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During the first lockdown my church expanded its Soup Kitchen provision to offer a meal on Sunday lunchtime in addition to the existing one on Tuesday evenings. This was very clearly meeting a sore need in the community, so obviously when we opened up for in person services again we weren't going to stop, and so a lot of the guests gather at around the same time that we're preparing for and saying Mass. We've been careful not to imply that there's any expectation of attendance at the service if you're coming for food (and it makes me quite cross when church charity comes with strings attached like that), but made sure that everyone knew they were welcome to join us in worship if they wanted, and several people have.
This week I asked in the notices if anyone wanted to join the rota for doing the readings, and one of our new members approached me after Mass. He was very keen to read, and seemed absolutely delighted to be asked to participate. He said that in a life that feels very isolating a lot of the time, the welcome he gets at St John's is a real ray of light. Moments like that conversation are an extraordinary privilege, and I feel very blessed.
This week I asked in the notices if anyone wanted to join the rota for doing the readings, and one of our new members approached me after Mass. He was very keen to read, and seemed absolutely delighted to be asked to participate. He said that in a life that feels very isolating a lot of the time, the welcome he gets at St John's is a real ray of light. Moments like that conversation are an extraordinary privilege, and I feel very blessed.
