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Viewpoint from Revd David Wells 25/08/2023
 Revd David Wells
Rector, Holy Trinity Church, Caister-on-Sea
It is that time of year when the size of our congregation in Caister’s parish church fluctuates greatly week by week, as some go away, and others visit with us whilst holidaying here. There is no knowing from Sunday to Sunday whether there will be crowded pews, or just a few brave souls rattling around. I know we should not fret about numbers, and our Lord promised that when just two or three are gathered He would be there - but on thinly attended Sundays it is a painful reminder that as church-going Christians we are becoming a very small-minority indeed, a mere handful amongst the 10,000 souls living in our parish
 It would be easy to get sad, or angry, or fearful about our future as a small church. But listening to what Jesus taught us in the parables of the Kingdom, we can find reasons to be hopeful and to embrace our smallness . Jesus spoke of the value and hidden power of small things - such as a minute mustard seed sown in a field yet growing into a great tree, or a tiny sprinkling of yeast amongst the flour. Things invisible to most people - yet having the power to make all the difference in the world
One of the gifts that smallness has brought us as a church, is that it prevents us from doing things all on our own. For example, if we were a big successful church then we might have started our own foodbank and promoted it as a church project. Instead, as a small church we had to take that vision of a foodbank for Caister and share with others, forming partnerships and working together to make it a reality. As a result we have a thriving Community Larder with close on 30 volunteers involved, that is rooted in our community in a way it could never have been if we had done it alone. In the process we have formed new relationships with those outside our church who, whether they know it or not, are doing kingdom work by helping the hungry and building community. It is through the building of relationships and connections that the kingdom grows, as our secular friends and colleagues see in us a little of what our faith is about, and as we see in them how God is already at work bringing in the kingdom
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