Mentioning something six months later....A tale of valiant fractions.
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 15 November 2004 22:49:15
OK so this cropped up in this weeks local paper and I thought I'd add it and say something about it..
For the past three years a local group has organised a youth action weekend on the May bank holiday. It's called Ready for Action and its basically Soul in the City writ small. 200 or so kids + adults getting together to do gardening/diy in homes that need help. So far so funky. Really enjoyed the time I've spent on them, loads of fun and hard work.
I think we see, in this picture, how the work was given out though. I don't want to say any more on this but I think you'll find that someone seems to have more mud on him than anyone else on the team. We'll leave the rest unsaid.
Anyhow I thought I'd mention not this last one but the one before. Basically it was aces. Organised to be located in the church that I attend it had a really wonderful feel to it. On the bus the previous week I'd been praying and had had a clear something spring into my mind, which I decided to act on. When the groups were about to leave instead of asking them to go through the side door, as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the service, I asked the vicar if we could walk through the service as the congregation that was not a part of the weekend sang. 200 kids dutifully walked through the church.. It was the second day so already a good number of us looked a little mud stained and less than presentable. As the kids walked through and the music stopped I said what it was that I'd heard on the bus the week before. It was as if god was saying 'the world would tell you that the church is a fraction, a dwindling club. A minority. I will tell you about fractions. This' (the group that took ages and ages to walk through thr church in single file) 'is a fraction. This is a fraction of the kids who could make it on a fraction of the days for ready for action... This is a fraction of all of the congregations and a fraction of all the people who will help on this long weekend. This is a fraction of the people of a fraction of the churches from a small fraction of this country which is a smaller fraction of the world...This is a fraction, but this is also an army...'
Seriously it took yonks to get the kids walking through the hall, in silence because the music had stopped and Ididnt speak for that long before I joined the group. It was excellent and a good visual message of the differnce in viewpoints...
Currently listening to: Clarkesville. The Half Chapter. Currently playing: well I've finished Halo one and am now in the uncomfortable wait for Halo 2. Bless 'em if wifey and kiddies hadn't ordered me to get it for an early birthday pressie I'd be waiting until Christmas. As it is (hopefully) it'll arrive tomorrow! Yay!