Dear Friends 

Over the last few weeks in church, we’ve been studying the Psalms, discovering lots of lovely pictures that attempt to describe the nature and many features of the One who loves us and whom we seek to follow. Rich images such as “refuge”, “fortress" "shelter” and so on, clearly meant a lot to the author, and can help us in our understanding and appreciation of God too. We continued this train of thought last night at PCC too, whereby inspired by a young woman in M13 who described Jesus as a zip: “the one who brings us and God together”, we came up with some of our own images that reflect our experience of the Almighty. 

Waking up this morning, I reflected on another – a couple of months ago, Helen and I invested in a pair of weighted blankets. If you’ve not come across them, basically it’s a blanket with tiny glass balls stitched inside, that give the whole item a weight of around 10kg. 'Why?' you may ask. Well, with the weight pressing down on you, it means you feel secure and supported, evoking for me memories of being tucked in tightly in bed as a child, with the weight of an eiderdown (remember them?), blankets and sheet surrounding you. These new blankets offer the same sensation, but without the accompanied insulation which would be too hot to live with in the summer. 

God is my weighted blanket… a comforting supportive and reassuring presence.

Why not reflect today on who God is to you, either using images from the bible, or coming up with one of your own, and give Him thanks?

P.S. This will be the last musing for a little while, as Kathreen is, and I (am soon to be) on leave. So as always.


Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.


Simon

Dear friends,

I am hoping in Christ that you all are doing well and enjoying your time with your families. I was reading from Luke 12:49-53 - Jesus the Cause of Division

"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!  Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!  From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided."
 
I was thinking about the families. Oh, family, you cannot choose, it’s hard to live with them and hard to live without them. The more you try to make them happy the more they give you hard time.
 
When it comes to the meaning of discipleship, the cost that is involved, and the conflict and division that can be caused by the Gospel between families.
 
He is telling it like it is because he knows that in the future the strength of the disciples’ faith in their Lord and the discipleship of the early Christians will be severely tested. It will mean that families will be divided—those who follow Christ and those who ignore and reject the hope and true peace that he is offering.
 
Jesus is giving his followers this warning now so that they will not be shocked when following Jesus will mean some very tough choices—and what can be tougher than choosing between loyalty to family and loyalty to Jesus?
 
Let me share with you one of my favorite saints, Saint Francis of Assisi.
 
Now Francis Bernardone Known as Francis of Assisi was born at the end of the twelfth century. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant and had high hopes for his son. He became a knight in a war with a neighbouring province and had a fabulous future in front of him. Over time, he became convinced that God did not want him to be a dashing knight, but rather to be a follower of Christ, a genuine disciple. God wanted Francis to serve the poorest of the poor, and in those times, there were a lot of very poor people. Francis sold all that he had and gave it to the poor. He even changed clothes with a beggar and spent time begging in the streets of Rome. But his father took exception to all this since Francis had given away everything that his father had given to him. He threw Francis in jail, then took him to court. We’re talking about Francis of Assisi—for his heroic and noble stand and his persistence to follow the call of the gospel despite the cost. But the pain is real and lasting. He experienced first-hand the division that following Jesus can cause. Following Jesus sets father against son. Francis of Assisi wasn’t the first to feel the harshness and difficulty that came with following Jesus, nor will he be the last.
 
I, therefore, wonder about us here today. Let us ponder over a few questions raised from Luke’s reading.
 

• To what extent does being a Christian put us in a situation of tension, even conflict?
• To what extent are we prepared to put ourselves at risk, as Christian?
• To what extent are we prepared to stand up for what we believe, even though it means separation from others, or have we just blended in, with those who clearly don’t have any time for Jesus or the church or with a society that lives and conducts business as if there was no God?
• To what extent have we shrunk back from the whole idea that being a Christian will often bring us into a state of tension with the rest of the world?

 
There is only one way that we can do this. The letter to the Hebrews gives us the answer: "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1,2.
 
Dear God, we yield our hearts and our relationship to you. In the pain and brokenness facing families today, let’s join in the prayer attributed to St Francis:
 
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Have a blessed and peaceful time with your families. 
 
Rev Kathreen Shahbaz

Dear Friends 

I’ve just returned from my first eye test since 2018 - it has been one of mixed emotions. After the ‘high’ of discovering that this most recent test is free (forgetting the benefits that come to me at the grand age of 60!), the accompanying ‘ low' was that my eyesight isn’t as good as it once was. In all honesty, I can’t claim that it is a result of an increase in personal piety as hinted at in a chorus of my childhood (see below), but rather due to my enhanced age.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

However, what surprised me was how the deterioration had happened so gradually that I hardly noticed it. It was only when connected to the machine offering different lens options, was I fully aware of the ‘before' and 'after!’ 

I wonder what the spiritual equivalent of an eye test might be; an opportunity to re-evaluate how clearly we are able to see and respond to God? I leave you with the lyrics from the musical Godspell, loosely based on the prayer of Richard of Chichester. They state:

Day by day
‘Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: 
to see thee more clearly, 
love thee more dearly, 
follow thee more
nearly—day by day.’

May that indeed be the goal and indeed the test for each one of us.
 
Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith

Simon

Dear Friends, 
  
I hope you’re having a great, busy/relaxed, and blessed week. I love reading and writing poetry. Therefore, today I just want to share with you all two poems about my best friend. I was very blessed after reading. So, please spare some time to read these poems and be blessed. After reading these poems and knowing you are loved by Christ gives you value and security in God. Trusting in God’s love lets us love and support others in their difficult times too.

​Lots of love and blessings. 
  
Rev Kathreen Shabaz 
Curate

Hello God
by Jennifer

Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while..
I need a friend who'll listen,
To my anxieties and trials..

You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day jut on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence,
For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things,
I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home,
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice,
When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening,
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You, too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!
​

OH HOW GOD LOVES YOU

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring.
He sends you a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He listens.
He can live anywhere in the universe,
but He chose your heart.
Face it friend, He is crazy about you!
God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow, sun without rain,
but He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
​
Author Unknown