We had another fantastic day with 4FrontTheatre yesterday at Lacewood Primary School and Carrfield Primary School in Bolton-on-Dearne. Our thanks to both schools for allowing us to bring this show to about 600 local primary school children.

‘Fisherman’s Tail’ tells the story of Simon, Andrew, James and John, ordinary fishermen working on the Sea of Galilee whose lives are transformed by Jesus: They are used to fishermen’s tall tales, but the tale of how Jesus transforms their lives is no tall story!

The scene is set with a rousing song introduction and then the four fishermen have a competition to see who can catch a ‘netbreaker’:

They catch nothing until Jesus comes along, and then they catch more than they had anticipated!

Jesus calls them to become ‘fishers of men’ and their adventures with him transform them. In the musical, Jesus is represented by the life ring (powerful symbolism reminding us of Jesus’ mission to save and rescue us.)

They sing an amazing song describing the parables, miracles, deliverance ministry and teaching of Jesus and also describe the times that Jesus stilled the storm and walked on water:

They go on to describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the opposition from religious leaders which led to His crucifixion. Peter’s denial is dealt with powerfully, as is the whole crucifixion scene. Peter sings mournfully about Jesus’s death as a martyr, ending with the plaintive question, ‘But what about us?’

The heavy emotion of the crucifixion soon turns to light-hearted comedy with the scenes describing the resurrection as told by Mary’s encounter with two angels. Having men play a woman is a standard pantomime feature, and the audience enjoyed voting for which of the four disciples would play Jesus (for the record, James and John, burly men with beards, performed this role twice, with Simon Peter, a lanky 6’4″ lad, having the last go!) These scenes were among the funniest in the show, with the angels’ song reflecting on the standard response of shock and awe when meeting angels (‘the aura divine’) and on Mary’s tears and joy as she meets Jesus.

The show goes on to describe various post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples (including to Thomas and, inevitably, the fishing scene described in John 21 and the restitution of Peter).

As they reach the end (‘tail’) of the tale, all four disciples reaffirm their love for Jesus and remind us that Jesus is sitll calling followers who will love him today.

We’ve had a wonderful day with the amazing team from 4FrontTheatre who have performed their show ‘Fisherman’s Tail’ three times – once at the Hill Primary School this morning, once for pupils of Gooseacre Primary School this afternoon and once for a public show this evening at St Helen’s Church Hall.

The team of four men worked their socks off carrying props to and fro and leaping around the stage in oilskins! They played the roles of Simon and Andrew, James and John, fishermen called by Jesus to be ‘fishers of men’ in a show which told the life story of Jesus in breathtaking detail. Songs looked at his life and ministry, from the parables to the miracles to his deliverance ministry and Messianic claims and also dealt with the crucifixion and resurrection in a simple but powerful way. The show contains enough slapstick and humour to keep the children giggling, but there is also pathos and seriousness when dealing with denial and death. The scenes when the angels tell Mary the news that Jesus is alive are probably amongst the funniest in the show; I’ve never seen it told from the angels’ point of view quite like this!

The four fishermen:

Slapstick comedy:

The fishermen in their boat, called to follow Jesus (represented by the lifebuoy… after all, Jesus saves!)

Fishermen facing a stormy sea:

Peter’s denial of Jesus:

‘John’ playing ‘Mary’ when the angels appear to her after the resurrection:

Jesus appearing to Mary after the resurrection:

Doubting Thomas feels the evidence for himself:

The finale:

Our thanks to both Primary schools in Thurnscoe for their support of the event and to St Helen’s for allowing us the use of their church hall today. We can’t wait for tomorrow’s shows at Lacewood Primary School and Carrfield Primary School in Bolton-on-Dearne.

There are two key words burning in my heart at present.

The first is ‘synergy.’ This word was brought to me by a minister at the start of Garry’s and my ministry as leaders of GPCC. ‘Synergy’ means ‘the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.‘ I feel the interation and cooperation of local churches in our ‘Dearne Churches Together‘ network is producing something far greater than any of us could achieve individually. Moreover, our interaction and cooperation with 4FrontTheatre (who will be in our area once again today and tomorrow) is, I believe, enabling us to reach children in our community in a greater way than we could ever hope to achieve on our own. I am thrilled to be able to partner with this Christian theatre company, to support their talented team and to give local children the opportunity to hear the gospel message in such an entertaining and thought-provoking manner.

The second word which God has laid on my heart lately is ‘seminal’, which means ‘of essential importance’ or ‘strongly influencing later developments’. This word came to me a few weeks ago as I was proofreading the first draft of my former boss’s doctoral thesis. I felt his words on fundamental British values in education will prove to be prophetic and will strongly influence later developments in the education system in the UK. As I have been pondering this word, however, I feel that God is saying that what we all do now as Christians serving God in our communities and in our generation is seminal. Nicky Gumbel (Bible In One Year, 25 June 2019), says that prayer ‘can change the course of events’, citing David’s impact on the nation of Israel long after his death (see 1 Kings 15:4-6) For David’s sake, God preserved his line and raised up a king to succeed him (Abijah) and by making Jerusalem strong. (1 Kings 15:4) God had promised David an enduring kingdom (2 Sam 7:16) and David prayed for the fulfilment of this promise (2 Sam 7:25-26). Later in the book of Kings, we see how God kept this promise and how David’s prayers were seminal, strongly influencing later developments.

I believe what is happening in the Dearne currently reflects these two words, ‘synergy’ and ‘seminal’. Please pray for the outreach at the Hill school and Gooseacre in Thurnscoe and Lacewood and Carrfield schools in Bolton-on-Dearne this week and for the community performance of ‘Fisherman’s Tail’ this evening at St Helen’s Church Hall, where about 100 people are expected to be present. Pray for a harvest now, but also pray for the future impact of this outreach in our communities, that as the name of Jesus is lifted high now, there will be an ongoing impact throughout history because of our witness and prayers today.

The following is a post from Anthony Billington of LICC (London Institute of Contemporary Christianity) which I found interesting.

“How, we might ask, does God exercise his kingly power in the world? And Jesus responds with stories of a farmer sowing seed, of yeast in a lump of dough, of treasure hidden in a field, of a net full of fish, of a man hiring workers for his vineyard, of a wedding banquet, of ten bridesmaids… Puzzled? Jesus’ parables are bound up with his announcement that God has begun to exercise his longed-for reign on earth – but it’s not always easy to see the links. Even the disciples found it difficult to connect the dots between the one and the other.

Jesus’ parables are often thought to be down-to-earth stories illustrating points which people would readily understand. But in many cases, instead of making the message clearer, they appear to make it harder to get! And there lies the challenge: implicit in every parable is a question – are your ears and eyes open to what God is doing?

Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question gives us a clue – maybe even the key – to what’s happening when he teaches in parables. The disciples are distinguished from the crowds not by their instant and intuitive understanding of the parables, but by their seeking of explanations, and by having the ‘secrets of the kingdom’ revealed to them. So it is that they are ‘blessed’, says Jesus, not because they are cleverer than others, or more deserving than others, but because God has given to them what he has not given to others – just as God granted Daniel access to the divine ‘mystery’ that the Babylonian sages were unable to understand. (Matt 13:10-11, 16)

In this case, the disciples witness God fulfilling his promises of salvation, even though it’s not happening like most people thought it would or should. One day God’s rule will embrace the whole earth, but he is already at work in unexpected ways – and each of the parables in Matthew 13 illustrates something of this tension between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’ of God’s reign.

For us too comes the challenge and incredible privilege of discerning God at work in the everyday, perhaps in quiet and unanticipated ways. Now as then – for those blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear – it’s possible to detect the extraordinary in the ordinary. Where will you see evidence of his reign today?” (Anthony Billington)

There’s lots happening in the weeks ahead, so get your diaries out now!

Cleaning & Maintenance Day (Saturday 29th June from 10 a.m.)

Join us to clean and tidy the church building this coming Saturday from 10 a.m.

We will be holding the funeral service for Maurice Woodward in our building on Wednesday 3rd July at 9.15 a.m.

Other Dates in July:

1. Annual General Meeting on Saturday 13th July at 4 p.m. Join us as we review the past year and look ahead to the future.

2. ‘Churches Together’ Prayer Meeting on Wednesday 17th July at 10.30 a.m. at Sacred Heart RC Church on Lockwood Road, Goldthorpe

3. Dedication service for Rebekah Turner on Sunday 21st July at 6 p.m. (followed by cake and drinks).

4. ‘Love Your Park’ event at Thurnscoe Flower Park on Saturday 27th July (12-4 p.m.) Come along to decorate a sun bear sculpture in preparation for the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival plus lots of other stalls to visit.

5. Family Fun Day organised by the Dearne Area Team on Monday 29th July (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) at the community centre in St Andrew’s Square in Bolton-on-Dearne

June is clearly a popular month for birthdays, as we had another birthday to celebrate tonight!