Burglary at Our Church

Our Church suffered a burglary on last Friday afternoon. Someone managed to break through a window in the church office and searched. Most things were locked, so they found a laptop and took it. The office door was locked so they didn't get any further to take anything else. Also, that evening, someone forced a side door to our church hall, again an untidy search, but everything was locked up and as far as we can see, nothing was taken.

The response to the burglary from local people has been astonishing. A new laptop is being delivered by a donor today and a local company is offering to install an alarm and CCTV free of charge.We love our local community and they turned out in solidarity yesterday to our Summer Fayre and the conversation was about "How can people steal from a church" and real support and some cash donations to assist our mission and ministry. We might be in an urban town on the outskirts of London, but local people call Belvedere "The Village" as it has a village atmosphere. 

And people love their local church, even though we only have 140 on our electoral roll. Many more come to Remembrance and social events and support our uniformed groups. We have much to be thankful for our supportive community. I have to say that we have five other churches in our "Village" and many people belong to them, so the worshiping community is much broader than just us. 

The reaction to the burglary has demonstrated something for us. Our Mission Action Plan has at it's heart reaching out to the community, not just staying inside the Bricks and Mortar.And on all of our activities a year or so ago, were centered on the Church Hall, but we made a decision that all events would include some activities in the church itself. So, that first year, hundreds came through the church doors for the first time, or more likely, the first time in many years.It was lovely to meet people who remembered being children in the choir forty years before, or whose parents, grand parents were hatched, matched or despatched there in the last sixty or seventy years. People feel a real connection with the church, we have many funerals from families who might have moved away, but come back due to family graves in the corporation cemetery five minutes walk away, or ashes in our garden of remembrance.

And the connection thing, also brings us weddings as well. We have nine booked this year, many of them marrying here due to their qualifying connections. 

The church is just over 160 years old, built by the Lord of the Manor at the time as a Chapel of Ease for his workers on his estate, and extended through benefactors over time to be adopted as a Parish Church after the Lord's wife before dying expressed a wish for it to be adopted by the CofE. The Church was consecrated by Arch Bishop of Canterbury (Benson) in 1862. 

The first Vicar stayed for 30 years, building two daughter churches in that time.Our tradition over the generations moved from early Evangelical, through relatively Anglo Catholic to our now, settled middle of the road tradition, inclusive and multi-cultural. Something like 12 languages are spoken by church members, representative of the diversity of our community.

Our annual multi-cultural service will be held next Sunday, and I will be reading the Psalm in Cockney to represent many of the people in the parish, who share my own London Heritage.Kent will feature somewhere as many of the original families remain represented in our parish, so a prayer in their vernacular will be included.

As you can tell perhaps, I adore the place that I belong, who welcomed me when I first joined them, supported me through training for Licensed Ministry and continue to support me when I preach and lead. Somehow, we share a strong sense of humour, which helps as we journey together. I thank God for the place, people and his action with us.