all is not lost

There were folk here today for an 'in-service' day.

We love it when they come. It's a chance for them to get off-site and they revel in what the facilities here afford.

Today they were mainly outside, it was such a nice day.

And we saw again what a gift it is to be able to give folk like that a flavour of what God himself is like.

No preaching or anything like that. Just 'get out and enjoy it all'. Which they did.

As well as the coffee and croissants with which the day began: and the coffee and juice and birthday cake when their morning break came around: and the simple but super lunch they received.

I mean, the thing has got to be idyllic! All that and sitting around on benches beneath the beautiful trees.

And it's all called 'work'!

Well, we love it.

Some of the children of the school choir along at our halls last week.

A helpful reminder on the wall at the back! "When you're in a storm ask Jesus into your boat!"

That's what we're all about here in the work we do. We're wanting to say to folk that the Lord's a wonderful God, get out there and enjoy him to the full.

But it's set against a backdrop of a world that's gone all wrong. And a church that's really rather lost the plot.

I was meeting with others from right across the land this afternoon. To pray, as much as anything.

But also to talk. And to try and hear just what the Lord is saying in these days.

The meeting was fruitful, I think.

As was the 'meeting' at night.

The folk that I meet with and lead as a sort of fellowship group have set up a screening of the film 'The Age of Stupid'.

It's powerful stuff. Makes Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth seem pretty tame.

And the thing to be avoided when the screening ends is a feeling of despair.

At least that's the common consensus from listening to folk who've had the chance to see the film already. It can leaving you feeling really pretty depressed.

We deal in the currency of hope, though. So we were working a bit on that tonight. How best to build on the impact the film always has and generate hope in the hearts of those who view it.

All is by no means lost. There are things that can be done.

It's a case of encouraging people to get on now and do them.

Which is really pretty similar to what we were working at, too, this afternoon.

All is not lost. There are things that can be done.

It's time to get up and do them.