Oremus bible browser

Some of the best web sites do just one thing, really well. The Oremus Bible Browser is one of these. I use it all the time, to provide a text from a bible reference, or series of references.

It's all very straightforward. Choose your bible version (we use the Anglicized New Revised Standard Version at St Paul's), enter the reference (John 4.2-6 or Jn 4: 2 to 6 - it's very tolerant of different formats).

Holy Spacers in Paradise

Great night at Paradise last night with the Holy Space team, or "Holy Spacers" as we were called by a guest among us. (Who was, incidentally, a man who came to faith in the last year and has had brilliant support and encouragement from Oadby Baptist Church)

Good, not only because Paradise provides one of the best curries in Oadby, but because there's an enthusiasm to plan the next Holy Space event. We managed to sort dates and I'll post details soon.

Why men hate going to church

In this month's News and Views, Shuna George reviews David Murrow's book with this title. Apparently, the top ten reasons for not going to church are:

1. There are too many hypocrites there
2. It's for wimps
3. They ask for money too much
4. It's too long
5. I don't want to talk about it (!)
6. I don't like the vicar
7. It's irrelevant to my life
8. It's boring
9. Church just doesn't work for me
10. I don't have time

I wonder how we score against these factors?

In response, Murrow recommends:

1. Seek excellence and quality, not mediocrity
2. Use technology
3. Keep periods of sitting still and listening to a minimum
4. Be project oriented. Plan, work, celebrate, rest!
5. No fuzzy goals
6. Offer time limits to voluntary work
7. Beware of emotive language in worship
8. Drop traditions which have lost their meaning
9. Deal with conflict openly and plainly
10. Sing less

There's some important stuff here, but also some things which need further thought. Emotive language in worship can be a problem (and not just for men), especially if worship is reduced to songs of the "I'm in love with Jesus" type. But behind even the stiffest of upper lips is an emotional being. I think that good worship doesn't just meet our preferences but takes us to places that we wouldn't normally go. And emotion is a vital component in that, even for the most blokish of blokes.

Evening Communion to move to Sidechapel

At Sunday's evening communion service, we talked about whether the Barnabas Centre was really the best place, or whether we should move back to the Sidechapel, which is where the service was held five years ago.

It would certainly be easier in terms of setting up. But perhaps the most important issue is to see how this affects the way we worship. We'll give it a try and if the new location helps us draw nearer to God in his word and at his table, we'll stick with it.

The evening communion service is held every month, on the same Sunday as the Parade service.

Homelessness Sunday

Our Homelessness Sunday service on 28 January was thought-provoking in the way that makes you want to see this world differently.

When we got to church we found a pile of rubbish in the doorway. But a closer look revealed that it was made as a place for a person to sleep. Confronting this surprise came as the first of a series of moments that helped us understand our assumptions about homelessness.

Neil had worked with some of the young people from church and their visit to the YMCA before Christmas had led them to meet real people who were without secure homes. I found the stories of these seven people, ages 16 to 25, really moving. They reminded us that homelessness is not an impersonal 'issue' but a fact of life for men and women like you and me. Neil linked these real stories with Jesus' teaching that as we care for the least among us, we care for him and that even more seriously, as we ignore them, we ignore him too.

At the end of the service, the young people read a resolution: Choosing Justice

Choosing justice

We choose to try to live our lives
in ways which will not harm or disadvantage others.
We choose to try to keep our hearts and minds open
to hear the voice of those who need our help.
We choose to aim to live simply,
not squandering the riches around us
and not keeping for ourselves what others desperately need
We choose to consider the effects on others
of what we say and do, of what we buy and use.
We choose to try to live justly, always seeking to make a difference
in the smallest things as well as the biggest
knowing that together the small steps we take
will grow into changes that will help to transform our world.

We choose to aim to work together
to spread the word
and to serve
in the name of Christ
the servant King.

The just one who chose us all.

Amen

25 Years of St Paul's Church

In 1982, the Manor Church became St Paul's Church. The worshipping community that met at Manor School moved into the brand new church building in Hamble Road. That means that it's 25 years in the autumn of 2007 since St Paul's began.

Perhaps it's time to think of how we might celebrate this event, and how we might renew our commitment to serve the Lord and to be Good News for our neighbourhood. Do you have any thoughts? Should we mark the event in a special way? And if so, how?

Do share your thoughts through the 'comment' feature below.

Transfusion Big God Nights

Thanks to Elena for publicising Superhero and supporting bands at the next Transfusion 'Big God Night' at the Y Theatre, East Street, Leicester on Saturday 3 March 7.30pm to 10.00pm.
Tickets are available online at http://www.myspace.com/transfusionevents or on 0116 233 7915 or from CLC Bookshop.

As it says on the Transfusion website,

Transfusion is an in yer-face night of music, suitable for all ages from your granny to your grandson (no hearing aid required).

Elegance

Here's a selection of very elegant people, taken at last night's church social event. Paul and Teri organised an Evening of Elegance which was supported by over 60 people. We enjoyed the glamour and found that we do 'bling' rather well. David Foulds took us on a tour of elegant Florence, with slides taken during a recent break.

Click the picture to see Paul, Mike, Teri, David, Cynthia, Clarissa, Isis, Jenny, Angharad, Dinah, Gilda and Sheridan in greater (and more glorious) detail.

It's great that there's no dress-code at St Paul's. People come and worship as they are, which is as it should be. But it's also good to put on the style every now and then!

Leicestershire Quilters

The Barnabas Centre is a hive of activity this morning as the ladies from The Leicestershire Quilters are busy working away. The quilters have only recently moved their regular Saturday meetings to The Barnabas Centre and I hope we'll continue to see them here in the months to come.

Church attendance increasing in Leicester Diocese

It's encouraging to read the news issued by the Diocese of Leicester about church attendance:

Figures just released by the Church of England for 2005 show an increase in church attendance in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Regular weekly attendance rose in the Diocese of Leicester by 1.1%, reversing a decline of over 1% the previous year. This applies to the week overall, and not to Sundays in particular. Leicester was one of 15 dioceses that saw a rise in overall attendance in 2005.

The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, said: “These latest figures confirm that the Diocese of Leicester is managing the decline in church attendance. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, patterns of churchgoing and church affiliation in England are changing. Although weekly Sunday attendance has not risen, the numbers of those who church during an entire week is rising. For every 50 people attending church on a typical Sunday, another 8 attend during the week. Our churches are being challenged to open their doors and look beyond themselves in their mission and ministry, and these statistics help encourage us that when we look beyond ourselves people in our communities want to attend church and support us.”

I'm not sure that the the idea of "managing the decline" is all that positive but at least there are signs of encouragement. We're thankful that we've seen a steady increase in the attendance at worship at St Paul's both in the totals for all weekly services and on Sundays in the last few years. More people have joined St Paul's through 2006 and those coming to worship with us represent a wide age range. It's heartening that people discover God's call on their lives and respond with regular worship at all ages but we must also find ways of reaching the under 40s.