A year ago, someone suggested that we could do a Community Litter Pick one Sunday... it took a year, but today we did just that and it was AMAZING!

We worked with the Railway Town Clean Team who meet regularly to litter pick on various places.  Around 15 of their folk (in green hi viz) and around 20 of ours (in yellow) plus a few curious neighbours, walked the streets and green areas near the church and filled a good forty or so bags with litter.. this area never looks that bad to me - today it practically gleamed! 

Another twenty to thirty folk stayed at church reflecting on Psalm 8, creating beautiful prayer posters and enjoying fellowship over a brew.

We were able to bless an asylum seeker with a bag of instant food (and a mug to make it in)... we were able to share some of the tomatoes from our community garden... we were treated to chocolate cake by a family who come annually to celebrate their daughters' birthdays... we sang 'All things Bright and Beautiful' from memory, a capella (with awesome harmonies!)... we were black and white and olive skinned, from many parts of Africa, from the Caribbean, from the USA, from Central and Eastern Europe, and from across the UK... young and old and everywhere in between.

Just occasionally church feels like a foretaste of heaven - and today was such a day. 

This poster on the door of the Sunday School cupboard sums it up perfectly...