Today is the start of Christian Aid week and so our morning worship connected with the material and theme for this year.  We used a couple of the DVD clips including the reflection with the wonderful singing 'Sing, sing like you've never sung, sing of the joy to come.'

One slight cheat was to plagiarise Anne Wilkinson-Hayes' BUGB Assembly use of Wind in the Willows (which had excited Millie Mole when she found there was a mole in the story) as a way in to thinking about how important water is. Beyond that it was largely my own thoughts linking Ezekiel's deepening, widening river; Revelation's river of life and Jesus' living water.

Revelation is a dream, a vision, a goal, the 'joy to come.'

Last weekend, Anne invited people to jump into the river of mission - which seems to suggest she was starting a mile down Ezekiel's river when she began. Ankle deep paddling, knee deep sloshing, waist deep wading and full flood swimming are all possible - where we are and what we do will vary.  Where are we now?

Jesus was thirsty, Christ is living water.  If the church is 'the body of Christ' how are we living water?  If the church consists of people who thirst - for justice, for spiritual refreshment, how do we drink of Christ?  If we meet Jesus in others, what does he need from us?

After the service and lunch was our church meeting during which lots of good things happened...

• we voted to register as a fairtrade church
• we agreed some experiments in all age worship, me going in to Sunday school and a whole church 'learning and worshipping' plan
• we learned about SOLAS 2010, a Scottish Christian arts festival, partnering with Greenbelt and Christian Aid, which we are invited to support too.

Coming home there was some sad news concerning one of our folk, and yet the words of the song speak into that too: the Revelation promise is now real, the joy has come, our sister, a runner, a hopsital DJ, a stalwart of friendship meetings, is safe home... sing, sing like you've never sung, sing of the joy to come.  JM RIP.

Life in all its fullness - endings and beginnings, old and new, grafting and pruning, reapoign and sowing - sing of the joy to come.