Minister's letter February/March 2012

Dear Friends,  

There is now less than 200 days to go before the Olympics come to London and I, for one, am really looking forwards to the whole Olympic and Paralympic Games. And I guess, when I sit and think about it, that I’m looking forwards to the Games for a number of different reasons.

First, I love sports, of all “shapes and sizes”, and love the way in which the Olympics gives coverage to the less well known sports for that brief time. I must confess that I don’t often watch shooting, or Greco-Roman wrestling, or water polo at any other time in my life, but during the Games they gain an importance, albeit brief, after all – we might win a medal – before slipping back into obscurity once again.

Second, there is something amazing about the Olympic Games, with so many nationalities across our globe taking part. There’s that unique sense of a common humanity irrespective of nationality or religion, and there are always wonderful stories of tiny island nations sending one or two athletes who have been training against all the odds, so that they might compete against the more highly professional teams – and don’t you just love it when they do well.

Third, this years Games will be great because they are in our own time zone. There won’t be the need for late night viewing… Do you remember saying to yourself, “shall I watch just one more event before turning in lest I fall asleep again in the arm chair?” None of that trying to stay awake all night and then regretting it the next day – we can watch the Games during the daylight hours, and then go to bed at our normal hour, because no sports will be taking place at night! How great is that!

But most importantly, I’m looking forwards to the Games because of the opportunity it afford us as a Church to reach out even more into our local community.

As a Church Board we have been thinking for some time now about how we can make best use of the Games and we have decided on a number of possibilities.

Prior to the Games we are considering putting on a sporting quiz night, to get everyone in the mood and be able to publicise what we’ll be doing during the Olympics. Then, a week before the Games begins, we want to host a “sporting themed” Holiday Club for young people in the community, culminating in an awards ceremony for those who attended on the evening of the Games’ opening ceremony (27^th July). That evening we will hold a community barbecue (the weather will be perfect!) and invite everyone to watch the opening ceremony on the screens in the Church and Link.

During the Games (27^th July – 12^th August) the Church and Link will be open (during office hours and maybe some evenings) for people to come and watch the events together, and at the end, we’ll host another “community party” to watch the closing ceremonies together. For the Paralympics (29^th August – 12^th Sept), we’ll again have the Church and Link open for any who wish to come and watch.

We may or may not be fanatical about sports, but these Games do afford us with a unique opportunity to serve and connect with our local community. And it is through making these connections that conversations about our faith and the sharing of the Good News can happen. So let’s all get involved in using this amazing opportunity to not only speak about sports, but tell the local community about all the great things happening at Trinity and the Great God who enables it all to happen.

God bless  

David