That truth was also firmly reinforced when a few days ago I read an article, in “Reform”, the monthly magazine of the United Reformed Church, written by John Bradbury who teaches at Westminster College, Cambridge. In it he was challenging the Church to truly face up to the radical message of Easter in recognising that it has to die in order to experience resurrection. He raises questions such as, what if the church is being called to die? Could God be at work in our decline and as our institutions face their demise?

Then a little later he asks the readers to think about what would happen if our faith in resurrection was strong enough that we could embrace the institutional death of the church? Could we live that way and if we did what would happen?

These are challenging questions which have particular force as I read them again in Holy Week. For if we are not prepared to face them what price the faith we proclaim at Easter, that dying we live. Does our experience of God lead us to believe it is true, so true that we are prepared to live in a way that is not fearful of death either individually or institutionally? The temptation is always to hold on to what we have, to believe that any kind of existence must be better than death, when our faith teaches us that death is not the final word.

That is something that I also know from my own experience. Exactly a week after I wrote my last minister’s letter, in early November, my own Mum died. She had been diagnosed with cancer three years earlier and we knew that she was entering the last stage of her life a month or so earlier. My Mum also had dementia that meant that in many ways we had lost the person we had known and loved a long time before she actually died. On the day of her death and in the weeks that followed I was aware of her being present to us in the way that she had formerly been. Her death enabled me to recall her as the whole person that she had been years before and to be alive in a way that was unencumbered by her illness of recent years. It was a reminder of the faith that I have sought to live by and to proclaim.

John Bradley concludes his article by encouraging us no longer to say that dying is bad but rather to recognise that it is gospel-shaped. My own reflection is that if we want to experience resurrection life there is no short cut that bypasses death. That we cannot jump from Palm Sunday to Easter Day and bypass the cross and the journey to it. It is a journey that we have to continually remake both individually and as a Christian community. I pray that God will give us all the courage and the faith to make the journey whether we are staying in the Northampton Circuit or in my case moving to Derbyshire. That we might all come to know and accept that it is by dying that we live.

God bless,

Phil Taylor

“Don’t be too eager to dig until you know what was planted previously”

And already the theory is proving its worth as we are beginning to look forward to the spring flowers which are showing signs of life, judging by the number of green shoots appearing here and there.

I like to think I can apply the theory to other areas of life too. I suppose it is another way of saying ‘wait’, or don’t jump in too quickly.

We can apply this to our relationships with people. Often I find myself in conversation with someone and have not really been listening to what they were saying, instead I find myself preparing what I am going to say next. Of course if I really listen to what the other person is saying there is always the danger I might forget what I was going to say – but maybe that would not be such a bad thing after all!

There is a great deal of ‘fertile soil’ available if only we can find ways of giving people the opportunity to ask the questions they need to ask. This sort of conversation takes time and patience and requires that we wait for other people to tell us where they are at, before we make our own assumptions.

I am often struck by the way in which Jesus responded to people in need and recall especially the occasion when a blind man, (Bartimaeus) sat at the road side calling out “Jesus! Son of David! Take pity on me!”

Other people around told him to be quiet but Jesus stopped and called him over. Now it must have been obvious that Bartimaeus was blind but Jesus asks him a surprising question, he says, “What do you want me to do for you?”, Bartimaeus replies, “Teacher I want to see again”.

Jesus gave Bartimaeus the space to make a declaration of need and effectively a statement of faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him. Then Jesus says to Bartimaeus, “Go, your faith has made you well.” And at once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark: chapter 10, verses 46 to 52)

Many people may be further along the road towards acknowledging Jesus than we think but we won’t find that out unless we give them time to tell us.

Happy garden watching!

Deacon Richard Beckett

The snow started in the middle of the night.  It fell to earth softly, its feathery texture highlighted by the street lamp outside our bedroom window.  We stood, transfixed by its beauty.  The world was hushed, expectant, wondrous.  The silence was broken by the excited cries of my two nieces, who discovered that there came with such a sight the gift of day off from school, with the possibility of more.

It transported me back to a time when I was my nieces age.  We had a snowstorm.  Back then, the power went out.  We, my parents, us four children and my mother’s parents,  had an adventure.  The wood burner was soon alight, providing heat and  cooking facilities.  Dad even dug out some antique kerosene lamps , which were wondrous in the dark of night.  We spent our days talking, laughing,  reading, sharing stories.  And it had been really good.  Even as a child, I was sad when the power came back on.

It seems that life rushes on a pace.  And in the midst of such frantic activity, sometimes we miss what is truly important.  God often gives us the gift of slowing down and remembering whose we are and why we are, if only we would take the opportunity.

So, I do apologize for bringing the snow back with me from my holiday back home in Canada, but it did feel almost like a benediction, a reminder that  in the midst of  life to take time just to be.

Yours in Christ,

 Tina

Rev Tina Swire

Yes it’s February already and Lent is fast approaching.  I find quite a lot of people give up something for Lent and why not?! Or actually I want to ask, “Why?”  What are they doing it for?  A lot of people I talk to don’t really seem to know except perhaps that they’re doing it as some sort of exercise in self-discipline or even hoping to be slightly healthier by the end of it.  Fair enough I suppose but is that really what it’s meant to be about?

I know a lady who doesn’t give anything up for Lent, but instead does something extra (no not to do with chocolate).  Usually this has been to organise a weekly lunch for the period of Lent, invite speakers to talk about aspects of Christian faith and people to come and share a simple lunch, fellowship, to listen and to reflect.  I think she is pretty close to the mark.

Lent isn’t exactly Biblical but it has been part of Christian tradition from early on.  To begin with it was as a period of preparation, a time of concentrated study and prayer for those who were getting ready for their baptism which would have taken place early on Easter Sunday morning celebrating the resurrection life of Jesus.  And the rest of the church community joined in the preparation too, taking time to seek spiritual renewal and increasingly focus on the Easter story.

There is also perhaps an element of fasting in giving up something for Lent and fasting is about making a sacrifice to seek God more intensely, more fervently.  You could say it’s about giving something else up to make more time to pray and seek God.  So that’s what I encourage you to do.

If you are going to give something up for Lent, why not use the giving up as a means of prompting you to seek more of God.  Every time you miss whatever you’ve given up, say a prayer instead.

If you’re not giving up something for Lent, why not choose a way to put extra effort into seeking more of God.  Try taking time to seek spiritual renewal and increasingly focus on the Easter story.

God encourages us to seek Him and really does want us to discover the wonder and blessing of His presence in our lives.

Yours in Christ,

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD…
Jeremiah 29:13

The Christmas celebrations are all over for another year.  We have had our presents.  We enjoyed the get together with friends and loved ones. And now it is 3:00 A.M., the house is quiet, your family are asleep, it is warm, but it is dark, and you should be asleep too.

However, your mind is racing, your heart is pounding, and worries are overwhelming.You might be thinking about the pressing needs of a tomorrow that will find you unprepared, or it may be an area of concern—financial (the presents have to be paid for now), relational (should never have argued with uncle Burt about the turkey), or employment.

You may even continually find yourself in a place where you are out of hope and out of peace. A place that points to a spiritual separation from God that leaves you vulnerable and open to attacks of anxiety from the enemy. There is something about this part of the night that seems to magnify all of these problems, and I am not sure exactly why that is. Maybe that is why the psalmist said “He guards us from the flaming arrows at night.”

I am convinced that we need God’s help, not only when we are alert and awake, but even when we are sleeping. As you get ready to go to sleep, I think that it is a great thing to end the day in prayer. It has been said that God works the nightshift, and it is so true.
The best place to start is back at the beginning of each new day. Start your day in prayer, committing your decisions, your challenges, and whatever you are going to face that day to the Lord. Then, as I suggested, end your day with prayer as well. In each instance, our prayer should be, “Lord, here it is. I commit it to You.” It reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther, “Pray and let God worry.” I like that. Not that God worries, but the idea is that you should pray about it, rather than worry about it.
Is there something troubling you? Is there something eating away at you? Bothering you? Irritating you? Causing you to be afraid? Pray about it, right now. Just say, “Lord, I can’t handle it.” Philippians says, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. The peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
So don’t worry. Pray. You will sleep, and live, much better.

Sleep well

Reverend Martin Swan