke powerfully basing his thoughts around Luke 5 and speaking to folk from our church this morning ,his message had challenged them to see things things not as they are but as by the grace of God they could be 
I also found the covenant promises that minister and church made to each other deeply meaningful 
After the service we shared food and memories together before leaving for home. 
I am sure that over the next months and years we will hear about good things
happening at Oakham

A Mike Frost story from his book- Exiles

This morning some of us had breakfast together at Central, and reflected together on both Spring Harvest 2013 which a group from church went to; I have blogged about it before here ,and also the Christian Associates conference which I wrote about here.

As part of our reflection I read this story from Mike Frost's excellent book Exiles see here

" I remember meeting Shaun Tunstall, from the city of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia, who, in his mid twenties and living with dyslexia and ADD, finally decided he would stop attending church. He couldn't sit still during church services, and he wasn't wired to take in information from half-hour sermons. He wasn't getting anything out of the meetings, even though he had been attending church weekly since he was born.

Now, flushed with frustration and early adult rebellious energy, he decided to stop going to church. Instead, Shaun decided that he would take his power-boat out on Brisbane's Pine River and go water skiing on Sunday mornings. He gathered a group of friends, some Christian, some not, and headed off to the river for a relaxing day of water skiing. But after reversing the trailer down the boat ramp and edging the craft into the water, he became wracked by guilt. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and every week of his life he had been in church. Now here he was about to go water skiing. He expected one of God's vengeful lightning bolts to burst from the clear blue sky and sink his boat at any minute. So, in an attempt to salve his conscience, he grabbed a pocket Bible from his car and announced to his friends that he would like to mark the day by reading a short passage of Scripture. You can imagine his friends' surprise. After reading the shortest psalm he could find, he reflected briefly about the beauty of God's grace and then asked the guys if there was anything they'd like him to pray about. Stunned by these proceedings, his friends, especially the non-Christian ones, eventually offered up needs they had that Shaun could pray about. Then they went water skiing all day.

Next week, twice as many people turned up. Shaun read a brief passage, shared a few thoughts about it, and asked for prayer points. He did this for weeks. The numbers kept increasing, and soon he had a community of over fifty people who would meet by the river, share a short devotion, pray together, and enjoy God's creation. Soon, people started becoming Christians. After a while, they started breaking for lunch at some picnic tables by the Pine River, where they would break bread and drink wine and remember Jesus' sacrificial love. 

They shared a meal together and took up a collection each week and gave the money to the poor.

They took it upon themselves to become the "chaplains" to the general river community. Now they are known as the people who tow broken-down boats back to the boat ramp. They provide free parts and repairs for other boats that have given up the ghost. They eat together, they serve the poor, they share Jesus with others, they celebrate the Lord's Supper, they serve their general community. 

And all along, Shaun's parents and church friends are hoping that he'll come to his senses and start attending church again."

I really love this story.It is one of my favourites about accidental church planting, but it also has a great deal to teach us about what church is, and the importance of being culturally relevant to the people we are trying to serve,love  and reach and share Jesus withReading the story certainly encouraged a lively and helpful discussion about what church really is and what it means to be church

A trip to Ludlow

If you read this blog you will know that we are on a journey to becoming a more missional church.
It can be a tough journey at times as Simon Jones points out in an excellent  blog post here .
The journey does however has its joys, and many of these are to be found, as we engage with our local community, and  as we seek to discover what God is doing and enthusiastically join in.
Since Central opened we have had  wonderful opportunities to do that and we have been blessed and by the grace of God I believe we have been a blessing.
The coming few months look extraordinarily busy and very exciting
One of the things we are doing is playing a small part in the first ever Shrewsbury Food Festival website here which is coming up towards the end of June.
Our small, but exciting (and probably fattening!) role is to have a pudding tasting event at Central

It is not something I trained for at college, so Liz, Jude and I set of for Ludlow today to learn how they do it for The Ludlow Food festival
We had a wonderful time meeting the 2 women who had started  the pudding tasting event at the Methodist Church in Ludlow and they were incredibly helpful.
Their vision and energy ,their desire to serve and to bless their community and help us was awesome and inspiring
We came away with lots of ideas,lots of things we should do and should not do, and other things we need to think carefully about
What inspired us most though was the sheer energy and enthusiasm of these 2 people( who I think it is fair to say are not in the first flush of youth) and the way they want to use their gift to serve and bless people

God grant me their enthusiasm at their age

Spring Harvest 2013 -a few thoughts

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  I am feeling physically tired but spiritually refreshed after my second Christian conference in as many weeks.
   I wrote about the great time we had with Christian Associates here and last week I was at Spring Harvest in Minehead.
   It  was the first time we had been for well over 20 years, and much was very familiar 
  Here are some of the things I especially enjoyed:
  

  
  

  The morning family worship 

  This was half an hour all age worship and it was very well done.the time included prayer ,bible reading,drama,dance  and great use of technology
  The missional tone of the event.
  There was a real encouragement throughout the week for  Christians to engage with their local communities
  Spring Harvest have not led this trend but it is great to see they are reflecting it 
• Spring Harvest is great at technology and use it as well as any conference I have ever been at; but it was used well to illustrate rather than to overwhelm

  The facilities for those with Special Needs there was signing at all the major meetings during he week ,a good area for those in wheelchairs with very helpful and well trained stewards, all in all very positive, though it would have been good to see at least one wheelchair user speak  on the main stage during the week ,so there are still  areas to work on!

  The chance to spend quality time with people from church.

  It is true it would have been good to do more of this, but that is not always easy in a conference with so much going on all the time, but we still managed to eat together, celebrate a couple of birthdays together, and have some important conversations,which all helps to build relationships. 

  The chance to meet old friends again 

  In our case Claire and Derek and their family. Claire  used to run the youth work with us in Ross many many years ago and it was amazing to see them again 

  It was also great to  bump into Tim and Marlene.We had seen them more recently, but it was good to catch up with their news

  The after hours entertainment It included Tim Vine and John Archer -need I say more !

  
  

  There were other moments I enjoyed and were helped by , and any list like this is very personal, but all in all it was a good and helpful time