Hethersett a norfolk village on the web

We are now well and truly into that period of time in Church life when things start to slow down in terms of meetings as the summer break looms. Of course this is not to say that the Christian life slows down and nothing much happens during the summer months!

I feel greatly encouraged at the moment. There is optimism in the air at Hethersett and we suddenly have a feeling of enthusiasm. Operation new Look is now taking its initial shape and as we gather memories, a picture starts to emerge of a church that has been in very exciting and very confusing places. I am reminded yet again that we are all shaped by things of the past and don’t simply stand in one place and time. Over the last two or three weeks different things have come to light in discussions I have had with different people, things that excite me and challenge me and other that sadden me deeply. This Church (like most others) has had its highs and its lows and at times has stood united, while at other times it has struggled. We take all this and try to shape where we are today and where we are moving in the future.

On Monday evening we had our Church Council meeting and were encouraged by the work that is being done in the Church. There were the usual business issues as we reviewed room lettings rates and discussed the unauthorised use of the Car Park as a short cut to Tesco. We discussed the Church finances, which have been significantly affected by the move of the playgroup to the Local School. While these issues might seem mundane, they are part of our stewardship in this village. We also discussed a proposal that had come from the Sunday Club via the Worship Consultation to introduce a new style worship at 9:30am on a Sunday to be aimed specifically and young families. The Church Council supported this proposal for a six month trial period and has given encouragement to the Sunday Club to now progress the idea.

During the week we have had more cards sent requesting prayers from the community. This appears to validate the work we are currently doing in sending postcards out each week informing areas of the village that during the coming week we will be praying for their street. At the moment enthusiasm for delivering the cards is starting to dwindle a bit and we need to continue to encourage each other to deliver the cards week by week.

Yesterday morning we had the last in our four acts of worship specifically aimed at Prayer and healing ministry. It was encouraging to see new faces at church and we continue to welcome new people to join the fellowship. The service yesterday tackled two key areas of healing. The first dealing with prayers for people who need physical healing and we considered what we really expect to happen when we pray. Secondly we looked at healing in relationships, recognising that there are some hurts that are very difficult to heal and something have laid in the past for many years and it is still difficult to move on from them. After sharing communion, a number of people responded to the invitation for somebody to pray with them on a one-to-one basis.

We need to constantly remind ourselves of the need to pray regularly both individually and as a Church.