Story Corner

[letric]

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command
the locusts to devour the land or send plague among my people,
if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves a
nd pray and seek my fave and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God at work to reconcile a world to Himself, and He's chosen to do so
through His people, redeemed by His Son Jesus Christ and indwelt and
empowered by His Spirit (Romans 8:11).

[letric]

WHO CAN JUDGE?

Thomas Guy twas a bookseller in London during the time of the
Great Plague and the Great Fire in 1665/6. His business was very
successful and he did well but people looked down on him because they
thought he was mean. They saw him eating his lunch of dry bread in
his shop, he wore only worn out clothes and would only light one candle
at a time. What peopled did not know was that he lived this way for a
reason. When a new hospital was built in London Bridge they heard
that it had been completely paid for by Thomas Guy. And on his death
he left a huge sum of money as a endowment so that the hospital could
continue to provide treatment for London's poor.

Even today Guy's hospital is one of the most famous London teaching
hospitals. Thomas Guy could have ignored the suffering all around him
and eaten grand meals off fine china; instead he choose to east dry bread
wrapped in paper. So often we are wrong about people because we do not
know all the facts.
Peace ...

[letric]

Uncle Eustace advises nephew Darren on ... the perils of leaving your pulpit

My dear Nephew Darren,

It was good of you to take Evensong here last Sunday while I was at my old college reunion - but I would prefer you used the pulpit in future when preaching. How could Majorly Johnson complete The Times crossword and Miss Jones her knitting with you constantly walking up and down in front of them? They found it most disconcerting, and out of politeness, they were obliged to listen to you. It was a unique experience they do not wish to repeat.

Those few who defy tradition and sit at the front of the church were also placed in the dilemma of trying to decide whether they should keep turning in the pews as you paraded down the nave and then rotating back to the front as you re-emerged up the side aisle. It did Lady Margarette's vertigo no good at all.

I appreciate you made heroic efforts and got your sermon down to 30 minutes, but that is still 20 minutes longer than they anticipated and 29 minutes longer than their attention span. That is why the noise you thought was sides-men counting the morning collection while you preached was in fact the organist jangling his keys in an attempt to remind you that his oven timer had long since switched off his and his casserole was getting cold.

No, use the pulpit in future, that is the reason why stonemasons 600 years ago put twenty ton s of marble in our church in the first place and it would be a shame to disappoint them.

Perhaps, before your next visit, we may install a mechanical floor on the pulpit, so that 10 minutes it slowly lowers you into the crypt while the congregation can get on with the singing the last hymn before getting home in decent time.

Your loving uncle, Eustace