Today is the 150th day of the year and it’s ‘There’s a hole in my bucket’ day. Remember the circular song in which Henry discovers a hole in his bucket, Lisa supplies solutions, Henry refutes them and it ends up with him needing water which he can’t get because of the hole?
Sometimes we seem to be similarly going round and round in the church. Trying to come up with new solutions to plug the holes: lack of congregation, aging congregations, dwindling financial resources, crumbling buildings, general fatigue ….
Both Henry and Lisa could save time and effort by getting a new bucket and repurposing the old – use it as a plant pot maybe. Maybe the time has come in our churches to look at existing things in a new way and repurpose, celebrating how it was in the past and the good it did when at its prime but moving forward. It could even be the time to bring in something new – fresh ideas, creative ways of doing things, adapting to the times.
Why don’t they get a new bucket? It can’t be because they can’t afford it – they are after all spending out time and finances on the solutions that don’t work (how would straw plug the hole anyway?). They are clinging to the familiar and refusing to let go. An emotional solution could be then to find a new use for their old ‘friend’ – as a plant pot it could bring them a fresh joy. Are there ways we could re-purpose our buildings or resources which would be new creative sources of joy?
Of course, there are ways to mend the hole which would work that Lisa and Henry have yet to discover and that may be the case with the holes we need to plug. However, we need to be open to other solutions which may feel radical but essential if we are to get living water to the people who thirst.