Open Air: Bread Upon The Waters

A kind friend has been sorting through his bookshelves, trying to make room for even more Christian literature. In the process, he has decided that he has far too many copies of the bible, in one translation or another. Thus it is that I now have several of them, all in first-class condition, ready to place wherever I find a need.

“Hmm… The kindly, elderly lady that I mentioned last week might be able to use one,” I thought - and there was a large-print edition amongst the dozen or so donated. And so, I put it into my bag for last Wednesday’s outing.

Alas, that lady was nowhere to be seen; however, as I was finishing my first address, along came a middle-aged woman in a white knitted cardigan over a flowery tee shirt and tight blue trousers. “These bibles: do you have one with large print?” No one has ever asked me that question before. “For the first time ever, I have one - so it might as well go to her!” I thought. She went away happy, and I was pleased, too, if ever so slightly bemused…

Days later, that set me wondering: where did the other bibles go? I know our small bible box was empty at the end of the afternoon, but my attention was elsewhere for much of the time, and my memory is not all that reliable. So, I fast-forwarded through the GoPro recording to try and find out who took them.

The first one went to an inquisitive vlogger, who asked for a free bible, then quizzed me as to what we were up to, there on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens. I tried to make my answer clear and concise, being mindful of the fact that some vloggers will edit and alter what they record, in search of something to entertain their faithful fans. I never look for recordings of myself on YouTube et al, just in case I should find any such attempt at ridicule. We wouldn’t want anything along the lines of the conclusion to John Carpenter’s “Vampires”, would we…?

Stephen gave away the next one. The recipient was a young black woman in a sporty brown outfit, accompanied by her son. She looked pleased as she took her leave; and then, a moment later, a tall, shaven-headed gent wheeling a grey shopping trolley was after one.

Then things quietened down for a while, until I’d just completed my last stint. A bespectacled youth in a football shirt arrived as we were starting to pack our things away, also in search of a free bible. There was something likeable about him, so I retrieved my tract envelope and dug out a copy of Mr Blanchard’s “Can We Be Good Without God?” He put it away in his black rucksack, along with his bible. I trust that, in the fulness of time, he will get round to reading both of them.

Was there another one that I didn’t notice, in my haste? I’ll ask Stephen next time I see him.

So: on the whole, last Wednesday was very lively, very noisy, but very rewarding. Our friend with the big speaker was notable by his absence, for which we gave thanks.

Oh, and apparently there is an Oasis Renaissance going on in Manchester at the moment, so we had lots of portly, middle-aged men (and some women) in Oasis bucket hats and tee shirts wandering around, imagining that they were about to relive their lost youth. Good luck with that one! Do try to avoid ‘Dad dancing’, though: A. & E. is busy enough as it is…

The forecast for next Wednesday is fine and warm, though a trifle overcast. Feel free to join us if you wish, and please pray, if our Lord puts it upon your heart to do so, for those folk who took free bibles, that they will read them, and profit greatly thereby.

Every blessing!