Weblog Entry - 03/23/2003: "Back"

03/23/2003 Entry: "Back"

Well -- I'm back.And it is always good to be back.

I'm bound to say, though, that I've had a really good time on the Church Family Weekend, staying at a hotel in the Wye Valley perhaps 3 miles from Tintern Abbey. Everyone was in good spirits, there was a small gang of children to keep one another amused, the food was good and the sun shone. A near perfect set of circumstances.

The theme of our weekend was "Who do you say I am?" - a look at the life and teaching of Jesus. It wasn't a teaching event; mostly it was an opportunity for people to share together their own experiences and insights and some of the conversations I overheard had more depth of theology than their participants would have acknowledged.

What encouraged me most was seeing a "church family" actually being a church family - caring, encouraging and supporting one another. Many of us spend alot of time criticising the church, and it is true that there are plenty of good reasons for this. But this weekend reminded me that belonging to the church really is a joy and privilege which I'm not sure can be found anywhere else. I'm glad of the reminder.

Replies:

Welcome back to the blogosphere, Richard. Sounds like a profitable time. We would all do well to better understand and appreciate the "family" of church.

Peace,Andrew

P.S. - Thanks for your additions to my songlist. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of your recommendations on mp3. :-)

Posted by Andrew Careaga @ 03/24/2003 03:26 PM CST

I echo your thoughts - thanks Richard for your spiritual (and physical) being there - and also to all who organised, took part in, or just enjoyed the fellowship

Posted by Patricia @ 03/24/2003 07:09 AM CST

Sounds lovely. Would that "church" felt like "family" to more people, more often...

Posted by alice @ 03/23/2003 11:51 PM CST

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