The Salvation Army Chatham

‘Warmer than Rome’ was the comment of the TV weather presenter along with the reminder that midsummer’s day is just four weeks away.

Rome’s famous landmark

At last it seems that summer has arrived (and about time too, we hear some of you say). Ironic then that we should be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit, represented by tongues of fire, to the disciples. But good for the ‘Global Day of Prayer’ event being staged in Jackson’s Fields which a number of our normal congregation attended. We hope to bring a report later in the week.

Our morning meeting, led by Major Drew McCombe, was centered around the theme of ‘Pentecost – Birth of the Church’and included songs 203, 192, 212 and 215 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 102 and 362 from Songs of Fellowship. Scripture chosen was from Acts 1:1-8 and Acts 2:1-13. Musical ministry was added by the Singing Company and Songsters with ‘Blessed be the Name’ and ‘Church on Fire’ respectively. A special illustration was provided for the many children present which involved the use of balloons to show what happens when wind, trapped inside, is suddenly released.

In his message Major Drew said:

We don’t have to pretend to be the ‘real thing’ because Pentecost defines who we are as Christians. It is the fulfilment of the prophesies – ‘I will pour out my spirit on all people’. We are the church, no race, class, generation or gender distinctions; its for all people in and beyond the church.

Its remarkable that the people were all together, in unity across all the natural divisions and practices of that society. They were to be the ‘witnesses’ and they were beginning to understand this, despite their fears. So it can be for us as individuals as we seek to change things in our world. Let the dissatisfaction within take its place in you so that the spirit of God can also come. The challenge for the Army today is for us to ‘go public’ and be where modern life really is in the world. The disciples suddenly had the ability to communicate with all people and we must seek to do the same. There is a challenge right here in Chatham as it seems the world is coming to us. It is our responsibility to grasp that challenge and communicate the gospel of Christ to everyone regardless of background. We can only do this when we are empowered by the Spirit of God.

Major Drew McCombe

In the evening Drew took as his topic the phrase ‘a disciple is guided by the Holy Spirit’ and chose songs 204, 209, 206 and 578 from the Salvation Army Song Book and 1013, 1 and 40 from Songs of Fellowship. Personal testimony was received reflecting the guidance of God in our individual lives and scripture was taken from Romans 8:13-17 and John 16:5-16. Tne Band contributed ‘Southdown’ and ‘Songs of Testimony’ and the Songsters ‘Jesus now more than ever’.

Drew said:

We cannot literally be with Jesus as the disciples were all those years ago. But we have guidance. How do we know if this is from the Holy Spirit? Some times we feel prompted to act in a certain way and circumstances show us that this has been spirit inspired. So we must always be open to the possibility that God wishes to speak to us and be able to respond. We need to learn to practise the presence of God so that our spiritual life is not routine and we need to understand what guidance is or, perhaps, is not. How often do we seek God’s guidance when we are not in trouble? Perhaps this is a measure of our understanding. Guidance is not being passive so we must pray for and exercise judgement, wisdom and choice. God wants us to develop these attributes. Listen for the Spirit continuously because this is vital for God’s followers. Act on God’s opportunities and be sensitive to them. Listen to the Spirit’s voice in the words of others because God passes on his messages through them. equally we can be God’s voice to each other.

The singing of our final hymn of the day ‘Guide me O thou great Jehovah’ to that fine Welsh Hymn Tune ‘Cwm Rhondda’ reminds us of a very significant event which took place yesterday about 150 miles away in the town of Evesham, almost on the Welsh border. This was the enrolment of one of our own adherents, Brenda Scoulding, as a soldier of The Salvation Army. Watch this space for an account during the week.

Major Beverley McCombe has returned to the International College for Officers during the past week following surgery and is progressing well, so we hear.

Thanks for joining us once again to read about the heartbeat of our corps and we hope you will visit us again in the near future. Hey, guess what! The weather forecasters say its going to cool down again by Tuesday. Wouldn’t you just know it?