Sunday 28 October 2012

So on friday I met the Queen, thanks to you!



This last Friday the Queen came to Harold Hill to open the new academy on the Hill.

The Academy opened 2 years ago, but the the key staff have been working on the Hill for the last three years. I was privileged to be invited to have lunch with the Queen, which I thought would mean I be in a room with around 100 others have a bit of grub! This was in fact the case, but the real surprise for me was that I was part of group of people invited to be introduced to her personally in the school staff room. There were five groups- school governors, some of the school staff, people from the local authority, the local primary heads and the builders/ architects of the new buildings.( I was placed with the local head teachers). I informed the Queen that we had done parenting courses and such in the school. I also informed her that my three children wanted me to tell her that they thought she was a wonderful Queen. ( Caleb asked me to say this and Alison and the kids saw her outside the school.) Over all it was an amazing experience and I'm very grateful to the staff at Drapers for the opportunity.

I could write so much more, but the point of writing this in a blog was not to brag, but  to say thank you.

Thank you for your support because I believe I was invited not because I was a local Minister- but because of the way we have worked with the school, and we have worked in this way because others have supported and released us and believed in us and our calling from God to be/live in this way.

When we think about the way we have worked with the school it has been marked out by being relational, willing to work with those families who others have, will to work long term, willing to be openly Christian but not forceful, willing to ask how are you and too listen.

Meeting the queen was amazing, but in a difficult week, it was such an encouragement to realise that the invitation to do so was an outcome of us trying to follow Jesus and live out the lifestyle values he has called us to live out.  Thank you for the support and encouragement to live in this way.

PS- I must say Steve T did loads of work in the school while he was part of the team, so it did feel a little like stealing his glory meeting her, but hey I'm not complaining.

PPS, I think I would call myself a royalist and Her Majesty was amazing, but i'm still a baptist- The church and state should be separated for a number of reasons, but I didn't think friday was the time to bring this up!!!

PPPS yes I did wear a suit and tie!

Thursday 11 October 2012

Thank you for helping us offer an alternative

To be honest i'm not often sure what we're up here on the Hill is making a big difference or not! ( cup half empty kind of week from me!) But you have those moments of realisation that actually some of what we are doing is massive, not because it's clever or 'new', but because it's offering an alternative.
A couple of moments from last week  highlighted this for me.  The main one must be the Ladies pamper night Alison hosts in our home, it's a alternative place for people to come into a place of peace/welcome/ acceptance. This alternative is a gift which Alison offers the Ladies and i believe does not go unnoticed. Jesus was often, if not always offering alternatives to all people, sometimes that alternative coursed great discomfort because it challenged sin and injustice. Other times it must have bought great comfort and hope- the God was with us and near.

I hope your week is a week of offering Kingdom building alternative to those around you.