Dear Friends, I wonder how the season of Lent sits with you? Do you look forward to this intentional period of 40 days for renewing and deepening your spiritual life or do you find it all a bit heavy and oppressive? All this talk of the cross and self-denial and going deeper with God sounds […]
Dear Friends, The month of February marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a 40 day or 6 week period when we remember Jesus fasting in the wilderness after being commissioned at His baptism and beginning his public ministry. Christians have always used this period as an opportunity to deepen their own […]
Dear Friends, January can be quite a challenging month as people head back to work and school after some time away. Perhaps we have spent more than we normally do on presents and luxuries and the thoughts are anxious about the credit card bill that will be dropping its way through the letter box. Sometimes […]
Dear Friends,Each year the marketing for Christmas seems to get earlier and earlier. This morning in the first week of November as I picked up some groceries after the school run, the supermarket had some festive music playing and there were all kinds of displays with Christmas treats and bargains on offer. We tend to […]
Dear Friends, We normally associate the month of November with some very significant occasions for remembering in our parish life. On 5th November at 7pm at our evening service we will be taking the opportunity to remember with thanksgiving those associated with our parish who have died in the past 12 months. Families will be […]
Dear Friends, As these notes go to print we are seeing the first signs of autumn. After a spell of very warm weather as everyone went back to school, the temperatures have dropped this week and you hear the crunch of fallen leaves as you walk. It’s lovely to see those golden autumnal colours and […]
Dear Friends, It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost behind us and we will soon be reopening many of our organisations and activities after the summer break.We anticipate the work in the church will be underway as you read this month’s magazine. Some people have asked me about the background to this project. […]
Dear Friends, I have sometimes spoken in church and on the Rector’s blog about an app on my phone called Lectio 365. It’s a devotional resource that has someone read some scripture to you every day and reflect on its significance and pray through it with you. It takes about 10 minutes and I do […]
Dear Friends, One of the things that has been on my mind recently is how helpful it is to be able to frame important events in the context of a church service. Last week I was invited to speak at a special leavers’ service at a local secondary school. On the occasion of the King’s […]
Dear Friends, May is always one of my favourite months. You get the sense that Spring has sprung with the brighter evenings, the drone of lawnmowers going and the general vibe of people being out and about doing things. Of course for another section of our population, it signals the season of exams and they […]