Priorities

Kath and I often go to church when on holiday, but earlier this year we went away with friends who always go to church when on holiday, even looking on the internet to find one suitable. So it had been agreed that we would travel approximately ten miles to church on the Sunday, but on the Saturday evening we went for a walk and just round the corner was a church. But this church hadn’t appeared on a website, the notice board didn't look as if it had been changed for ages, and the overall impression was far from inviting. A discussion ensued about a twenty mile round trip versus a ten minute walk. The walk won, so on Sunday morning we walked round the corner to church, I personally thought we would be sitting with about six old ladies. I couldn't have been more wrong, there were lots of people, in fact they had so many attending that they had two services to fit them all in. Due to the out of date notice board we had arrived between the two services, but we were encouraged into the community hall next door where they served coffee and made us very welcome while we waited for the second service. The actual church was old, in fact they still had pews with doors on. They did use PowerPoint and had a small music group, but it was the worship, the message and the atmosphere that was so striking it was alive and buzzing.

It might be nice to have a comfortable attractive building but as we consider reordering our church, and struggle with the problem of the Parish share it seems to me the really important thing is the spirit and attitude of the people who make up the congregation in that building.

Mick