As a 'Newly Accredited Minister' I have a certain amount of study I have to do each year. I am in serious catch-up mode, with (actually, I'm not going to tell you how many) book reviews to do in the next few months. Not much, you might say, but in order to review a book it is helpful actually to read it, and I am a VERY slow reader. Fiction I can devour almost too quickly (I read the final Harry Potter book in 11 hours, virtually at one sitting). Academic books take me much longer, however. I concentrate for a page or two, then start yawning, even if the book is interesting. I have to bribe myself to get through it (one more chapter and you can have a cup of tea). Fortunately, the book I was reading yesterday is so fantastic I have to share it with you.
Journeying Out by Ann Morisy is a book about a new way of looking at Christian mission. It was published 12 years ago and I wish I'd got around to it sooner. There is so much in there that delighted and intrigued me that I think it will inspire a few blog posts. Today I'll just tell you about the sewing machines.
Morisy tells the story of a Mothers' Union meeting in a Kent village attended mostly by women over 60. At one of their meetings, two Mothers' Union workers from Zimbabwe were speaking. As part of their tak they explained how important hand sewing machines were in the villages where there was no electricity. The Kent women put the word out and managed to get eight hand sewing machines from various people's lofts. The next challenge was how to get them out to the village where they were needed. The Zimbabwean ladies explained that shipping the machines was unreliable, as they were likely to end up gathering dust in a customs yard. So these pensioners from a Kent village decided to take the machines out to Zimbabwe themselves. Sons and daughters were horrified at the idea of Mother undertaking such a demanding trip at her age. Grandchildren thought Grandma was cool. The local paper reported on this unusual venture by the Mothers' Union ladies. A group of English pensioners experienced a little of what it was like to live in the two-thirds world, and the struggles of daily life there. And a link was created between villagers in Kent and Zimbabwe.
Morisy uses the lovely phrase 'cascades of grace' to describe what is going on here. As apparently secure, affluent people 'journey out' to meet with those who know what it is to struggle, whether people down the street or on the other side of the world, cascades of grace flow from the encounter. Many people are touched by the courageous action of stepping out to meet with the other. It is not only those apparently 'in need' who benefit from this meeting; all are transformed.
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