Hi Everyone,

Do you ever have a week where there seems to be a bit of a running theme? The theme of my week seems to be freedom. I started the week by having a conversation with someone who was upset by the lockdown and was upset by how it was affecting their freedom. Then there was the big news story that Donald Trump had been banned from Twitter. This caused many people to ask huge ethical questions about freedom of speech. Then the youngest member of our household told us that they had been discussing whether humans or animals have more freedom in their philosophy lesson (yes I was surprised to learn that they now study philosophy in Primary school!).

All of this talk of freedom got me thinking about what it means to be free. After all, freedom is a huge part of the gospel message:
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Galatians 5:1

Freedom is an interesting concept because we often equate it with being able to do whatever we want. The problem is that it is this kind of thinking is that often brings out the worst in us. Often we use the freedom argument for our most selfish actions. We argue for freedom of speech when the words we want to use would be harmful to someone else and we argue that our liberties are being stolen from us when we are being asked to change our behaviour to consider others. 

The freedom described in the Bible seems to be a bit different. Christian freedom isn't about being allowed to do whatever we want, in fact, we are actively told not to abuse our freedom and to use our freedom for good. Instead, freedom in the Bible is all about freedom from specific religious rituals which people were having to perform to be able to be close to God. We don't need to do any of that any more. God is not stuck in a specific building and he doesn't need any set prayers, rituals or songs for us to access him (even if some of us find those things helpful). We can have access to God whenever and wherever. That's good news for all of us, particularly during the lockdown.

So, take courage, we may have to distance from each other but God is not distanced from us. 

With love

Jess

Hi Everyone,

We are well and truly on the countdown to Christmas and yet, if I'm being honest, it feels really difficult to get into the Christmas Spirit in the current climate. Decisions that most of the time without even thinking, have become much harder and celebrations somehow feel like a pale imitation of what we would have hoped for. Firstly, I want to say that it's okay to be disappointed, to be conflicted, to be worried or anything else you may be feeling. You don't have force yourself to put on a happy face in a rubbish situation. No decision we make this year will be perfect, as Professor Chris Whitty pointed out, all the choices in front of us are bad at the moment. All we can do is try to make the best decision we can in the individual circumstances we are in. 

The Christmas story is all about finding hope and joy in a really bleak situation. Beneath the familiar story is a real situation of stress, fear and constant threat. Today women often share the stories of the birth of their children like veterans sharing war stories. Some are very harrowing indeed and yet very few come close to the desperate circumstances of the birth of Jesus. Despite all of these circumstances, what shines through is a message of hope, peace, love and above all the overwhelming presence of God. 

Perhaps this year won't be a Hallmark Christmas, perhaps celebrations might be a bit of a damp squib compared to other years but I suspect that the wisdom of Dr Suess might be very apt:

He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought...doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit more!

Perhaps the big get together with family and friends will have to wait (I know our family are hoping that maybe we can have a bigger celebration at Easter instead). But maybe this year can still be special as we choose to focus on God, invite him to be present and allow him to truly be God with us. Things maybe a little bit quieter but I find that it is often in the quiet where God is most easily found.

If you would appreciate resources to help with that, the Church of England's Christmas campaign this year is called Comfort and Joy and everyday, from Christmas Day onwards there will be a short reflection for us to engage with. You can download the Comfort and Joy app from your app store or physical booklets are available to buy online. More information is available here.

We're going ahead with various Christmas events over the next few days and, for most of these there will be a Zoom option as well as an in person option to try to make it accessible to as many of us as possible. For up to date information on our Christmas events, have a look on our website or keep an eye out on Weekly News.

Hope to see you soon.

With love

Jess

Hi Everyone,

It's Advent, lockdown is over (ish!) and a Covid vaccine is on the way. Hope springs eternal! Yet for so many people this season is immensely difficult and the good news comes too late for them as jobs are threatened, businesses collapse and loved ones are no longer with us. 

Advent is a really apt season right now because it combines perfectly the sense of lament and hope. We lament that the world is not what it should be but we look forward, not only to Christmas but to the return of Jesus when all things will be made right. When we sing the famous Advent hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel, we are not just entering into the Christmas story but our hearts cry out once more for Jesus to hasten his return. This isn't just a pie in the sky, wishing on a star kind of hope but this is a real hope in the God who is present with us, who is good, who loves the whole of his creation and who always keeps his promises. 

However this Advent is for you, I offer to you this resource of daily reflection videos. A new video is released each day which is about 2 minutes long with a longer video each Sunday (approximately 8 mins). I encourage you to watch the first video in particular as it comes from Manchester.

It is not easy at the moment, but know that you are loved and held in prayer. If you are in particular need at this time, please let us know, we are listening and want to help if we can. 

With love

Jess

Hi Everyone,

I was initially want to say something today about Helen's excellent sermon on the image of the church as crazy paving but watching the news at lunchtime made me rethink what I wanted to say. No, I haven't changed my mind on Helen's sermon – I still think it was excellent but I was struck by an item speaking about the hidden pandemic of loneliness.

I suspect that most of us from time to time have had to deal with loneliness and for some of us this is a chronic condition made worse by the pandemic. The rescuer within me wants to make this right for everyone and yet this is impossible. It also isn't the right thing to do. If our reflections on church have taught us anything so far it is that we are equally valued and equally needed. My going out on my own on a one woman mission to save the world from loneliness is unlikely to be effective and is not what God calls us too either.

I am not the church, we are the church.

We are the people of God who are sent out to bless and to declare God's good news in the world. Just like the crazy paving, we are all different shapes and sizes and gifted in unique ways yet when we all join together we create something beautiful that leads to people to the very throne of God. 

Loneliness and isolation are killers. One person cannot overcome them alone and yet together, as the church we can make a huge difference when we look beyond ourselves and to the needs of those around us. It takes all of us bringing that little bit of light and hope where we are.

How you can be a blessing right now:

• Smile at people when you go out.
• Chat to the person at the till when you pop to the shop.
• Check that the person sat alone on the bench or on a wall is okay.
• Notice who you haven't seen around for a while and give them a call or send them a text.
• Do some baking and deliver it to your neighbours or to people at work or to staff at school.
• Set up or join a WhatsApp group with your neighbours. 
• Send Christmas cards to everyone on your street (making sure you put your name and your house number)

What to do if you are feeling lonely right now:

• Let someone know!!
• Join an online group (Women's footprints, Book Club, Over 50's, Wednesday Morning Prayer, Fellowship group or one of the many in the wider community)
• Pick up the phone and call someone (make the first move)
• Invite someone out for a walk (we are still allowed to meet with one person)

Being church is all about connecting so why not make take the opportunity to connect today?

With love

Jess

Hi Everyone,

Well it is day 1 of lockdown #2. I don't think many of us expected to be in this position back at the beginning of the year but here we are nevertheless. 

The experience this time is going to be different for different people. In our house, lockdown is not massively different to being in tier 3 because the kids are still going to school and the grown ups in the house were mainly working from home anyway. Our families live quite far away so we hadn't seen them in person really for quite a while either. For us it feels like more of the same. Yet I am painfully aware that for other people this is a return to isolation, and the cancellation of the few things that they were able to do in person. 

Lockdown is hard, and for some of us it is even harder. So my message to all of us today is to be kind to yourself and to other people who might be experiencing the current situation differently. However, you are expereincing the new lockdown, one thing that remains constant for all of us is that God is present with us. He knows our needs, hears our cries and he cares. Even in the darkest times, we are never alone. Those words at the beginning of the communion prayer ring as true today as when we are gathered around the table: The Lord is here, his Spirit is with us.

It seems really apt that this month we are exploring what it means to be church in our sermon series now we have the added dimension of what it means to be the church during lockdown. I am looking forward to preaching on Sunday and using a couple of the playdough models that you created last week as a springboard to think about what church is and what it could be. My lips are sealed as to which ones are being used this week so you will have to wait and see!

I look forward to catching up with you on Zoom on Sunday if I don't see you before.

With love

Jess

P.S. If any one would particularly appreciate meeting up for a socially distanced walk (I'm thinking a slow poddle rather than a hike!) to be able to see someone, or to talk or to have someone to pray with in person, please let me know and I'd be happy to arrange something with you.