By Reina Free
Walking along Kings Lane one morning my eye fell on a plant someone told me is called Good Old King Harry. I have no idea why this plant has this name or which King Harry this is. It is quite a common plant and grows all along Kings Lane.
But this one was different, the leaves green, yellow and bright red. Insects with tiny teeth had transformed the leaves into fine fragile pieces of lace. It took my breath away.
Every morning I feasted my eyes until one morning they were all gone.
A council worker with a mower had come and cut them all down, a strip not even a metre wide. I wondered about the reason why. There are so many things I do not understand anymore nowadays.
Yet along my kitchen window while looking out into Kings Lane there is the red one, the small yellow one and the large green one – a garland of celebration.
Treasures by the wayside free of charge for everyone.
Small sparks in abundance
On the 22nd September an informal Family Service was held in the Parish Hall jointly by pupils and teachers of Lee Common Primary School.
The door of the hall was left wide open so everyone was welcome. Before the service people were chatting with each other and children were running about.
David, our vicar, told us all how very special we are to God and how very cleverly he put us together, which of course is quite true, but generally accepted and even ignored.
The singing of traditional hymns and mission praise songs lifted our spirits.
After the service we had coffee and biscuits and squash and crisps for the children.
The purpose of these informal services is to make it a bit easier to come to church. For some people, for various reasons which deserve respect, find it not easy to come to church. I can sympathise with that. This service is different; the hall is next to the shop, people buy the Sunday paper and can join the service as they wish.
Yet it is not the shop, nor the pub. For one hour it has become a church with a sermon and worship where God can be found.
I hope that for the overall well being of us all these services will be continuing in the future.