Soya Godwin, Pearl Dando and Frank Howard provided the musical direction for our time of praise, which was followed by congregational prayers. Graham Perfect who is a member of the leadership team was the speaker for the evening. Most of us will experience pain in our bodies at some time. Often the pain in one part will cause other parts to become involved and sometimes the other parts will have to work harder as the body seeks to heal the problem. Graham used Paul's letter to the Corinthian church to remind us that the way God designed our human bodies can serve as a reminder of how our church life should operate. Just as we experience hurts in our bodies we will often find we will also go through hurts and pain in our church life. Graham recounted his church attendance in his younger days. He admitted that for the most part the church was the building he went to. Whilst offering full involvement through the many meetings which were held and also providing a basis of the teaching of the Christian faith, there was no teaching with regard to the Church being an active body of believers who were directed by the Holy Spirit of God. It was to be many years later before the dynamics of the direction of the Holy Spirit brought a newness and freshness to his life and caused him to reconsider his viewpoint of church attendance. Graham suddenly became aware that the Holy Spirit wanted something more than his regular attendance at church meetings; he became convinced that God's Spirit wanted to forge an involvement and commitment within church life which would result in unity and relationship with other Christian believers. This relationship would depend on each person knowing what God wanted them to do and how that could be used for the benefit of others. Paul in writing to the Corinthian believers is making his readers aware of the same requirement and he uses the example of how the human body works in relationship to all the various parts to show what we need to do to encourage and care for each other. These special relationships will, if each member functions correctly, ensure that the body is healthy, functions correctly and shows the world how God would have us all work together. If you are tired of just attending church and want to be part of the Church then why not tell Jesus you want to be part of His answer. If you do not have a church you are welcome to come and join us as we seek to be part of the answer to people's needs in the local area. We meet on Sunday at 5 pm in Augustus Place Community Centre (opposite the multi-storey car park). Further information on 01834 861777 or 861400.
