When a blizzard or craze sweeps through a somnolent community, rural or urban, what change there is! Apathy becomes activism. Indifference becomes enthusiasm. Choice becomes richer. No matter what the craze – walking football, country dancing, metal-detecting -- passions are aroused. Things happen. It may be time devoted to collecting – thimbles, snuff-boxes, even Bentleys – or to cultivating difficult plants. It may take place quietly in garden sheds or more obtrusively in parish halls.
Such a blizzard is steam railways. Followers may pursue various avenues – collecting memorabilia, constructing model lay-outs, building replicas powered by steam, reading the considerable libraries on everything from ground-breaking Pacifics to signalling-systems and broad-gauge. There is enough for a life-time’s devotion.
That makes it quite like a religion. It would be tedious to list the similarities. But the compulsive interest and the companionship are two clear draws. Another is the claim on generosity. Steam traction does not come cheap. Nor does religious faith.
It may be a lifelong interest. It may not. Sometimes a craze will open up a quiet life to new perspectives for weeks or months and then gently fade away. This is a human trait and we accept it as such.
Better it may be to put one’s hand to the plough and keep it there till the job is done. But we can all think of things we have enjoyed in fits and starts. The remnants may sometimes be seen in our attics and garages. Better a little than nothing at all. Better late than never. And Paulinus’s bird looking for shelter on a stormy night should always be sure of a welcome.
We’re in blizzard country when we read Romans 8. Competing forces batter the believer. But in it all is a theme of grace triumphant. We read the last sentence and we know that God’s good purposes will not be thwarted.
PENNFIELDS PLENTY
Pennfields parish church, Wolverhampton has plenty going on. Saturday morning it’s St Joe’s café, Tuesday p.m. Place of Welcome, Friday p.m. carpet bowls. Then there’s an all-day seminar on the Old Testament and Alpha. Leading the ministry team is Peter Smith.
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