An Opportunity For The Entertainment Of Angels

Ephesians 2:19-22   Heb 13:2

A great text tucked away in the somewhat wordy and obscure letter to the Hebrews:

“Practice hospitality, by that means, some people have entertained angels without realising it! Heb 13:2

And words from our parish profile which particularly attracted me:

“ We enjoy eating and drinking together”

.

Today the church gives thanks for the lives of St Simon and St Jude. These two are lumped together under the same Saints day because they have one thing in common – nobody knows much about them.

We do  know that they were a pair who never gave up trying in the cause of the Gospel – that they had a passion in line with the sentiments of our Epistle reading, helping people to realise their true identities – not  passing strangers but members of the body of Christ.

   Jude may have been the writer of the second to last book of the New Testament – which runs to just under one page in length. Meanwhile  Simon was nicknamed the Zealot because he was part of a strong pressure group which was pushing hard for national independence and would have hated the Roman intervention of biblical times.

Neither of them was afraid of minority situations. They just carried on witnessing and it may be that they lost their lives working side by side in Persia.

I think we could make Simon and Jude the patron saints of those who have firm convictions but never seek or gain the limelight.

We could also make them a focus for the sort of people we all know. Those who touch our lives with their quiet ways and never realise the tremendous impact and affect they have upon us.

 This is a feast day that feels as if its close to home.

Ministry that’s firm in conviction but is offered in quiet practical ways.  

This morning I’m looking for people who might be drawn to this way of thinking

It is almost a year ago since our new annexe was virtually completed and we cut the ribbons and flushed the loos for the first time and although the new rooms have been used for various meetings – we have yet to see an overarching purpose for them emerging.

I would like to lay before you the idea that we use those rooms in which we might entertain angels unawares. That we might extend our hospitality by opening a coffee shop.

Hospitality has always been an important ingredient of the Christian way.

The teachings of Jesus Himself were often linked to food and drink. He spent a lot of time talking to people at the meal table. He gave us the Eucharist as the ultimate expression of hospitality. Most of the resurrection appearances took place in the context of food and drink. Church life is full of opportunities to eat and drink together.

Refreshments after services. Coffee mornings and lunch clubs.

There is something important about sitting down at table together.

One of the reasons that the Alpha course was so successful was that before each session an evening meal was shared together first

Effective mission is often not about finding new things to do – but recognising openings that are already with us and I can see four possible ways in which a coffee shop could meet some existing needs.

Most weekday mornings, many Mothers drop their children at the pre school. Some have to come very early and wait until the school opens, others like to chat when their children are safely inside, still others have said to me that they go off into the town for coffee afterwards. We could open the coffee shop to welcome them and serve them.

Coffee after our services is a busy, lively time and quite right too – we all want to see each other “about things”. People have remarked that this doesn’t really give us the chance to relax with each other over the refreshments. That you can  attend week by week at St Matthew’s  and not really get to know that many of your fellow worshippers. A coffee shop could be just the place where members of the church could meet together in a relaxed way, introduce new people and generally cultivate more of a sense of belonging amongst us.

We have tried to offer a lunchtime ministry to those who work near the church with open church from 12 – 2pm, weekday services and lunchtime music. For many workers lunchtime has become a movable feast – but maybe a coffee shop could offer a break away from the desk and the computer screen which many would value. A change of scenery and a  quiet space. Even a venue for an out of the office meeting.

Finally, we have a valuable ministry to our young people on Sundays, but we have not yet launched into the brave new world of after school clubs – where many churches have found their work with young people begins to grow. What about an after school club with a café environment for those who had moved on from Primary School to Senior School and wished to retain links with the church.

The initial aim would be to open two mornings a week and perhaps one afternoon.

We would serve proper coffee – superior to Starbucks even – all fair trade.

We would serve just a limited amount of  only pre packed food – this would mean that the only qualification a helper would need would be to have completed basic food hygiene training.

A working group would need to come up with some basic proposals which would be shared with the Healthy Dept and then brought back to the PCC.

The aims of all this need to be sensible and achievable.

It is the church offering hospitality. Good quality refreshments in a pleasant environment.

Helpers would not be counsellors or evangelists – but would be ready to listen if needed.

Whilst members of the staff team could be around – we should not be out to pounce.

The door into the church would be open, the things we do here could be sensitively promoted.

In the end this is a plea for six people amongst you who would like to get really involved in planning and implementation and the hope that out there somewhere would be an overall manager or manageress. If you feel enthusiastic about this and feel that you could give the time do have a word with me today.

Even if you can’t be one of the six – can I ask you to pray so that we can discern whether this is the right thing for us as a church.

I can certainly drive this idea forward – but the beauty of it is that it’s not a project that will ultimately depend on the Vicar.

There are copies of this sermon at the back of the church and on the web site and there are copies to of my report to the PCC who have given this idea their backing – the report goes in to a few more practical details than I’ve done here.

Four major spin offs for this sort of project, simply put

Better use of our facilities

Drawing more people over the threshold

Meeting a need in our community

Creating more team work in the life of our church

Simon and Jude – of whom little is known save that they were effective in their discipleship in reliable yet unspectacular ways – a most appropriate day to begin thinking and praying about a project like this.

RH  28.10.07