The Net: Newsletter 22nd June 2008

The Net is close to my heart as I am convinced that it is something that God has had His hand in. We have seen new people come into St. Martin’s through The Net and I have seen members of the church play their part as evangelists. We should thank God for this. However, over the past months we have seen numbers decline and it has been difficult to justify all the hard work and effort put in by the leaders to see only 2 or 3 families come and join us. It had come to the stage where we had to consider letting this ministry of St. Martin’s be ‘pruned’ out of the life of the church.

I must admit that I could not see how we could make The Net the area of growth that we hoped for, I had no more ideas, nothing to suggest and I was completely frustrated by what was happening. Despite the prayers and sometimes tears, it was if God had gone very silent over this issue, just when we needed direction the most. The prayers were still being said, time and time again we pleaded with Him to show us the way forward, but nothing came. With no direction, no idea of how to overcome the problem and feeling totally inadequate, I could not see a future for The Net and I was ready to see it disappear.

Last Sunday’s Net service was going to influence our decision on the future. We did not expect many people as it was also Father’s Day and I was certainly expecting that we would have a great service but not be able to share it with many people. I fully expected that at the next leader meeting, we would see The Net close and hopefully see something else take its place.

To my amazement and joy we had over 30 people come, including at least 2 new families and we had a great time together. We even had more Dads last Sunday than I can remember!

What this episode has taught me is the importance of prayer and my thanks go out to all of you who have prayed for the Net over the past months, even years. I would like to think that we will see The Net grow and last Sunday was not just a one off. Whether that happens, is in God’s hands. I am certain, however, that the church needs to continue to hold The Net and it’s leaders Sue, Kath, Ann, Karen and Mick, together with all of the helpers that we have, in prayer as they use their gifts and ministry, to bring families living in our community to a place where they can meet the living Christ.

Yours in Christ

Martin

I want some more.... Newsletter 1st June 2008

Last night viewers of the BBC show ‘I’ll Do Anything’ voted for the person they would most like to play the role of Nancy in the new West End production of Oliver. One of the key opening scenes in this story takes place in the workhouse which is run by the fearsome Mr Bumble. Hungry as a result of the forced labour, and the meagre portions of gruel the children are expected to survive on, Oliver approaches Mr Bumble and asks: ‘Please sir, I want some more.’

Last week I visited a church in Dudley which is experiencing a significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. A number of things struck me about the church, first of all the fact that there were up to 500 people in the church on a Tuesday evening (and they have been holding daily meetings like this for over 35 days). The other thing that struck me was how many young people there were in the church, but the most significant thing that struck me was the real tangible sense of God’s presence as we worshipped. On the night I attended, they were many stories of people being miraculously healed and of people coming to faith.

I asked Roger, my spiritual director, who took me along to this church, why he felt this church was experiencing such a significant movement of the Holy Spirit. His answer was that the people in the church were hungry for more of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and were saying to God ‘I want some more.’

It left me wondering, how hungry are we for more of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives and in our church? My deepest desire and prayer is for more of God’s Holy Spirit in my life and in St Martin’s. It is when we are open to the Holy Spirit that we really see God at work, lives touched and people healed.

Unlike Mr Bumble, God longs to lavish good gifts on us his children, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift of all, the presence of God himself. Jesus reminds us that “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

Don’t put it off, ask God today to fill you and to fill St Martin’s again with his Holy Spirit, and let’s all say to him ‘I want some more… more of your love, more of you power, more of your Spirit’

Father's Day: Newsletter 15th June 2008

How many of you Dads have received a tie today? Apparently this is the most popular gift!

Modern day Father’s Day was reputed to have been started by Sonora Smart Dodd, who lived in Spokane,Washington. She was so proud of her father,a civil war veteran, that she proposed a special day in his honour, on June 19^th 1910. Since 1972 this has become a public holiday in the USA. In the UK we keep the 3^rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day, though others, for example Germany, celebrate Men’s Day on Ascension Day.It appears to be a day for men to go off and get drunk! Of course , the Romans had to get in first – but in their case the day was in February and it was to honour dead fathers.

Recently newspaper headlines have suggested that fathers are not needed, following the vote that a father or male role model is not required for lesbian couples to receive IVF. Somehow I think there must be some male involvement at some point, although the words supportive parenting could exclude a male role model. In our current society supportive parenting is often lacking.

As a child of the manse, my home life revolved around church life and I used to tease my father that I had to make an appointment to see him! It certainly seemed to me that he cared more about his congregation than his children. It was only as I grew older and he retired that it became obvious that the work/ family balance had been painful to him. His own father, a schoolteacher, had spent time during school holidays him which he enjoyed, being away at boarding school during termtime. My father enjoyed the company of his grandchildren though he sadly died when his youngest two were only four and two.

It is good to have a time to reflect on the role of fathers and our relationship and memories of our own. Contrary to those newspaper headlines, fathers are needed.

Liz Dunthorne