Monday Spot (7 June 2010)
What a tragedy we have witnessed in the last few days in Cumbria and, in particular, the town of Whitehaven.
Whitehaven
Twelve random killings, or perhaps not so random as we first thought, and numerous injuries at the hands of a man who seemed at first to have lost control. We can only pray for the local people and all those who have been affected. Major Drew McCombe focused our attention on this during yesterday’s morning meeting as we held a ‘Silence for Whitehaven’.
The meeting had another somewhat topical theme in the ‘what would Jesus say’ series when Drew asked ‘What would Jesus say to…John Terry’. For those not interested in football, JohnTerry is captain of Chelsea Football Club and a former captain of the English team playing in the upcoming World Cup which starts next weekend in South Africa. John is playing in the tournament but is not captain because of some ‘off the field’ behavioural problems which we need not go into now.
John Terry
In support of his theme Drew chose songs 20, 220, 793, 64 and 431 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 1404 and 475 from Songs of Fellowship. The Singing Company (Dedication Song) and Songsters (He’s the Lily) each provided musical ministry, that from the Singing Company being particularly chosen with the dedication ceremony of Benjamin Matthew Craik in mind. This was carried out by Major Drew with many friends and family members present.
Major Drew McCombe
So, what would Jesus say to John Terry? In his message Drew said:
Back in February John Terry had a sordid story revealed by the nation’s media. As a footballer he is a role model but as a husband and a parent ther is much to be desired. It is a concern that, nowadays, the media are the drivers of what is right and wrong in society. We have got rid of public flogging and replaced it with TV. This should be a wake-up call to the church. Where is it in today’s world? It is an uncomfortable thought that the problem for John Terry is not what he did but the fact that he was caught. Most are not. Jesus had words to say on the subject and his standards were high. By these standards most of us would be morally bankrupt and would be in no position to point eh finger at others. Jesus said ‘if anyone is free from sin let him cast the first stone’. No one responded and gradually the crowd dispersed leaving only the disgraced woman and Jesus. ‘I don’t condemn you either’, he said. John Terry is a sinner and a rebel, but he is in common with most in the human race. Jesus will not condemn him either because he loves everyone and will forgive us all. This is amazing compassion. But his demand is ‘go now and sin no more’. Start living differently!
Our evening meeting was led by Majors Rik & Chris Pears. Their most recent appointment before retirement was as Commanding Officers at Portsmouth Citadel and Rik is still involved with tutoring at William Booth College. Songs 1404 (again), 1607, 894, 120 and 1346 from Songs of Fellowship and 156 from the Salvation Army Song Book were chosen. Musical contributions were provided by both Band and Songsters with ‘Here is Love’ and ‘I miss my time with you’ respectively. A testimony period comprising six highly moving expressions of what God is doing in the lives of people right here in Chatham was included and scripture used was from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.
In his address Major Rik said:
We all have to face leaving our comfort zone at some time or other and we have good reason to be nervous about it. That thought leads us to a question, ‘what is church?’. We might think of it as a building but it is much more than that. or an organisation, perhaps. But our writer, Paul, would find that mystifying. He saw church as ‘people’ ordained by God himself at Pentecost. It was part of the change God brought to the world, a freedom of fellowship embracing all people and helping with their lack of understanding. We need to express the love of Jesus so that others might come to a new and radical relationship with him. We must share what we already have so that, daily, people will come to faith. Those that know, tell those that don’t! This is not just for the future but for the here and now. We don’t need to understand, just to LIVE the experience. As a Christian community we offer an alternative, plausible, way of life. Faith in Christ can produce reconciliation between people as well as growth in God.. We can all belong to each other and have an important part to play in the community of Christ, the CHURCH.
As a ‘taster’ for the Sunday the Songsters gave a musical evening at the Gillingham Baptist Church on Saturday evening and we shall be reporting on that tomorrow. We are also pleased to note that the Community Gospel Choir, formed for our Christmas events in 2009, has begun rehearsals again and will be participating in the Divisional Fiesta Day at The Hawthorns School, near Bletchingly, on Sunday 18 July. More details of this will follow but for the time being check out this poster.
click on poster to enlarge
Major Beverley McCombe finishes her session at the International College for Officers this week and will be back with us next Sunday. Her participation in the course has been affected to some degree by her illness but we are looking forward to her return and will continue our prayers for a full recovery.
Welcome back!
And finally can we suggest you scroll down our ‘welcome’ page to the post headed ‘Three Peaks Challenge’. If you would like to sponsor Chris as he takes on this physically demanding attempt you will find there the links to enable you to do so. We will be most grateful for any donations made. Thank-you.