So the Bishop of Reading thinks that Jesus would more likely shop at Aldi or Asda rather than Marks and Spencers….. which is a slight surprise given that the Anglicans like celebrating the saints and you would have thought they would have supported Jesus shopping at St Michaels !!

Actually I think Jesus would be a typical modern shopper…. he would shop at the places he felt welcome,cared for and provided what he was looking for. These, I’m told, are the by-words of the big supermarkets these days which is why ‘Customer care/service’ is supposed to be high up on the agenda; why some shops have ‘greeters’ who are ‘happy to help’ and why the stock they hold is constantly being replaced because they know that if they don’t have certain products, the customer will go elsewhere .

Those three elements: welcome,care and providing for peoples needs are 3 key factors of any good church too. I always ask new people to our church why they come. Their answer is virtually always at least one of those three. It is noticeable that over the last 20 years very few people now come because it is a ‘Methodist’ church. Why do we do focus on the three elements ? Because we read the Gospels especially, and see how Jesus welcomed,cared and responded to peoples needs. We are Christ’s Church !

Here at FMC we hope to meet those 3 features of welcome,care and meeting people’s needs….have a look at the rest of the web site for more information