Blog
As we prepare for Christmas this year, with everything else on the go, here are some helpful thoughts: a poem by Barbara Doerrer-Peacock: In the midst of it all… a government tax, a burdened journey, a burgeoned town, no room in the midst of it all. In the midst of it all … each single life, here and now, walks the hard pavement of ordinary life, wading through the sinking mud or flash flood of waking tasks, worried racks of anxious unknowns.
I get to my office early on weekday mornings after dropping my daughter at school and my aim is to spend the first part of each morning in prayer. I've struggled to be consistent though - most mornings there is something more urgent that grabs my attention and so I put off praying until later in the day (and often don't get there at all). But on Wednesday morning this week, I came in to the office and sat and prayed for 25 minutes without being pulled away into something else.
There are two special events on our calendar this weekend. On Saturday morning our Christmas market takes place and there has been a flurry of activity on the property this week as final preparations have been made for this day. A huge thank you to Kerry and the team making this happen - including all of you who have contributed goods and eats for the day! Each year that we have held this market it has been wonderful to see funds raised for a worthy cause, but ultimately the real gift is our being together and all the shared conversation and laughter on the day. Hope to see you there!
Our lectionary makes an interesting choice for the first Sunday of Advent. In this season when we are mostly looking back at the coming of Jesus into our world (remembering the baby in the manger, the shepherds, the Magi ...), the lectionary gospel reading this Sunday has us looking forward to the second coming of Christ. And, in the words of Jesus, we are urged as God's people to live in a state of watchfulness, ready for his coming.
French author Charles Peguy once told the story of a man who died and went to heaven. He was met by an angel who said to him, ‘Show me your wounds.’ And he replied, ‘Wounds? I have not got any.’ And the angel said, ‘Did you never think that anything was worth fighting for?”
Portia Nelson was an American singer and actress well known in the 50's and 60's. She is also remembered for a little poem titled "There's a hole in my sidewalk: an autobiography in five short chapters". In chapter one, she walks down the street and falls into the hole. It isn't her fault. She is helpless and struggles to get out. In the next two chapters she walks down the same street, knowing the hole is there, and falls in again. In chapter four, she walks around the hole and in chapter five, she takes a different road.
On Friday evening and over the whole of Saturday about 40 of us will be participating in our Alpha Holy Spirit weekend. We will be spending time in teaching sessions on the subject of the Holy Spirit, but there is also space for worshiping, eating, talking and laughing together.
When last did you meet someone who, when you asked how they were didn't reply 'busy'. Or 'tired'. Or whose eyes didn't say these things while their mouth was saying that they were fine :) That seems to be the world we live in, and often when we are in that state, we desperately reach for a quick-fix - some sort of escape - digital or chemical or something equally fleeting, but they don't really help.
Some really exciting news! You will remember that when we took the decision to sign the lease with Corabrand of some of our upstairs rooms, our thinking was that part of the rental income would help fund an additional staff member to oversee our youth and children's ministries. After much searching and praying, we are delighted to let you know that one of our own, Nhlanhla Mbatha, will be joining our team on a part-time basis from the beginning of November.
So, we looked on ChatGPT and didn't like any of their suggestions; maybe you can help? We're trying to find a name for the little coffee shop on our property - it needs to be friendly, inviting (and not too churchy!). The person who comes up with the winning suggestion will earn themselves a couple of cappuccinos :)