Loitering within Lent - McDonalds, Kidderminster, Evening

Hi, if you don't know about Loitering with Lent, do look at my earlier posts.

Where was God in McDonalds? Where was Jesus' Spirit?

Certainly, there were two groups of people who were enjoying each others' company, laughing, eating and sharing good companionship. Where people eat together and share food, Jesus is there. McDonalds encourages the sharing of food as there's no plates and people can put their food in the middle of the table and share what they have.

But I did notice, whilst sitting there on my own without my phone to play on, is how people keep their eyes to themselves. There might as well have been barriers between the people there. There was no contact between the people eating there. No smiles, no nods of the head.

Like myself, on my own, there were other people, all men, who were also on their own. I did watch one man come in and order food. No-one including the person serving and the person cleaning, spoke except to take the order. There was no 'welcome' as we say in our churches. I felt this was sad. There was no human contact for those men eating on their own and playing on their phones.

Perhaps they wanted anonymity and to be left alone. If that was correct, they were in the right place.

God says you are welcome. You are what you are and you are welcome as you are. Just come.

If you want to be welcomed, you know you are valued and to be part of a community, can I say you won't get better than coming to church.

'Loitering within Lent' - the Hospital Restaurant

If you've not heard of 'Loitering within Lent' please read my previous post.

1. Hospital Restaurant...

I spent 45 minutes sitting and not playing on my phone but eating a sandwich, having a cup of tea and wondering - where is Jesus' Spirit here? I saw two acts of kindness.

The first was an elderly man who was very deaf and insisting he wanted bacon, sausage, beans and egg for his lunch. The person taking the order was explaining they didn't do breakfasts after 11.30am (it was 1pm), the explanation was repeated slowly but not in a patronising way until he did hear - he was very apologetic.

The second was an elderly women who was struggling to stand back up after sitting for her meal. The people sitting on the tables either side (though not with her) saw her struggling and helped her up. This was done with minimum fuss and with a 'it's no trouble' attitude.