A GREAT SERVICE AT CHURCH FOLLOWED BY LUNCH

We had an even busier Sunday than usual today as we had a bootful of groceries that we had collected from Morrisons yesterday that had to be taken and put in the storeroom, I was singing in the Worship Group and we had a special service followed by lunch, which is great for me because it means I don't need to cook an evening meal!

Today was the day that a M, a Minister was preaching “with a view”.  For those who are Baptists, you will know what that means, and for those who aren’t, you may just think he was preaching to a congregation and looking out over them!  However, in Baptist terms, it means that after searching for a a Minister to fill the ministerial role in a Church - and we have been without a Minister now for almost three years - someone is chosen to come and preach “with a view” and then following the service, on a date soon after, we, the members vote on whether we want to offer him the job of being our Minister. 

It was a great service with some wonderful worship songs to start, there was an Infant Dedication, which we have in the Baptist Church instead of a Christening, when a child is dedicated and thanks are given for the birth of that child, and then the Minister preached and what a great sermon it was.

Following the service we had refreshments and there was lots of chat in the Church afterwards, before we were invited to have lunch.  Our Deacons and others had been beavering away all morning and we had a delicious lunch of jacket potatoes and all the fillings you could think of followed by dessert.  During that time, M went around to many of the tables and chatted with people informally, some in the hall and some, like us, in the Church sanctuary.  Then, after lunch everyone went back into the Church sanctuary and the Minister was asked questions by many in the congregation, which he answered very well and honestly, even the difficult ones.    

Can you imagine going to an interview where over 100 people are asking questions and you have to answer “off the top of your head” with no prior knowledge of the questions?  I certainly wouldn’t relish that, but M did incredibly well.  The Church Members are now invited to a meeting on Thursday evening where we will vote.  Whatever happens, we want to be sure that this man is the man God is calling to lead our Church, so between now and then - and in fact, up until today, for the past few months - we have been praying in earnest for a Minister.  

My collage shows the hall set out for lunch and a view through the hatch into the kitchen - everyone involved worked very hard and we are really grateful for all they did and everything appeared to go smoothly.

You know I love a great quote on a tee shirt, so this one was what Julie was wearing today and she graciously allowed me to take a photograph.  The flowers on the table in the foyer looked beautiful and the new wall hanging is beautifully stitched.  

At the bottom left of the collage, you can see one of the slides used by the Minister - God’s glorious purpose is that our “chains will indeed fall off”, we will walk in His way and follow Him into the glorious purpose He has for our lives.  Then I asked Mr. HCB and our lovely friend, Louise, if they would mind if I took a shot of them eating their lunch - I didn’t really give them much choice, but again, they graciously agreed that I could use the shot in my collage.

We, along with several others, helped in the kitchen after the Q & A Session because everything has to go through the dishwasher, and arrived home at about 4.30 after a wonderful day.  It is so good to be part of a caring, loving fellowship and we are grateful that we are accepted, just as we are, and hope that we are able to continue to fulfil God’s glorious purpose for our lives for many years to come. 

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this day happen, including the Search Team and the Deacons, those who worked in any way, big or small, and we pray that God’s purpose for this Church will unfold as we trust Him.