It has been wonderful as we have created so many angels for those who might struggle with celebrations such as Christmas following the death of a loved one. It has been a Circuit-wide activity, one that has drawn many of us together. What we noted from Rachel’s amazing talk about glass fusing that her motive was borne on engaging with others. This was evangelism but clothed in ways that many could understand.
Some churches have set about making hundreds of angels which could be taken by passers-by on their High Street. Each Angel has a message tied to it. The gift of the Angel is something tangible but there is not any direct contact with any of the church members. Some groups of people have knitted lambs and placed them into shop windows, asking for people to name each of the animals. Again, this engages with the shop keepers but there may be no direct conversation, no real engagement.
We are planning to be on Buchanan Street in Glasgow on Good Friday with the President and Vice-President of Methodist Conference. They will, with others, be giving out Hot Cross Buns to all whom they meet. We could look to link in with this initiative, giving out knitted Hot Cross Buns (?) or crocheted Daffodils. What this might be still missing is the point of engagement with others.
How might we really engage with our local community?
Engagement
If others from our local community could also play their part in creating something knitted or sown, we can start those conversations. If we have encouraged people to work alongside us, we are allowing those conversations to flow. At the Blue Angels service, we had long conversations afterwards, re-establishing relationships. This was a form of legacy as we had also been present with them at their family funeral. This engagement is always a long line of conversations, not one-off.
Following Rachel’s advice we could, individually, have a mission to gift our craft creations to someone else. The wonder of a gift to a neighbour might stimulate a conversation with another. It doesn’t mean that we need to suddenly dive into theology, people really want to see Christians as those they can relate with –
being real is an amazing evangelism.