Celebrating the Feast

For the second year running we are celebrating the Feast - wanting to embed in the rhythm of the Kairos network ways of celebrating together. We have been reflecting on 'the power of festival' - and my thoughts have been especially in regard to the way in which in our culture festival is being degraded by consumerism. Learning how to celebrate as God's people is such a fantastic message and witness.... but we do need to learn as so much of what passes as celebration amongst in today's Christian culture is, to be brutally honest.... wimpy and half-hearted. Maybe this is because some of the time Christians are really not sure they want love those they are supposed to be celebrating with or maybe it is because we are much too focussed on church and not focussed enough on Jesus - who, by the way, knew how to celebrate and make a festival come alive.
We have articulated our understanding of festival in 5 words beginning with P; 

Through Festival we seek to

• Understand God’s wonderful provision

•Celebrate His goodness with praise

•Invite His manifest presence

•Demonstrate his power

•and express His heart through prophetic declaration

We have a lot of learning to do in this but we have gone some way already. Last year we had a shared thanksgiving meal, an open day where our base is and a Central Gathering on the Sunday. This year we are holding a feast in a hotel in central Harrogate and using it as an opportunity to launch the Bishops Mission Order - naming our new status as a church with the Bishop and others present with us. Saturday will bring lots of activity as Kairos people get out on the streets in various different ways - questionnaires and giving out sweets, Messy Church, helping someone with their garden, doing things in neighbourhood's people feel they are called to - as always it seems food will be a feature of many activities. Sunday will see the 9am service not meeting as normal but under the name of '9am OUT' two teams of people connected with the 9am service will go into two different elderly people's homes to share faith. At 10.30am on Sunday 17th we will hold a Central Gathering to celebrate together - encounter the presence of God, his power and proclaim his favour.