Slitting Up?

Sorry if I alarmed you!
The splitting only refers to the content of this issue.  However, if it grabbed your attention, perhaps that was no bad thing.  There are four matters to which I wish to draw your attention.

Making Time to ChatSome of these men were strangers when they sat down. But clearly, they were all enjoying a

good chat.  If you walk around Market Harborough most days, you will find a scene like this.  Some people choose to sit down on a bench simply because they long for company to cure their loneliness or to break the boredom

Last Sunday I made an excuse to eat a satsuma while leading the morning service.  As I peeled it I reminded people of a regular article that used to appear in Readers Digest about unforgettable people.  I asked them to think of one person who has been significant in their life (from school, work, neighbours, etc).  By the time I has finished speaking, I had one of the pieces of the satsuma in my mouth, and told them it was too delicious to keep to myself.

Soon people were enjoying sharing the fruit, but many others had missed out.  Fortunately, I had

another 14 satsumas tucked under the lectern.  So, I passed them out encouraging people to peel and share them.  When the bag was empty I encouraged people to cluster in two or threes and for one in the cluster to talk about the person they had thought of.  The conversations buzzed for two minutes.

No one found what had happened embarrassing and all who had shred a satsuma or spoken about someone they knew, said they enjoyed doing so. Knowing Jesus is a wonderful thing and,

while we might not feel we could answer every question someone might ask, we could chat about Jesus.  It might not be as scary as we fear.  We concluded the service with a prayer that God would give each member of the congregation an opportunity to say something to someone the following week.

Why not pray that too? In fact, you could pray for at least one short chat a day.  But please don't preach or start quoting the Bible.  Just tell someone what Jesus means to you in your everyday life.

Growing a YouTube Audience
This is topic number two.  During the past week, my friend and colleague, Capt Gordon Banks, and I repeated the webinar on Mission Ideas and Resources for Christmas and the Winter Months.  It is full of super manageable ideas, plus plenty of links to free or low-cost resources that could add much to your Christmas and winter programme.  Of course, it can be seen on our website.

We have also been quietly building a YouTube Channel, where you will find other helpful

videos. In addition to the Webinar videos, we plan to add a series of short videos to help rural Christians and churches to share in God's mission in rural UK.  Increasingly, when people wish to learn something, they look online.

If you click the picture on the left, it will take you to the YouTube channel. Once you get to the YouTube channel, please click 'subscribe.'  There is nothing to pay, but in this way you will receive notification each time we add another video.  If you watch a video and find it helpful, remember to 'Like' it.

Topic number three is a hymn that I suddenly found myself singing while walking down a road this week.  It is many years since I last sang this, and I have been pondering the words carefully.  The theme is thankfulness. both in times of blessing and suffering.  The author, Adelaide Anne Procter was a friend of Charles Dicken, Arthur Sullivan, and many other notable people.  She was Queen Victoria's favourite poet.  As a committed Christian, much of her life was spent helping many of the most vulnerable in society.  She died aged 38.  Dickens was convinced it was her selfless and tireless Christian work that broke her health.  At one time she suffered deep emotional pain.

The hymn is, "My God, I thank Thee".  There is insufficient room here to include all the verses,

but I will put them on my Facebook Page.  One verse goes, "I thank Thee more, that all my joy, is touched with pain; that shadows fall on brightest hours, that thorns remain; so that earth's bliss may be my guide, and not my chain.". The last verse reads, "I thank Thee Lord, that here our souls, though amply blest, can never find, although they seek, a perfect rest.  Nor ever shall, until they lean, on Jesus' breast".  The hymn goes beautifully to the tune, Wentworth.

I feared that this profound hymn might have been lost when more contemporary hymnbooks were published.  But I am delighted to see that it is 471 in Mission Praise!  It should be sung slowly and thoughtfully.  I hope it blesses you.

Barry
10th October 2017

Sunday 12th - HMP Gartree, leading the Remembrance Service
Monday 13th - School Assembly, Lubenham, Leics.
Tuesday 14th - HMP Gartree, preparing for Christmas
Wednesday to Sunday 19th - in Kent and Sussex for a short break