(My congregation think our church is like 'The Apprentice' because I'm always giving them challenges!)
This weekend is our, now annual, Pentecost Party, a virtually free community outreach event, through which we have contact with anything up to 300 people and usually attract a few to the Sunday afternoon open air service. With a fraction of the 'staff' levels available for the Baptist Assembly event last weekend it is hard work with a capital 'H'; in fact, to be honest, all the letters should be capital. My loyal team of workers include people well into their 80's and the youngest is me (look elsewhere on this blog to track down my age, but it's not especially young). We will paint faces, serve cream teas, offer kiddies crafts, decorate plant pots and then plant them with flowers, supply a bouncy castle and outdoor games all for free. There will Fairtrade gifts on sale and Fairtrade chocolate for free (Green & Black minis in tubs of 200 for £20 - fantastic give aways), handmade cards - and for the first time this year a pocket money tat stall selling off some of the leftovers from past events (plus a bit extra I bought this time!) at knock down prices and all proceeds going to charity.
On Sunday as the dust settles, we allow the 'post party flatness' to form a starting point for our service as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit for always, for everyone.
At the moment, my dining room looks like, in the expression favoured by mother, 'Paddy's market', not really a good phrase with its racial under/overtones, but I don't know a better one. Lengths of bunting, boxes of bubble mixture, goody bags, tubes of paint and dozens of plant pots hide my dining table. There are still things to be done between now and Saturday, and I will once more wonder why I didn't buy a van last time I replaced my car, but it is a great opportunity for this little church, tired and tattered, to show this community something of the amazing God who inspires our living. So, just need the weather to hold and all will be well...
Oh yes, and at the end of the task no one gets fired - just a bit more fired up, I hope.