All change!

Regular readers of my blog will notice a couple of changes as they sign in. First of all is the new layout and colours to the blog page, secondly I have changed the title! One of the previous ministers at my church West Bromwich Community Church www.westbromchurch.org used to say 'if things don't change they will stay as they are! That may sound a stupid statement, but it is very true.

As a church we cannot afford to let things stay as they are, if we do, we may as well put up the for sale sign now! I have been in my church for 40 years now and seen many changes from renaming the church to rebuilding and renovating the building. At present we are on our second building programme since we moved into the place in 1945. I was not around then, but I well remember the major renovations that took place in the early 70's.

If everything stays the same, it gets stale, has little relevance and can be a complete waste of time. About 18 months ago we formulated a five year vision plan for the church. This included many things but the most exciting to me are the new ministries that will be phased in during those five years. They are bold, dramatic and for some of them, we have no idea at the moment whether the funding will be available! We are trusting that God will take the lead and show us the way forward.

Till next time.

Death, life and lots in between

Some time ago I wrote about the death of Alan, a 64 year old guy who had come into contact with us through the food bank. Together with a colleague I recently attended Alan's funeral. It was a sad time in more ways than one. There were 6 mourners there, (3 family and 3 who had tried to help Alan). The minister leading the service did his best, but as is so often the case knew nothing of the life of Alan. Most of what he spoke of during the service was learned just prior to the funeral.

A friend of Alan's who was on the streets with him was late for the funeral due to a transport mix up and had to say farewell at the end of the service. It was a very sad time for everyone there and an experience that I would not widh to go through again.

It's still a time of learning at the Food Bank. We continue to hear more stories of the issues that more and more people are facing. We had a homeless man in recently who broke down and cried when we gave him food. A lady with children all of whom had undergone domestic violence came in for food. Another man asks for food because where he lives people encourage him and sometimes force him to take drugs, thus relieving him of his benefit. he is getting support from a drugs support worker but is understandably depressed with his situation.

It still amazes me that in 2009, in a civilised country that there are thousands of individuals and families where people are unable to afford the basics of life. We can come up with any number of reasons why it happens, but until we decide to do something about it, it will go on.

I started this post with a tale of death. I would like to finish with a tale of new life. On Sunday January 12th 2009, our second granddaughter Abigail was born. Abigail and mom are doing well and Emmy is delighted to be a big sister after months of waiting!