Next week is busy- I have a Christingle Service on Monday- for Clackclose School, parents and grandparents invited, orange and biscuits, coffee and mince pies (of course) for the participants afterwards.
Tuesday sees a couple of meetings, and a visit to the Guides and Brownies at Feltwell to collect their Angels for Saturdays exhibition.
Wednesday is quieter- time to prepare for the Advent reflection on Thursday swiftly followed by a Carol Service in Methwold Social centre... preparation also for the sermons on Sunday (Christmas Eve) and Monday (Christmas Day).
Whilst Thursday morning will be spent out at Feltwell with the guides decorating and preparing the Chapel for Saturdays exhibition.
Friday is my day off so last minute preparations for any family stuff before
Saturday and the Feltwell Exhibition and storytelling event...
Sunday and Feltwell again for their special Christmas Eve Celebration, then hopefully I will get to Midnight Mass (where I become an closet Anglican).
.... apparently next Monday is significant...hmmm
I am so pleased that a quick look at all of my activities reveals that most of them are out in the community rather than behind Church Walls, even those behind Church Walls have a significant community involvement (such as working with the guides to prepare the church). I have been struggling with being so burried in meetings and studies recently, I loose passion when I loose focus on the fact that God so loved the world.....my passion is not for study or meetings but for Christ, and for the people he has made, those who he loves, those he came to die for....
I love this statement of prupose adopted by the Congregational Church:
The Church is an organisation that exists for the benefit of its non-members.
Long may that be so!
Like John Smulo I love the church , but it drives me crazy when we become so fixated upon ourselves and our practices that we forget why we exist... We exist because we have recognised the love of God revealed in Christ, more than that we have realsied our own unworthiness to receive that love and come together to help one another to walk towards wholeness! In our walk we invite others to join us, imperfect and flawed as we are the invitation is made... come and join the Holy dance of celebration for God so loved the world that he gave himself in his son.... come...
