The Rector Writes

Dear Friends,

Coming through your doors at the moment is a letter from the Parish Planning Group on the subject of the future direction of our parish. In it are some of the ideas about ways forward for us, plus space for your own comments. Don’t throw it in the bin! It will only take a few minutes to fill in, and your opinions do matter. All the forms will be carefully read and we will use them to form the basis of a parish “away day” for Select Vestry members and others later in the year. Thank you!

The church is only as good as the commitment of its members.

I have spoken before about apathy as being a real problem in Western society. The Iona Community’s phrase “enemy of apathy” always strikes me as a very apposite one for the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is really the “enemy of apathy”, and so the Spirit’s presence inside each one of us should make a real difference to our lives, to the way we think and speak and act. The Spirit will transform our lives, if we let her. The same Spirit who came to the apostles on the day of Pentecost dwells in each one of us. We need to expect that the Spirit will change us.

I have also mentioned before four key areas where each one of us need to be open to the spirit:

Prayer. Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God. Regular, daily prayer is the way we let God speak to us and we can unburden ourselves to God. Let’s try to make that a part of our lives every day: a quiet space where we are undisturbed. Try turning off the TV!!! Or come to the study and prayer groups in the parish.

Scripture reading. God’s word in the Bible has transformed lives over and over again throughout history. There are Bible reading notes available which encourage the habit of daily scripture reading as well as helping us to understand what we read. There are samples at the back of each Church and an order form.

The Eucharist is the heart of being part of God’s Church. Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection are celebrated and we become part of Him and He becomes part of us. Regular Communion is central to being a Christian.

Looking for change. If we’re open to the Spirit, we won’t be content that things remain the same. We’ll see the brokenness in our own life, and we’ll see more clearly the changes that have to be made in our world, to make it a fairer, more just place. So the Spirit won’t let us be content, won’t let us retreat into our domestic concerns.

Please pray that we as a parish and as individuals will feel the Spirit’s presence fall afresh on us.

Yours in his service

Andrew

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