Working together

I spent Saturday morning at our church Gala - working alongside three other
women on the 'hot food' stall, with enticing aromas drifting from over a dozen
crock pots filled with an assortment of delicious beef, chicken and vegetarian food.
I always make the same pumpkin, red pepper , potato and lentil curry because
it's pretty fool-proof and goes down well with those for whom meat's not such an
important part of their diet.

What struck me was the simple pleasure of working together. We've known
each other really only as parishioners and priest, but here we were able to be alongside one
another, listening to each other's stories, sharing our thoughts about gardening and partners
and children and life  as we waited for customers.

photo from FAMILIES - calendar by M.I.L.K.

In the space of three hours we deepened our connection with each other, and were woven more deeply into the fabric of our church community as we served those from the wider neighbourhood who wanted feeding -  and it was fun!

Friendship, food and fun  - nothing too serious - nothing that had to be done in a particular way - nothing that cost a lot of money or had to be earned - but we were building relationships with each other, and, if we stopped to look around us, we could see the face of God:

• in the smiling butterfly-painted face of the little girl with her mum
• in the elderly man coming to get something tasty and different to take home for dinner
• in the father and son manning the sausage sizzle ...
• in people helping each other 
• in the genuine warmth which welcomed the stranger  

God's not a million light years away but right in the midst of the ordinary - if we have eyes to see!