it's about... ...rising to the challenge

When I was 16 I went climbing with my friends at our local YMCA every weekend (cue music!) -it was the highlight of my Saturday. It was great! We basically had the free-form climbing wall to ourselves and would spend the best part of the afternoon scaling walls, negotiating overhangs and tumbling onto safety mats (free-form = no ropes!) The only problem was I could not for the life of me make it all the way to the top of even the simplest of walls! I could find the hand-holds okay, stand on the tiniest of foot-holds, cling spider like to the wall, but try as I might I could not manage the top two metres of the wall – the climbing holds at that point were just too far above the ones on the lower half. So, I would watch my friends- both of whom were shorter than me - crawl up and down the walls with ease but could not see how it was done.

They were good friends though. One day they decided to help me get past this rut I found myself in and help me to the top. Their plan was simple but ingenious. They climbed up, placed a number of sweets on top of the pipes that ran along the ceiling above the easiest section of the wall and climbed down. My turn. The following hour and a half saw one failed attempt after another on my part, as I desperately tried to scale the wall to get my prize. Honestly – I don't think I could have tried harder if it was a £100 cash prize up there! My friends laughed, cheered me on and only paused in their support of me to go and grab a bottle of Lucozade from the vending machine downstairs. I was not for giving up or having a break however- as soon as they left the room I leapt to my feet and started throwing myself at the wall. Scrambling up, falling down, scrambling up, falling down, getting so close … yet still so far... and then, even as I thought I heard my friends laughter outside the door, I managed one last push to the top... and I made it! HAHA!! I made it!!! My grip however, was not strong - I had only seconds to claim my prize so I swiped them off the top of the pipe letting them drop to the floor, before following after them in the same fashion.

Yup. I had “mastered” climbing up the wall but not back down. As I dropped the 5 metres to the crash mat I reflected I was content to let that particular lesson wait for next Saturday. My friends came back in time to see me devouring the last of my hard-earned prizes. Never had soft candy tasted so good.

I have always enjoyed a challenge and as far as I know you my friends, I can see that you do too. Recently we have been exploring one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever received:

He has shown you humanity, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God

micah 6:8

We have seen how it is a challenge to how we behave by calling us to act in ways that ensure everyone has just what they need. It is a challenge that gets to the heart of our priorities: not just showing mercy, but really loving it, to the point where it affects everything we do. And just like my rock-climbing challenge, it is a challenge that comes with a prize: When we act justly, when we really love mercy, we can enjoy the fruit of acting justly which is peace -inner peace, peace with others, peace with the world, and that calm, quiet walk of peace with God who we suspect to be just, merciful and amazingly humble...

Last week we began to move from exploring this challenge to responding to it in ways both practical and creative. It was hectic, busy and most of all fun -and that was just the start! In the following weeks we are going to make space for you to continue to respond, whether by working on the art-wall or continuing to work on performance pieces. To make this space available we are going to do things a bit differently. Our sharing time will start at 8:15 pm to allow every one plenty of time to arrive and will be something of a recap of things we have looked at so far, as well as a taster of things to come, to maybe help inspire you in your creative responses.

Also in this email I have included details about some of the practical ways of responding we have talked about, as well as links to relevant websites, etc. and news about upcoming events!

God bless you,
M@