A day of gifts

This past Sunday was the aptly-named ‘Sunday School Sunday’ - our annual bash  when we celebrate the children and young people among us.

An amazing children’s orchestra accompanied our singing, and all ages took part in the service.

In place of the reflection there was a scratch play about Elijah in his cave, discovering that God can speak in the quiet, everyday things of life; our lives don’t need to be spectacular. The performances, however, were quite spectacular, with plenty of laughs - the ‘broom tree’ pictured below getting the biggest!

Traditionally we hand out gifts to the children on this Sunday. It was moving to see Sallie Gray, one of our oldest members, handing out the gifts to each child as they came up one by one, to be applauded by the congregation. We were reminded what a special gift each one is to our church family. There is something very powerful about applauding another human being simply for existing! Should we do it more often?

After the service, around 60 church members took off for Vogrie Park for a picnic in the sunshine, and hours of fun on the amazing outdoor adventure playground there. Some of us found an outlet for our competitive instincts playing football and rounders, while others lazed under the trees.

I ended the day thankful for the wonderful range of people who make up our family at St James, for the gifts that are among us, for the generosity of church members, and for the welcome given to guests. Sunday felt like a ‘gift-day’ where, without trying too hard, grace was poured out upon us in all sorts of surprising ways. Duncan