I may over use the word Church.
When I was in first year at uni it was the word I used to describe, chaplaincy,
chapel, CU, house group and Sunday morning services. Sometimes now I differentiate
between work church, and home church, though coffee morning at church across
the road is somewhere in the middle of that. My diary is obviously different,
all my church activities have their fancy names, messy this that or the other,
(either based on the place or kids club) groups based on acronyms and just the
code in my diary so I know what is going on.
Sunday
morning Boyfriend went to his new local church and as I’d stayed at his new
house the night before due to a wedding that I’ll come back to later, I drove
past that church to get to my work church I was on the Sunday school rota for
that morning. I also drove directly past one other Methodist church, and I know
I wasn’t fair away from at least two others. Then driving home I went past
another three (well the door of one and the areas of two). But I don’t really
want to talk about buildings.
Saturday
Afternoon I was at the final wedding of the year – well not of all the weddings
–but of the ones I’ve been invited to. This was number five of 2012 and was a
Methodist wedding, in that the groom was on Youth Exec with me. The ceremony
had Methodist in some ways, certainly a five hymn sandwich with a good Wesley
one to start and end, even if the carol was sung slightly wrong. It also had
parts of the Bride’s heritage – as it was at her church.
This
evening I’ve been at one of the many Messy Church events I work with. This one
was probably the best attended of all the Messy Churches I’ve been to in this
circuit, though still have one to try. I was stood watching the organised chaos
tonight, and thought “this is Church” very different to the wedding ceremony on
Saturday and the communion service on Sunday.
I’ve
always been a Methodist – mainly cos it’s in my blood, but also because I love
the way we deal with differences, both in theology, and churchey-ness – I can’t
remember how to spell the long work (ecclesiology maybe, think thats what it
means anyway). Should I though always support my local church. Until I started
working here I always attended my local Methodist Church, I’ve always walked or
driven (or been driven) past an Anglican Church to get to church. Does that
matter? Should I not have a say into the
worship style I want to engage with, the community I want to be part of. Messy
Church is about making church relavant to families, a place they want to come
to,to do craft, play games, learn about God and eat tea, as well as letting the
parents meet with one another, share news and get a cup of tea.
What I
think, and it’s my blog so that’s what its all about, is that local communities
are important, but worship styles and theology are also important in being able
to engage with God. I often tell Churches’ to “find their niche” whether that
be children's work, elderly work, teenage mums, hosting AA groups or anything
inbetween.
The
advantage of working for a circuit is I get time to go to coffee morning at the
church across the road, get Sundays off to go to a church of my choice and the
rest of the time be challenged as I’m sent all over the place, all are church
and God can be seen in all of them.
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