27 May 2009

Talk and tucker and the kingdom of God

Yesterday evening I had a small glimpse of what the Kingdom of God might be like. We had our first 'Talk and Tucker' evening, where people who attend the weekly soup kitchen were invited to come to a mid-week meal and listen to a short talk on 'What is God like?".

Twenty one people came. I was sitting at a table with two young guys who had been looking for somewhere to go for a meal because they were broke. A local charity had given them a list of soup kitchens. They'd misread what it said about the church soup kitchen being on Saturday and turned up hoping to get some soup. We invited them to stay.

I discovered over the meal that both were separated from their families. One hadn't seen his mother or father for years and had been brought up by grandparents. The other had left his family due to abuse.

An elderly Polish lady in a wheelchair, who comes regularly on Saturday nights, was the other person at the table. She's a widow, after being married for nearly 60 years. She told me how she had met her husband and then began telling me about her experiences during the war, when the Russians invaded her country and she and her parents fled to Germany. Her family was the centre of her life.

At first the two boys didn't show much interest, but after a while they began asking her questions. I was touched by the sight of these three people, complete strangers and so dissimilar in age and experience, talking to each other over dinner. They all listened attentively to the talk, and the boys picked up a New Testament to take home with them.

1 comment:

  1. This sounds great, Stella.
    I know this Polish lady, and I think it is wonderful that she and others can hear more about God and His Kindgom.
    Also, I brought a book on prayer for you Sunday night (Goldsworthy's, "Prayer and the Knowledge of God"), but didn't get to give it to you.
    I will try to bring it again this Sunday.

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