Church Search

So: we planned to go to the Baptist Church.

It didn't happen.

Our town is notoriuos for it's 'ecclesiastical merry-go-round' - people are always moving from church to church and the same faces turn up all the time. So, wherever we go in this town, we will bump into those peole who we were glad when they left us! (Aren't Christians such nice wonderful forgiving folk?!?!)

So on Saturday we started looking at web sites for churches in the neighbouring areas to our town. More of that later, but in the process, noted that the website for the Baptist chuch was rather downbeat. Now, you could argue that a downbeat church needs us more tthan a thriving one. BUt what we are looking for more is a skill match - a church who's priorities and aspirations match the skills we can offer - and the baptist church didn't seem to prioritise the children's work that my wife wants to work in. She's had enough of not being prioritised!

Also, 10 inches of snow dumped on our town and paralised it. Mrs determined that she was not going out in that to visit a church that didn't really look suitible (bearing in mind her rheumatoid arthritis makes it very hard for her to walk on slipery surfaces).

So I said I would take the baby to the play area anyway, because she needs exercise, and that while I was there I would make a preliminary survey for our play church idea, even though with the snow disruption it would be hard to measure. So Mrs then decided that in that case she would come with me. Which meant walking a longer route to avoid the humped bridge, and stopping every few minutes to take a photo of the snow, and struggling to get the push chair across the mounds of slush. It took us an hour to walk 1/2 mile. By then it was lunch, so we stopped in the restuarant opposite the play area. The she went to the play are with the baby, while I went home (10 minutes!) to dig out the car from the snow (1.5 hours plus much sweat) and go back to feth her. Stopped at the supermarket for the weekly shopping on the way back.

And that was almost as spiritual as our weekend got. Not good!

The play area was quiet, but who knows how we shood, interpret that data, distorted by the weather.