As part of the Bridgton Alliance "SPARK Week", we had the chance to do a show at the new courtyard of our town's library.  The setting is fantastic; cobblestones, iron tables and chairs on a raised patio overlooking Main Street.  It is a perfect setting for an intimate show that has the potential of bringing in pedestrian traffic.  Add to that the fact that Thursday night was a beautiful, cool evening, and it was a perfect night for a show.

As with any open air performance, you can never tell how much of an audience will attend.  Wednesday night promised good attendance, as several people arrived early.  By show time (6:30) there were about 40 people present.  Although some were from our church, most were not.  There were kids, families, teens and senior citizens all in attendance.

The show itself was excellent.  Rose and I did our partner routine, which is fast becoming a staple of our shows.  Since it was an outdoor show, we were also able to do a variety of fire props (devil sticks, fire balls, torches) and ultra high throws with my mini diabolo.  More importantly, it was a good opportunity to let the community know we are a presence (a reporter from the local newspaper was even in attendance)  and the Gospel was presented to those present.  Finally, it was a time to present other SPARK week events the church would be sponsoring: a Friday night concert, free boat rides, highway clean up and more.

I am so grateful to live in a town where community events like this are still part of the fabric of the town.  I am equally thankful to be in a church that wants to be a positive presence within the town.  All of our SPARK events were held in the community, not within the church building itself.  We had a construction team repairing homes for families who needed the help; we offered free boat rides at a local beach; we had a team delivering baked goods to the police station, town offices, fire department and more; we had a food drive at the local grocery store for a local food pantry; we had a service at the nursing home in town and many other events that allowed the congregation to get involved while blessing the town we live in.