Weekly Update – 8th February

As we all know the art of great comedy is…TIMING, but that can also be said about church life!

The timing of knowing when to step forward and offer up your service and more importantly to recognize when it’s your time to stand down, to let others fill those spaces in ways that you could not! Although, it may seem daunting to volunteer to go on a rota for something at church (we are all time poor), I can quite honestly say, that it will be one of the best things that you can ever do. You will discover that by serving others, using your time and God given skills, that your life may take some unexpected turns and God will gift you more skills to enable you to further His Kingdom. This is illustrated in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), that Jesus told. The 2 servants who accepted what they were given and took risks and grew the initial investment (not all investment is money) were rewarded with more, whilst the servant who did nothing (literally trying to hide what he had) with what he was originally given, had it all taken away.

When I look back at the last 16 years and think about what skills I had  when embarking on the Children’s & Families Ministry and the many and varied ways it and I (along with ALL the many helpers over that time!) has grown and developed, I feel truly blessed and thankful to have been given the opportunities to serve both St Nicholas church and the wider community. BUT it’s no longer my time and I recognise that I need to step down to let others (who are younger!!) to come forward, to take their opportunities to grow and develop the talents that God has given them. Take a moment to consider on the skills and talents that God has gifted you and see how He might be asking you to use them to serve others in this community and you won’t regret it!

Finally a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone, in the church and wider community who has sent messages, cards and donated to my very generous leaving presents. I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of you all and feel very humbled by the depths of emotions that have been expressed. This was never “just a job” for me, it was so much more and I have absolutely loved meeting and getting to know so many of you in Allington and supporting you, wherever you were on your journeys through life and hopefully left you with the knowledge that God loves each and every one of you!

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME    – Philippians 4:13

THAT’S ALL FOLKS

Fiona