Home Communions and Prayer Quilts

Horrible news reached us on Sunday about a devastating attack on the Jewish Community at Bondi Beach in Sydney as they gathered to celebrate the feast of Hannukah. To date, 16 people have died, and there are many others seriously injured and critically ill in hospital.

Events like this remind us of how divided our world seems at present. There has been a huge rise in antisemitism, particularly since the war in Gaza. It is widely being reported in the media that the father and son who carried out this brutal attack were radicalised and trained by Islamic State.

We can feel overwhelmed by terrible events like these, by the depth of hatred, that people should think it is acceptable or even good to slaughter innocent men, women and children. What’s striking to me is that the tears and devastation are the same, if you are a victim of the Hamas slaughter of innocent Israeli citizens on October 7th 2023, or of this massacre on Sunday past. If you are living in Gaza and the Israeli army flatten the street where you live or the hospital where your loved one is being treated, the pain and the hurt are indescribable. Similar situations are being played out around the world in Ukraine and Russia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. It’s often those who have no connection with politics or ideologies that get caught in the middle of these random and senseless acts of violence.

We cry out to the Prince of Peace at this time for our broken world and all who suffer so terribly.

One of the key messages of this season of Advent and Christmas is that God became one of us through the person of Jesus Christ. He took on human flesh and, no matter what we face, He is with us. It’s a vitally important truth when we face uncertainty, sickness, loneliness and grief. Sometimes, God’s people make that truth real and tangible in our lives as they reach out to us in compassion.

The Cregagh Crafters are a group of people who meet in our church on a Tuesday morning. They share a love of crafting, but they also like to get together for community and fellowship, and there is always a buzz around our halls on a Tuesday morning.

Recently one of the members saw a beautiful idea of prayer quilts at a craft fair and trialled some which were passed onto me. The idea is simple. A cross is sewn inside some quilted material and on the outside is a little verse that reads: “When your fingers touch the cross inside, remember God is always by your side.”

I have brought these little quilts to people in hospital, to people who are seriously ill and approaching the end of their lives, to those who have been going through tough times or experiencing the pain of bereavement. It’s wonderful that such a simple idea can bring such comfort and hope. There’s a reminder that Jesus himself understands what it is to suffer and that He comes alongside us in our suffering.

It’s a time of year when many people like to come to church for Communion services, as we remember, through bread and wine, the sacrifice Jesus made on all our behalf on the Cross at Calvary. As we reflect on the wonder of His birth in Bethlehem, we think about his childhood, his ministry, his death and resurrection.

When people are housebound or in hospitals or nursing homes, it’s a special privilege to be able to share Holy Communion in their homes or residences. This short service often makes the most ordinary of places into a holy place and again it’s a tangible reminder of Jesus’ presence with us through bread and wine.

If this is something you would like, and haven’t requested it before, do please let one of the clergy know.

The blog and podcast will be taking a break until 2026, but can we take this opportunity to wish all our readers and listeners a Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

Thank you for connecting into the journey of faith and exploring the questions with us in this way. Please do keep in your prayers those who are the victims of terror and violence across the world and all who are finding this time of the year particularly painful and difficult.

Much love to everyone.

Jono.

Listen to the latest episode of ‘Bitesize Chunks of Faith’