Groundbreaking

I went digging in the snow today. The frozen ground was a little hard for what was a very significant moment in the life of the church at Cambourne. Cambourne is a (relatively) new community, not far from Cambridge, with an exciting church development where the United Reformed Church are in partnership with the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church and the Church of England and also engaged with the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the snow on the ground, around 100 people gathered this afternoon on the site of the future church building to break the ground as a symbol of the imminent start to the construction. It was good to be part of such an important point in the church’s life. In a brief service (c. 40 minutes) with a specially devised liturgy we celebrated this point. Hymns, prayers and readings surrounded thoughts about the past – “Do you remember the time when ... ? – a focussing on the present – “What I like about Cambourne Church is ... “ – and an anticipating of the future – “I would love to see a church where ... “ The minister of Cambourne, Revd. Peter Wood, reminded us of the importance of patience and yet encouraged us to look for what God is wanting us to do – and leaders from the denominations – including me! – stuck spades in the ground as a symbol of this part of the Church project in Cambourne. We summed things up with ‘the Cambourne prayer’ – “God, You have gathered us in this place at this time to be your church. May all that we do and are build your kingdom. Amen.” I am sure that there is ground that we all need to break, even if we don’t have such a significant moment to mark just now. Is your shovel ready?