Church Outing Ends in Disaster:
51 in Hospital
5.50am, and the good news is that it's all been a bad dream. The bad news is
that the event hasn't yet happened and it could all turn out to be a disaster
after all. Whose bright idea was this anyway?
Well, mine actually. Reluctantly I had to admit that it was me who thought, way back in the autumn, that in addition to having events and services at church and in Church House, we should also invite people to venues where they already feel at home. The event for parents and children at Kid's Kingdom was intended to provide parents with half an hour over a cup of tea, when they could listen to a short talk on Christian parenting while their children played under supervision. In my mind's eye I could see about 20 children, and maybe 12 or 15 parents, having an enjoyable couple of hours at the Leisure Village. Feeling bold, I booked for 30 children, since we only had to pay for the children who turned up.
I was, therefore, staggered to find that ticket sales were up to 51 on the Monday before the event. AAAGH! - just how many terrible things could happen - broken limbs, lost children, food poisoning from the tea …. hence my sleepless night. It was especially good to pray with the team at 8.30 that morning. In the event, all went well. David Jackman's excellent talk helped us to see that as parents facing extraordinary challenges today (how do you tell your nine year old daughter that buying the latest magazine isn't going to do her any favours?), we need to be parented by our Heavenly Father in order to give them the best upbringing we can. It was an inspiration to Christians and I hope, to those who are not yet Christians, who were there - well worth a sleepless night to hear such truths declared outside church.
In closing, I'd like to thank Steve and Ali Davies for their encouragement and support of this event, when I nearly lost my nerve a few weeks before it was due to happen.
Claire Weston