Staff nights out and basketball

Last night, B and I went to her end of term staff do. It was a lovely evening spent chatting with a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds. Such a diverse group all coming together for one purpose, to educate a bunch of kids over on the Dee Road estate.

This morning saw me playing basketball with four big Zim men. As I approached the court onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking ' what on earth is he doing?' They are all brothers, spread across the nations at the moment but brought together for one weekend.

I felt privileged to have been invited to play with them and a little embarrassed that I showed them all how to play (only joking). They are a group of brothers who obviously love each other in a manly no nonsense sort of way, they are guys who love Jesus and they are guys who open up their family to let others come and be part of it.

Following on from my post yesterday I once again saw the joy of being part of this world wide family that is the family of God. In a small way, B's school reflects the diverse nature of the church, people from all backgrounds and experiences coming together for one purpose, only our purpose is to worship Jesus Christ.

Family ties

As I prepare to send out the final run order for Sunday I cannot help but be excited. What looks on paper, is a reflection of us as a family. We will have 9 children from Chernobyl with us on Sunday, part of the great work the Sue Butcher-Bigley is doing. We will be giving them bibles in Russian and generally making a bit of a fuss of them because we want to express our love for those who are in tough circumstances.

We will be baptising Steve and Jenny, each will give a short personal story and then we will baptise them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as they make public that which has happened internally. At the same time we will bring Steve, Nitin and William into membership; they are declaring that they want to be loved in this local expression of church and are saying that they are totally on board with the vision of its leaders.

Our brother from Zimbabwe, Sibs Sabanda is then going to preach from the word of God. Last time he gave us a word which was at a mid week meeting, it was a prophetic word for us as a church and so I am in anticipation as to what God will do through him.

During the morning we will be focusing on Jesus; our Brother, our King our Saviour. We will worship him in song and in the giving of our money. The only reason that there is so much to get through on Sunday morning is because we are family. Not humanly but spiritually. I have a wonderful earthly family, but I also have a wonderful spiritual family that is not just confined to the borders of Reading. This time next year, Sean and family will be in Amsterdam; Dave and Hannah Henson are now back in St. Petersburg; Pervez is back home in Pakistan; Sibs is over here visiting his family from Zim and will be with us on Sunday morning; Pastor Paul continues to do great things in Kampala, Uganda.

The family I feel part of and that we should all feel part of, is the universal church of Jesus Christ, expressed through the local church we are a serving, giving, loving part of in the town in which we live.

A servant hearted family

On Tuesday evening the cell leaders, deacons and elders gathered together for a social event at the home of the Butcher-Bigleys. As we arrived up their street we were greeted by Ben and his friend who were ushering people into parking spaces along the road, with little white paddles. It was like something out of the movies as they went about their job with great precision and politeness.

Getting to the house we were greeted by Kelly Sue and Danutia dressed in black and white and asking us what we would like to drink. The rest of the family were also in black and white as they served us drinks and canapes. The garden had been dressed beautifully for us and the food was a fantastic buffet of various meats, salads and bread. Pudding was one of the best banoffee pies ever and/or a white chocolate cheesecake - coffee and biscuits followed.

The evening was a great success with the opportunity to talk to friends that you otherwise don't get the chance to due to the business of life. This was greatly helped by the outstanding service of the Butcher-Bigley family. It was literally like being at a hotel or function venue with their care and attention to detail. A family of RFC heroes.