Sometimes a seemingly innocent telephone call can set a massive challenge for you. One such call landed in my lap on the last Saturday in August, the challenge was that we are taking responsibility for a further four Churches which we are inheriting from a neighbouring Circuit and the plan was to hold a special service to mark the occasion, obviously under current legislation, this could not be held inside and couldn’t include the singing of hymns (something essential to Methodists) and I was charged with sorting the audio. I hadn’t a clue how to do this, but thankfully, I am surrounded by people far more gifted than I in technical ability.
On Saturday 12th September I drove out to a village, now to the extreme north of the new look circuit, some twenty-five miles north of Ipswich, feeling incredibly nervous, it was important that this worked. God gifted us with a glorious sunny afternoon and through the wonder of modern technology we were able to transmit the service direct to peoples car radios, we had a live band and even our preacher for the afternoon, a minister who wasn’t able to be at the even in person was able to preach from her home twelve miles away. People were able to sit in their cars and sing along, a treat for most.
The event was memorable, and it felt as though we had broken new ground, finding a creative solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem only a fortnight earlier. I am reminded one again of the words of a sermon I heard many years ago, when the minister claimed “God never causes pain and suffering, but he always works through it” I don’t know whether I have agreed wholeheartedly with that claim and it resonates over and over because Karen and I were going through an extremely painful time when I first heard it said, but I am sure of this. I have seen the Church and individual people being imaginative and creative over the last six months in ways I would have thought unimaginable before the times of Covid 19 and I believe that when we are challenged at times like this, the results can be worthy of the effort.
As we start to plan for Advent and Christmas, things will look different this year, now is the time to unleash our creativity, who knows what is possible?