We had Church

Last night 18 people met after Church. The sanctuary was empty and the lights were off. The vicars had gone home and the building was at peace knowing another Sunday had passed and it could heave a weary sigh of relief till next week.

Lights on in the narthex, laughter spilled out into the darkness of the Church sanctuary. The buzz of conversation filled my ears and I sat thinking "this is Church".

Last night was a great night for me. As a group we were young (teens) and old (the leaders!). We shared fellowship in our laughter; but more than that, we shared our lives. We learned from each other as we listened to scripture read and pondered on it in silence together. We explored the inadequacy of our own faith-sharing and found encouragement that our struggle is corporate - we are not alone. We prayed and we played. We wept (one instance) and we laughed. We ate and we drank. And in all this God was there.

For me, this was a beautiful picture of being the body of Christ. this was being Church. I hope and pray and plan for more times of being Church together. I'm convinced that the kingdom of God moved forward last night. And I'm convinced that God smiled upon us. May he continue to smile.