Tilehouse Street Baptist Church,
Hitchin Tilehouse Street Baptist Church,
Hitchin
OUTLOOK
Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves,
for tomorrow the Lord will do
amazing things among you."
Joshua 3:5
Dear Friends
Even in a church such as ours which does not have Mondays - Saturdays full of activity throughout the year the month of August brings a change in routine. There's a sense of relaxation, a slowing of the pace of life. (Even if in reality it doesn't actually happen!) And such changes to the routines of life are good for us. At the Hertfordshire Ministers' Meeting last Monday we took time to share tips and hints and good practices for taking a break, for refreshment and renewal, and for embracing a different rhythm and pattern of life.
However you and I both know that before we know where we are it'll be September and the familiar routines will begin again. So let me urge you to take whatever opportunities you are given in August to "pause to be still, to breathe slowly, and to recentre your scattered senses upon the presence of God."*
I wanted to remind us all of the importance of such times before I then jump ahead to look to a couple of things happening in September. Firstly, over the weekend of the 13th and 14th September we will be celebrating Harvest and be open (on the 13th) to welcome riders and walkers in the annual fund-raising event run by the Beds. & Herts. Historic Churches Trust known as Bike 'n Hike. On the Saturday we will hold a coffee morning from 10.30-12.30 with the usual stalls and refreshments and on Sunday, after the morning Harvest Celebration service, lunch will be served in the Bunyan Room. As is our custom we will be supporting Operation Agri whose appeal this year is "Trees, bees & seeds" focusing on empowering farmers in Tanzania. https://operationagri.org.uk/current-appeal/
Secondly, in 1997 a Christian charity called Through the Roof was started and the last Sunday in September each year was designated Disability Awareness Sunday. The charity provides life-changing opportunities for disabled people and equips churches and the Christian community to fully involve disabled people and we will be using their worship material on Sunday 21st as we follow up on one of the commitments we made as part of our response to Project Violet. (The following Sunday will be a church meeting Sunday!) Although our church building is accessible in so many ways I have no doubt that we will find there is still more we can do. And this charity also works with Wheels for the World, a charity with which our link missionaries, Alan and Megan Barker, work in Nepal. https://throughtheroof.org/
The farmers of Tanzania have limited resources compared to those in more prosperous countries. Those who are disabled are often side- lined in society, seen only for what they can't do. But both Operation Agri and Through the Roof challenge the stereo-types and encourage, instead, a 'can do' attitude. Perhaps, for some of us, the balance between times of rest and times of action have shifted necessarily and inevitably these days more to the former but I want to encourage us all to keep a 'can do' attitude. Allowing the Holy Spirit to be at work in us, equipping and enabling us to serve, whenever and wherever we can.
For as 2 Corinthians 4 says: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Every blessing,
Jane
* Part of the Lectio365 morning prayer app
