Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Monday, 10 December 2012

A weekend of fun and laughter - must be Christmas!


Logo

It has been a non-stop weekend of fun. Friday night the church hosted a Gospel concert for the YMCA. It was good to see the worship area packed out. God was truly in the house! Saturday we took 'Get in the Picture' to the local shopping centre. The idea being youngsters and their families are invited to dress-up as a character from the nativity, be it a wise man, shepherd, an angle, Mary or baby Jesus, and then have their photograph taken. This can then be downloaded for free off the Internet. We have done this the last two years and struggled to encourage people to travel up the escalator to where we were set up. This year I managed to persuade the manager, Peter, to let us use one of the empty ground floor shops. What a difference it made.  Thanks Peter. We took around 200 photos in 6 hours. Add this to a successful evening at junior PHAB (Physically handicapped and able bodied) club on Wednesday night and we can safely say the event was a success. If you want to know more about 'Get in the Picture' have a look at the website: http://www.getinthepicture.org.uk/  

Saturday evening was sermon writing, I really should be better prepared, and X-Factor on TV - should I admit that?. On Sunday morning church we had a visitor, John the Baptist. OK so it was me in my husband's dressing gown, it kind of looked like camel hair, tied with a leather belt. I did make the congregation jump by suddenly appearing and saying in my dodgy Yorkshire accent (with Gloucestershire tinges - I can't help where I am from), 'Hello, do you want a locust?' (mini chocolate Crunchies) before dipping them in my pot of honey I like to do mad things occasionally. Who said church should be boring? Lets have fun, fun, fun! God gave us a sense of humour and a creative mind and wants us to use it. He laughs with us and maybe sometimes at us given the silly things we do sometimes. It's OK to laugh with God. Spirituality laced with humour is a healthy spirituality. It's Christmas lets laugh and have fun!

Many people think church is boring and unfortunately, it so often is. Church, worshiping God, and sharing the gospel should be done with a smile on our face, a glint in our eye, and with much laughter. Who wants to be part of something stuffy, boring and way too serious? I am as guilty as the next preacher in being far too serious sometimes. I am only human (just wrote humour instead of human then - Freudian slip? HAHAHHA) and sometimes I just have other things on my mind that get in the wayThere is of course a place for being serious but we share a message of Good News that we can rejoice in. Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, of God being made flesh, the Immanuel - 'God with us.' Who grew up to be a little boy who played, laughed, and had fun. Who reached adulthood and still laughed and had fun. I am sure there were still a few games played as he teased and joked with the disciples. This is the man who's belly shook with laughter and who's tears mingled with others in good times and bad.  This is the Jesus who is real to me.




    
 

 




Friday, 16 December 2011

Banksy Christmas present

I have always loved Banksy's work which aims to provoke a reaction from its onlookers. Banksy's latest Christmas present is no exception. Have a look at the link below to see what I mean as he helps us to think about the true meaning of Christmas, minus the corruption that can be found around us, including in the Church itself.

Banksy artwork takes a swipe at church abuse | Christian News on Christian Today

I wish I lived in a world where the church was free from sexual, emotional, physical and spiritual abuse but I don't. Church reflects the problems of society and is made up of people from that same society. Christ seeks to bring light to the darkness. May he bring light to the corruption that exists in our churches and in our imperfect lives this Christmas.


A couple of years ago I went to a Banksy exhibition in Bristol.  Here is another of his...


Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Christmas

It is so hectic this time of year its a wonder that anyone has time to stop and think about the real meaning of Christmas and to gaze in wonder at the Christ-child.  Christmas has become for many about presents and an excuse to get drunk.  As I rush around preparing for Christmas services and visiting those who are housebound and sick I wish the world would slow down, just for a moment.  I bought a present for a little girl who is currently in hospital a few days ago, a monkey that laughed when you tickled it.  I put it in a bag with some tambourines that I had bought for church.  Every time I knocked the bag the sound of laughing and rattling could be heard, much to the amusement of me and my fellow shoppers.  I was still laughing along with the monkey some hours later.  Unfortunately the monkey made the little girl cry, but that's another story. 

As I reflect on the birth of Jesus this Christmas I pray that you will find time in your busy schedule to stop and do the same.  I hope that your Christmas will contain fun and laughter and many blessings in wonderful and unexpected ways.