Cafe Church - our first go

On 20th July, we did our first attempt at "Cafe Church" - a way of doing worship which combines some elements of drinking in a cafe with some elements of a church service - and people of all ages found it a good experience. People were surprised to be offered a drink as soon as they arrived, and wondered if they had gate-crashed a party of some kind, with the church chairs set around several coffee tables, but they soon got the idea that the whole experience was informal ... and during the service, people discussed some questions based on a Bible reading, and the children made some great 'clocks' (because the theme was "Time" - especially looking back, to think about the things that have shaped us, so the Bible reading was Ecclesiastes 3: verses 1-8, "a time for everything ... for planting and pulling up, for weeping and a time for dancing ... a time for searching and giving up ...") And at the end, several people said we should try it again, when more of our members are around, so more people get to experience it - and perhaps we will try it more regularly (something for us to think about at our Church Day - a time to celebrate, to discuss our challenges and to dream new dreams!) But for now, think for yourselves: when have you planted, and when have you pulled up your roots? When have you wept, and when have you danced? When have you searched, and when have you given up? Or: when have you tried something new, and when have you tried it again ...?

Climate Change and Children's Game

On Sunday 27th July, in the later part of our church's morning service, we had a discussion - about Climate Change. Half the church were invited to be Cynics, to play the role of people who aren't convinced we should bother about it, and half were Activists, passionate advocates of the idea that this issue is vital. And it worked quite well - people got in to role, we aired some of the issues, and maybe we even came slightly closer to convincing one or two 'real-life cynics' that human beings are largely responsible for the speed of the world's average temperature increase - and that we can still do things to make a difference. But, although that was the part of the service which took the most planning, there was another moment earlier on, when the children were playing a game, when Good News came to life! It was a game of uncovering pairs of cards, which had pictures of times when we get stuck or of times when we get 'unstuck' - and one girl, getting into it, shouted out, "I like this game!" Of course, the adults' discussion was vital - not a game, but even an issue of life or death for millions of people most vulnerable to the effects of irreversible climate change - and yet it was also vital to hear a child declaring that she liked a game we were playing during worship! It all matters ...

One World Food Crisis

It is becoming more and more obvious how all things are tied together - and so we should learn to behave in ways which reflect this 'one world' reality. Increased food prices in richer countries are caused by several global factors, but the effect of more expensive food is even more painful in poorer countries where a higher proportion of people's income goes on food. It's partly due to the rise in oil prices, which is itself caused by much higher demand for oil, as China and India continue to develop rapidly, and because oil production will reach its peak in a few years, before it starts to decrease - so we need to become less dependent on oil, not only for environmental reasons, but for economic ones too. We can't afford to live as we currently live - and this becomes increasingly obvious as more and more countries develop more western-style economies - such as eating more beef, which requires more and more grain production, with less land available for growing food for human consumption. So what can we do? Support public transport as much as possible. Eat less meat. Become more fuel efficient. Recycle more. Now is not the time to turn our backs on Green issues - for the sake of God's world, and all God's people.