The Comfort Zone

Have you ever had one of those moments when your life suddenly feels completely surreal and you can’t believe you’re doing what your eyes and ears seem to tell you you’re doing. Over the last few weeks I’ve had many of those moments, when I’ve found myself discussing in all seriousness the most appropriate safety harness for small, medium and large teddy bears, the correct way to describe much loved non-bear soft toys and the correct training programme for bears who were about to go down a zip wire. And all of these conversations were with adults!!

But it was well worth it, to see the churchyard packed with ooh-ing and gasping owners as their beloved animals came whizzing (mostly) down the wire. There was something very profound and wonderful in watching the faces of children of all ages (from 6 months up to 93 years) all so engrossed and involved in the event. The churchyard was full of such community and good spirits despite the torrential downpour that threatened to destroy the afternoon. All in all about 100 much loved companions whizzed down to earth, and they all seemed to enjoy it very much (you can read a personal account of one such experience below) Brave Bears and Mad Englishmen

And the sense of community and involvement continued in ‘Praise in the Park’, when about 80 people joined together to sing some of St Mary’s favourite hymns. There were 130 votes cast for 68 different hymns, ranging from Come Holy Ghost Our Souls Inspire to Shine Jesus Shine. Again what was so powerful was the feeling of total engagement, of people throwing themselves into worship. The singing was incredible, a real powerhouse of praise. It was clearly an emotional event for many people, with some leaving in tears, whispering “I enjoyed that so much”. Certainly I heard many stories of the memories that hymns hold for so many people. Thank you to all who voted, and thank you particularly to Andrew and the choir who lead us so well. (The Top 30 is published below). The Top Thirty Hymns

Over the last week or so I’ve been reflecting on those two events. They seem to have something in common - a powerful sense of the familiar and comforting. Both the bears and the music can take us back to a safe and secure place – perhaps our early childhood or school life, perhaps a wonderful memory of a special event of a wedding or christening, or perhaps a memory of a loved one. Both the hymns and the bears seem to have the power to take us back to a place where we know or knew ourselves to be truly loved.

And church itself can often seem like that, somewhere where it’s safe to go with all our burdens and troubles, somewhere we can seek solace and comfort, somewhere we can know ourselves to be loved “just as we are”. It’s absolutely right that church should be like that, for in that building we are in a set aside space to contemplate our relationship with Love itself.

But church sometimes should be a bit different. Church needs to be a place where we are challenged in love to move on and out of our comfort zone. As we discover as we grow up that life isn’t all teddies and fun – sometimes it a bit more risky. Like Mary Magdalene trying to cling to the risen Christ in the garden, we often want to cling to what we know and what we feel safe with. But Jesus challenges us now as he did then to do more, to move beyond that into an unknown zone, relying on our knowledge of God’s love and the power of the Resurrection for our security. That is what it meant for Mary to be the Apostle to the Apostles, that is what it means for us to be apostles to the world.

That means taking a risk, daring to go beyond our current boundaries. As the book by John Ortberg puts it, “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat” …. or as the teddy bears at the top of the tower might have said “One.... two... three… Go!!!”

Justine

What’s on in August?
Wed	1	St Mary’s Guild. A talk by Pat Kingsbury	2.30 pm
SUN	5	TRINITY 9 The Transfiguration
Mon	6	Centre Committee meets at 19 Redford Avenue	8.00 pm
SUN	12	TRINITY 10 MU Wave of Prayer. The Centre	1.00-2.00 pm
Wed	15	MU Corporate Eucharist	10.00 am
Sat	18	‘Praise Upraising’ performed by Liberty Gospel Choir at Carshalton Methodist Church.	7.00 pm
SUN	19	TRINITY 11
Tue	21	‘Time for God’ quiet worship. The Carew Chapel	9.30 am
SUN	26	TRINITY 12
Mon	27	Bank Holiday Monday. Church open
Thu	30	Magazine Panel meets at 35 Vanguard Way	10.00 am
Fri	31	Kith, Kin & Kanine - Centre open for Coffee & Cake	10-11.30 am

Choral Evensong

Please remember that Evening Prayer will be SAID on Sundays throughout August whilst our choir

takes a well-earned break. Choral Evensong will recommence on Sunday, 2 September

What’s on in September?
Sat	1	Parish Quiet Day at West Malling Abbey
SUN	2	PATRONAL FESTIVAL - The Blessed Virgin Mary Choral Evensong will recommence
Tue	4	Social Committee meets at 2 Caraway Place	7.30 pm
Wed	5	St Mary’s Guild. A Outing	2.30 pm
Thu “	6 “	‘Praise & Play’ for pre-school toddlers MU&OG. ‘Unusual Postcards’ with Mary Campbell	10.00 am 7.30 pm
Sat	8	‘A Jazz Evening’ with Hugh Crozier	7.30 pm
SUN	9	TRINITY 14 Canon Andrew Wilson will preside at both Eucharists
Sat	15	Church open for London Open House Weekend	10.30 am - 3.30 pm
SUN	16	TRINITY 15 Church open for London Open House Weekend	12 noon – 5.00 pm
Mon	17	Rev’d David Gatliffe will give a talk about next year’s Pilgrimage. The Centre.	7.30 pm
Tue “	18 “	‘Time for God’ quiet worship. The Carew Chapel PCC Meeting. The Centre	9.30 am 8.00 pm
Wed	19	MU Corporate Eucharist Poetry for Pleasure. The Centre (see page opposite)	10.00 am 2.00-4.00 pm
Thu	20	‘Praise & Play’ for pre-school toddlers	10.00 am
Sat	22	Model Railway Exhibition	10.00 am to 5.00 pm
SUN	23	TRINITY 16. Carew Manor and Church Open
Fri	28	‘Kith Kin & Kanine’ - Centre open for coffee and cake	10-11.30 am
SUN	30	TRINITY 17 Back to Church Sunday with a BBQ lunch following the morning service