In the community

I had never been much into football (soccer, for those reading this in America), but recently I found myself in charge of a soccer tournament. It was a most interesting experience, and I must say it went really well.

A couple of weeks ago, as part of an effort to get the church more involved in the community, I was in charge of a family football tournament and fun day here in Kirkintilloch. The tournament was opened by Brown McMaster, the chairman of the Partick Thistle football club, and was well attended by the community. There was a good group of young people playing football, and we also had a fun fayre (kind of a mini-carnival) with various rides and attractions.

Graeme Adams, the worship leader at the church, worked with me to organise the event and did a wonderful job. Kenny French, from church, also proved invaluable in helping to organise and advertise the event, and just about everybody from the church participated in some way or another. We also had help from the Scottish Football Association, and local businesses helped to sponsor it in various ways. For example, Tesco (the grocery store) provided burgers and hotdogs for the barbecue that we had at lunch time. Also, the local newspaper was out to take pictures. It turned out to be a great day, and already I’m seeing signs in the community that the reputation of the church is beginning to change as people are seeing it as a group of people who care about and participate in the life of the community.

On the morning of the event, it looked like we were in trouble. The clouds were ominous and rain seemed certain. However, we felt confident that we were meant to continue, so we decided to go on with things with the assumption that the rain would not come. The weather held out for the whole day and the event was a great success. At the end of the day, the people running the fun fayre told us that they had two other events the same day in nearby towns that both got rained out, so ours was the only place where the weather allowed outdoor events to continue.

Now we’re getting ready for the next community event. This coming weekend, we are having a Christmas Fayre. Then next month we plan to focus on helping to give gifts to underprivileged children. It’s exciting to be able to be a part of making a difference in the community and to see people being touched by God’s love in a practical way.