Light
Dear friends,
If you joined us for the service on Maundy Thursday in Littlewick Green the picture above may look familiar to you. We gathered to commemorate Jesus' last supper with his disciples and to mark the journey towards Good Friday and all that brings.
I've been reflecting this week on relevance and particularly how we can claim a book which is many centuries old can still be relevant today - particularly in a day and age where things which are written today will be out of date next week if not before! Yet there is a relevance to the Bible, even the more challenging parts of the Old Testament. That's perhaps a conversation best had over a drink in the pub though rather than in a newsletter! My reflection was particularly around the imagery which is used by both Jesus and others in their illustrations.
There is a lot of darkness in our world. It doesn't matter whether what faith we follow or if we follow no faith, we can all see that our world is full of suffering. It is not how God intended it to be and yet we can often feel like God is leaving us in the darkness. Like on that evening before Easter when the Psalm is finished, the altar is stripped and the air trembles, thick with silence...
But there was light if we knew where to look. Just like there is light in our world if we know where to look. And often we need look no further than ourselves. We are often keen to pass on the responsibility to others whether it is other people or to God for the darkness in our world but the challenge for us is that we are all called to be people of light. We are all called to shine like those candles did in St. John's that evening. A small flame but providing crucial light without which the darkness descends fully.
We are fortunate that we have a light in God which never goes out but we are also called not to hide our own lights - we don't turn a light on and then put a blanket over it. With our immediate access to light whenever we need it, we can often forget the desperation that can be faced when darkness descends. As we reflect on the news this week, let us shine our little lights so that we might show people the way through the darkness which we might see. And let us all keep the faith.
May Services
7th May
[Please note there is no Evensong at Stubbings on account of various street parties]
9:15am - Parish Communion for the Coronation @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green - with the coronation silks!
14th May
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
21st May
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
28th May
9am - Come to the Table @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings - join us from 8:45am for tea and coffee
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley - join us for a more informal style of service
APCM
Thank you to those of you who joined us at the APCM on Sunday - I think we managed to have a reasonably fun meeting! I will be uploading the reports electronically to the website soon but please do let us know if you would like a printed copy or if you know of someone who would.
No Mow May
You may have heard about No Mow May but this is when we are encouraged to not cut our grass so that the insects which live in there and in the wildflowers can thrive and continue to provide our world with the many benefits they already do. Our churchyards have areas set aside where we will not be mowing so do please enjoy the natural beauty of these areas and if you want to know more about this you can click here.
Let's get involved
Many of you are already involved in our church family and it is wonderful to see so many different people shining their lights in our villages. But there is always more to get involved with! If you feel you have a particular gift or talent and would like to give some time to the church and wider community, please get in touch with me. Examples of where you might get involved over the coming months would be Eco Church, Worship Bands (at Stubbings or Hurley), Pebbles (at Hurley), Youth Group, Collective Worships (at Burchetts Green School), or anything else you can think of you are talented at!
Morning Prayer at 9:15am
Just a reminder that Morning Prayer is now happening in our parish rooms (Soltau Centre, Sunday Cabin, Priory Room) over the winter months.
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