The best hour of my summer

I have been richly blessed through holidays this summer. Visiting Malta was a beautiful experience.  And going as a family for our 13^th year to the Lee Abbey Youth Camp was as rewarding and spiritually refreshing as ever. 

One significant event was my parents celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. 60 years ago, on 31st August 1963, they got married at St John’s Church, Deptford in South London. To mark the occasion, as a wider family, we all went away together for the weekend to a beautiful part of Kent.

Bonding

Over the last 20 years, we have gone on mini-holidays with my parents, my brothers and their wives and the 10 children we have between us.  At times, it has been quite intense, certainly when the children were little and especially in a family which ‘enjoys’ debating the big issues!

But it has been a great thing to do. It has bonded us as a wider family, strengthened relationships between us all and created all kinds of shared memories.

Faithfulness

And of course, this year we had my parents’ big anniversary to celebrate. 60 years together is an incredible achievement and every aspect of our lives has been affected by their faithfulness and commitment to each other.

We had great meals, talked lots and played games, including rounders, football and ‘The Blob’. My 82 year old Mum got the final of the table tennis tournament, beating a few grandchildren on the way!

And went on a walk across fields to see the stained glass windows in a local church created by the artist Marc Chagall. 

It was a great weekend together.

Precious

But the most precious time of it all was the hour we gathered for an informal service on the Sunday morning in the lounge of the house. My brother Stephen had put together a simple service based around the theme of thanksgiving.

He had asked everyone to bring an object which represented something they were thankful for.  In between songs and simple prayers, we each shared our ‘show and tell’.  The age span in the room was over 70 years but everyone spoke and shared what they were grateful for.

I brought a branded coffee cup to represent my new job with Hope into Action which has been both stretching and exciting.

Hard times

Like all families, we have had our ups and downs, struggles and difficulties. Some shared items which represented comfort through serious challenges and hard times.

My Mum brought a thermometer to represent her thanks for the medical support that my Dad has had during a prolonged spell of serious illness. Others spoke movingly about what had made a difference during difficulties at work or school.  My Dad brought a photo of us all and spoke about how the difficulties he had faced when he was growing up meant that he could not quite believe the family he now had around him.

Different grandchildren led prayers and read from the Bible and another gave a short talk on thankfulness and acknowledging our interdependence on each other and to God.

Real and honest

It was a truly precious time: real, open and honest – but also infused with a deep sense of hope and faith in God. Grace and truth in abundance.

That short, simple service made me reflect on how faith can reach the parts that few other things can. Of course, religion can suppress, crush and do the very opposite and many families are tragically affected by these realities.

But at its best, faith can create a crucible which enables deep listening and understanding of others. A foundation of divine hope on which human connections can be built. A true communion.

Something deeper

So often, worship creates community. The ‘vertical’ reference to God enables ‘horizontal’ sharing between people. Belief is one of the most effective developers of what sociologists call ‘social capital’ and this is why churches remain the best ‘melting pots’ in the UK. Money cannot ‘buy’ community, it requires something deeper to be built upon.

So I am truly grateful for a summer which has deeply blessed me in all sorts of ways. But my favourite moment of all was the hour I spent in a lounge in Kent with my family worshipping, praying and sharing hope together. There was no better way to express our thankfulness for my parents’ 60 years of marriage.