Next Tuesday
our ‘Tea at Three’ event reaches its Silver Jubilee.
In 1991 our then Church Secretary, Anne Wright, came up with the idea of opening up the church hall every Tuesday so that we could welcome both friends and passers- by with home made cakes and a cuppa. Right from the beginning the idea was that if someone came in by themselves one of the regulars would ask if they would like some companionable company!
At its height Tea at Three attracted fifty people a week – today it follows on from LunchBreak with a regular ‘clientele’ of twenty.
Anne has long given up doing all the baking herself and there is now a strong team of both bakers and servers.
In this month’s church magazine Anne tells the story of one deacon saying, at the time of Tea at Three’s inception: ‘a good idea but it won’t last!’ – of serving ‘Gentlemen of the Road’ and having the compliment of a person who recently said LunchBreak and Tea at Three make Tuesday a ‘lifeline’ for him.
Well – I love Tuesdays at AFC – the place simply buzzes with life, hospitality and companionship.
I tried to reflect something of this in last Sunday’s sermon as we thought about Jesus sending out the 72 – and of their going into peoples’ houses to share a meal together – and in that process they shared something of themselves. Still a valuable role model for mission today – bringing nothing but yourself to the table and sharing both your hope and vulnerability with others.
So – ‘Happy Birthday’ Tea at Three – I wonder if there will be a Birthday Cake on Tuesday??!!
Best wishes,
In 1991 our then Church Secretary, Anne Wright, came up with the idea of opening up the church hall every Tuesday so that we could welcome both friends and passers- by with home made cakes and a cuppa. Right from the beginning the idea was that if someone came in by themselves one of the regulars would ask if they would like some companionable company!
At its height Tea at Three attracted fifty people a week – today it follows on from LunchBreak with a regular ‘clientele’ of twenty.
Anne has long given up doing all the baking herself and there is now a strong team of both bakers and servers.
In this month’s church magazine Anne tells the story of one deacon saying, at the time of Tea at Three’s inception: ‘a good idea but it won’t last!’ – of serving ‘Gentlemen of the Road’ and having the compliment of a person who recently said LunchBreak and Tea at Three make Tuesday a ‘lifeline’ for him.
Well – I love Tuesdays at AFC – the place simply buzzes with life, hospitality and companionship.
I tried to reflect something of this in last Sunday’s sermon as we thought about Jesus sending out the 72 – and of their going into peoples’ houses to share a meal together – and in that process they shared something of themselves. Still a valuable role model for mission today – bringing nothing but yourself to the table and sharing both your hope and vulnerability with others.
So – ‘Happy Birthday’ Tea at Three – I wonder if there will be a Birthday Cake on Tuesday??!!
Best wishes,
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