Read the text of Richard's May letter below, or download the pdf versions of front and back pages here...

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Bring on the rain!

A well-kept garden after rain can be stunning. Plants seem to have become greener overnight, colourful flowers more vibrant and the smell in the air is of life and growth. It’s the same for us when God’s at work!

Gardening and being church both involve a combination of “organising and hard work” on the one hand and “God’s rain bringing life” on the other. In both cases, all hard work and no rain brings dead order - all rain and no work brings chaos!

Philippians 2:12-13 is the classic pairing of these truths: “...work out your salvation ...for it is God who works in you...”. We need to aim at cultivating(!) this pair of responses - being “expectant of God”, but “hard at work”.

Expectant of God...

The Book of Acts shows expectant Christians knowing that God would “rain down” blessing and act to rescue, to heal, to guide and to grow his church. It wasn’t presumption (they didn’t imagine that God “owed them”), it was a thoroughgoing understanding of God in Jesus loving to act by his Spirit. The more they experienced, the more they expected - being wide open to do more.

We’ve seen God at work in so many ways over these years - people coming to church for the first time, children growing in faith, love demonstrated in practical and profound ways. Our aim now has to be expectant of more - not because we’ve earnt it, but because God loves to give it.

What are your expectations of what God can do this Sunday as we meet? What do you expect God to do through you this week at work or amongst friends? Do we think that God can run out of good gifts to give?

...but hard at work.

Gardening sounds a gentle pursuit, but anyone who owns an allotment will tell you it’s not for wimps - nor is the book of Acts. Read any part and you’ll find Christians hard at work to grow the Kingdom. Helping people to find faith was worth everything they had to give - hand-in-hand with the knowledge that it was God who gave the growth and it was worthless without him.

In All Souls too, there are tens of people working hard to help this part of God’s people grow in faith, welcome and community. From children’s leaders, to the refreshments team, from those who give generously of their money, to those who can give their time, there are people who have rolled up their sleeves and dug in. They get the satisfaction of a ‘job well done’, but they also find a place to belong (within a growing church) and that their faith grows too.

If you’re yet to find where you can get your hands dirty, there’s plenty of ideas over the page. If you’ve lost your expectation that God could act - try reading Acts and see yourself in their shoes (or should that be wellies?)...

On page two you’ll find lots of ideas of ways to get involved in the life of All Souls as well as details of short courses coming up in June.

Richard - May 2007