We arrived at the bandstand on this first cold misty autumn morning to be greeted with the sight of a table groaning under the weight of hundreds of conkers.

   So what is it all about?

We had been asked to bring along something that represented harvest to each one of us. To Paul conkers said it all. The wonderful shiny harvest of conkers reminded him of his childhood. This was the time of year when as a child he would find a huge shiny conker and take it into school imagining he was going to be a conker champion. As an adult seeing conkers each year reminds him of God’s good and wonderful provision.

Home grown vegetables, flowers, apples, cider, Fairtrade Coffee and a special watercolour painting were added to the table by others at the bandstand. Each of us saying how these things remind us of what God provides and blesses us with.

Paul then talked about the goodness of God on the one hand and the darkness of the human spirit on the other. We were challenged by his authentic look at our real natures and we thought about strife, challenges and down right evil things happening in our world. Spending time walking or sitting in the park we went away to pray.

To aid is in our prayers and to illustrate how God can cleanse and heal situations that we pray for Paul gave us two containers of liquid.  One containing red fluid and another clear fluid. *

As we prayed we added the clear fluid drop by drop, prayer by prayer, to the red fluid and watched it change to a clear fluid.

Sharing our Companions Liturgy for bread and wine brought our time at the bandstand to an end.

Coffee and a warm café awaited us

* PAUL ASKED US TO WEAR GLOVES FOR PROTECTION.

Paul used a popular chemistry demonstration that is often called turning water into wine or water into blood. It’s really a simple example of a pH indicator. A few drops of Phenolphthalein  was added to a glass bottle containing an alkali.  This resulted in the solution turning pink/cerise.  When hydrochloric acid was added to the pink solution it turned colourless once more.

Steve led us this morning with the remit of taking us through the entire history of the Bible in approximately 30 minutes!  It was sunny and beautiful, but surrounded by the travelling fair! Despite that we managed to make it work – and it was great!

It was a time given over to allow us all to reflect and be quiet. The time fell into 4 sections. The first focussed on creation as we all faced the river and heard selected verses from Genesis 1 – 2. These words were taken from The Message and we were all struck by each of the readings in terms of their freshness and power, cutting through our over-familiarity with them. In this case, it was the generosity of God that particularly impacted on me.

We were all invited to create 7 words or images to reflect God’s creation and it was good seeing the different ideas emerge from everyone.

As we turned 90 degrees to face the town, Steve spoke of the Fall and our own personal ‘falls’ and we listened to words from Genesis 3.

Our third section, facing the third direction allowed us to focus on redemption. Here we assumed a bowed position as we received bread and heard Jesus’ words explaining the significance of the incarnation in John 6:31-33. Again the Message seemed to make Jesus’ words so much more accessible: ‘The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven, but that my Father is right now offering bread from heaven…’ This was followed by the last words from Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:44-46) as we ate the bread and raised our heads.

At stage 3 ½ (!) we heard Paul’s words from Romans 8:18-25 about all creation yearning for redemption. If you haven’t read those words from The Message, just read this:

^18-21 That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Following this we prayed. We took time to write our own responses to ideas linked to being saved, with headings:

I have been saved.     For the past and particularly for this past year, I give thanks for…

I am being saved.       Today I ask for…

I will be saved.           For this coming year I am trusting…

For those known to us undergoing difficult times – birth pangs – who need God’s saving power now…

For those yearning for help who are not known to us, but in situations we are aware of…

We shared our prayers for others and concluded with one hand on the shoulder of the person to the right of us – praying for one another and all named in our prayers, saying:

May the love of God the Father,

the saving power of God the Son

and the peace of God the Holy Spirit

fill you and reside in you,

today and in the year ahead.

 Amen.

Finally, facing the direction of the sun, we drank our cups of wine as we heard the promise of the consummation – the renewed heaven and earth, from Isaiah 25:6-10 and Revelation 21:1-8, with God moving into the neighbourhood and proclaiming ‘It’s happened’. Roll on that day! We finished with a commissioning blessing. Thanks Steve – it felt good to start the new academic year with a sense of being grounded in the very centre of the Christian tradition, being part of God’s work in the world from the start to the conclusion…

Meeting outside to worship has been a revelation to me. Even in the most inclement of weather being outside beats looking at four walls, however beautifully they might be decorated.

 Scenery, flowers, plants and trees, changing seasons, bird song, people walking, children playing and meeting with a great bunch of people – what could be better?

Ever wished you could spend Sunday mornings sunning yourself in the park instead of sitting inside the walls of a church. Well that was what we did at Third Space this morning. The sun shining and a warm gentle breeze led to a relaxed and I hope inspiring experience.

Barbara had come across a couple of moving items on her travels recently.

In Chester Cathedral: 

Judas Tree

In Hell there grew a Judas Tree
Where Judas hanged and died
Because he could not bear to see                                                    
His master crucified
Our Lord descended into Hell
And found his Judas there
For ever hanging on the tree
Grown from his own despair
So Jesus cut his Judas down
And took him in his arms
“It was for this I came” he said
“And not to do you harm
My Father gave me twelve good men
And all of them I kept
Though one betrayed and one denied
Some fled and others slept
In three days’ time I must return
To make the others glad
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had
My tree will grow in place of yours
Its roots lie here as well
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell”
So when we all condemned him
As of every traitor worst
Remember that of all his men
Our Lord forgave him first

D. Ruth Etchells

In Norwich Cathedral in a little side chapel this prayer which had been found on a scrap of paper at Ravensbruck concentration camp during the Second World War.

‘O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us; remember the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering, our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of this; and when they come to judgement, let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness. Amen’.

Forgiveness – something in the Christian faith which is very distinctive. Something that sounds easy, but is not so easy to do.

We read some stories from The Forgiveness Project which uses the real stories of victims and perpetrators to explore concepts of forgiveness, and to encourage people to consider alternatives to resentment, retaliation and revenge.    www.theforgivenessproject.com

Some bible passages we considered around the subject:

Colossians 3:13 NIV

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Matthew 18: 21-22 NIV

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

1 Corinthians 13:4 – 6 NIV

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

Luke 6:37 NIV

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

John 8:7 NIV

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Acts 7:59-60 NIV

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Luke 23:33-34 NIV

When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 17:3-4 NIV

So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says , ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Romans 12:20 NIV

On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Sitting in the “Pews”

  What a good way to do church. Sitting in the sunshine reading inspiring stories.

D Day Bunting

Third Space commemorated D Day by stringing up bunting in the bandstand. Many of us had watched, read or listened to moving accounts of the Normany landings and the battle that followed, which freed Europe from the ideology of National Socialism. It is good to see that since then the countries who had been at war have joined together in peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers” Matthew 5:9

The commemoration came at the same time as the festival of Pentecost – the birth of the church.

The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and changed them from a group cowering, scared and hiding in a room to people who told others boldly about Jesus and his teachings.

May we in Third Space use the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23) and bravely bring in the KIngdom of Jesus and his teachings.