from Rev. Jane Wild

During Lent we have been hearing the stories from the Bible told to us by a series of witnesses. Those people who experienced the life of Jesus; who he was; how he lived; what happened to him and how that reveals the nature of God to us. We are now at Easter when we recall again Jesus’s death and resurrection. Remembering and reliving this reminds us that we are witnesses to the work of God in our lives.

In the Bible the book called the Acts of the Apostles begins by telling the first disciples to wait: to pray for the presence and power of the holy spirit, and to find their calling and their energy from that source. Then to act. Part of our function as a church is to act as those to point to God. To worship together, yes. To serve others certainly. To pray together, definitely. We do all of this not from our own strength but guided by God.

A poem by Gideon Heugh.

We are where the divine dwells – not in stone or marble, but in our soft and playful bodies.   We are God’s temple – not the lavish or gilded but the lowly and unexpected.   We are the church – not an institution or an idea but a rabble of flawed, belly-laughing, mess-making, tear-shedding, culture-shaking, head-scratching dreamers.

After Easter, we have our AGM when we review the life of the Church. This is not just a time to talk frankly about our life together as a worshipping and serving community, but a chance to share our sense of what God is calling us to do and be; what we need to take up or put down as a group; or to rejoice in the service of individuals in specific roles during the year and give the opportunity to others to follow their call to serve in particular roles in the future.

All this we surround in prayer and I, therefore, ask that during our preparation you pray for our church; its direction and the people it serves. and share with one another the answers God gives.

God incarnate in the hearts of all your people: guide your people in the way you would have them go and challenge each of us to consider what we can offer to you in the service of prayer, skills, time and energy.

Amen

God Bless Jane