A SEAT WITH A VIEW - LAWN COMMUNITY CENTRE SWINDON

Today is a very different day from yesterday, weather-wise!  It is cold, rainy and grey - not being a runner myself, I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing for the runners in the Swindon Half Marathon.  I hope all who took part enjoyed the experience and I have no doubt they will be happy to get home and have a hot shower.

Julia, a friend, whose son-in-law, Andy, was taking part has invited us for a buffet lunch and I was hoping that I might be able to sit in her beautiful garden, on a dry seat, and take some photographs, but it was obvious that was not to be.  

We did manage to get to Church, so when we were ready to leave afterwards, Mr. HCB and I sat in our car and I took several photographs from that vantage point.  In the very middle of the collage, you will see the seat outside the Community Centre I might have sat if it hadn’t been so wet - it is very near to the Centre and looks towards the garden, which is tended by volunteers.

We meet in Lawn Community Centre every Sunday and sometimes on a Thursday evening, and it has become a very important place in this area - and is, in fact, right in the centre of the community, opposite a row of shops.  It wasn’t alway so, however, because when it was a public house several years ago, there were some rather “unsavoury goings-on” in there, which resulted in it being closed by the Police and local Council.

At the time, Lawn Community Church, which was a church plant from Gorse Hill Baptist Church, met in the local school just up the road so as Church Members, we decided that we would buy the building and make it our Church.  However, the Town Council then decided that as there was no community centre in The Lawns area they would refurbish the building and it would then be run by volunteers for the benefit of the community, so we now rent the rooms we need from the Community Association, which is actually better for us as a Church.

It has been a great success and is well used every morning, afternoon and evening and is a thriving and vibrant part of the community with a coffee shop, part of which was refurbished by the Baptist Church, opening several days of the week where people can meet and chat.

Our current series at Church is about Worship and we are learning that it is not just something we “do” on a Sunday but that it should be part of every day of our lives.  This morning we were invited to take something to Church that we used every day, explain why we had taken it and then place it on a table at the front.  There were tablets (the computerised sort), phones, money, pen, a Swiss Army knife, a watering can and of course, my contribution was a camera.  I took the opportunity to take a couple of photographs of our congregation, which was a little depleted because some people are away and some couldn’t get to Church because of road closures in place because of the Half Marathon and in fact, two of our members, Crispian and Jenny, were actually taking part.  

During the service, we were encouraged to look at our hands and consider how we used them each day - for ourselves and for others and when we collected the article we had brought, we were given a cross to remind us that what we put on the table does not define who we are, but that we are Children of God.  

Since writing the above, we have been up to have lunch with Julia, her daughter, Helen, Andy and their two children, Sam and Willow - which was great, as we don’t see them that often.  I couldn’t miss the opportunity of taking a photograph of Andy, wearing his medal and looking very proud of his time of 1 hour 39 minutes - well done Andy!

So a very different “Seat with a View” this week - we are back home now and I may even have to put the heating on for this evening as it’s quite chilly.

This verse seems quite appropriate today for us and for all the runners:

So don’t sit around on your hands! 
No more dragging your feet! 
Clear the path for long-distance runners 
so no one will trip and fall, 
so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. 
Help each other out. 
And run for it!
Hebrews 12 : 12-13 The Message