Categories: uncategorized
Date: 28 August 2008 20:07:49
Well everything depends upon how you look at things....
On the very positive side we have been told that the number of attendees will double tomorrow. The bad news is that the leafleting of the surrounding area was not a great success. For those who attended it seemed to be an enjoyable experience.
Upon arrival we found that Welsh Water had decided to dig up the road outside the chapel. This was complemented by discovering that the mains had caused a "blow back" last night that blew some pipes in the kitchen/ladies loo and flooded part of the hall. Thankfully there were people around at the time and things were halted in time.
Then, just after we started this morning, they managed to break the main and cause a 20ft high geyser. Clever fellows...
So we started the holiday club with a total of 7 adults.... and 2 children; fair play they had tarvelled the best part of 10 miles to get there. Yes, our total attendance was my two nephews, it was a good job I'd called my sister to remind her last night.
Are we dispirited? No!
It went well and we are seeing this as a trial run. What has become clear is that we, as a church, need to engage with our local community. This is something that many chapels and churches are discovering. As Christians we very often forget about everything else and literally live "of the world" but not necessarily "in it".
So we now need to see that our outreach to the young needs to begin with an outreach to the community as well. Unless Christians actually engage with the world immediately around them then our witness will amount to nothing.
History Today:
476: The Roman empire in the west comes to an end with the forced abdication of Romulus Augustulus. Maybe it would be considered that the last emperor would have the names of its co-founder and its first true emperor.
1864: The first Geneva Convention, governing internationally accepted rules of warfare, is signed by 26 nations.
1879: King Cetshwayo, the last great king of Zululand is captured following his defeat in the Anglo-Zulu war. There had been some early victories by the Zulu, especially Isandalwana and Hlobane Mountain but, following defeat at Khambula in March, the capital Ulundi fell in July. Zululand was annexed in 1887, following further rebellious activity, became part of Natal in 1897 and joined the Union of South Africa in 1910.
1914: The first naval action of WW1 sees the Royal Navy destroy German coastal patrols at Heligoland Blight. The British lost 33 men compared to 1000 Germans.
1963: Martin Luther King Jnr makes his famous 'I have a dream' speech to a rally of over 200,000 in Washington.
1983: Menachim Begin resigns as Prime Minister of Israel. A former member of Israel's Stern Gang - a terrorist organisation - became reborn as a politician.