Dear Friends,

"Come to the party and bring a friend."

My dear mother used to recount the story of how as a little girl she once invited school friends to her home for a party. All her life she was a great one for having friends around for a chat and a laugh. Unfortunately on this occasion it wasn’t her birthday and she hadn’t told her mother that her friends would be coming! To make matters worse she was kept in after school and all her friends arrived at her house before her. Her mother was rather perplexed to see all these little girls at the door expecting a party, and having nothing prepared she had to send them home with a biscuit each! Far from getting a party, my mother was sent to bed with bread and water for her tea after a scolding from her "Victorian" father!

Jesus told a parable of a great feast to which many were invited (Luke 14.16-24). Sadly all made excuses for not attending. This was a case where there actually was a very special party and the guests turned down the invitation. Although this parable spoke of the threat to the Jews who had refused God’s invitation, there are truths here which are forever permanent and are equally relevant for us today.

People can be so immersed in worldly matters that they turn down God’s invitation. They have little or no time for worshipping God, prayer, Christian fellowship or even considering anything spiritual, such is the continuous demand and search for pleasure and personal gratification –hedonism as a recent preacher graphically outlined.

The fellowship of our Church family –time to meet, chat informally and get to know those we see at worship, is something that we have been addressing recently and we are grateful to those who are organising such gatherings as monthly coffee mornings and other social events.

Professor William Barclay wrote; "We must always remember that Jesus thought of the Kingdom in terms of a feast. A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms. One great philosopher defined laughter as "a sudden glory". There is no healthy pleasure which is forbidden to a Christian person, for a Christian is like someone who is forever at a wedding feast"(The Daily Study Bible – St.Luke’s Gospel)

Oh! -and next time we have a "get together" why not bring a friend- but make sure there is a "party" first!

P.S. Coffee is served after Church on the 1^st and 3^rd Sunday mornings.

Sometime after the great flood God said to Noah, "Noah, there’s going to be another huge flood and I want you to build another ark".

"Oh, yes my Lord, - and just like the other?"

"No" said the Lord, "This time I want you to build it seven storeys high". "Yes, my Lord", said Noah, "and shall I fill it with animals just as before?" "No, just with fish," said the Lord.

"Oh, I see," said Noah, "You want a Carp Ark!"

David Seaton

The April coffee morning raised over £160 for Church funds. Many thanks to Sarah Beecham for hosting it.

The Global Challenge talk raised over £1200 for Church Funds. Many thanks to Mark Denton for such an entertaining evening, and to Anne Claypole White for arranging the event.