Café Church and Spree

Catching up! Sunday 26th I went to Caerphilly Independent Evangelical Church (Watford) in the morning, and Gateway’s Café Church at Funtastic in Caerphilly. Watford is pleasant, friendly and quite traditional, with very uncomfortable pews! The preacher was from Gabafa Baptist, and his theme was 1 Peter 1. He talked about ‘reverent fear’, referred to in verse 17, and how Jesus always told his followers not to be afraid. When he walked on the water, he said, “It’s OK, it’s me!” meaning that there was no need to fear because here was a person whom they trusted. So ‘reverent fear’ is never about being afraid of God, but is about treating him with honour, awe and respect.
The Café Church was very good – some video and discussion at the tables, with activities for the children. It’s good because it is in a non-threatening venue, which parents of young children are used to going to. The problem is that the building is like an aircraft hangar, with acoustics to match, and when the fans were one (it was a hot day), it was like there was a jet engine on test!
Finding new ways of ‘doing church’ is vital in this time, and it has been really good to see what goes on at Solace (Cardiff pub church) and Gateway’s Café Church. Both those ideas are full of potential for plenty of exciting development!

Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July was Spree Wales camp in Llanelli. One dead minibus, but lovely weather, and an excellent weekend!