Tonight’s family service looked at the theme of remembrance.We often find it easy to remember some things (names or numbers, depending on our interests and jobs), but find it hard to remember others (Garry has trouble remembering dates, for example!) He spoke about different ways we have of remembering things ( eg mnemonics such as ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ for remembering the colours of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet – or word association.) Other aids to memory include cue cards, prompts, acrostics and symbols. The picture of the poppy, for example, is associated with Remembrance Sunday and helping veterans of war conflicts:

The rainbow is itself God’s ‘aide-mémoire’ to us, a sign of His covenant with us that He will never again flood the earth as He did with Noah. (Gen 9:12-17)Jesus also gave us the symbols of bread and wine as a means of remembering His death (see 1 Cor 11:23-26). As we see the bread and wine, touch these symbols and taste them, we remember that Jesus gave Himself for us and can claim His forgiveness for ourselves.

As Matt Redman sings in his poignant song ‘Remembrance’, remembrance leads to worship and worship leads to communion, as we think on God’s mercy and receive all He has for us.

Stephen gave us some good advice this morning, based on Rom 8:14. Following a recent holiday to the East Coast where he had to search for parking, he talked about how we need to be led by the Spirit of God on a daily basis and used the word ‘advice’ as an acrostic:

Application

How often do we apply Rom 8:14 to our daily lives? Being led is a process, not just a one-off that happens at conversion or something which only happens annually. We need to be led by God’s Spirit every day.

Dedication

Like the ‘Record Breakers’ song, dedication is what we need in life, not just to win gold medals. We need to seek God to keep Him at the forefront of our lives.

Vision

It’s easy to be distracted by our surroundings and other people. We need to keep a clear vision of God if we are to walk daily with Him.

Inspiration

God inspires us as He leads us; He is our guide and our leader and we need to rely totally on His inspiration.

Chosen

We are chosen by and special to God, being adopted into His family. He has made those who were estranged from God His very own children and the fact that we are chosen gives purpose to our lives.

Eternal

When we’re purchasing Sat-Navs, we regularly need the maps updating if we are to be guided properly. Sometimes that costs money, though some companies now offer ‘free updates for life.’ God leads us every single day and His guidance is always bang up-to-date!

Rom 8:14 in the Message version says ‘God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!‘ We need to be tuned in to the Holy Spirit and walking according to the Spirit rather than the flesh if we are to do the works God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10)

We are very excited about the baptismal service next Saturday (7th November) at 6 p.m. This will be the first time our new baptistery has been used, so we decided it might be wise to find out how to actually put it all together and fill it in advance…!

First of all, the pieces of wood have to be bolted together (on a tarpaulin):

Some expressed doubts about the size, so Garry demonstrated that it’s big enough! (Baptismal candidates should note that any resemblance to coffins at this stage should be resolutely ignored…!)

Then it was a struggle to get the PVC lining in place and it was time to fill up the tank!

This process took just over an hour, so we had lunch as we waited.

I drew the short straw for volunteering to test the depth of the (at this stage still unheated) water:

We also tested the heater (to make sure it’s not that cold on the night!) and the pump to empty the tank:

So we’re all set for the real thing next Saturday! The service will be in the community room (for ease of filling and emptying the baptistery) and refreshments will be served after the service.

Here are some more photos from the hOurbank Launch yesterday:

There are lots of opportunities to learn about sewing and knitting:

Young volunteers demonstrated their skills:

Yesterday was the Dearne hOurbank Launch, held in our building. This is a venture seeking to unite volunteers and allowing people to invest their time and skills to help others and also to receive help from people whose talents may well be different!

People can choose what ‘service’ they offer (making cards, befriending people, helping with lifts or shopping or ironing or decorating, helping to write letters for people, to name but a few) and how much time they want to ‘bank’; based on what time they have banked, they can then ask for the equivalent time from another member of the community in a different area. (For example, you may choose to bank time by making cards for people and then receive time from another member who does ironing for you!)  It was good to see a range of organisations who are able to help local people, including Food Cycle (which is based at the Community Shop in Goldthorpe and which works to use the food which would otherwise be thrown away from shops and supermarkets to make meals for local residents, served free of charge) and the Goldthorpe Women’s Institute:

Gemma Cobby from Coalfields’ Regeneration Trust (the charity which supported our application to buy the building we’re in!) is working in Goldthorpe with local residents, seeking to find out what residents love about the area and what their concerns are so that CRT can fund projects which matter to residents. She can be contacted on 01226 272821 or by email (gemma.cobby@coalfields-regen.org.uk) if you’d like further details.

Other local people just wanted to showcase their talents at card-making or sewing:

It’s easy to be negative about our location, but at events like these, the enthusiasm and passion of local residents are very evident. There are many committed and altruistic people living in our area who are genuinely keen to help others; there are also many organisations working tirelessly in different fields. hOurbank is part of the DIAL Barnsley charity, a charity established over 30 years ago to help disabled people and their carers and families in the Barnsley area, and works in partnership with BMBC and the NHS. For more information, contact Gill Richmond, the hOurbank Coordinator, on 01226 240273 or by email (gill.richmond@dialbarnsley.org.uk)

When I was a child, I used to listen to Danny Kaye singing ‘The Ugly Duckling.’ This story, written by Hans Christian Anderson, tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. The song used to confuse me since I knew by this stage (probably about the age of three) that baby ducks were called ducklings and baby swans were called cygnets and I could not really understand how anyone could confuse the two (especially the bird’s parents) or how you could change species as you grew up! Presumably at that age I had not grasped the point of allegory, or how imagery and metaphor worked…!

Whether due to the influence of the song or not, however, I have always loved both ducks and swans and eventually understood that cygnets don’t really look like swans when they are born, being much darker in colour, and that the song is really talking about what it feels like to be ostracised or ridiculed because you look different and how transformation is both possible and a pathway to acceptance.

On a recent visit to Wales, we stopped off for lunch at Worcester on the way home, a favourite place because on the River Severn, there is a swan colony.

And there in among all the swans, I saw one which wasn’t quite yet adult. It was not quite ‘stubby and brown‘ like the ugly duckling, but it certainly lacked the brilliant white elegance of the adult swan:

Transformation is part of the everyday process of life for a Christian. 2 Cor 3:17-18 reminds us that as we gaze on God, He is transforming us into the image of His Son. Most of us feel more like ‘ugly ducklings’ than beautiful swans, if we are honest, and there is a sense in which our transformation will not be complete in this life (we’re waiting for the day when He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body, see Phil 3:21, 1 John 3:1-3, 1 Cor 13:12). Nonetheless, we need to remind ourselves that God’s ‘not finished with me yet’ (Rend Collective, ‘Create In Me’) and that the artistry and authorship of God means we are works in progress:

‘Jesus, You’re the author
Writing all our futures.
The story isn’t over,
You will make it shine.’ (Rend Collective, ‘The Artist’)

One day, our transformation will be complete. In the meantime, let’s not give up on all the ugly ducklings out there: the lonely, disenfranchised, misunderstood, hurting and different people who maybe don’t fit in, but who are still loved by God and to whom the welcome of acceptance and transformation is offered. And for all of us who feel more like the ugly duckling than the beautiful swan, let’s meditate on the fact that:

‘You make our lives
Bright and beautiful,
Wild and colourful
You are the artist.’ (Rend Collective, ‘The Artist’)