Tonight we gathered:
Different faces on the screen,
From different places,
Different nationalities
And IT capabilities,
Different occupations,
Expectations, theologies.
Tonight we gathered,
United in our hope and faith
And prayed,
One family in Him.
Tonight The Connexion, the family of churches I belong to, gather online for prayer. It was wonderful to see the family again so soon after Conference.
(18.11.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash
The respectful awkwardness
When something is said that everyone
Disagrees with and yet
The decision has been made
That all are welcome here.
The love that says we’ll hear
Your views and not dismiss
You or your right to speak
Because we value you
And therefore what you say.
The tension that we live with
Because we are a family
And that’s what families do
As relationships are more
Important than being right.
I love watching groups embracing awkwardness instead of insisting on their own interpretation, political view or doctrine.
(22.09.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
An hour of conversation,
That reaches around the globe,
Transcending barriers of language,
And animosity shown.
Taking time to listen,
And talk about our lives,
Comparing holiday plans,
And things that make us thrive
A mutual love of camping,
Shared music of the soul,
A common concern for family,
One humanity unfolds.
Another Friday, another Conversation Café, our informal group for those with English as a second language. Use one of the highlights of my work.
(13.06.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
You brought bread and cheese you’d made.
We sat and ate and talked about
ourselves around this simple feast.
And as we ate we opened up
about our differences. We talked
about our cultures, tastes and dreams,
the things that make us us, and learnt.
Somehow, this daily act brought us
together, across the miles that lay
between us; it made us one. I wonder
why it sometimes seems so hard,
when all it takes is bread and cheese.
On Fridays we run our Conversation Cafe at church for people with English as a second language. It is a big highlight each week.
(15.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Alla Hetman on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 