How will we manage without them?

     At the end of this month Helen and Terry Brew have to return to England. They will not be returning for their usual six months in our parish later in the year.
     They do a tremendous amount in our little parish so their moving caused a mild panic for a while. But also it’s created a serendipitous moment for us to return to an earlier proposal to review our parish structure.

     So last week there was an informal meeting of parish council and other interested members. It was held in a home instead of the church, and with the aid of fabulous desserts and coffee and some fun community-building around our understanding of small churches, we achieved a strong consensus to re-start the review process.

     We also brainstormed the various chores that will have to be done after the Brews leave. As we later went around the group of sixteen, volunteers came forward to cover all the vital chores while the review is taking place.

     Church housekeeping thus attended to, Vanessa told us of the family that was burned out of a house just over the road from the church. Immediately, members voted $200 and suggested a quick appeal in Church. Gifts started coming in yesterday, and these will probably be subsidised $1 for $1 from Parish Council’s emergency outreach reserves.

     It was a great couple of hours as some mild panic about how we would manage without these two wonderful people gradually turned into purposeful planning and generous service. That’s the small church in action.