Kinder

 Hello All. Hope you are ok. Goodness, it's warm. I have just spent a good proportion of the weekend changing my work clothes over to autumn. Brilliant. Anyway, sorry this is late and welcome from your favourite religious maniac - I have been to an evening meeting. Before you shout Hurrah because The Fire has fallen - I didn't go this morning. HOH went this morning because he was "on the door" as they say. I stayed at home and did a little light cleaning. ("Light" being the most important word in that sentence). We went this evening because HOH had been asked to do a testimony and I was loyally sitting with my handbag on my knee, poised to start the applause should it have been deemed necessary (it was not deemed necessary - everyone else started before me).

It's funny how it is a completely different congregation in the evenings. There were people there - obviously regulars, that I had never seen before in my life. I can report that the evening meeting also has its share of interesting people. I was minding my own business - wondering if white jeans was a sensible choice when it was communion. Ever tried to get Ribena out of a white shirt? - when a lady pushed past me to get to her seat and said "I'm sorry - I'm not like you. I'm a spirit." Firstly, she was quite heavy-footed for a spirit. Secondly, I sometimes wish that I was one of those gentle, wise people who knew what to do when someone spends the second half of the meeting arguing with their friend in stage whispers about the finer points of salvation and  - as far as I could make out - whether David Attenborough is a spirit. I have a friend who is really good at that sort of thing. She's really kind. She would have said "Shall we go out and have a cup of tea and a chat love? I think I know where there are some biscuits." 

Actually, HOH is like that as well. When we worked in a church, it was one of his jobs to deal with people who came in during the week - unannounced - and asked for money or generally behaved badly. There used to be a man that came in called "Sniffing Chris". I don't think that was his Christening name but he used to come into the office - which only had one door - so one way in and out and stand with any women he found there and smell their hair or their clothes. He was very intimidating and sometimes quite violent. Also smelly, making the experience of being pressed against the photocopier even more unpleasant if that were possible. HOH used two approaches to deal with him. 

1. No nonsense. He was told in no uncertain terms that coming within 50 yards of any person of the female persuasion would not be tolerated. Sniffing Chris seemed to have the idea that because we were Christians, women would want to reach out to him in a kind, open way. Hah!

2. Always respectful. Always trying to understand. It wasn't always easy. There was an incident with a five-by-two piece of plywood which Chris had decided that he would like to recreate a scene from Kill Bill with. But while I was screaming like a girl  at the thought of it HOH was firm but fair and told me gently "I don't think it is a nice place inside Chris' head you know."

I wish I could tell you here that all this led to a huge change in Chris's life but, in the end, he drifted off somewhere else and carried on wrestling with his thoughts and the outside influences that made it all so difficult. You comfort yourself with the thought that, when his life touched the church, he saw some form of love and comfort that wasn't anywhere else. 

it's tough out there and for some people, it seems to be even tougher. We used to have a woman that came to church but sometimes it was all a bit too much and she used to lie on the floor in the foyer. I'll be honest, I found it a bit irritating - it sent my Health and Safety assessments off the scale because we were trying to serve tea and biscuits over her. But we had a visiting speaker once who, I'll be honest with you, was a bit odd in the meeting, but she sat down on the floor with the young lady and had a nice chat about life and where she bought her nice shoes from. It was quite beautiful to watch. 

People who are reading this and who don't go to church are probably thinking that this is not what you expect from church. Isn't it full of wishy-washy people who drink weak tea and vote Tory because they don't like wind farms? Well no - it isn't like that really.  Church has always attracted people who don't know where else to go. Whether it's for money or comfort or somewhere to just lie on the floor, that's what church is supposed to be and sometimes, those of us who are of a wishy-washy bent, struggle to know quite how to deal with people like this. 

I think the best thing for me would be to stop having so many hang-ups about myself. When I am at my most self-absorbed (about 90% of the time) thinking about myself and how I am perceived by people who scare me a bit can stop me from being kind. Not that I am not a kind person. I am very kind. Mainly to me. But I am a soft touch. I just don't always do kind things because I worry what people will think. 

There's a bit in Matthew where Jesus heals someone on the Sabbath which is way out of everyone's comfort zone. That's just not what they did in there. But Jesus boils it down to its essence 

“What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”

Do we do good to people or bad? Even if it's not your classic Sabbath in the Synagogue behaviour? It's a challenge. certainly to me.

Right, I'm off to eat a "later than is wise" pizza and to check if Tomasz Schafernaker is doing the weather. Have a good week.