There is a frost here this morning, when I woke the tempreature outside was around -3 degrees C, with the top expected tempreature of 5 degrees. Now I know that this is nothing record breaking or startling but it reminds me that while I am celebrating the fact that my car is frost free in the garage many of my friends, the people I will meet at the Comfort Zone this morning will have been sleeping rough or in damp flats with no heating. Once again I find myself struggling with the little that we can do, we provide warmth,companionship and love, sleeping bags, thermal blankets , hot tea, coffee and a place to thaw out only to send folk back out again.
It would be so easy to become overwhelmed and give up, until I realise that the little that we do is part of a larger network of provision in the town, other churches and organisations are also providing places of warmth and shelter and together we manage to lay on a hot meal every day of the week, places of warmth and places of shelter a life line for many.
We need to work together more, we all know this, and we need to support one another even though there are differences between us. We al have slightly different rules and slightly different expectations, but the overall desire is to help the many vulnerable folk who come to us. I am sometimes asked by people in our community how I feel about what X or Y are doing, and whether what we do is threatened by a new place opening up. I have to step back a bit from myself sometimes, do we want to run the best drop in in Blackpool or are we content to be part of a network of provision offering our own unique flavour and service into the mix of services available?
We all wish we could do more, we all do what we can, I am thankful for the support we have from people all over the country who provide us with gifts of food and clothing, of things like can openers and blankets, sleeping bags and survival bags.
When we are tempted to either critisise of go into competition with others I am reminded that Jesus calls us each to follow him on our own unique journey, and so as I prepare to go to meet with my friends this morning I will not give up, I will do what I can, and as I go I pray for the folk who come to us, and for our partners in provision who will welcome people later on and throughout the week. We won't give up, and I pray that as we begin to drop barriers and seek to work and talk together that something more beautiful will grow.
