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Dear Friends,
I’m writing this extra newsletter to you to let you all know that sadly due to lockdown restrictions we will have to close the Church premises completely from Thursday 5th November until the 2nd of December.
Please be assured that Rev Roger and I will be preparing worship material for us all to to use at home during this time as well as our usual zoom service at the end of the month.
Remembrance Sunday
As our Church service can no longer take place, I will be providing worship material in ‘this week … next week’ for us to use at home to mark Remembrance this year. There will also be a short- recorded service which you will be able to access via the internet if you are able.
This year the Royal British Legion have requested that people hold silence standing outside of their own homes rather than at war memorials. We are asked to avoid any gatherings and so if you visit a war memorial on the 8th or the 11th of November please ensure that the usual social distancing regulations are adhered to and maybe visit during the day rather than at 11am.
I leave you with a few thoughts….
“In Autumn’s vibrant colours there are reminders of summer’s fullness of life, of winter’s impending bleakness, and the prospect of spring not far beyond, Autumn compels us to think about life’s transience and continuity all in one.” [Allen M Young, Small Creatures and Ordinary Places]
This week I have been thinking about this verse and what it means for us. Of course, at this time of year we may automatically think of the leaves displaying their final bright colours before falling to the ground to die. They have to do this to make way for the new buds and shoots of Spring to develop and start a new cycle of growth.
At this time of year when my children were small I’d start sorting through the toy box and give away any toys which had been outgrown or throw away any that were broken to make way for the new toys that were given at Christmas. I no longer have to do this, but I still feel the need to evaluate what may need to be relinquished in my life as we move towards the end of the year and face the prospect of new one. What do I need to let go of? What is weighing me down? How can I make space for new growth in my life?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 may be a familiar verse to us it says:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…
So much is happening in these strange times and it’s tricky, heavy stuff that all of us are dealing with. We are perhaps all seeking firm ground to stand on as we contemplate the future. We may have to let go of things, but God is at the centre of everything. God is the one constant in our ever- changing world and lives.
God bless you and please feel free to contact either myself or Rev Roger if you need to.
Every blessing, Jenny
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