Sunday's coming!

For these worship suggestions this week I have used a Catholic pattern which was introduced by St Ignatius Loyola . Presence God is with us –whether we are together or apart.  Pause for a moment and become aware of God with you. Freedom Although we cannot live our ‘normal’ lives, we are free to use this time to draw closer to God. Give thanks to God for this moment of worship. Consciousness Where in the last week have you found hope, mercy or peace? When has life been harder than usual? Thank God that God is with us in these positive times. Ask for God’s strength in the negative times. Word of God John 20:19-31 Conversation This story come almost at the end of John’s gospel, and perhaps is the ‘sign’ of Jesus Christ the Lord which can touch us today, as we continue to be isolated by the Covid19 virus. The disciples are locked away in fear – what changes their lives is the presence of the risen Christ, with his words “Peace be with you”. Jesu...

This is what I have just written for our Synod newsheet: It is Holy Week. I’m reminding myself that, because at the moment it’s hard to keep track of what day it is, let alone what week it is. Holy Week without waving palm crosses in church, without a version of the ‘last supper’ with friends around the table, without hoping for warmer weather for the Good Friday walk of witness, without the anticipation of the joyful service on Easter Day as we tell each other “he is risen”. Instead, a week of minimal outside contact and trying to find ways to support other people so that isolation does not tip over into loneliness or even desperation. What kind of Holy Week is that?  I think it must have been on the radio that I heard someone mention the  increasing isolation of Jesus  in Holy Week. It’s worth thinking about as we reflect on the familiar story: The disciples falling asleep in the garden of gethsemane, as Jesus prayed alone. The betrayal by Judas Iscariot...

When my daughter, Ellie, was at the stage of life to be contemplating university courses and a possible “life path”, she was studying biology, chemistry and maths. Not surprisingly, some of her teachers wondered whether she might consider a career in medicine. Very wisely she said to me “It’s not for me, mum, I know I couldn’t save everyone, and I wouldn’t be able to cope with that”. Our current NHS staff are certainly facing the truth that they cannot save everyone who contracts the Covid 19 virus. My heart goes out to those who run the risk of ending the day either feeling useless and sick-at-heart, or else physically sick -  contracting the virus themselves. Those of us who are not in the health service still have to face a sense of uselessness. The father who cannot calm the fears of their frightened child; the teacher who is furloughed or self-isolating; the minister who cannot visit a bereaved family, or conduct a normal funeral. We feel useless, adrift, and lost....