One of my favourite TV programmes is the BBC’s "DIY SOS”, writes Bishop Joanne Grenfell in her Christmas message this year.
“A family somewhere, often people who have recently been through really hard times, is living in a house that just doesn’t work for them anymore or has become a bit of a disaster zone. Sometimes they need major adaptations because of the illness or disability of one of their family members. Or perhaps they’ve been let down by cowboy builders and have been left with leaks coming through the roof and faulty windows that let in the wind and rain.
The team arrive on site, listen to the problem, and then send the family away. At this point, neighbours and local tradespeople come together, bringing equipment, skill, helping hands, nice decorating stuff, and new furnishings. Together, the community makes the disaster house into a functional, beautiful, heart-warming home.
The best bit of the show is, of course, the reveal. But not just because we get to see around the redeveloped home. No, this is the best bit because we also get to see the family arriving, after their exile in a hotel down the road, to be greeted with a whole community of people outside their front door, waving and smiling, and ever so keen to show off the results of their incredible – and freely given – labours.
Tears are shed, usually by me as well as the tv participants.
The result isn’t just a transformed house, but a restored home. And the people inside and outside the house are no longer just neighbours who may have vaguely recognized each other when they passed in the street, but are now a newly made community, formed around the care for each other they’ve shown in responding to this DIY SOS.
I sometimes think of that image of all the DIY helpers standing waving for the cameras when I hear the words from the New Testament, from the First Letter of Peter, about God’s people being living stones, built up into a spiritual house to worship God. We are God’s people, crafted together into a Christian community, where we worship God, build each other up in our faith, and care for those in need.
Churches in Suffolk are there for everyone. They’re used day in, day out, for community space, practical service, and groups that bring people together. So many of our Suffolk churches are also wonderful buildings, combining history and heritage with a sense of mystery, stillness, wonder and awe.
Recently, I visited Reach Haverhill, an amazing community initiative, supported by several local churches. Reach offers emergency food support, as well help with financial crisis and hardship related issues, housing and benefits advice. I know that, by the time Christmas comes this year, they will have supported hundreds of people to take even small first steps towards secure housing, adequate food and warmth, and stronger family or community connections.
Jesus began his earthly life in the most fragile of circumstances: homeless, vulnerable, born in the cold of a Bethlehem night to a refugee teenage mother facing the disapproval of her family and community.
We are his church, gathered around his memory, when we feed the hungry, care for the sick, and provide shelter for those who are similarly homeless and vulnerable.
We’re living stones when we come together to help bring dignity, comfort, and connection to those whose lives and social networks have fallen apart.
DIY SOS: wouldn’t that be a great motto for the church? Providing practical ways to transform lives, enfolding people in God’s love, bringing people home to God through Jesus Christ who Saves our Souls.
This Christmas, if you can, don’t just watch the Carols on Christmas Eve, but find a local church service (see achurchnearyou.com to find out what’s on nearby) and come together to celebrate the great reveal.
Jesus Christ is living among us, restoring lives, building up individuals and communities. We are his living stones, and he longs to bring each one of us home to God.”