Desperate Pleas

This is heartbreaking.

The hunger amongst the poorest was evident well before the lockdown began but has been exacerbated by it. As a church we've done what we can within the available resources to feed as many people as we can, and we will continue to do so.

But just as we continue, so too do the WhatsApps and SMSs from folk who are desperate for food. I think one of the realities here is that as the majority have returned to work so there's a feeling that the lockdown is all but over, when the reality is quite the opposite.

Sadly this means that the neediest and most vulnerable are being neglected or worse, sidelined.

National Day Of Prayer

On Tuesday President Ramaphosa addressed the nation and gave churches and other faith groups the right to start meeting again in their buildings, though with strict conditions.

At the same time, he called for a National Day Of Prayer for today, Sunday 31 May.

The Gathering has made the tough but right decision to remain in exile for a while longer, but as we Gather this morning on WhatsApp we are proud to be standing with the President & the nation and answer his call to prayer for South Africa.

Today our Gathering will be entirely given over to prayer for this nation and the situation we find ourselves in.

Most Important Book

During lockdown I've written four posts so far about books, which would suggest books are quite important in our house. Three of those posts were on the theme of 10 Books I Have Loved and the other post was about Lockdown Reading, looking at the books I have read in the first few weeks of lockdown. I will post Part 2 of that soon.

Live Again

I want to post about all the wonderful blessings we're experiencing right now, and share about how life is great, but I can't do what I see some do and just pretend the sun is shining and life is great. In fact I have to be honest and say that I'm struggling to remain positive at present. I'm having to force myself to stay away from the news because it's worse than depressing and it makes my blood boil.

10 Things I Love...

... About My Home

This post was inspired by those social media posts about 10 of this or 10 of that, and I got to thinking that it was time to write a really positive post along similar lines, and what could be more positive than talking about my 10 favourite things that make my home the best home ever.

So here it is; 10 things I love about my home...

Back In My Happy Place

It was such a joy to reopen The Gathering's Soup Kitchen again this evening.  My heart was so sore when we had to stop five weeks ago, so it was pure joy to be back tonight!

We knew the need was there and growing as a result of our harsh lockdown and as a result it was another busy evening serving the community we love so much.

It was also a great way to get together with a few of our faithful Gathering family, though we were responsible and kept a social distance 😉

Soup Kitchen Returns

I'm so excited about The Gathering's Soup Kitchen returning tomorrow, it's been sorely missed by our regulars and the need is greater than ever.

Also thanks to a generous neighbour we've been able to buy a bit more chicken than usual so together with these beautifully roasted onions it's going to be a delicious soup!

We've also made a responsible plan for how the Soup Kitchen will operate to be compliant with rules on social distancing and crowds gathering, so it should be a great time serving the community again.

Familiar Face

This warmed my heart today.

I've been wondering where some of our Soup Kitchen regulars are and how they're coping during this time when life for those living hand to mouth is almost impossible. So to see Roderick's picture suddenly pop up on the Facebook page of our local homeless shelter was brilliant.

This also means that if Roderick is in there safely until the lockdown is over, then at least a few others of our Soup Kitchen regulars are too, because he always travels around with the same small crew, so whilst we can't see them, we know that at least a few are safe.

If for nothing else, I'm truly thankful for this piece of great news!

Thought For The Day 2

Following on from Paula's Thought For The Day on Thursday, I shared a thought about life under lockdown from a local perspective.

Thought For The Day 1

Thought For The Day for St. George's Weald

Madness Before The Calm

We were given four days notice of the impending lockdown and that seems to have been the cue for action for the Zombie Domesday Preppers and their attendant madness. Despite pleas not to panic buy the shelves are stripped bare with very little available in any of the food shops.

This morning Paula tried to buy stuff for our weekly Soup Kitchen and almost instantly regretted going anywhere near the shops. Thankfully we managed to scrape some bits together between us and so our last Soup Kitchen for a while will proceed. Thank you Lord!

It all leaves one feeling that April Fool's Day should be cancelled because no prank could possibly match up to the stupidity of what's going on out there right now.

Lockdown Looms

This blog is long neglected now and I've been wondering about what to do with it. Should I shut it down? Should I just leave it as a souvenir of the last few years or should I delete it and move on to other things? Then with the lockdown being announced I thought I'd revive it for now and use it to keep a lockdown diary of sorts, so here goes...

Baptisms

At The Gathering we've been trying to have a Baptism Gathering for a while now but the prolonged drought and lack of a suitable venue were problems. However, we finally managed to baptise seven of our members last night at Waterworld in the Strand (thanks Carl & Claire!).

It was a great time of worship and celebration as each of those being baptised declared their faith in Jesus and the rest of the church rejoiced with them.

Unfolding Tragedy

Please pray for Firgrove and more specifically her children.

Late last year we found out that two of The Gathering's Homework Club kids are leaders of rival gangs. Initially we found this quite amusing given the diminutive stature of said kids and the fact that they're only about 10 or 11 years old.

Soup Kitchen Christmas Lunch

Wow, what a day that was!

For me it was the most exciting day of the year and a tremendous privilege to be a part of.

It was amazing to see how the seed of a crazy idea planted just over a year ago came to bear such incredible fruit.

Future Plans To Present Realities

When I was in the UK earlier this year I was really excited to talk about two future plans we had for The Gathering's weekly Soup Kitchen.

The first one was our Christmas Lunch for 120 of our regulars and the second was taking our soup up from 70lts to 100lts, but we were really going to need some miraculous blessings for these to happen.

Giving

***Rant Alert***

As we head in to the Christmas season and get excited about giving and receiving gifts, consider this...

Give only that which you would like to receive.

This has shaped our giving for many years now and is why when we give, we give of our best.

New Chairs

As we step out in faith and see The Gathering's Soup Kitchen and Homework Club growing, so we're also seeing growth on Sunday mornings which is a huge blessing!

As The Gathering grows and is blessed, so we need to step out in more faith trusting that we will see the Kingdom extended in Firgrove, South Africa and beyond.

So recently we stepped out in faith and bought 50 new chairs of which we received the first 25 this morning.

Heroes Of The Faith - Pt 4

I last blogged in this series about five years ago, but just had to revisit it in the light of yesterday's fantastic celebration of Linda's graduation.

Each of my previous posts were anonymised, but today I'm naming, proclaiming and celebrating Linda for her faith, her perseverance and her never giving up, even when it would have been easier and more comfortable to do so.

Adopted Son

It seems like a long time ago that Paula dropped me off at Cape Town airport to fly to England, but just three weeks later I really can't wait to go home!

I've had a fantastic time, reconnected with many good friends, and spent time with school mates I hadn't seen in 35 years. I had the privilege of spending time with some truly inspiring fellow pastors & ministers and can't believe that a few of them even let me preach in their churches (I'm sure one day I'll be found out 😂 ).

But the greatest joy has been spending time with family, and this last week has been special as I've never spent so long with Paula's sister & brother-in-law on my own before. All I can say is that my love and respect for Lisa & Stephen grows exponentially each time I see them and realise just how much they quietly get on with as they serve and support others around them. I really love you both! XX