Night Shelter Artistry

The video below was put together by the Somerset West Night Shelter team and we think they have done and are doing a fantastic job serving and protecting some of the most vulnerable people during the lockdown and it's worth singing their praises.

We love what they do at the Night Shelter and were thrilled when they opened their Family Shelter, many of The Gathering's Soup Kitchen regulars have been there for the duration of the lockdown and it's comforting to know they are safe and cared for so lovingly there.

Gender Based Violence

I love that on Facebook Paula has posted a black & white photo of herself as part of the current awareness campaign around gender based violence (GBV).

 Here in South Africa the statistics on GBV are truly horrific with many men apparently thinking that using violence against women and especially against their wife/partner is simply a regular form of discipline within their relationships. It beggars belief!

As a man and a husband who has never been violent towards his wife (or any other woman), I really do not understand why some men choose to be violent to the one they're supposed to love above all others.

That Was My Morning, How Was Yours?

This morning was a little bit different as I went in to Cape Town to pick up another 12 boxes of emergency food rations. Thank you My Father's House!

These peanut butter sachets are proving very popular with our homeless Soup Kitchen regulars, so it's good to know that we'll be able to continue to bless them for a while yet.

Each sachet weighs just 100g and they are packed with goodness and calories, providing an adult with all the nutrients they need in a single meal.

Monday Traditions

There's a great line in Over The Hedge (the best cartoon film ever) where Vernon tells RJ that miscommunication is something that families do well. I was reminded of this this afternoon when Paula told me I was doing a boxing session for Joel whilst cooking garlic mushrooms. That wasn't the conversation I had with Joel, but hey, I'm only dad/husband so I know when to do what I'm told. LOL!

Worship Sunday

From time to time at The Gathering we give our gathering over to a Worship Sunday, in which we ask members to choose a song which God is speaking to them through at present and give a short testimony with the song.

This morning we took our Worship Sunday on to WhatsApp for the first time and it worked really well. During the week members sent me a link to their choice of song (which I downloaded) along with an audio message with their testimony of how God is speaking to them.

The thing that always amazes me is how the songs always flow and link together and today was exceptional. I hadn't listened to any of the audio messages ahead of time, and apart from deciding which song should close our Gathering the songs were in random order.

Where Are They?

Since restarting The Gathering's weekly Soup Kitchen just before the nation moved to Level 4 lockdown, our numbers have been noticeably down on their pre-lockdown levels, and whilst we have no definitive evidence as to why this might be, we do have some good ideas as to why this is the case.

One of the clearest reasons is that a number of our regulars have been staying at the local night shelter for the duration of the lockdown and as such simply can't make it to Firgrove and back in time and as such we won't see these guys until this is all over, whenever that is.

We also know that a large group of regulars spread across two makeshift squatter camps are too scared to leave their lodgings after dark for fear of losing everything, so we only see some of these guys at the start of service before it's dark. Sometimes one or two will venture out later but they've had to make a plan to keep things safe whilst they're away.

Lockdown Versus Prayer - One Isn't Working

We find ourselves in an uncomfortable time in South Africa. Lockdown hasn't worked and is not working.

The coronavirus is on the rampage in SA which is now the worst affected country on the continent, whilst certain communities within the country have been hit far harder than others, leaving the authorities with little choice but to take some fairly drastic action.

Judging A Book By Its Cover

Education Is Key

Yesterday (Sunday 19th) was Mandela Day in which all South Africans are encouraged to give 67 minutes of their time to serving a good cause.

However, I find it odd that given how passionate Madiba was about education, we have a government that doesn't appear to value it at all.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Following a great Gathering on WhatsApp this morning in which Paula shared brilliantly from the life of Gideon, I have spent the remainder of the afternoon reading a few chapters of my book followed by spinning some records on the turntable.

Life doesn't get much better than listening to a bit of Jeff Beck, the sounds that man can get out of a guitar are mind boggling and an utter delight to behold.

A Time Of Exile

We do love a bit of Tom Wright, so excuse us for taking a look at this recent article about him and his new book (God and the Pandemic) on Time.

Exile is classic biblical language and is appropriate for this time under the coronavirus pandemic in which our church buildings were forced to close. The Israelites experienced a number of periods of exile, the two best known being their time in Egypt and their time in Babylon, which most people will know from Boney M's 1978 song version of Psalm 137 "By the rivers of Babylon...".