it's show time

Date: 23 March 2012 23:41:31

Forty blogs of Lent

28

Holiday Church. Do you attend a Church when on holiday? We (my wife, Linda and I) try to, if we can find one. In the UK it is easy to find one of the mainstream protestant organisations (though I tend to have a holiday from Anglicanism.) In countries where Christianity is mainly Orthodox we have hit a blank, not being able to find an English speaking service in either Greece (Lindos, on the island of Rhodes), or in Bulgaria (Nessebar, on the Black Sea coast). Another blank was drawn in search of winter sun this year, with no service around Albufiera, on the Algarve in Portugal. (There are English services on the Algarve, but not within easy reach by public transport.) Portugal isn't all bad. We found a small fellowship in an upstairs room behind the cathedral in Funchal on Madeira. The Portuguese language service had outgrown the premises, but the English one was still there. At the time of our visit they were about to do a church plant in the Azores. Speaking of church planting brings me to this year's summer holiday - and also onto the subject of Spain. In Gran Canaria for the first time, in the town of Puerto Rico, (famous for game fishing, holding the word records in several species landed) we found a place behind a shopping mall Only a few people in the service but the church has only been open since November, being a church plant from one in Playa del Inglés. we were told that there had been a good turn out at the other church. We have returned, and the church plant is slowly growing. Another good one was on the Costa del Sol. Calahonda Baptist Church were sharing a building with the Norwegian Lutherans, as they have outgrown their building, and are now building their own church. In the meantime they are using the Lutheran's building. But the Norwegian Lutheran's building is not your average church building. It used to be a hotel, and so it has a swimming pool. There were four baptisms in that pool on the day we visited. More remarkable the church is in a building that was once a brothel. And the worship leader was Yazz of "The only way is up" fame. But the one we've been to the most, is near to our time share on Tenerife So on years we don't swap our weeks, this is where we go. South Tenerife Christian Fellowship is above the supermarket. This church manages to reach out to holiday makers, to English speakers who have retired to the island, and has a ministry to the young drug users, of whom they are many on this part of Tenerife. So it is good to see that God is active, even in holiday destinations.

-o0o-

Originally posted on 28 June 2009 on St Pixels blogs - reblogged with alterations to bring it up to date.