Dear Friends,
Welcome to the summer!
I am writing this at the beginning of May, it’s still nice outside the
Vicarage window but I am very conscious, and I am about to tempt fate here,
where have the “April Showers” got to??
The ground around the farm fields and by-ways are very parched and
cracked and I know the farmers, and maybe our gardeners, are after rain. But the Sun is here, for now. So, let’s give thanks – even if it only to
top up our Vitamin D levels.
This is a time, when the sun rises the highest, we behold
the beauty of warmth and sunshine in its fullest. C S Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I
believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I
see everything else.” And it is true, by means of the
sunlight, we witness the wonders of God’s creation. And we witness new life as
well as light and long days to enjoy it.
When the sunshine moves into our hearts, the impact is
equally impressive. Tom Baker, my all-time favourite incarnation of Doctor Who,
put it very nicely- he said on a blog: “Strive to have sunshine in our hearts each day as it will greatly
improve our outlook”. Our
outlook is regularly battered by the storms of life. Coming out of a pandemic is one thing, dealing
with family bereavement is another. So many of our parishes have experienced
bereavement in the last two years but carrying long term illnesses or
experiencing recent ailments or dealing with relentless ructions in the family
or church(es) are just as challenging.
The longest Psalm in the Bilble, Psalm 119 (somewhere!)
covers it aptly too – “my suffering was good for me, for it
taught me to pay attention to your decrees (or commands)”. Really? Can any suffering truly improve our outlook?
We grow though the challenges we face in our life: in our
shared ministry in these villages, as we meet in our families, communities,
work and wider environment. It is not so much what happens to us, but what
we do with such challenges which determines the result and outcome. It is a
fact of human nature that learning and growth, development and change require a
process, and so often the most important changes take place within the
framework of struggle or a wrestling of circumstances. Maybe It was that point
that led the Psalmist to write that verse and HM The Queen for reflecting on
her Annus horribilis in 1992 but has continually strived to serve us all
so well despite her recent challenges and her ensuing frailty.
Who says that rows, disagreements and backbiting doesn’t
go on in these villages, let alone the churches? Such dialogue, however
necessary, painful or insightful flush out deep-seated prejudices or opinions, that
with prayer and good nature, we can work to change.
In overcoming the challenges we face in our lives, we become
more rounded and formed. It might hurt at the time, but we learn and become
stronger. I am not sure where I got this phrase, but I do love it- the
world around us is like an emery stone on which we sharpen ourselves revealing
lessons through our adversities.
Things that strike into our lives make us ‘bitter’ – or ‘better’– according to the way we respond. I know through
the process of change happening necessarily within the church, the future, can
make people bitter or dig in for a fight.
But for our churches to remain, we need to transform: not remain museums
to the past which I fear some are at risk of so doing. We need to remember we are a living faith, so
let’s live!
If we live or work with people who seem to do a perfect
job of irritating our spirits, then this can become a cage or a challenge. How we handle the challenging person or people
or just “challenge” decides whether it is a groaning point or
a growing point. That’s a
good way of defining the agenda for the incoming trustees for our church
councils across the parishes, I think.
St Francis of Assisi said, “A single sunbeam is enough to
drive away many shadows”. Doubt, fear, anxious, worry and resentful
are examples of shadows that disrupt our outlook. Although there are many ways
of winning over these negative emotions, the most important point to remember
is that we are God’s children and His personal responsibility. Nothing that
happens to us can outwit God’s loving provision for each of us.
I am inclined to agree with an unknown author who said: “we delight in the beauty of
the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that
beauty”. We need to become
a sunbeam to others too and be driven to do good all around us starting with
our family, community, schools, helping our vulnerable residents in and beyond
this parish. The internal rays of sunshine become infectious spreading from person
to person until the sunshine flourishes in the hearts of our village residents
or church congregations.
I finish this Letter, littered with well-intentioned
quotes or soundbites, with a lovely quote
from Hans Christian Anderson to ponder until the next magazine edition: “Just living is not enough”,
said the butterfly. “One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower”. Stay blessed
with love. Rev Gary