This is my last newsletter and by this time next week most of our things will be packed up - thankfully the majority of our stuff, by the Removals Company- before we go on the boat on Monday 7th October. I’d like to leave you with some final thoughts, which I’ll do mainly on Sunday (I’ll email it around in case any who are away would like to hear!). So today here’s a picture that possibly means the most to me from my time at St Francis - the return of café after Covid in April 2021. It’s a picture that speaks volumes to me about the St Francis church family: It speaks of growing together in hard times, of determination to find ways to be together and to welcome others in, and of adaptability and creativity. It points to the many, many volunteers behind the scenes who made it happen, then and now: all those who volunteer at café, our children and young people and those who serve them - not to mention the school (even if they’re not in the picture this time!), those who have pushed forward with our vision for wholeness and healing, which often centres gently around café (an offered prayer, a tissue, a listening ear); also those who keep the grounds lovely and the building fit for purpose, all those who approved the endless risk assessments and everyone who showed up, invited friends and gave church a try. If someone had asked me what I love most about church in general, and how we can in a small way reflect God’s Kingdom, it’s the qualities above that this picture reminds me of. And so, ‘for this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers... (Ephesians 1:15,16).’
Read the rest of the newsletter here.
