Dear Rev

Dear Rev. Bentley

I hereby submit my resignation from membership of your church. I do so, because I am unhappy about the Sunday services.

Yours truly

Mrs X.

This is a letter I received the day before yesterday. The person came to see me and said that they are unhappy about the inclusion of children's addresses in the service. "Children should not be in church!". We had a meaningful discussion, after which the person expressed that she feels much more comfortable at one of the churches in our area.

Her husband, an atheist and professed believer in Darwin rather than God, then dug into me. "Why do you do it? This is not the way things used to be in England!". To which I responded, "Even Darwin suggested that we either adapt or we die".

I am happy to see many people come to realize that we are not here to "play church". We ARE CHURCH, which means we are a community. This means "making space" for each other and celebrating our collective space in our common response of faith to God's grace.

Tonight we will be such a community, sharing in a meal and saying farewell to my colleague who is retiring. Children will be welcome.