Rural Hospitality

Whenever I work with a church to review its missional life I ask the members to tell me about their church.  In every situation to date their response has included "We are very welcoming" or some similar comment.  However, in my experience there is a large gap between the quality of hospitality offered at home and that offered at most churches.  This is an area that every church needs to keep under constant review and I plan to use this week's blog to address the issue.

Get it right and small rural churches come alive.  It is something our small rural churches can do well but which large urban churches can never achieve.  Get it wrong and your church might as well get its will written now!  Long after our visitors have forgotten what hymns were sung and what the sermon was about, they will be able to recall how they felt, and especially how we made them feel.

One way in which I try to help churches think this through is to describe to me what would happen if I was an old friend who visited unexpectedly while passing their door.  The added complication is that they already have a visitor with whom they were chatting over a cup of coffee or tea.  Typically these are the actions that follow:

• I would be greeted with warmth and joy
• Having been welcomed in my host would offer to take my coat and would show me where it was hung
• I would be informed as to what was already taking place
• I would be asked if I needed the toilet/bathroom
• I would be asked if I wanted a cup of coffee/tea
• I would be led into the room where the other guest was and properly introduced
• I would be invited to sit where I would be comfortable
• For a while I would be the focus for conversation - what was I up to?  How is it I was in the area?
• Then I would be integrated into previous conversation (providing it was not confidential)
• On departure I would be asked if I needed the toilet/bathroom, given my coat, and assured I was always welcome.

We then explore the quality of hospitality given to visitors to the church and identify the gaps.  You can make your own comparisons.  Have you ever noticed how much of the story of Jesus is about his response to the intrusions of other people.  We need to do hospitality the Jesus way.

One church I visited amazed me when I used their toilet.  By the wash basin was a small wicker basket in which a number of small soft cloth hand towels (they may have been face towel) were rolled up.  A bin was provided for the used towels, which were obviously then laundered.  How much better was that than paper towels or warm air dryers!  It had a feeling of quality that made me feel that this was a church that was thoughtful and cared about the comfort of its members and guests.  Obviously there are some situations where paper towels are the obvious solution, but do you use them in your bathroom at home?  No?  Why not?

And while writing about bathrooms I ought to comment about the quality of toilet paper.  Far too many churches purchase cheap toilet rolls of an inferior size and quality compared to that which they use at home.  How about doing an audit about the visual, and emotional impact your church has on first time visitors.  Remember, it is this that often speaks louder and longer than any sermon they might hear, so let's make it part of the good news.

A matter of praise
The funeral service for Chris, the man who died tragically in our village was an amazing experience.  It was my first open-air funeral (in over 40 years) and the involvement of accordion and silver band music (reflecting Chris involvement in morris dancing and brass bands) made it very special.  The actual setting of the amphitheatre overlooking a lake Chris had helped to design and stock added to the experience.  Click here to read more.  Give thanks for the good attendance, for the opportunity to share something of the gospel while giving thanks for Chris' life.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will apply the gospel words to the hearts of those who came.

A focus for prayer
Following a marriage blessing service I will conduct on Monday, Doreen and I will be off to Kent and Sussex until Friday.  While some of this time enables a few days break, with visit to family and friends in the area, the work focus is moving the Action for Christ offices from Peasmarsh to Bodiam (both in East Sussex).  Organising the move has been largely my responsibility.  I am thankful for the small team of volunteers and the preparatory work done by office staff.  Pray that all will go well as the practical work takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that the office staff will settle in to their new home.

Finally thanks for your prayers, encouragement and practical support of our ministry.  Do let me know your thoughts on how the quality of our hospitality supports or detracts from the message of generous love we have to share with others.

This week's text is “Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165.

May the Lord abundantly bless you.

Barry

Passing on the blessing

Three activity groups at Holiday at Home

We have just concluded a week full of activities in the annual Holiday at Home event in Market Harborough.Under the leadership of my Methodist Colleague, Brian Kennard, Christians from various local churches formed a team that provided four mornings of various activities and interesting talks, aimed primarily at older people and those who might not otherwise have a holiday experience.  Clay modelling, creative writing, art class, flower arranging, origami, drama, using the internet, table games, knitting for charity, short mat bowls, making shopping bags, and more combined with a sing along, and talks on Street Pastors and the University of the Third Age.  Apart from helping to look after our guests, my role involved leading the sing along, running the computer/internet session, and giving two of the short devotional talks.

Each of the four days concluded with a super lunch and on the remaining day we provided an outing to a zoo that specialises in the conservation of primates.  They also had two wonderful and rare snow leopards.

Flower arranging demonstration

On Wednesday Doreen, my wife, attended the flower arranging group.  At the end of the session three arrangements and a bunch of the left-over flowers were given on a 'draw' basis.  Doreen ended up with the bunch made up from the unused flowers.  When Doreen discovered that a younger woman in the group had never been given flowers she happily passed the flowers on to her.  The joy of the recipient was an excellent reward.

The following day  I was chatting to this younger woman as she enjoyed her final smoke before coming in to Holiday at Home.  She had no idea of Doreen's identity or our relationship.  I mentioned the fact that I had heard she had been given some flowers the previous day.  Her face lit up.  Then with an even greater smile she told me that she knew of a woman who had never been given flowers so she had passed them straight on to her.  Grinning from ear to ear she told me of the joy that had given to the final recipient.

It made me aware of the tremendous joy that comes to those who pass on their blessing to tohers  It reminded me of an old Sankey hymn: Have you had a kindness shown, pass it on! 'Twas not given for you alone, passit on!  Let it travel down the years, Let it dry another's tears, Till in heaven the deed appears , pass it on!  The fourth verse reads, Have you found the heavenly light, pass it on! Souls are groping in the nigh, pass it on! Hold your lighted lamp on high, Be a star in someone's sky, He may live who else might die, pass it on!

This Sunday I will be leading the meeting at Yelvertoft Congregational Church.  How I need your prayers that the Lord will use me to bring his word faithfully to others.

On Tuesday I will be in Gartree Prison.  Please pray that God will make this more than a choir practice, granting the team of Jeanne, Roger and me, wisdom in our witness for him.

On Wednesday it will be the funeral service for Chris Allen in Yelvertoft.  Although we do not yet know all the circumstances, Chis' body was pulled out of the local stretch of the Union Canal on which he lived in a moored narrow boat.  Some of the folk associated a little with the chapel were present and assisted which was traumatic for them.  Please pray for Chris' mother and father, his brother and their family, and others at this time.  We plan to hold the funeral service in the open air as Chris was very much an open air person.  Please pray for the pastoral work and for the words I share at the service.

On Thursday I will be in Nottingham as part of a small committee making decisions relating to grants for mission projects.

Other important prayer points:
During the following week I expect to be in East Sussex for several days as we move the Action for Christ offices from Peasmarsh to Bodiam. (I would be grateful to hear from anyone living in the SE who could give a hand).  I have been busy with other trustees and staff during the past week addressing various problems relating to past unhelpful decisions.  Please keep praying for the AfC team.

We are also putting the final touches to plans for a rural consultation in Cornwall later this year and for an educational rural ministry and mission event in Northern Ireland also later this year.  Ireland is a new context for me so I will be listening carefully and reflecting on how best to use my experience in rural ministry and mission.  I hope that this will be the first step on helping to advance the kingdom of God in rural Ireland.

I am also waiting to hear how the work I have been doing to help churches in rural Germany has progressed.  Pray also for those promoting the work there.

Challenge for the Week:  Make a note of blessings received and pass them on!

Barry

Holiday at Home in Harborough

All this coming week from Monday 13th to Friday 17th we are running a Holiday at Home programme in Market Harborough.  This comes under the banner of Harborough Churches Together with Brian Kennard and the Methodist Church taking the lead.  Brian and his wife are former associate evangelists with me in Mission for Christ (now renamed Action for Christ).

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we will offer a programme of enjoyable activities, a special shared session and a lunch.  On Thursday we have an outing.  Each lunch is preceded by a thought for the day gospel spot.

Please pray for all the team members who are drawn from several churches.  Pray that those attending will see Jesus in us and be drawn to the Saviour.

Tweeters should look for #HarboroughHatH

Thank you.

Barry

A certain irony

Dear friends,

I want to start by thanking all who look up this blog on a fairly basis.  I do value your interest and prayers.

The days of the past week have mainly been spent focused on either my church at Yelvertoft or Action for Christ, the mission organisation I have been drafted in to help.

Yelvertoft
Despite quite a number being absent because of health problems or on holiday we managed to have a reasonable congregation on Sunday morning for a church in a small village.  If we managed to get everyone of our regular folk together we would now be over 20, having started with around four.  We praise God.  Meetings are always a great encouragement to me.

On Monday evening we held a Church Meeting (this is the governing meeting within Congregational churches) where some good work was done.  Particularly encouraging was progress with our building alterations.  The total project which will make substantial improvements for disabled access and facilities, reorder our kitchen and put semi-glazed doors in the porch, will cost just over £20,000.  This seemed a high mountain to climb but a gift day brought in around £6,000 and this has grown to around £8,000.  We have some investments that can be drawn down (though the church has been dependent upon interest income) so we have enough to start the first phase.

News reached me last Sunday of a man in the village who had died in tragic circumstances.  During the week this man's mother phoned and I have been asked to help them organise the funeral service.  I was in Sussex when this request came through but have visited his parents on my return.  Chris was well known in the village and the nature of his death will have impact.  Please pray as I support those who feel this loss most intensely.

On Thursday we welcomed a visit from friends at Hinckley URC and it was our joy to bless them with hospitality.

Action for Christ
As a result of the sale of property in the past this organisation, in which I worked from 1963 to 1988, had a healthy bank balance up to about three years ago.  Since then it has generously supported three people in their ministry and provided a free design and print service for small churches.  This generosity and some other factors had significantly reduced the assets of the organisation.  Meanwhile the trustees were having difficulty obtaining information needed to run the organisation efficiently.  Once this situation became known, about the same time I was appointed a trustee, the right steps were taken.

Making all the much needed changes has been somewhat like turning around an oil tanker travelling at full speed at sea.  We are not quite there yet.  Fortunately we have an excellent trustee team and a loyal and dedicated staff.  Tough decisions have had to be made - and may yet have to be made.  Quite apart from the funds that have been given away the organisation seems to have been running for several years with expenditure greater than income.

You will understand that dealing with this has taken up a substantial amount of my time.  It has had to take priority over other activities, but I have felt that providing help is the right thing to do.  I would have felt like the Levite and Priest who "passed by on the other side" had I not stopped to help.  Though I think that the Good Samaritan was more generous than I have been!

On Tuesday evening I travelled to East Sussex and on Wednesday I spent the morning and afternoon at the mission's offices helping the former Development Director remove personal property he had stored there.  In the evening I travelled to Dunks Green, a small hamlet near Tonbridge, Kent where the charity owns a church building.  Here I found a small but enthusiastic group of Christians who have maintained the only visible Christian presence in that community.  I was delighted to find them in good heart and the interior of the building clearly well maintained.  What was even more delightful was that some of them remembered the outreach many years before in which I was involved, and could name the team members and describe the activities.

On returning home there have been many phone conversations, a Skype Video Conference, and time spent drafting a letter to the organisation's supporters.  If the organisation is to have a future it will need  to refocus its vision and will need a sufficient support base of prayer partners and individual and church sponsors.

A Certain Irony
While the time spent on activities at Yelvertoft are an existing and regular part of my rural ministry (I am engaged and paid for two days each week), helping to steer AfC through this difficult time is additional work on top of a busy agenda.  The irony is that while seeking to help AfC, our own rural ministry is in need!  As I shared last week, despite operating economically, income to my part of Sunrise Ministries (the charity name of Rural Sunrise/ Rural Mission Solutions) has not matched the ministry costs since the credit crunch of 2008.

But our experience of salvation is rooted in the generosity of God.  It is a generosity that is immensely costly.  "Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich" 2Corinthians 8:9 (para).  In the light of such indescribable generosity, and when others are in need, we have no option but to put others before ourselves.  Our trust is in the Lord.

Prayer Points:

• Give thanks for God's faithfulness and goodness in our lives
• Give thanks for the teamwork within AfC and also within Yelvertoft Congregational Church
• Give thanks for the existing body of prayer partners and supporters both for AfC and Rural Mission Solutions
• For wisdom for the AfC trustees as we seek to manage the present challenging situation
• For a refreshed or renewed vision for the ministry of AfC
• For the development of a solid prayer and support base for the ministry of AfC
• That arrangements for the move of AfC offices will go smoothly
• For the parents and brother of Chris, the man who has died in tragic circumstances
• For wisdom in planning funeral arrangements as this will impact the village
• For a continuing fruitful ministry in the village of Yelvertoft
• For wisdom - and practical help - to enable me to manage other demands on my time in ministry while AfC has to become a priority at the present

Barry

The team behind the victors

Dear Friends,

Like many others I have taken time out this evening to watch some of the Olympics and just seen Team GB collect three gold medals.  Each of these was an outstanding performance and the victories brought interesting scenes.  For Jessica Ennis, winning the heptathlon, how wonderful to see the camaraderie among those who moments before were competitors.  They all seemed to be fully sharing her joy.  Then later later to see Mo Farah win the 10,000 metres and share his joy with his daughter and wife was wonderful.  But there was a wonderful interview with Greg Rutherfold who won gold in the long jump.

Jessica Ennis wins gold.

While still letting his achievement sink in Greg was quick to name those who were part of his team: his trainer, physiotherapist, and many others.  He clearly saw that what he had achieved was to a considerable measure due to the way they had fulfilled their roles. As each week I reflect of those who have responded to God's word, or found helpful advice for their own ministry - whatever has been achieved is always a team effort.

When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Colosse he introduces us to Epaphras, a servant of Jesus who was part of the Colossian church.  Paul tells us that he was always wrestling in prayer for his fellow Christians in Colosse.  The Greek word that is used here means to fight or to strive.  It is the Greek word from which we get the expression "to agonize".

Paul rejoiced in what he had heard about this faithful and loving church, but how much was due to the faithful and earnest praying that went on behind the scenes.  Please, never underestimate the importance of your prayers on our behalf of of the gifts you are able to send.  This is a team ministry.

Sunday morning at the prison saw 47 prisoners in attendance for the morning service.  Afterwards a significant number expressed appreciation and stated that God had spoken to them.  Please keep praying for them, for the faithful witness of the prisoners who are committed Christians, and for the work of the chaplaincy team.  We also had a good choir practice on Tuesday and in the fellowship afterwards some were still talking about the Sunday morning meeting.

While a lot of time this week has been spent on administration for Rural Mission Solutions, some was spent in pastoral ministry and some with fellow trustees in managing Action for Christ (formerly Mission for Christ) as we move forward through a difficult time.  Please keep praying for this organisation that once was a significant force for rural evangelism.  AfC plans to move into new offices but currently a former tenant is slow in moving out.  We pray that the way will open up for him quickly so that we can move before the end of August.

This week's diary:
Sunday 5th Yelvertoft Congregational Church, Northants.
Monday 6th Pastoral ministry followed by an important Church Meeting at Yelvertoft.  This small village church is undertaking a scheme to ensure better access and facilities for those with disabilities, plus improvements to our kitchen and entrance porch.  Around one third of the cost was covered in a recent thanksgiving service.
Tuesday 7th Gartree Prison, after which I am driving to Hastings.
Wednesday 8th Various management matters for Action for Christ.
Thursday 9th & Friday 10th provisionally activities in Yorkshire
Sunday 12th Yelvertoft Congregational Church
Monday 13th to Friday 17th "Holiday at Home" outreach programme each morning in Market Harborough.  Please pray for the team and those attending.  Our target group is the over 50s.

Practical Matters
Since the start of the current financial crisis in 2008 we have been operating with a negative budget.  We have no plans to curtail our activities.  Indeed we have visions yet to be fulfilled.  However the financial resources for Sunrise Ministries in the East Midlands (the Christian charity that enables all my rural ministry activities) are rapidly dwindling.

Way back in 1965 I faced the challenge of stepping into full time ministry.  What began at that time was made possible by 36 people who gave half a crown a week (the equivalent of 12.5 pence today) which was just enough to live on then.  Several strategic decisions taken in the past mean that we are able to offer our services to rural churches operating on a small budget.  A similar team effort to that which launched me into full time rural mission work is needed once more.  An additional annual income of £5,000 would put us back on an even keel.  The Lord has never failed to supply our needs over almost 50 years of ministry and we look to him.  We believe that what we are engaged in is what he requires us to do, and that he will raise up a team to make it possible.

Finally...  it was encouraging to receive many encouraging comments from people who told us that the Lord had used last week's Praise & Prayer News to speak to them about sharing their faith and witnessing to others.  I encourage you to keep that up.  Whatever the circumstances - whether difficult or easy - please be faithful to testify to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.  Remember that "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." (Eccles 11:4)


Barry