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Address given by Ed Buckley at Blackpool Unitarian Church on 31st December 2006.
During the past week I have spent much of my time preparing an Application for a Grant from NELUM. The application was not as easy as one might think as the details requested were to say the least voluminous, however if we are ever to complete refurbishment of the hall this task was vital. Why do I spend my valuable retirement years doing the sort of tasks which I had thought I had left when I retired from industry. Why do something for which I do not get paid when I could be spending my time on leisure? Before I try to explain my apparent foolishness, let us talk of the others in our church who act likewise. Why do the Saturday morning crew do things really beyond their physical ability? Why does Martin travel all the way from Ireland to give us splendid services at no profit to himself and which take up most of his weekend? Why do Joe and his team give up their Mondays to help others for no reward to themselves? You may say that these acts are done in kindness but such a statement would only embarrass them. Is it ego? I don't think so as you can soon polish up your ego without doing all this work. I believe it all relates to the spiritual love that abounds in this church. This church amazes most of the people who visit it, we are constantly reminded of this by the comments of the people who call in at our Saturday mornings, attend our social events and who attend our services. The recent Carol service was a good example of this and our re-established choir was wonderful to hear. Not only do we have all this wonderful support from all our members we benefit beyond belief by a continual procession of Angels. Disbelieve this if you like but I am convinced that the spirit of this Church cannot be successfully assailed. Let me remind you of an article I wrote for our calendar some years ago which listed the amazing way in which a number of people visited the church, performed some wonderful task for us and then only to be seen again on the odd occasion. This circumstance still continues. In the summer of this year it seemed to be that the church might stumble, however no such thing has happened. Along came a bundle of angels in various disguises and the future of the church looks more assured than ever. Jesus said "for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them". Some believe that this only applies to a gathering of people within a church at prayer. I believe that is a misconception as it was most unlikely that Jesus frequented synagogues but it would relate to people doing God's work and rejoicing in the wonderful life and world that he has given us and in helping others to share this joy. This can be at worship which should be an expression of our joy but it can also be when we do our unpaid tasks providing we do them for love. Now we welcome the New Year do not foolishly expect that it will be a year of unbridled happiness but it can be a year of giving love and dealing with life's problems always remembering the greatest joy is in giving not receiving. May God bless you all. Ed Buckley |