Faith and Renewal
Dear friends,
Sometimes it can seem like a real challenge to keep our faith (my call to all of us at the end of each newsletter). The world is a place which so often challenges our faith and, like the wind and rain battering against a cliff-face, we can often find it getting eroded away. It is easy for this to happen gradually and we just drift away from our commitment and our belief. Sometimes we might even not have realised it has happened - the lockdowns during the worst of the pandemic were particularly bad for triggering this drift away for many people.
So what do we do about it?! Well I wanted to encourage you with a small story of my own which may seem trivial at first but reminded me of the great strength of faith and prayer. This week I was lucky enough to be able to take Wednesday morning as some family time to see our eldest compete in her final sports day at Burchetts Green School. The day was wonderful (and her team won!) but as many of you may remember, the weather on Tuesday afternoon was less than ideal.
We were sat there on Wednesday morning with dark clouds gathering around us and spots of rain beginning to hit us. So I started praying. Nothing complicated - just a simple "God please hold off this rain till later" which I kept praying for probably around half an hour on and off as I watched the sports day. Just thinking it over and over in my head as I often do with my prayers. Sports day continued and was bathed in glorious sunshine for the final couple of races (including a parents race if you were interested!) and we made our way back to school. Around 20 minutes later the heavens opened and we had 5 minutes of pretty heavy rain. If we'd been outside we would have been soaked!
Now it is easy to look at that and think that is just the weather happening and it would have happened anyway even without me praying. Well that is maybe true but it isn't the point. The point of prayer is not about asking for what we want - like some shopping list or bucket list which we bring before God. It is about us tuning in as well and listening to where God is working. It is about us recognising God in the world. After all, if God is outside time (a discussion for another newsletter!) then God already knew what I was going to pray and what the weather was going to do. So did my prayer influence God? We will never know the answer to such questions but it definitely influenced me. It strengthened my faith and I choose to see it as a reminder of the mixture of power and care with which our God blesses us.
Looking for the small ways in which God is at work can help us recognise the big ways and see the big picture. It can just reinforce our faith enough to weather the next little bit of erosion. Let's all look out for those times in our lives and let us all keep the faith.
July Services
Sunday 9th July
8am - Holy Communion (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
4pm - Family Service @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Sunday 16th July
9:15am - Holy Communion @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
10:30am - God in Quiet @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
11am - Holy Communion (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Sunday 23rd July
9am - Come to the Table @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
Sunday 30th July
10am - Parish Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
Morning Prayer
Details of this are below but it is a blessing to gather each week and pray together on behalf of all in the parish and our communities. However, it is also important for us to have a different routine for our prayers from time to time so during August I will not be leading these Morning Prayer services as usual but I will be leaving some prayer resources out in the churches and putting them up on our website. Can I encourage us all to use these during August to provide a framework for our prayers over the summer?
Pimms and Hymns
During August we will meet each week in one of our churches for a parish service. This will include Pimms and Hymns at Stubbings for which we would like you to dust off your hymn (or song!) requests. It will include an informal communion but will mostly be singing hymns! You may even find your vicar is playing the organ for this one... Do send your requests in, along with an explanation of your choice if you would like to and we will then select hymns, sing them and drink some Pimms together!
Walking Group
Do join us on Wednesday 12th July at Hurley Church at 10:15am. We will finish at the tea room at the lock so bring money for coffee or tea or ice cream! If you are not walking please feel welcome to join us at the tea room around 11am anyway.
Morning Prayer at 9:15am
Wednesday St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Thursday St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Friday St. Mary the Virgin
Our churches are open for private prayer:
Littlewick Green – open every day 11am – 4pm
Hurley – open every day 8am – 4pm
Stubbings – open Monday to Friday 9am – 12 noon
Parish Office
As you may be aware, our Parish Administrator Claire is having medical treatment at the moment and is in the office only occasionally. In the meantime, we will be running reduced hours in the office so the best way to get in touch is via the office e-mail (office@burchettsgreenparish.org). There should be someone in the office on Monday and Thursday morning and I will be available as many Wednesday mornings as I can. For anything which you need I can also be contacted on vicar@burchettsgreenparish.org and 01628 822974, - please note the vicar's day off is Tuesday
Blessings to you all,
Tom