From our Minister - September 2010

  Imagine that, by accident, you find yourself in a strange place.  Some things about it are familiar - there are cars, people going to work, familiar styles of buildings, but there is a major problem.  You cannot understand anything that the people around you say or write, nor do they understand what you say or write.  How are you going to communicate?  How are you going to get help to return home?

  This is the dilemma of the central character called Budai in a book called 'Metropole' by Frenc Kartyhiny that I read on holiday.  To make matters worse Budai is, in fact, a linguist - he is an expert in languages and how they work.   But even with this knowledge he is unable to communicate and make relationships with those around him.  The book is about his reactions and the way in which he tries to resolve the problem.  It is a fascinating book which has made me think about all sorts of things.

  It has reminded me of the loneliness that one feels when no one takes any interest or notice of you.  It has reminded me of the frustration and the despair which we can feel when we do not understand what is going on around us and we don't know how to get involved!  It has reminded me of the anxiety and fear that we feel when the familiar things that we rely on have been taken away.

  In many ways it reminds me a little of the first day at a new school or the first day at college, which is an experience many children and young people will be going through at this time of year, but above all it made me think about the experience of going to a church for the first time!

  Initially, it all seems very familiar, the people look just like everyone else, but it can be daunting and strange.  Everyone can be so busy that you feel ignored.  Even though conversation and chatter is in your own language, it is about things, places and events which you have no knowledge or understanding of.  The hymns, readings and sermons may be full of words that are not easily understood without help.  You have to watch others for clues about when to stand up, sit down and which book to pick up!  False assumptions are made that we understand, know and feel part of what is going on.  Yet it can have a terribly alienating feeling.

  September 26^th is Back to Church Sunday.  On that day, across the country many will step across the threshold of a church for either the first time or after a very long time away.  What will their experience be like?  Will it be like the one I have described?

  Here in Marshalswick I know that we will always do our best to make sure that there will be a welcome, that no one will feel alone or excluded, disoriented or alone.... for the church is a place where anyone and everyone can find a welcome, find companionship and understanding, but above all it is a place where the love of God is shared by his people.

  So if you have been invited to come along on September 26^th - come with confidence, you will not have the experience of Budai!  If you are a 'regular', remember that we all share in the experience of welcoming and being welcomed into the family of God, for it is only through our relationship with Him can we find our way to our ultimate home, and invite someone along on that day.... with confidence!

  Graham Clarke