Nige Gresley is a 43-year-old Methodist with two passions: the
church and his model railways. "Most model railway exhibitions take
place on Sunday morning, and I always had a bad conscience when I
missed church to exhibit my models. But I slowly began to realise
that church is not about being in a particular building at a
particular time. I realised that God is also with me when I am with
my fellow exhibitors. And then I had an idea...!"
Thomas the doubting tank-engine
For years, Nige had held special "Children's Hours" at the
exhibitions, playing well-known stories to do with trains, such as
'Thomas the Tank Engine', to an excited audience. So he thought to
himself that it would be a great opportunity to present the
greatest story of all time - with model locomotives in the
main roles! So he now tells stories from the Old and New
Testaments, with trains playing the Biblical characters: Peter the
Green Engine, James the Red Engine and the Virgin Voyager (Mary)
play alongside The Fat Controller (God) and The Flying Scotsman
(Jesus). "One chap got quite upset that I was suggesting Jesus
might have been Scottish", Nige remembers, "but once I explained
the power of metaphor as used in the parables - and let him
have a go operating the signals - he calmed down." "It's more
than entertainment," he says. "I believe we're genuinely building
Church here."
Source: Nige Gresley interviewed by Jo Kerr on www.emergingchurch.info
