Thoughts from the Ark

April 2022

Thoughts from the Ark
Thoughts from the Ark

I am sorry that there has been a gap with ‘Thoughts’, the last couple of months have been hectic and unfortunately this became a casualty! We shall now be back on track for monthly updates and ponderings. This month I think is a bit of an information drop though!

The team are still searching for additional team members, we have been one short since Heidi’s departure. We have jiggled the hours about so we are now looking for two part time members of the team, so if you do have anyone in mind that may like to get involved with the Ark, please do let us know!

A massive chunk of our most recent time has been spent organising the annual Easter trail, which saw its revival this year after the last two years of Covid restrictions. It really was such a joy to work with the groups again from schools, colleges, and youth organisations. The response to the request to decorate this year’s animal, the meerkat, was phenomenal, with 36 groups taking part. The theme of this year’s trail was the importance of community and as ever the groups have turned out some magnificent art creations. The trail runs until Sat 23rd April and then we shall be returning all the meerkats to the New Room so they can be seen together for an extra week. If you do have time to nip into the City Centre, then please do have a walk around and see how many you can discover.

I also just want to take this opportunity to make a big ‘woohoo’ about an event we are hosting on Thurs 19th May (held at Badminton Road Church, Downend). We are being joined by Jonny Baker (who works for Church Mission Society) and Tina Hodgett (who is an Anglican minister and pioneer advocate) and they will help host a day titled, “Who are we becoming, a conversation about pioneering”. Jonny and Tina will show how pioneering is a normal part of Christian tradition and tell stories of pioneers around the country who are following the Spirit of God into new places to share the gospel in new ways. They will open up a shared conversation about the joys and challenges of enabling pioneering within existing church structures and help us imagine what is possible. The aim is this to be an inclusive day for anyone who find themselves inside or outside our established church structures. We would like to invite you to be curious and come along if you have little or no knowledge about pioneering, if you have had some experience of pioneering or you are actively involved in a pioneering initiative. It is a day to have conversations, to share wisdom and to sense what God is calling us towards. If you would like to come along, please email jenny.bourne@thearkbus.org.uk. Lunch will be provided so let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

There is much to be joyous about and we thank you all for your continued support.

Warm wishes Jenny and Niall