I was in the
manse next door to the church building and Op Shop. The door bell rang. A young
man in a uniform stood there. “Excuse me,” he said most politely, “Can you tell
me what a manse is? I have come for to inspect the fire appliances. The women
in the shop let me into the church and showed me the one in the shop. They said
the last one was in the manse. I’ve looked around and I can’t work out what a
manse is.”
During a recent
hair cut, I mentioned that I had worked as a chaplain. “What’s a chaplain?” She
asked.
These things
reminded me of asking the minister what the word, ineffable, meant. It had been
in the last hymn. “Haven’t got a clue,” he said.
The story of
the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in Acts, tells us that one of
the most remarkable things about that day was that people gathered from all
round the Roman world, heard the message in their own languages.
When we speak
in words others understand we are more likely to help them know God’s love.
Rev Julianne Parker
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