Dear All,
I ended my last blog hoping and praying that you would experience something of the mercy of God through rest, relaxation, space, fun, hospitality and welcome during the summer break - and I hope that to be true as I begin this September blog. I am very aware that the last two weeks will have been rather stressful for young people and parents as they awaited 'A' level and GCSE results, but to all who have received their examination results I send you my congratulations. I know there are some very relieved young members of St. Mark's, and some very proud parents, and quite rightly so!
Of course much of the summer has been focussed on the Olympic Games, and now on the Paralympics, and what an amazing time it has been. As Bishop Peter says in the September Diocesan News we can be insprired by the skills, efforts and determination of the competitors making the best of use of our own talents. In the Parable of the Talents, 'it is the person who protected his talent who is condemned, not the one who puts it to the best possible, and perhaps risky, use'. Something to reflect on as a church as we discern where God is calling each one of us to serve and minister, offering our skills, talents and gifts to help grow His Kingdom in our parish, and further afield.
One article on the Olympics that has really spoken to me was written by the Revd. Steve Morris for the Church of England Newspaper. He wrote it having attended, with his daughter, the women's football at Wembly where Brazil was thrashed 1-0. After confessing that he supports QPR and is a season ticket holder, he went on to say (I summarise), 'This was simply the best atmosphere of any football match I have attended. It was joyous, fun and lovely. And what was most different from your average Saturday match was that most people were not regular football fans - they were there just to enjoy. The difference was there was no tribalism, no aggression, no rituals normally associated with football, no tension, and being part of a narrow club was absent. It was a total revelation. This, I thought is how football could be if the regular fans weren't there'.
Morris went on to suggest that football and religion have much in common. There can be the same sense of exclusivity, ritual, tribalism, mystery to the outsider, and wondered what a Sunday would look like if the church was full of people who didn't usually go to church. Perhaps that might be a revelation also! Spontaneous joy might break out. People would smile & be excited as they experienced something new, amazing and joyous - just like the early church in Acts. His challenge was to start a move to fill our churches with people who have never been to church before and welcome their radical perspectives. He says, 'let's freshen up and see things anew. Let's have fun and let our hair down. Let's stop taking ourselves so seriously. Let's stop arguing about stuff that is not important. I think we might have a better time in church and better still might encounter the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit. I am up for it. Are you?'
I am up for it -is St. Mark's? Which leads me on to wanting to highlight the Alpha course starting on Wed 10th October with a celebration meal at the Slow Boat on Thursday 27th September. This is a great opportunity to invite friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, uni or college friends who don't go to church, to come and find out what the Christian faith is all about, and hopefully experience 'the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit'. Also I would like to encourage everyone who attends St. Mark's to attend the Alpha course as well, a big ask I know, but I believe God is wanting to refresh & empower us all, and this would be a great opportunity for each one of us to put our 'Vision into Practice'. Please pray young or old, new christian or mature, to see whether God is calling you to be engaged with the Alpha course, either by doing it, or by serving on it. I am up for it. Are you?
Secondly, all that we do at St. Mark's must be rooted and grounded in prayer, so can I encourage you all to put the 24hr of Prayer into your minds, diaries, calendars, or wherever you keep your engagements - from 5 pm on Friday 28th September to 5 pm Saturday 29th September. An opportunity to pray for our Vision to become fleshed out - incarnated - and where each one of us plays our part (all member ministry). I am up for it. Are you?
Thirdly, please do put Open Doors Road Show in your diaries which we are hosting at St. Mark's on the evening of Tuesday 2nd October. This is another amazing opportunity to invite friends & family, especially those who don't know Jesus, to hear about the amazing work that Open Doors engages in with places where the church is persecuted throughout the world - it will be a very powerful and challenging evening - and one not to be missed! I am going - are you?
Lastly, do take the Autumn Sermon Series card home and read and reflect upon the bible passages set for each Sunday, helping us to relate our lives with the life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will be looking at the Fruit of the Spirit, different encounters people had with Jesus, and who Jesus said He was. I pray that we may listen, hear, and do His will....... (James 1: 17-end). I am up for it. Are you?
Yours in Christ,
Hennie
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