Sunday's coming!

Welcome – Christ’s radical call What does it really mean to be made welcome? I had a great example on holiday of being made welcome at a church (actually I’ve been lucky enough to be made welcome at a number of churches this summer – but I want to share one example in particular..). “We” were a funny group – my friend Susan & I (who are fast learning to think of ourselves as middle-aged), our friends Nigel & Glenda (just into their 60s), Susan’s daughter Grace (in her 20s) & her husband & 2 children under 3. We were staying in a quiet village in Devon – and spotted that the local Anglican church had an all-age service with baptism on the Sunday we were there. Perfect! We would be lost among the guests for the baptism & could just slip in and out without too much fuss. When you’re a minister on holiday you dread the ‘where are you from and what do you do?’ questions – maybe everyone does! So our funny groups trickled into church about 10 minutes before the service wa...

So the readings for Sunday August 29th are: Jeremiah 2:4-13 Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14 And the theme seems to be 'welcome'. Jesus (it seems) wants to be a bit more radical than simply saying 'be nice to people'. So our sense of hospitality, as a church needs to go beyond just how to be smiley and welcoming. As I've spent quite a bit of the summer as a welcomee, rather than a welcomer, I hope I can say something about what it means to be made welcome. The main service will be for all 4 churches here, so maybe the sense of radical hospitality also needs to embrace a new enthusiasm for working more closer together and seeking new ecumenical links. I also have Cranmer's 'prayer of humble access' running through my head "we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature (or even 'property') always to have mercy, and on that we depend...". God models for us the grace to embrace others full...

I'm not used t having so long to prepare - as I'm off again this Sunday & then back on 22nd. But I thought I'd better make a start: Readings are: Jeremiah 1:4-10 - 'before I formed you in the womb I knew you' & call of Jeremiah Hebrews 12:18-29 - a rather impenetrable bit about the worship of God (I think!) Luke 13:10-17 - the healing on the Sabbath of the woman bent double So - first thoughts. What keeps us bent & crippled - & how do we allow God to release us? And what is our worship about - hoe does it seem to others.. how do we ofer worship that allows people to meet with God? That's the trouble with holidays - too much time to think about big questions...