On the sidelines

Many people have spirit-filled, theologically deep, and very moving reasons for becoming a member of a church. I, however, joined the church for political reasons: when I was fifteen I wanted to join the SNP but my parents wouldn’t let me until I first joined the church.

And in the thirteen years since then, I’ve never made it to the AGM of a church I’ve been a member of, and it was only tonight, in a church I am not (yet?) a member of, that I finally did so. And not only just because the rest of the Monday night pub quiz team cancelled on me.

St Silas’s Annual Business Meeting was surprisingly interesting, and it was good that non-members like me were allowed to sit in and watch the proceedings. Many of the presentations and reports – such as on the plans for the new hall – were engaging and useful, and helped me to further appreciate that this is a ambitious and talented church with a very good idea of where it’s going. And the financial report was presented in a most entertaining, almost Dave Gorman-style, way (there’s a rare gift if ever there was one).

Another item on the agenda was the confirmation of the “sidespeople”, and it was only when I heard my name among those read out that I realised that “sidespeople” just means “Welcome Team”.  Someone explained to me that it’s all part of the Pisky tradition of giving anyone with an important job or who handles money a suitably austere and anachronistic name, presumably in an attempt to scare off anyone who’s interested in doing it. Thankfully we just call them “Welcome Team”.

There was even a couple of votes throughout the evening. And there was me thinking that Presbyterians were the only democrats in the Christian church.

You learn something new every day.