Yesterday was our annual cluster service - the time when our four local Baptist churches share a service, usually with a visiting preacher.  Last year was our turn to host but our venue wasn't available so we decamped to the Methodist church down the road.  This year the host church was sans floor, sans electricity, sans anything useful as it is being refurbished, so they decamped back to our venue i.e. the local Primary School.  This may all sound very confusing but I think it says a lot about where we are as a cluster: three out of four churches are small and in times of major transition.  As a result all are learning to become very adaptable and to discover that God does not live in a box called 'church.'

Our service was led by the BU president, the Revd Roy Searle and we'd given him a brief to lead in the style of the Northumbria Community as we felt it would be good for our folk to experience a different aspect of authentic Baptist (whatever image that conjures up!) worship.  So five happy ministers (the one big church has two) imported candles, post-it notes, pots of daffodils, pictures of the local area and enjoyed some creative prayers, some Northumbria Community songs and some 'text telling' by Roy.  Most people enjoyed the service which brought a strong message for all us of based on the John 21 miracualous catch and commission of Peter.  I guess I'm biased, this is one of 'my' significant passages, so I felt God was talking directly to me encouraging me to continue to nudge Dibley into the C21.  Still trying to work out how Roy got away with saying that our building (the closed one) was 'quite naff really' - maybe Presidents have a special annointing!

After the service we had a bring and share tea and if not 12 baskets of leftovers, certainly plenty for all to enjoy.

We distributed the pots of daffodils - one to each church and one to Roy as an informal sign of hope and as a tangible reminder of our connectedness (Brian-ism, and maybe a hint of Rachel-ishness too).  Roy moves on to the North West, we move on in Leicestershire but all the time God is there, one step ahead, to the right, to the left, above, behind, beneath, bringing  hope and a future.