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Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881 St Andrew's Church, Taunton |
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Closed for the season?
There is something extraordinarily melancholy about a seaside resort out of season. Blackpool's promenade in a late afternoon, mid-January drizzle has had its soul washed away. Souvenir shops, amusement arcades and fish and chip cafés are hidden behind slatted shutters. Roller coasters and big wheels stand hulking and motionless in the mist. The few people to be seen are the year round dwellers of serried bungalows, huddled grey shapes that seem lacking in hope. The tacky illuminations advertising McDonalds, Doctor Who and a local radio station are dead. The Golden Mile is closed for the season and what's left behind is an air of desperation, a vestige of a summer life.
Blackpool only comes out of hibernation when the people return, drawn by the sun and the promise of entertainment. Then, enticing aromas - candyfloss and fish 'n' chips - fill the air, lights dazzle, music plays and the 'coaster riders scream. Blackpool unfurls for another season, dazzling the holiday makers and day-trippers of high summer.
Ironically, high summer for St. Andrew's comes in the middle of winter. Folk are drawn to the glow of candles, the dazzle of the Christmas tree, the aroma of pine boughs, well loved music, the comfort of the familiar, and the post-carol service mulled wine and mince pies.
But how do these high season visitors view the church for the remainder of the year? Do they consider that we have nothing interesting to offer? Does the building lose its glow? Are we regular church-goers perceived as the grey 'year-rounders'? In the same way that bleak mid-winter Blackpool instils a feeling of melancholy, is church out of season a gloomy prospect?
In short, do our Christmas visitors see us as closed for the season?
The difference between St. Andrew's and Blackpool's Golden Mile is that the attraction of the latter is purely manufactured. Flick a few switches and the dazzle disappears, revealing what lies beneath the sparkling veneer. At our best, we at St. Andrew's are able to offer truer gifts that can inspire all year round: words of hope, uplifting music, a spirit of celebration and depth of fellowship.
As a member of our congregation said a while ago: "St. Andrew's is a community of celebration and of hope". The challenge is to communicate this message to our high season visitors. St. Andrew's is not just open for Christmas and then closed for the season. The welcome, the music, the celebration and the hope are here all year round.
And that's more than Blackpool can say.
Blessings.
Adrian Adrian Smith - Webmaster NOTE: I am the webmaster of St. Andrew's Church, not clergy or a reader. I write as 'a man in a pew' and the opinions stated are personal. You should not assume that I necessarily know what I'm talking about, or that what I say reflects the views of other people in our church! |
Page updated 20/01/2008
