Come you weak

My wife and I went to a church service recently. As we walked in we could hear a group of people singing praise choruses with weak voices and no accompaniment.

There were about 30 of us there. About half came from a nearby home for people with mental and emotional disorders, many due to substance abuse. They would occasionally interrupt the service with odd remarks and wander in and out. The church ensured that these folk were given a worksheet to colour and complete during the service and the more regular members were careful to sit among the people from the home to help keep order. Of the rest, only one man was in modest employment and the rest were retired.

We met in a hall that had recently been renovated with the effect of a warm and welcoming appearance. All the singing was by voice alone and attuned to heaven if not to musical pitch. The preaching was workmanlike and adjusted to the audience and the fellowship cuppa afterwards was warm.

It’s a service we’d go back to despite its modest nature. Why? The caring and thoughtful welcome and reception of the weak and meek from the nearby home. The genuine warmth of welcome to us. But also the kingdom-minded heart of the congregation. This is visibly evident in their finances where this little group gave about $33,000 in offering last year and almost one third of it given to missions.

Here is a little local church in tough circumstances but with a big heart for God’s work. The open door of the church onto the street is a symbol of their heart for the community. An outpost of heaven.