Knowing God
Dear friends,
As we approach Trinity Sunday tomorrow I have seen a bit of discussion amongst my colleagues about whether or not it is really important for us to try and understand the Trinity and to understand God or whether we should simply accept it and "love God and love our neighbour" as we are instructed by Jesus.
The challenge is if we never try to get to know God we will find it hard to try and listen to what God is saying to us and recognise where God is in our lives. When we speak to loved ones we recognise their voice the more we speak to them and we understand them and the different way in which we all say things. When we prepare couples for marriage, sometimes we talk about love languages - how we give and receive love from others - and as we know people better we understand what their love languages are.
But how can we get to know God? It's not like we can invite God out for a coffee at Stubbings Nursery or meet God by the Thames and go for a walk along the riverside or sit and watch a game of cricket while we share a drink with God. Those are the ways we might get to know other people but when we talk of knowing God it is a little bit harder to work out how exactly we do that. I'd like to (in keeping with Trinity Sunday) suggest three ways we can get to know God better:
1 - God has written us a whole book which is all about God's character - not a book of paper and ink but one of trees and flowers; of animals and birds; of air and water. Our world around us reveals God to us and we can get to know God's character through experiencing the natural world.
2 - The story of God's people and of Jesus. We have the Bible which reveals who God is and God in the Old Testament is the same as God in the New Testament - a God who loves us and wants us to have life in all its fulness. We can find out more about what God is like by getting to know our Bibles better.
3 - Talking to other people. Obviously we can talk to fellow Christians and our experiences of God but apart from that we are all made in God's image. Getting to know other people can reveal aspects of God which we might not have appreciated before. Simply getting to know our fellow human beings can help us get to know God better - there is a spark of eternity in each of us.
So as we journey onwards, let us not simply leave getting to know God and understanding God to the academic theologians but let us all get to know our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer in a way which means we draw closer to our neighbour and closer to our God. And as always, let us keep the faith.
June Services
Sunday 4th June
9:15am - Holy Communion (with Sunday Club) @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
10:30am - God Through Music @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
5pm - Evensong (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Sunday 11th June
8am - Holy Communion (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Parish Communion (including Mark and Rosalie Balfour) @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
4pm - Family Service @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Sunday 18th June
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 25th June
9am - Come to the Table @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
Love Your Burial Ground
A few of us gathered this morning at Hurley Church to look at what species of flowers, bugs, birds and all sorts of wildlife we could find in the churchyard. We're doing the same again at the other two churches as below:
Saturday 10th June 10am - 12pm @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Sunday 11th June 3pm - 4pm @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green - followed by the Family Service
Parish Coffee Morning
Join us this Wednesday (7th June) from 10:30am - 12pm for our Parish Coffee Morning in the Soltau Centre at Stubbings. There will be plenty of cake and tea or coffee so come and join our fellowship time.
Can you Help?
We're always looking for more people to get involved in whatever way they might feel comfortable and called to do so. Perhaps you're interested in Eco Church or perhaps you play an instrument and want to be part of a band? Perhaps you'd like to sing in our growing choir or perhaps you'd like to help out with our teas and coffees? Perhaps you'd like to read in our services or perhaps you would like to explore praying our intercessions? These are just a few ideas and I am sure you have more but please get in touch if you feel that you'd like to be more involved in the life of our parish.
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