As my regular readers will know I’m on placement at the moment on a Methodist Circuit in North West England.
Today I had a whistle-stop tour with the Superintendent Minister to give me an idea of what a Super’s day can involve. We started off with the Luncheon Club at one of his churches, which runs every Tuesday and serves a delicious hot two course meal at cost price. Those dining were a mixture of church members and the local community. We were treated to beef stew, potatoes, string beans and carrots. For desert there was creamy rice pudding with home-made jam! What made it special though wasn’t the food, delicious though it was, but the conversations and warm welcome. I chatted to several people and they all told me how much they valued the lunch club. For some of the elderly diners it was the only time they would leave their homes this week. What a fantastic way for this church to serve their local community and demonstrate Christian love in a very practical way!
There is something spiritual about this too. Jesus often sat down to eat with people and table fellowship was a very big part of his ministry. He offered hospitality too, providing wine at a wedding and cooking fish for his disciples on the shores of Galilee. I think that simple hospitality is important for churches, not just as a way of serving the community but because the sharing of food helps to break down barriers and can lead to new or renewed relationships.
So what about the ‘Happy Days’ Annual?
The second visit of the day was to a Thrift Shop at another church. The Thrift Shop is a bit like a charity shop, selling donated goods. It was held in the church hall and was full of people busily sorting through goods when we arrived. There were clothes, CDs and DVDs, books, toys and other assorted goods. Amongst the books was the ‘Happy Days’ Annual with a picture of a grinning Fonz on the cover, but I resisted the temptation to buy it and wallow in childhood nostalgia! The prices are a lot lower than a charity shop and whilst the church does make money from the Thrift Shop and considers it an income stream the primary purpose is service to the community; selling goods at prices people can afford so that they can have decent clothes etc.
A church should be serving its community. I was uplifted by the service I saw in action today and hope that others are inspired to follow their examples and reach out to their own communities, just as Jesus reached out and served those around him.
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