Someone once said, if there was a perfect church and you joined it, it would then no longer be perfect. This says something about human nature. Our desire though, to worship something, to join together and be a collective, is hard wired into our psyche. So as we come to discuss "What would your future church look like?" It's not been easy.
First of all, is church a place, a community, a thing or a building.?Is it just the act of coming together to worship God in a particular place or time, or is it more than that? These are some of the questions we wrestled with as we planned FTUK today. Our experiences are vastly different. Historically church may have been the place that shaped our lives, but if that has not been your experience so far, how necessary is it?
One thought that does occur to me is that perhaps we should be asking why do we need faith, more than why do we need church? It seems to me that the reason we have church is because we have faith. That was why the church in Acts happened in the first place. It was their faith in Jesus Christ that brought them together. Now church has become a myriad of things to different people. But what is important? What should be at the core of these faith communities?
As we come together, at that's the thing, we're coming together - I hope we'll discuss what it is our children, families and young people want and need from a church community. We'll challenge ourselves to think if our churches are providing that and if not, where we need to change.
Our story time will be different this week - we're not really mentioning it that much. Nehemiah is the man at the centre of it - given a vision to rebuild Jerusalem after the exile, he took his queue from God and ran with it. You can find out more here:
and if you get hooked, then why not read on a bit to find out what happened, it's quite an interesting story. With only 13 chapters, you can read it in a week. Nehemiah recognised that Jerusalem was not the place it ought to be. Seeking to rebuild the walls, and by doing so, the community within it, the Jews were brought back to the heart of what it means to be a people of faith. What a legacy!
On Sunday, we'll be giving you the chance to imagine what a rebuilt church might be. So get ready with paper, pens, felt tips. We'll be asking you to draw what your future church will look like. You'll also need:
a large chocolate bar,
some smarties or small sweets,
your favourite book
a candle
post it notes (or pieces of paper)
All will be revealed! Till then, I'll leave you this brilliant cartooon from Dave Walker at www.cartoonchuch.com
For younger ones:
This week features a Nehemiah colouring sheet, a word search and spot the difference!
Colouring Sheet:
Spot the difference
Word search
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