God’s House Today

It’s not empty.

Psalm 122: 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord.”

The eight people in the old East End Church were all getting on in age, but they were kneeling once again. They had received the letter they dreaded, which said the doors would soon close and they would no longer be a church.
“Lord, please send us some people. We need numbers in this place or the diocese will close us.” Even the oldest of men were about in tears.

Years before, the fathers of this small group once stood on the roof of the church, picking up incendiary bombs and tossing them into the Thames. Blankets had been slapped on tiles and stones as they smacked down flames. World War 11 did all it could to take them down and destroy the building, but still they held weddings and christenings and remembered to take communion.

As this kneeling group now prayed, on the far side of the city a Bishop was pushing up his sleeves and lambasting the news from the Mayor of London. The Mayor said he had a request to set a section of the East End under Sharia law.
“Based on your English democracy concept of numbers,” the request had said. The Mayor deferred to the Bishop.

And so it was, after discussions with the Bishop our Vicar made a request for one hundred people to form a church planting team and move into Shadwell. We were to make up the numbers that would keep a church door open, and play a small part in enriching a vibrant, historically cross cultural community.

When the eight worshippers heard the news of our coming, they almost couldn’t believe it. “We didn’t lose the church in the war and and we won’t lose it now!”

After much prayer, and after several months of church planting training; we closed our own personal doors in Kensington and Chelsea and Fulham and Knightsbridge and filed into St Paul’s Shadwell. We were greeted like long lost family. We were loved well as we found places to live, and were shown around the neighbourhood and introduced to historic pubs and local history landmarks. The original eight members taught us more than we could imagine.

Though they were not sure at first about the music we brought with us, they thanked us for coming. It wasn’t just the numbers they said. We knew what they meant. The Holy Spirit had led the way. We were all drawn in and through the doors.

There were perhaps three hundred regular attenders before I left. I am even more amazed that this congregation has now planted three more churches in the area.

It’s lovely to be a grandparent.

While our church doors are now closed due to the pandemic, do you have a story that gives you hope for worship, both now and in the future? I believe one of the purposes of writing is to acknowledge what Our Lord has has brought us through, enabling a bright hope for tomorrow.

Father God, we take a moment on our knees to pray and ask You to prepare us for this Sunday. We ask You to open the closed doors of our hearts and minds to allow you in as we worship in a whole new way this Sunday. In Jesus’ Name, amen. 

I