Flame of Hope

The second week of Flame of Hope included the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Chippenham.  The local churches kept this opportunity in focus in their preparations and this paid off handsomely.  Firstly each mission centre kept the Wednesday morning free of events so that teams could travel to the town and disperse among the crowds.  The carnival atmosphere and a delay in the arrival of the Torch gave ample opportunities for pairs of team members along the route to engage in surveys, chat to people, give out tracts, etc.  One lad of 19 gave his life to Christ on the street and is being followed up.  Having the Uganda Fire choir, however, gave us a platform right in the market square, where they attracted a crowd for much of the morning, giving a vibrant witness.  The town centre Anglican church expanded its café as another venue where team members could get alongside people.  Finally, the word association between the Torch and Flame of Hope meant that the Flame banners were included in official shots of the Torch bearers in local newspaper coverage!

 

Doubtless this creative Christian presence at an Olympic event is going to be more than matched later this year in Stratford but it was encouraging as a foretaste of that.  In terms of this mission, it was of course just one morning / one event. 

 

Flame of Hope involved over 20 village churches with the level of participation varied across the area, as you would imagine.  Marshfield Benefice seemed to gain the most from the week, locals often matching visitors 1-to-1 on the doors & managing to cover pretty much all of their area, including farms & hamlets.  They seemed hugely encouraged at the end – a real shot in the arm as they look to appoint a new minister soon.  I led the mobile ‘Flame Team’ – some great walking but, to be honest, over very short distances!  We had a terrific time in By Brook Benefice, where a relatively new minister looks after 9 fairly diverse churches and communities; in the end we had events in every village and we know that there will be fruit from this; sometimes it was a case of building on very tender shoots of growth.  In the second week we had teams in the Lidbrook & Lacock / Neston groups of churches and the next Flame Team also served these along with Gastard.  There were some good varied events; 60 people (many of them not from churches) took part in the sing-it-yourself Messiah; a CBBC-run Dr Who event attracted a good number of young people (and some older ones!); a good science & faith session with the Bishop of Swindon and others; and the glorious weather was just right for the finale on Box Recreation Ground at the end, with Uganda Fire, speakers, workshops, a gospel message, etc.  

 

Final reflection: torch or flame?  Waiting for the 2012 cavalcade created huge anticipation but the Torch itself … gone by in a flash.  Was that it?  Glad I saw it but …  It wasn’t difficult in the remainder of the mission to contrast this with the flame of hope that Jesus lights in a human heart, which knows no end.  Flame of Hope will be visible again in Chippenham & Corsham next year as the 2 towns host teams 9-19 May.  Several villages have also spoken of joining in again too.