Saturday, March 19, 2005

Charlton Kings goes alternative???

Just back from church, where I sadly demolished “Into the Wilderness”. Actually, I wasn’t so much sad as deeply, deeply thankful at what happened in the course of 5 days.
I’d been so worried that nobody would actually come, but when I rescued the pebbles from the font there were 28 there, which feels pretty stunning for a first attempt on anything outside the standard liturgical box here.
There have been a lot of things to treasure this week. On Wednesday, when I went in to lock up just before the Annual Parish Meeting, I found a group of 4 teenage girls, none of whom were known to the church, quietly working their way round the stations. The thought of their presence kept me going through the inevitably fraught proceedings that followed in the parish hall.
Yesterday, I came in to say the Office and found the (very traditional) Sacristan sharing some bread in the “Holy Space” with the (even more traditional) Verger…
This morning, a friend dropped in to tell me that her husband, who is known for his preference for the safely conservative, had told her that she ought to go along because “It makes it look like a church where things happen”. Rather startlingly, there was approval in his voice at the time!
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that this IS a church where things happen…but maybe God's working more beneath the surface than we tend to recognise. Thank you, those who prayed for the week.

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