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Dear friends

I wonder when you last held a door or a gate open for someone?

Many of us will be familiar with the image of Jesus as the gate for the sheep (John 10:7-9). Belief in Jesus is the gateway to life in abundance, to a freedom to be spiritually nourished by something far more healthy than the 'thieves and robbers' of worldly priorities. It's the same passage in which Jesus also describes himself as the good shepherd, the one who sacrifices himself for his sheep (John 10:11-18).

Ephesians 5:1 invites us to follow God's example and walk in the way of love, and of course we see God's example in the life and teaching of Jesus. We are called to hold gates and doors open for others so they can experience something of the spiritual nourishment that we know, so that others can meet with the Good Shepherd and know what it is to be found when lost, held and healed when hurting or scared, and know spiritually what it is to be protected and at peace, even when life seems to be at its toughest.

Part of Christian life is therefore to 'hold a space' for people in their times of need, space for them to know God's presence, overtly or otherwise. For me it's part of what I do in funeral and bereavement ministry, when taking home communions or praying with someone, when leading worship or preaching...  and when I'm caring for a loved one so that they have time to heal. That's something I'm doing rather a lot at present whilst my Dad goes through a series of skin surgeries to his head. 

Holding a space for others, walking this way of love, often means we're not doing other things that we might feel are equally important, but if God's put us in a relationship or place where there's such a need, then that has to be our greatest priority. So as you go through the coming week, do you need to hold the gate open for someone, or is someone holding the gate open for you?

Go well and God Bless

Rachel

Dear friends,

I do hope that you are enjoying our preaching series  where we are looking at various characters in the book of Acts, how their newfound faith changed them and how the Holy Spirit guided them.

Last Sunday at St Mary’s I had the unusual opportunity to sit in church and listen to somebody else preaching, which was a real treat. Roo did a brilliant job and spoke about Dorcas, a lady who looked after widows and orphans by providing them with food and clothing. When she died the people she helped loved her so much that they persuaded Paul to pray for her and God raised her from the dead. Roo noted that this miracle would have had so much more effect if it had happened to somebody rich, powerful or well known, but God chose to do the miracle for Dorcas. He heard the pleas of those who had nothing.

It is always worth remembering that God doesn’t see us through the world’s eyes, it is never about how clever we are, the size of our house or the importance of our job. What he measures us on is our character, how we reflect his love and his grace as we serve those around us.

God Bless,

Faith

Dear friends

I know I’m always talking about my LLM course, but it’s so great and I just want to share it with you! Our current module is about interpreting the Bible. One of the things I thought I would get out of doing this course is that I would start to know the answers to the difficult questions. In fact, I’m finding I’m just asking more and more questions, and apparently that’s ok! That may be a relief to you if you also have a lot of questions. God can handle it!

I’ve discovered that there are a whole range of experiences and influences that change how we view and respond to the Bible, such as our gender, sexuality, job, ethnicity, nationality, political views etc. A theologist called Justo González points out that what we find in the Bible depends to a large degree on the perspective from which we read it. He also says that those on the margins of society can often see things in the biblical text that those in power, or at the centre of a society, cannot. Basically, an important part of interpreting God’s Word well, is being aware of the impact of own perspective, and also listening to the perspective of others.

One way to try to do this is to make our church leadership representative of the congregation and the community. Do you feel represented at church? Do you have any good ideas for how we can be more representative?

Love Roo

Dear friends,

Over the next couple of months we have a number of baptisms at St Marys and at St Barnabas. This week we are especially excited that Ed and Heidi are bringing Arlo and Jack to be baptised. It is great to be able to welcome them into the family of the church and for us to make promises to pray for both boys as they grow up.

Over the next few weeks, in the lead up to Pentecost we are looking at characters and events in the life of the early church. As you read them you realise that there is a whole lot of baptising going on as people turned from their old way of life and are transformed as they follow Christ. This week we reflecting on one of the most dramatic transformations in Scripture—Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. His life was completely turned around, from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming one of its biggest advocates. Saul’s story reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. His life was radically changed not by guilt or fear, but by an encounter with Jesus.

Most of us don’t meet Jesus in such a dramatic way, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have our lives transformed by him. There is a modern worship song which has the lyrics ‘God, we believe it, yes, we can see that Wonders are still what You do’

Transformation is not just a story from the past—it  still happens today.

Faith

Dear friends

I’d like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who helped to make Easter so special this year, both churches looked beautiful the flowers were wonderful and the services really helped us to remember the journey Jesus took to the cross and His resurrection.

I ‘d also like to thank Roo for our very own prayer app which she made for us to use leading up to Easter day.  I loved hearing everybody’s voices and part of the enjoyment was guessing who I was listening to each day.

This week, on Sunday, we are looking at the story of Thomas, who refused to believe in the resurrection of Jesus until he could see and touch his wounds. We might think that what Thomas wanted was truly audacious, but Jesus turned up and showed him his scars and invited him to place his hand in His side. True to his word, Thomas believed.

Years ago, a school visited the church I attended to hear about Easter. The children walked around the church, and the Open the Book team acted out scenes from the story.   Before leaving, the children wrote prayers and put them on a tree.  As I read through them, I saw that one child had written ‘Dear God, let me know if you are real’. It was such a poignant thing to read that I kept it and I came across it again as I was tidying the books in my study this week.

I have often prayed for the writer of that prayer, that God will have shown them how real He is.  I wonder what their response was, to shrug off the revelation as coincidence or if, like Thomas, they decided to believe?  I also wonder how many of us have prayed that prayer ourselves, and what our response was when God showed us that he was real?

Faith

Dear friends

Normally just before Easter there is a rush of school assemblies, services and preparation, but this year the assemblies happened earlier and there has been a bit of space, a bit of quietness. I’ve been able to do a lot of reading, preparing sermons, looking for inspiration and a fresh angle, something new and inspiring to say about Christ’s death and resurrection. And as I read and looked around, I came across a lot of people who had tried to do the same thing, but nothing felt right, it was all a bit forced. In the end, it seemed to me that there is no point in dressing up the Easter story, because as the film title said, it really is “The Greatest Story Ever Told”.

Then, talking to a friend, I recommended a book by Rowan Williams and decided to re-read one of his books. He is such a brilliant theologian but what comes across in all of his writing is his deep faith and trust in Jesus. I find him impossible to skim read. I have to slow down because his ideas are complicated, and they need sucking like a sweet.

Later, as I read the story of the last supper in John’s gospel, I was drawn to the verse where John was reclining next to Jesus, leaning against him, an image of relaxation and friendship I had never noticed before. The next book I picked up contained a quote from an ancient theologian who said ‘Nobody can really understand the gospel unless they too have reclined alongside Jesus’.

And maybe that is the message for this Easter. We will be celebrating the most important event in history. Because of what Christ did on the cross, we are able to come into a right relationship with God. So, let’s not waste that relationship in busyness, but like John spend time sitting with Him, leaning against Him. In doing so we will begin to understand His great love for us and be able to grow to love Him more fully in return.

Faith

Dear friends.

This Sunday we enter Holy Week; a journey that takes us on an emotional roller coaster. Some of us know this story well; we're prepared for it, we know what's coming. It wasn't like that for the first disciples: when they threw their cloaks and the foliage from the local palm trees onto the ground as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the only thing that perhaps confused them, was the need for this to happen on a donkey! There was worse to come, as the certainties they had about their friend, the possibility that he was long-awaited Messiah who would change the world, vanished in lies, betrayal and the denial that they even knew him. Most of them weren't even there when Jesus was crucified! But you can be.

We live in a world where those sorts of confusions, decisions and actions seem frighteningly common-place, which perhaps makes participating in this year's journey through Holy Week all the more important. If we can look with fresh eyes at Jesus' sacrificial journey this year, carrying the pain we experience personally and see in the world, then hopefully we will better encounter the joy of meeting the risen Jesus when Easter comes.

This is why there are a range of resources and services for us to share in the story of Holy Week this year, starting on this Palm Sunday. Roo has also produced material for us to reflect with online as we go through the week, and then there are services at a variety of times on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and on Easter Morning. I do hope that you can give time to make that journey with him this week.

With this in mind, we are looking for people who think they will be attending the following services, who would be prepared to read a Bible passage, as we seek to bring this story alive: 7pm Maundy Thursday service at St. Barnabas, and 2pm Good Friday at St. Mary's.  If you think you could help, please can you email or ring me this weekend? revdrachelhartland@gmail.com or 0771 794 2669

May Jesus bless you with a fresh knowledge of his forgiveness and love for you this Holy Week.

Rachel

On Tuesday I went to an Easter Party. Tuesdays are the day when we look after our two year old grandson who lives in Witney. Some weeks we go along to a local group for toddlers and their grandparents and it was this group that had organised the party. We had a great time decorating Easter bonnets, making bunny ears and eating party food. There was even seasonal music. But the thing that struck me was that there was no mention of Jesus or the real message of Easter, it was the first time I had attended a completely secular Easter celebration.

With that in mind it is great that this week, across the benefice, we have had the opportunity with our local schools to share the real message of Easter with over 550 children and young people. And for all of us, over the next couple of weeks we have a chance to reflect afresh the events of Holy Week culminating on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

Our preparation for Easter starts this Saturday with our guided Quiet Day led by  John Pearson who I got to know when I did my Lay Ministers training. John is a great communicator and always well prepared when leading Quiet Days.  There are only a handful of spaces left so if you are interested please let Faith know as soon as possible.

Then next Sunday we will mark Palm Sunday. As well as our usual Sunday morning services we will have our first Bramshill Mission Chapel service of the year and then at 7pm Revive, our contemporary time of worship at St Barnabas. (A week earlier than usual this month.)

Details of our other Easter services are on the website, but there is one activity that I am particularly looking forward to.

As part of her training Roo has pulled together a series of recorded readings and prayers for each day of Holy Week. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in preparing these. The recordings will be made available each day by email and via our social media pages. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you over the weekend,

Stuart

This week the Lent theme is security and Sunday is also Mothering Sunday. I thought it would be good to look at how our mothers can provide us with encouragement and security.

Mothers can by their very presence create a sense of safety and security. You may only have noticed it subconsciously, but if you think about it, you may remember a time when you’ve been worried and you have been grateful to have your mother near you, just projecting stability, confidence, and love for you. When they are there, it feels like everything is going to be OK. There is a strength and a boldness and a confidence that exudes from them.

Mothers are constantly seeking to encourage growth and development in their children and children cannot grow and develop without that input. Mothers are constantly affirming their children’s attempts to develop new skills. They will push you to do things you can’t yet achieve, and be right behind you, ready to catch you when you fall Then pick you up and help you to try again.

Mothers are always seeking the best for their children, even at their own cost. Who will come running if you are in need, even in the middle of the night?

We all know that mothers have eyes in the backs of their heads. They know when you’re up to something even from the opposite end of the house. They know that the time to really worry is when it all goes quiet. They are observant, not because they have some magical gift, but because their love for their children means they pay attention.

For those of us whose Mothers are no longer with us we will all have differing memories, some good and probably some not so good, but whatever the memory we have all been supported and moulded into the person we are by our mother. Let us remember the good things and give praise for all mothers.

Tim

Church Warden at St Mary’s

When I was a student, I can remember a sermon where the preacher shared about a “real temptation of the flesh” The whole congregation were on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what his temptation was. The sermon progressed for another five minutes until he eventually came to the point and shared what it had been. His dirty car had been on his drive and he was tempted to leave his sermon writing to wash it !

It was such an unexpected temptation that I still remember it to this day. This week I also had a “temptation of the flesh”. As the sun shone, I found a sheltered spot in the garden and just lay in a lounger enjoying the heat and the light rather than writing my sermon. 

We are moving into the third week of our lent study series and considering how we gain wisdom for our Christian journey, how we find light to help us on the path we are treading. The study invites us to think about people who have acted as lamps to us – giving us wisdom, insight and encouragement when we have needed it. Jesus himself said that he is the light of the world and promises that if we walk with him, we will never walk in darkness. I wonder if that is our experience.

The study reflects on the light of the sun, which is why I mentioned my ‘temptation of the flesh’. I am sure I wasn’t the only one to enjoy the weather this week, as the sun shines many of us rush out to sit in it and bask in its light. My question is, how often do we sit and bask in the light of Christ, letting him draw near and refresh us?

Maybe that would be a good lent discipline this week, to take time away from our busyness, step into a quiet and comfortable place and spend time letting  the light of Christ shine on us.

God bless,

Faith