Sunday 20 May 2007

We're All In This Together

What a great day of ecumenical worship and community interaction through the Red Shield Appeal door knock! Unity celebrated corporately in two different ways ~ in Word and in deed. Faith expressed corporately in God and publicly in the Army's ongoing ministry of Love in Action.

Local Anglican vicar, Reverend Michael Goodluck, visited the Inala Chapel today and led our multi-denominational congregation in a meaningful time of reflective worship for our quarterly Ecumenical Communion Service. Using Paul's advice to Titus (chapter 2), we were inspired to keep on living lives of spiritual integrity based on sound doctrine, so that "so that in every way [we] will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive" (v10).

A team of dedicated "senior active" volunteers from the Chapel then took to the streets in Blackburn South to assist with this year's RSA fundraising effort and were encouraged by the level of community support expressed through their faith-giving. A common response to my words of introduction was "Yes. We were expecting you!" I like that. It's good to be valued and appreciated by the public. Our challenge is to make sure that we are living up to their expectations of us in assisting the needy through our ministry of Love In Action.

This year's RSA catch-phrase sums today up well: "We're all in this together!"

Ecclesiastes 10:19 (MSG) ~ "Laughter and bread go together, and wine gives sparkle to life ~ but it's money that makes the world go around."