Good news stories about Ipswich

By Chrissie Gray

 

 

Last season’s appointment of Roy Keane as the Ipswich football manager certainly made news, and the profile of the team, and therefore the town, has been raised in the national press. This could prove to be a mixed blessing, dependent as it is upon success on the pitch.

 

However, in the last few weeks there have been a couple of specific good news stories which have been centred in our town.

 

Firstly, listening to Radio 4 in the short time between putting the kettle on, consuming a quick breakfast and actually leaving the house to go to work, I heard the bells of St Lawrence in Ipswich. A journalist, far more awake than I, was actually live in the town centre reporting on the oldest set of five bells in the world. Having been returned following restoration and now in situ, after 24 years, campanologists (aka bellringers) have happily travelled to Ipswich from far and wide in order to enjoy a unique experience. This seemed like a very good thing for Ipswich to be known as. Church bells are a call to worship – could this be the beginning of a new call to our town, and the nation, that there is One to whom we should offer our worship again.

 

Then, soon after “It’s a Wonderful Life” – the world premiere of a new musical – occurred in Ipswich at The New Wolsey. It gained 4 stars in a review in The Times. Based on the film starring James Stewart, which generally appears on our television screens around Christmas time, it is a tale of redemption. Its world view is a Christian one – a man about to end it all, turned around by the unexpected entrance of an angel. Through his intervention, George Bailey finally realises that despite tough times, he can truly say it is a wonderful life. It was a joy to have such a good story well told and it was a real privilege to be there. I am keen to see the future of this excellent production, for it certainly warrants a future. I have never seen an audience at the Wolsey on its feet, cheering and applauding with such enthusiasm! This was such a spontaneous outburst, I could not help but wonder, was this a response not just to the excellence of the production but to the message of hope at its core?

 

At the onset of late autumn, why not look out for more good news stories about our town? God wants to bless our town, so if you don’t see good news stories, why not pray for them – or even be one!