LETTER FROM THE MINISTER.

The car has barely reached the end of the street when the five year old pipes up; " Are we there yet?"

It's a good question for a Church to ask - " Are we there yet?"

First impressions might encourage a feeling of satisfaction. Generally good attendances, church finances in reasonable shape - initiatives popping up here and there - Evening Services, participation in worship, active and alive Youth groups, explorations of new possibilities in youth leadership…and out on the edges, individuals and small groups making their pilgrim journey with passion and hunger. New people coming bit by bit into the life of the congregation - and children welcomed to the heart of all we do. Good things. Precious things.

But in answer to the question," Are we there yet?" we have to say not by some distance. For until,

§ We agonise over the drifters and the lapsed till we hurt enough to go looking for them:
§ We give of our resources at a level that indicates our real commitment to building the Kingdom of God:
§ We go the second and third mile to welcome, embrace, come to know and treasure all newcomers:
§ We have an urgent sense of mission and concern for those who are seeming to live without a meaningful faith:
§ We are brave to explore all forms of worship, and can demonstrate an easy tolerance towards expressions of worship that are new and strange to us:
§ We are open and eager in seeking to express our oneness with our brothers and sisters from different Christian traditions:
§ We feel a real sense of being part of the World Church, and the Church of Scotland:
§ We pursue every opportunity to grow in Christian love towards one another:
§ We feel deep concerns expressed in practical ways for the disadvantaged of our society - and a passionate commitment to righting the injustices that deface the world:
§ We seek time with God and the chance to grow in understanding of the faith, and personal journey with him.
Until these become the hallmarks of our personal Christian experience and the defining characteristics of our congregational life…then, I guess, we're not " there yet…"

A bit to go, I guess….much praying still to be done.
Still, it's good to have targets, aspirations…dreams….

Love to all

Laurence Twaddle.