Happy Anniversary! It’s been a year in the trenches. Can I just say, how appreciative I am for being part of this community again. From the Connect Communities to Sadhbh and Fee doing an auction of many different things and Karl’s – questionable car wash. It’s been great to experience it all again. You guys are awesome. Also, special shout out to Isaac Harris, your blog on pepper was a wonderful read, as have all the blogs. Sometimes I don’t feel like I have anything important to say compared to you 

To my great shame, I once told Simon that I did not think Ignite would make it. I was young (very young) and foolish. I can hear people saying the latter is still true today. How wild it is that it has been a year since ‘church’ as we know it took place in that hall. A hall that if the walls could speak would share of leaders using office chairs to smash into one another, or a blended McDonalds being drunk. So many memories. It’s also been a place where I have witnessed the Kingdom of God come. Powerful, and I mean powerful worship songs being sung so those on the main street would hear of it, Cheryl with her GTKY section, prayer led by a multitude, the ‘open mic’ time where I would be on the edge of my seat, anxious at what someone might say. If you know you know, if you don’t, don’t worry about it.  

This hall has also been a place where we have had the Bible opened, read and talked about. I miss that the most I think – I’m unapologetically a Bible nerd and am certain Tara can confirm that I love a good ‘hmm’ in affirmation of what is being said. It’s different now though isn’t it? I’m thankful that in my church in Kilternan that we pre-record our services, so I only have to look into a camera. Zoom church is a bit weird, you have these little boxes, and it is so much harder to get a feel of what the mood of the listeners are thinking. As much as I enjoy speaking and sharing my thoughts on the Bible, my uncomfortableness level at doing it through Zoom is quite high. I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. To those who have done it, I marvel at you, I’m so thankful that you are able to do it because you have fed me in a time which has been rather isolating, you’ve helped put words to thoughts going through my head and helped me process them. I’m still processing a talk Michael did what seems like 6 years ago on the nameless women.  

It makes me think of them walls in Urban Junction, where we might think ‘church’ happens. Who knows when that will happen again? But it hasn’t stopped ‘church’ or ‘the church’.

Look at the list of things I shared about what Ignite was like in person, how many of them things are still happening. Think of the groups that would have met within them walls, like Quantum or the Overs group. They haven’t stopped, if anything they have gotten better. There is an appreciation from parents, from kids, from elderly people for having something for them to do. And that is what makes us the church. We don’t stop our activities because we’re restricted, we find ways to run our activities in spite of the restrictions. Church operating out of homes isn’t a new idea, check out how the first church did it in Acts. Read about how they shared what they have, how they looked after people, how they went beyond the call of duty all in service of God 

This community has gone above and beyond the call of duty so many times over the past year, you have been a blessing and in case you don’t feel like what you are doing is helping, it is. Your work is important and is valued. And this applies to everyone, to the person working in their bedroom on Zoom all day, to the parents struggling with home school and feeling like you’re not good enough. Jesus is looking at you and cheering you on and for what it’s worth, so am I.