Hi Everyone,
What a week! A heatwave and a change in Covid restrictions (again!). I don't know about you, but I've been pretty out of sorts this week. Sleep has been pretty much impossible and being tired and irritable is almost a constant state. It takes effort to be kind, to give people the benefit of the doubt and to be patient with those around me – particularly with those who think differently to me. And yet that is what is needed right now.
On Sunday Kathreen spoke about getting our minds right and focussing on Christ (based on Colossians 3:1-2). She explained that when our mind has the right focus then right actions will naturally follow on.
It's a challenging time at the moment, we've been given a bit more freedom to decide what we think is the right way to live in this phase of the pandemic but we don't all agree on how we should use those freedoms. The temptation is to villainise those we disagree with or to dismiss them as stupid. I believe that we are called to a better way.
Later in the bible passage that we read on Sunday, it says that we should bear with one another in love (Colossians 3:13-14). That isn't about always agreeing with each other but it is about choosing to have a mindset that views others through the eyes of a God who loves them. If we can have that as our fixed mindset then our actions and attitudes towards each other will become more loving and more Christlike.
Hopefully you've all seen the email from Simon this morning about our own Covid response here in church. We're taking a moderate and measured approach for the time being. I know that this will disappoint some people who were hoping for a more dramatic change and others will think that the measures aren't strict enough but we hope that you will bear with us in love as we seek to do the same with each of you.
With love
Jess
What a week! A heatwave and a change in Covid restrictions (again!). I don't know about you, but I've been pretty out of sorts this week. Sleep has been pretty much impossible and being tired and irritable is almost a constant state. It takes effort to be kind, to give people the benefit of the doubt and to be patient with those around me – particularly with those who think differently to me. And yet that is what is needed right now.
On Sunday Kathreen spoke about getting our minds right and focussing on Christ (based on Colossians 3:1-2). She explained that when our mind has the right focus then right actions will naturally follow on.
It's a challenging time at the moment, we've been given a bit more freedom to decide what we think is the right way to live in this phase of the pandemic but we don't all agree on how we should use those freedoms. The temptation is to villainise those we disagree with or to dismiss them as stupid. I believe that we are called to a better way.
Later in the bible passage that we read on Sunday, it says that we should bear with one another in love (Colossians 3:13-14). That isn't about always agreeing with each other but it is about choosing to have a mindset that views others through the eyes of a God who loves them. If we can have that as our fixed mindset then our actions and attitudes towards each other will become more loving and more Christlike.
Hopefully you've all seen the email from Simon this morning about our own Covid response here in church. We're taking a moderate and measured approach for the time being. I know that this will disappoint some people who were hoping for a more dramatic change and others will think that the measures aren't strict enough but we hope that you will bear with us in love as we seek to do the same with each of you.
With love
Jess