Written on the heart

Years ago, I heard a sermon on building the church entitled ‘building with bananas’.  The preacher’s contention was that building the church was like building with bananas – trying to fit their awkward shapes together into a structure that will last.  In fact, it is far more challenging than that. The church is built with people – every single one of them as capable of love , depth, wonder. folly, generosity and selfishness as I am. People are the gloriously flawed raw materials from which God constructs his church, and it is an honour to work with them.

Five years ago, on the day that the Littlest Star was launched, we started a ‘Teatime Special’ event in the church where I work. Each event consists of crafts, songs, a lovely tea together, and an original story. Writing and reading those stories has been a labour of love for me – and I am pleased to see some of them on their way to a wider audience.

During yesterday’s teatime special, my last at Teddington Baptist, the bunting below was created by all the families in attendance as a parting gift:

Take a look at some of the letters, and you will see that these too have been a labour of love.  I cannot imagine a gift which would have touched my heart more. The quirky colours, the signatures of up to three generations on one pennant, the spidery handwriting of those still mastering the art of letter formation – this is a treasure:

I am humbled and touched by this work of art – and hope that it brings some colour into your day too.