Saturday, March 5, 2011
A moment in the spotlight!
My husband texted this program. They were asking who people had been photographed with. Can you imagine my surprise when they rang me to ask me about my photo. I was looking after my granddaughter at the time, not listening to the radio, and wondered what on earth was going on. They told me what my husband had done, and put me through live to the radio.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
We are all made in the image of God.
A very special project has come together at last. We have had our first Wednesday Church meeting; a church service specifically for special needs adults.
This was the culmination of prayer, courses attended by volunteers and interested people, collaborative working between churches and a tremendous will to ensure that adults with learning difficulties have equal rights to worship and fellowship in a Christian community.
The session began with a welcome and refreshments, and a 'getting to know you' discussion between the congregation and the volunteers. Everyone was a little nervous, but it is surprising what a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit can do. Soon everyone was chatting, making name badges and getting to know each other.
The service was heralded by music coming from the church indicating that people should move from the hall into the church, changing the location and the mood to get everyone ready for worship.
The service itself had been planned so that the language was not too difficult and with visual aids, a PowerPoint presentation to show words of hymns and prayers, and the hymns were 'signed' for those who were unable to communicate in any other way.
The sermon was in the form of a story and the message was that everyone is welcome in God's house. This was an excellent way to help everyone understand the message. We felt that this was very appropriate and Jesus himself used stories and parables to help people understand his teachings.
The service was a tremendous success, and I cannot help feeling that something special happened in the house of God on Wednesday. Everyone, whoever, whatever and however they could worshipped in their own way, and God was there with us to help us share the love that we all need.
We are all God's children and made in his image. I am sure that this congregation reflects the loving and special part of God's image. The enthusiasm and lack of self-consciousness in which the songs were sung, and the Amen's shouted is a lesson to us all.
The Wednesday Church is a pilot project and will run until July, in the hope that we can then extend it and make it permanent. Keep us in your prayers for this very special project.
This was the culmination of prayer, courses attended by volunteers and interested people, collaborative working between churches and a tremendous will to ensure that adults with learning difficulties have equal rights to worship and fellowship in a Christian community.
The session began with a welcome and refreshments, and a 'getting to know you' discussion between the congregation and the volunteers. Everyone was a little nervous, but it is surprising what a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit can do. Soon everyone was chatting, making name badges and getting to know each other.
The service was heralded by music coming from the church indicating that people should move from the hall into the church, changing the location and the mood to get everyone ready for worship.
The service itself had been planned so that the language was not too difficult and with visual aids, a PowerPoint presentation to show words of hymns and prayers, and the hymns were 'signed' for those who were unable to communicate in any other way.
The sermon was in the form of a story and the message was that everyone is welcome in God's house. This was an excellent way to help everyone understand the message. We felt that this was very appropriate and Jesus himself used stories and parables to help people understand his teachings.
The service was a tremendous success, and I cannot help feeling that something special happened in the house of God on Wednesday. Everyone, whoever, whatever and however they could worshipped in their own way, and God was there with us to help us share the love that we all need.
We are all God's children and made in his image. I am sure that this congregation reflects the loving and special part of God's image. The enthusiasm and lack of self-consciousness in which the songs were sung, and the Amen's shouted is a lesson to us all.
The Wednesday Church is a pilot project and will run until July, in the hope that we can then extend it and make it permanent. Keep us in your prayers for this very special project.
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