Thoughts from the vicar...
As I write this in mid-January life is gradually returning to normal after the unusually heavy snowfalls of the last few weeks. The slightly more mature among us may remember the winters of 1963 or 1947 but for many young people this is the lengthy snowfall that they have experienced. For my two children the school run was undertaken by sledge much to the amusement of the people that we met on the street. My diary suddenly cleared as scheduled meetings were cancelled at short notice and I was left to ponder once again just how important these meetings actually were if they could be abandoned so easily. Undoubtedly the cold and snow brought hardship, inconvenience and injury to some people, but for others there was a wonderful opportunity to play and to wonder. The sight of parents sledging with their children and the beauty of this snow filled creation was a joy to behold. However, what I think I valued most was this enforced interruption to my normal routine and the space that was created. Suddenly there was more time to read and ponder upon God's plans both for me and for St Paul's. In the bible we are told that Jesus often withdrew to solitary places to pray and to commune with his Father. These solitary places were often mountain tops that Jesus had had to seek out, but it seems to me that in the prolonged snowfall these solitary mountain tops came to us. The enforced break in our routine created space and the opportunity to do something different, what I wonder did you chose to do and what might you chose next time the snow falls?
One of the benefits for me was to spend some time thinking about the outcomes of our recent parish away day and I have drafted a consultation document that includes a vision statement and plan for the next five years. There will be opportunities over the next few weeks to pray over and discuss the plan and to make any amendments that seem necessary. Once this process is complete the church council will vote on adopting the plan so that we have a target to aim for over the coming years. Do please get involved in this process and help us to discover what God has in mind for St Paul's moving forward, because this must be a shared task.
Finally I cannot finish without mentioning the earthquake in Haiti. The disaster that has fallen upon the people of that nation is truly awful. On a personal note we as a family sponsor a child there named Verdanie and we still do not know her fate or that of her family. Do please pray for Verdanie and her people and give as generously as you can to the Emergency Disaster Relief Campaign that is currently running. In such situations we inevitably ask ourselves how can a God of love allow such suffering to occur? There are no easy answers to such questions and God's love does not immunise us from pain and suffering, but that love does assure us of God's presence with us in all circumstances so that most importantly we are never abandoned or alone.
Prayer for Haiti
O God, our refuge and strength, we hold before you the nation and people of Haiti, and pray for healing in the midst of tragedy and devastation.
Give comfort to the homeless, the bereaved and the suffering, courage to survivors, wisdom to those who seek to help, and light to all who live in the shadow of death.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our rock and our salvation. Amen.
Revd Mike Sermon, Vicar
