Glasgow

My word, it was cold! Not the welcome, or the even more welcome soup at lunchtime or the enthusiasm of the group gathered to share stories or find out about Messy Church in Glasgow, but the temperature of the church we met at felt sub-zero, even if it can’t have been. Surely. But Lindsey, the placement student from Moorlands who’s with me at the moment, said she watched a pair of lips turn gradually blue in the course of their conversation… There was a gradual furtive movement towards the radiators.
It was a slightly smaller group than we sometimes have, partly due to the snow making some areas around the city inaccessible, but a group which had bags of ideas, thoughtfulness and, well, warmth. God is at work in cities like Glasgow, with its history of creativity in artists like Rennie Mackintosh and in the wonderful quality of the art galleries and museums, but also in the creativity of the Christians there, faithfully living out a life of witness, exploring new ways of worship. We saw a little of an experimental all-age Communion liturgy, for instance, and heard some of the imaginative ways the Christians are serving children and families around the city: my prayer is that Messy Church might be a useful and complementary part of this life of service and worship.