Jenny’s letter 22nd September
Dear Friends,
As I write this on Saturday morning I am enjoying the beautiful sound of the church bells ringing.
The Ancient Society of College Youths is a London based, but international, ringing society founded in 1637. It’s having its annual ‘Peal Weekend’ and members local and from further away are ringing full peals. A full peal lasts around 3 hours 15 minutes- it’s quite a work out!
The sound of bells is, in my opinion, beautiful – just as well since I live so close to the tower. Traditionally church bells were used to let people know that divine worship was about to take place. The bells would ring out and slow to a single toll or five minute bell.
There were many times in Pilton, Devon, when, as a child, I or other choir members were running up the path to church, accompanied by the sound of that single bell, in the hope that we could get our robes on in time to process out to sing. I would usually describe the sound of bells as a happy sound but when muffled, as we last heard them for The reverend Canon Peter Christensen’s funeral, there is a melancholy to them.
Bells are usually an invitation to worship. They call welcome for miles around. However, once inside the church, the bell-ringers hand welcome over to the members of the congregation. From this moment the experience of those who walk through the door, regularly or for the first time, depends a great deal on the interaction with others and on the quality of the worship. Some may feel that God has brought them to St Barnabas, or wherever it is, dear reader, that you go to church, but every minister knows that people stay at a church when they begin to feel they belong.
The difficulty with this is that we are all different. Some would feel offended if there was no warmth in that greeting; no opportunity for a chat and/or refreshment. Others much prefer to creep in quietly; sit separately; speak to no one. We who are there regularly, we who are part of that welcome, need to be very sensitive to the needs of others.
When several people speak to me on separate occasions about a subject, I often wonder whether God is trying to get through to me. Over the past few weeks several different people have talked to me about what happens in the period of time that occurs between services.
There is one young woman who describes that period of time between services as having a really welcoming ‘vibe’ By this I think that she means atmosphere or ‘buzz’ about it. You can come, as some do, without staying for worship. You are welcome from about 10.25-11.00 am. Others have spoken about how warm and friendly that time is. I think that we usually have plentiful amounts of tea and coffee and good cake. The idea behind it is if you were too busy to get breakfast you could find sustenance when you arrived or, if you had eaten breakfast early you could have a mid-morning cuppa and a snack. We know what our food offering to others should be like. The Bible is clear about God’s abundant generosity towards us and that is how we should model welcome.
We have two people who do welcome duty on the door at this time. I know that those of you who do that job can sometimes be dragged away from your position, but you are so important. It maybe you they ask you for a gluten free wafer, or where to put the collection. It maybe you who offers a child one of the ‘busy bags’ aimed at children of all ages. Perhaps you will be the only person they talk to that day.
Moving further into church, I know some of our older members like to sit down in the comfy chairs at the back. Some spoke to me about how they feel that people don’t talk to them or want to know them. I suspect that the latter is not true but understand why it feels this way. The difference in height of those sitting and standing means it’s hard to engage with those on a different level. Could you sit down and have a word with someone you have never talked to? Or in fact stand up? Someone else spoke about being blanked by a congregation member. I know that I can be very guilty of this, and I am sorry if it was, or is ever, me. My head is in so many things, not least the next service. If it happens to you make a point of speaking to that individual next time. If it’s me, just tell me and I will guarantee it’s not personal and will apologise.
Finally, there are times when we just need the space. I am glad that some of you make sure everyone has had someone to say hello to, but at times that is all that is needed. Additionally, it is tempting to do lots of church admin and business at coffee time. To some extent this is inevitable but perhaps arranging a chat after church is a better time for this?
We will never get it all right. All we can do is to give it our best efforts and listen to God and to one another. I think what happens now is pretty good and with a few little tweaks will be even better.
With every blessing,
