Hello everyone,
This weekend members of the Parish Council will lead the Gathering. At this time of the year, we are directed towards the story of John the Baptist. He was a cousin of Jesus, possibly a second cousin. His significance is that he pointed towards Jesus’ coming with a selfless directness.
More people than ever are checking ‘no religion’ on their census forms, I’m not convinced this means they’re antagonistic towards spirituality. It is the ‘organised‘ part which is off putting.
Just like in the very first years of the first century BCE, any connection people make with Jesus and his wisdom is through word of mouth. On St Andrew’s Day we looked at Andrew being a disciple of John’s, then Jesus was recommended by John to Andrew and Andrew went, checked Jesus out, and brought along his brother to see the new guru in town.
I’ve been asking around how people get to know things are on – expecting facebook as the answer, but more often I ‘ve been told “word of mouth” or “my friends tell me”. It is the way I get to try new things, if someone I know and trust has recommended them to me – from movies to shops to events to the latest spiritual writer.
The recommendations don’t have to be learned or expert, just honest. One of the qualities of John the B seemed to be his blunt honesty – sometimes searing, at other times refreshing. It will be interesting to see what we find out about John the B on Sunday – be good to see you there.
There seems to have been some DIShonesty around the place! We are missing, in recent weeks, one trolly (our best one) and five trestle tables from the Hall. Also cups and teaspoons seem to have disappeared more than one at a time. If you are meeting in the Centre after hours please make sure the front doors are locked behind your group. Any latecomers can use the doorbell. Also, keep your eyes peeled for unusual activity. Five trestle tables would have taken a while to remove and would have needed a big van to do so. We are aiming to be a welcoming centre, but not that welcoming!
Thanks again to the parents and children for a delightful play last week. Special thanks to Linda Wilkins who was a great help on Saturday and Sunday. It is great to see the children growing up each year and becoming more confident with lines and microphones and scripts. Thanks to all who help our church be kidsfriendly.
Susan
To view the full e-news click here: https://mailchi.mp/c0e9725f67d9/this-weeks-newsletter-from-st-andrews-on-the-terrace-1438837
