A time of fellowship, worship, fun and celebration!
Dear Friends,
As I reflect back on the last few weeks I am full of joy and thanksgiving. It’s certainly been a hectic time, but one full of fellowship, worship, fun and celebration. It began at the end of May with our half term outreach event, which included a petting farm, Ferris Wheel, exotic animal shows, children’s rides and a church family BBQ. You can read more about that elsewhere in this magazine, but I want to add my sincere thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the event such a blessing for all who attended.
Just a few days later, it was Pentecost. We had hoped to hold our service and Jubilee picnic outside, as a witness to our community. The weather, however, meant that this would have been a bit chilly, so we turned to plan B and held everything inside. The church was full, with everyone wearing bright Pentecost colours of red, yellow and orange. We waved colourful streamers as we prayed ‘Come, Holy Spirit’.
The poignant, dramatic presentation with flags of the world helped us to reflect on how God desires unity for our world, and reminded us that the Spirit of God is on the move, even in the darkest situations. Thank you to the team who put this together and for all the feedback we’ve received about it – it’s definitely one to reprise at some point.
Holding our street party style picnic inside the church worked brilliantly with a long row of tables down the aisle, laden with sandwiches, cakes, strawberries and cream. What a joyful day!
After the Pentecost service and picnic, we headed to the church garden for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the planting of a tree, mostly organised by John West, to mark HM Queen Elizabeth’s platinum Jubilee!
All in all it was a day filled with smiles and hope as we reminded ourselves that God is very present in our world, and in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who unites us. During the picnic, I stole a few moments to stand back and watch the festivities. I reflected on the beautiful sight, not just of a decorated church, but of the family of God. We really are a wonderfully mixed bunch of believers, old and young together, who might not have much in common, or had the chance to share our lives together, were it not for our shared faith in Jesus which binds us so closely that we are family.
With love, Lucy
