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November 2005, Page 1.
Index of articles:
by subject,
by date.
In this issue:
(November 2005)
Fellowship,
Chorltons,
Food Bank,
Question.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit
"Fellowship" is a much-used word in Christian circles, but sometimes it's not so obvious what it means.
What passes for 'fellowship' in our churches? I remember an elderly church member in Stoke-on-Trent who once listened to my doubts about whether jumble sales were really the answer to church finances. "Shouldn't God's people be generous in their giving to meet the needs of the church?" I was saying. "And why is there no mention of raising money by jumble sales in the bible?"
"I see what you're driving at," she replied, "but what would happen to the fellowship if we didn't have jumble sales?"
I must confess I could see what she was driving at as well. In church services the people faced the front for an hour, and at that stage there was no coffee after the service (we soon sorted that!). So how did the people get to know each other? Often by doing something together ... but it needed to be something with a purpose: somehow a purely "social" event where you just "had fun and chatted" didn't inspire anyone to come. Sad to say, standing behind a jumble-sale table was the route to people making friendships.
(I hope the church people there would agree with me that we did move on from that state, and the church isn't like that now!)
What is 'fellowship' really supposed to be? In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the early Christians liked to be together. They shared possessions. They met together in church (temple) but they also visited each other at home. They had meals together. They prayed for each other and supported each other. There wasn't a needy person among them, and they were "one in heart and mind".
In fact, they behaved as a family or a houshold. It wasn't easy, and it did have some awful moments, but it clearly was very powerful and exciting to be part of it.
By contrast, our generation has almost forgotten what families can be as our offspring move to the other end of the country with their jobs, and the TV has killed the art of mealtime conversation. Yet, somehow, many of us have a sense of aching loss that we are isolated in our little worlds, rich in possessions and time, but poor in friendships and companions.
During October and November I've been trying to speak about "fellowship" during the sermon slot. I don't think we can recapture the communism of the early chapters of Acts, but I do think we can do things to improve the fellowship of our church, so that we know, support and look after each other better.
John Hartley