'Holy Holy Holy,' sung by the choir, set the tone for the worship on Sunday, which was led by Rev. Alan Wilcocks. Mr. Tony Scullard, church secretary, thanked him and welcomed him and other visitors in the congregation. Rachel Bonsor read the opening sentences and later in worship, along with Connor Bridge, helped the minister to demonstrate how important it is to share. They each had a long stick and had to try to eat a marshmallow from the end of it. The only way was to serve each other. The lesson was that we should not try to keep what we know of the love of God to ourselves, but to share it with others. Following prayers of thanksgiving, Mrs. Bron Hurlow read from Jonah 4, 1-11, 'Jonah's anger and God's mercy'. This well-known story of Jonah and his reluctance to do God's will, to the extent where he ran away and was saved only by being swallowed by a whale, was explored in the sermon. In particular, the second part of the story when Jonah was angry with God because he had spared the people of Ninevah, because they had repented of their wickedness. Jonah did not understand God's love and compassion for all of his people. As in the example of the story, shown to the young people, we as churches and individuals need to share our own knowledge of God's love and compassion. We should not be like Jonah sitting comfortably in the shade. Thank you to Alan for the message. Thank you also to the choir and organist, Mrs. Pat Stubbs, Mrs. Bron Hurlow, Rachel and Connor. Worship this Sunday at the new time of 11 am will be led by Rev. Nanette Lewis Head.
