Dear Friends

This morning we were privileged to host a service of morning prayer with guests far and wide. As well as as the great and the good (the photo might give you a clue as to who I have in mind!), we were also joined by a worshipper whose journey with our church has only just recently begun. It was just as important that he felt welcomed, as well as our other esteemed guests.

Many years ago at a church house party, we reflected on the different dynamics of host and guest, and how at different times we might be required to inhabit both roles. It has been a constant joy to witness over the years, how those in the church congregation gain a welcome when hosted by the week day Positive Steps ministry, and vice versa, when Positive Steps is the entry point to folk’s new (or continued) journey with God. 

The scripture readings we studied together, all were a (further) reminder of the mess that life can be, but still ended with the call to “Hope in the Lord”. Indeed the Archbishop’s (for the picture is he!) final blessing for us, was that our church centre would continue to be a place of compassion and justice. Amen to that! 

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.
​
Simon

​PS: More photos here. And a message from the Archbishop here.

Dear Friends

This week I was challenged about the meaning of word I used when describing the Ash Wednesday service which will be taking place in church next Wednesday lunchtime at 12.30 p.m. Traditionally the service is described as including “the imposition of ashes” which is the marking of ash (created by last year’s burned palm crosses) on the forehead of each participant. Now for those of us of a certain generation and schooling, an 'imposition' was usually a minor punishment, an inconvenience, that would be dished out to those who misbehaved, the issuing of perhaps, 500 lines, a detention or in my worst case a Saturday morning, when a menial task such as clearing the grounds would have to be carried out under the supervision of the school 'sergeant'. "Is this really the impression of church we would want to convey?", came the question. Well, (in true Anglican fashion) I would want to reply "Well, yes and no”!

The imposition of ashes usually comes with the following words: "Remember that you are from dust, and to dust you shall return – turn away from sin and be faithful”

A reminder of our mortality is quite a heavy charge to receive – I have felt in the past particularly uncomfortable when marking out younger people and using these words. However, from time to time I believe that is good for us to be challenged (inconvenient though it might be at the time) as to how we live and indeed regard our lives. I for one have sometimes been guilty of wishing away days, weeks, or even months, feeling unable to wait for the next day off, treat or holiday that I have planned. It was only recently however when someone broke down an average life span into weeks (4000 if we’re lucky!), that I began to embrace each week as a gift, embracing both its possibilities and challenges, rather than see it as something I simply had to get through. Life is for living, as proclaimed with the slight change of text that we have adopted here at Brunswick.  
"Remember that you are from dust, and to dust you shall return - turn away from sin and embrace the life in all its fulness that God has for you!” 

In our run up to, and living through Lent, may we all live with the inconvenience of accepting that we are all born to die, but recognise and appreciate the riches of life in its fulness that we can experience in the meantime! 

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.
​
Simon

Dear Friends

I am steadily working through one the newer resolutions that I set myself, namely attempting to listen afresh to at least one album from my extensive (and for the most part forgotten and unappreciated) record collection. It was mainly bought in the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s, augmented by my brother's collection which he passed on to me when he moved to the US in 1988. After that, for nearly 30 years, CDs and then digital downloads were the only forms of music that I bought, but the lure of vinyl has come slowly back!

​I’ve found it interesting how my tastes and preferences have changed over time. Whilst some former favourites seem a bit tired, other speculative buys from the past which after an initial hearing were consigned to the back of the box (not literally of course as my personality type demands that they are all stored alphabetically!), have on second listening become quite special. I find that I appreciate more, some music which initially was a bit more taxing, and not immediately satisfying. Safe to say there have been a number of pleasant surprises and welcome re-discoveries, and I anticipate that they will continue throughout the rest of the year.

Such is the case then for musical surprises, but I also find them coming anew when reading afresh God’s word; the bible. It’s good to break away from simply our favourite texts or our purple passages and be exposed to the whole bible (including the passages that are a bit more taxing). Another common resolution of mine is to read through systematically, (or usually chronologically) the whole Bible. Again I am struck by how some of the more complex writing (that I might have shied away from in my youth), holds within it, some of the deeper truths of God, which may prove more durable in the long run.

Indeed, over the next three Sundays, after studying the early days of Jesus as conveyed by Luke in his gospel, we’re going to switch across to the gospel of John, following in depth some of the Jesus accounts found there. I hope and pray that we might be open to the surprises and re-discoveries we will make along the way! In the meantime;

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.

Simon

Dear Friends

Helen and I are in the process of getting ready to attend a comedy gig. Looking at the paperwork we see that we originally bought the tickets in November 2019! And so after 2 cancellations and one re-scheduling, all due to the shifting sand of Covid restrictions, the occasion has arrived. We trust it will be have been worth the wait! 

Of course for so many folk, aspects of life from the frivolous to the life changing, have been on hold, with I suspect the emotions that might accompany them similarly stalled. It’s going to be quite a journey to catch up on, mentally and even physically. Interestingly, paying attention to our bodies and minds was our focus at church last Sunday, developing our thinking from Luke 2:52, ‘And Jesus grew in stature and wisdom'. Helen our preacher writes;

"We can often think of our bodies in negative ways; feeling shame and guilt, worried that they are part of our ‘sinful nature’. Yet Jesus himself took on our form and was ‘embodied’ in a human body that grew in stature, to the fulness of itself. Our bodies are a wonderful gift from God, an integral and inseparable part of our spiritual nature, through which we experience God and which we can direct towards God, to reflect his glory and further his kingdom. We thought a little about how what’s going on in our bodies can both positively and negatively impact our ‘inner world’ (mind, heart, spirit); and how the reverse is also true. This suggests there is no separation between our bodies and our spirits/souls and that taking care of ourselves ‘spiritually’ involves taking care of our bodies, ensuring we get proper rest and recreation to be refreshed and renewed, in order that we might experience the love of God in our full selves. I found it very helpful to reflect on the phrase: ‘We don’t have a body, we ARE a body’, reminding us of our integrated self. Paula Gooder, whose book ‘Body’ I drew ideas from, reflects that we can think of a ‘beautiful body’ as a fully integrated 'self', with our physical self reconciled to and at peace with those parts of ourselves that we call our minds, hearts and spirits, so we can offer all of ourselves in service to the One who loves us.”

May we in our waiting and serving, be mindful of the God who loves the bones of us (and indeed all the rest!).

Keep safe
Keep in touch
​Keep the faith.

Simon

Dear Friends

Happy New Year!

I was just wished a happy new year by someone in the church centre this morning, and after a brief debate as to when it is that we should stop further greetings until 2023, reckon as this my first letter out to everyone in the new year, I can just about get away with it!

Of course for many, new year, and the resulting resolutions can soon be a dim and distant memory. I was back at the gym yesterday after too long a gap,  and together with other longstanding members, was amused to see a number of fresh faces, togged out in new lycra and training shoes who had recently become members. Amused, as we know in a couple of months time, we shall see these new faces no more! Resolution time is traditionally a boom period for health clubs and gyms who recruit the bulk of their new members in January and who slowly slip away when new year resolve becomes a dim and distant memory, and other things get in the way.

This is such a shame, as a concern for our bodies should be a regular concern, rather than just a yearly and occasional one.  I’ve been pondering on the final few verses of Luke chapter 2 recently, looking at the brief insight we have into the childhood of Jesus and his development, starting with his time in the temple, and finishing with the curious and intriguing verse;
"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” v52.

Actually, my pondering and being challenged has been to the extent that I’ve proposed that as a congregation we spend the rest of the month looking in depth at these aspects of life. This coming Sunday we’ll look at Jesus in the Temple and why being in “the Father’s house” was and is important for us all. In the following two Sundays we’ll then look at what it might mean, both for us as individuals, and as a church, to grow in "wisdom and stature” , and “in favour with God and with man”.

So I pray, that together and apart,  God will indeed bless our minds and bodies (gym or otherwise!),  and our relationship with Him and others this coming year!

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.

Simon