16.09.2019
Crinken Begins New Chapter With Dedication of Church Hall
There were joyful celebrations at St James’s Church in Crinken yesterday morning (Sunday September 15) as the brand new Crinken Church Hall was dedicated by Archbishop Michael Jackson.
The paint had hardly dried in the wonderful new facility when the ribbon was cut and the whole community was invited to ‘come and see’, as the stone at the entrance to the hall is inscribed.
After a welcome by the Rector, Canon Trevor Stevenson, site manager, Robert Thompson, addressed the congregation. Robert explained that he was substantially blind and depended heavily on his other senses. However, this did not stop him being on site every day and ensuring that the work was completed to a high standard.
Trevor paid tribute to Robert’s diligence and commitment to the project and said that the Crinken community was indebted to him. The church will show its gratitude to him with a gift of a trip to the Camino with a friend. The Rector thanked everyone who helped out in any way in the project.
Speaking on behalf of the older members of the church community, Eddie Blackstock, admitted that they were often afraid of change but they were delighted with the new facilities.
“The idea is that we will provide modern informal facilities for the younger folk. Our objective is to worship and serve God. We also want to reach out and serve the community and support and help those around us. It is a wonderful privilege to have this place and we want to share that,” he stated.
Archbishop Jackson described Crinken as a church in three parts: the original building, the new church hall and the church in the outside community. “The three are gathered in this place,” he commented.
Referring to the Gospel reading [Luke 15:1–10] he said that as Jesus was saying and doing in his earthly life, he was attracting the wrong sort of people and the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling. The Gospel, the Archbishop said, spoke of both inclusion and exclusion.
The parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin showed two sides of the grace of God: impetuosity and carefulness, he explained.
“Both people are, as we would say: beside themselves. One drops everything and throws caution to the winds to find a lost sheep; one thinks carefully and combs over the traces to find a lost coin. Both impetuosity and carefulness are instincts and both rarely are found in the same person. But the church as a body, as an institution, needs both characteristics in its membership and in its decision–making, otherwise it becomes a pension fund with a few hymns thrown in from time to time. Seek ye first … the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness… not when you have decided that you can afford the Kingdom of God, but first … The hall that we will dedicate today is such a combination of instincts and I congratulate and applaud those who had the vision, made the decision and complete the work,” Archbishop Jackson said.