Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

Time to make a change?

Stuck in a rut? Sometimes change can be tough but the effects can also be remarkable, writes Sally Claydon


Now the older generation has sometimes been accused of resisting change – but not this wonderful group of friendly and funny OAPs.

Plan AThey’d decided to move their meeting from the usual cosiness of our church lounge to the community area of the charity shop that our congregation runs in the local parade of shops. The shop has a lovely, big sunny window near a coffee machine and seating area. Their gathering was a great success including much laughter as one lady tried on various hats from the shop. An added bonus was waving to school children passing by on their way home from school.

But do you know what the most remarkable thing was? Towards the end of their time together a woman who had been browsing in the charity shop, approached the group and said that this was just the sort of thing she’d like to bring her mother to. She was given all the details, as well as a couple of cakes to take away. She was thrilled and said she’d take the cakes to her mum and tell her all about the group. 

A simple change of location to a more ‘public’ area had resulted in the opportunity for a new person to experience the friendship, and hopefully the faith, the group shares. Sometimes change can be tough but the effects can also be remarkable.

I’m lucky enough to be involved in helping churches start new GB groups, and sometimes even brand new groups have had to make changes quite early on. One group in a predominately Muslim area found that they were clashing with classes at the local mosque – and that a simple change of their meeting times meant that more girls could join the GB group. Another has been forced to change venues – which has also given them the opportunity to change the day of the week that they meet; a change that has been beneficial for the leaders and has also enabled their local network to offer greater support.

So, if you’re stuck in a rut why not make a change? It doesn’t have to be complicated – a change of venue, the day, or time that you meet could make all the difference.
 

Sally Claydon is Girls’ Brigade team leader at 1st Hawkwell group, based at Hawkwell Baptist Church, Rochford, Essex, and a GB Development Worker in London. She writes a regular column about the Girls’ Brigade for The Baptist Times.

Picture: "Options Plan A, Plan B" by Danilo Rizzuti / freedigitalphotos.net
Catherine Burt, 04/04/2014
    Post     Tweet
Collaboration, and our worship of Jesus
Notes from the two keynote addresses from Dave Ferguson and Alex Harris at the first Everyone Everywhere national conference on 8 October
Israel-Palestine: I can’t keep up
Baptist church member David Nelson has travelled to Israel and the West Bank on three occasions in the past 24 months. He offers this reflection on events in the region
Dwelling in scripture
Anne Le Tissier outlines the practice of remaining in just one or a few Bible verses for an entire week or more, which is explored more fully in her new book 'Dwell – Inviting God’s Word to make a home in our lives, one day at a time'
Protests or race riots?
Justice enabler Wale Hudson Roberts reflects on this summer's race riots. In doing so, he asks: what role can Baptists Together play in addressing the voice of the far right, Islamophobia, and racism in church and society?
Should your faith rely solely on the Bible?
For many of us, the Bible is by far and away the book that has most influenced our lives. But as Baptists, Jesus is our number one authority, writes Chris Goswami
The Church, the far right, and the claim to Christianity
The far right has grown in prominence in recent years - with some cynically employing Christian-sounding language. Helen Paynter highlights the current context - and how the Church can respond
     The Baptist Times 
    Posted: 14/10/2024
    Posted: 02/10/2024
    Posted: 22/07/2024
    Posted: 07/05/2024
    Posted: 12/02/2024
    Posted: 22/12/2023
    Posted: 16/12/2023