Dear Friends,

Lots of adverts for home decorating tell us that whatever our style is they can produce it for us. Whether it’s sophisticated, homely, minimalist or quirky we can have it. After all we are unique individuals so why should we stick to a boring colour palette or design? God the creator created us to be creative. Everyone has a different style and preferences. When we visit each others’ homes it’s clear that though we might be similar we all prefer slightly different things.

And it’s the same with church. Why shouldn’t it be? There’s no rule about what church should be like. Even in the Bible it doesn’t have a blueprint of how we should worship. Different accounts of the early churches show that people did different things. But today what many churches offer on a Sunday morning is pretty much the same style: hymns, reading, sermon, communion, prayer. Even with our slight differences between denominations, we’re all a bit magnolia. There’s the occasional hint of duck-egg blue and sometimes a stripe of purple, but basically we have the same style and colour. But what if you don’t like magnolia? It’s inoffensive and you’ve nothing against it, but you wouldn’t go out of your way to get any.

So how does the church cater for people who long for Calypso Orange or Lemon Yellow? It’s more than a case of putting on a new coat of paint, whether literally or changing the colour of the songs we sing. We need a whole new palette to work from. If you’re interested in the new colour range, come along to the ‘Fresh Expressions’ Vision Day advertised in this magazine. You’ll find something, whatever your style.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Blessings

Amy