It was great to be back at my old church, Hilton, last night. It was so lovely to see lots of familiar faces and catch up with old friends. Some Hiltonites have been reading my blog, though, because the minister asked the techies to do a “St Silas” and welcome me by name via the intimation screen! If I keep getting embarassed by churches like this, I think I’ll have to change religion.
There were plenty new faces too, though, and the church continues to grow and change and do exciting things. Last night, for example, was “Impact Cafe”, Hilton’s monthly “alternative” service. It was a a laid back affair, involved a variety of media and activities and was thought-provoking and well-put together. It was clearly the result of a lot of hard work from a lot of people.
I suppose it would be the equivalent of St Silas’s “Deeper” services, and is one of the many ways in which I find the two churches to be very similar in approaches, styles, talents and outlook – probably why I found St Silas so easy to settle in.
Another innovation is Hilton’s new blog – they already have a website, but have recently decided to set up a blog which more or less anyone can use to post thoughts on the areas of Hilton they are involved in. It’s fascinating to see an “official” church publication being done so democratically. Some churches would dread such a “free for all”, but Hilton seems to think it’s a really exciting opportunity. I agree.
I gather St Silasites have been a bit of an inspiration to Hilton in terms of using blogging as a tool for the church, and it will be fascinating to see how Hilton’s “open” blog evolves.