Sunday's coming!

  Luke 8: 26-33   & then Luke 8: 34-39 Reflection 1 At first hearing this story of Jesus healing this man doesn’t feel like anything we would experience. But I still think it’s worth listening carefully to what the story means for us. Jesus is in the land “opposite Galilee” - a land of Gentiles, non-Jews, outsiders. That’s why there’s a herd of pigs, which Jewish farmers wouldn’t touch, because pigs were considered unclean. In this land which is not quite home to Jesus, he comes across an outcast, a man not in his right mind, someone we might describe as having a mental illness. The poor man hears voices,   can’t be restrained, rips his clothes off, and chooses to live among the tombs. Jesus heals him, because that is what Jesus can do for those who need his help. There was a time in my life when I needed mental healing.   Just after Ellie was born I became very detached from reality due to a condition called postpartum psychosis. It affects abo...

  Matthew 7: 7-11 & 24-17           Ephesians 2: 17-22 We are celebrating the 202 nd anniversary of the building of this chapel - What does it take to build a chapel? I can recommend typing that question into a search engine if you want to give yourself a giggle. One website solemnly describes the process of engaging an architect to help you decide the best site – and then the need to discuss “ sufficient office spaces, the children’s department, the proper sanctuary size, adequate parking, church kitchen and/or café, and needed storage areas   - just to name a few”. Or you find a man like Thomas Skeel. Thanks to the fact that the “History of the Welsh Independent Churches” by Thomas Rees & John Thomas (published in 1871) is available online I can tell you quite a lot about Thomas Skeel – and it’s worth hearing! Thomas Skeel was born in 1758, in Hayscastle, the son of farmers. He was ordained at Trefgarne in 1795 and later married M...

  John 14: 8-17      Acts 2: 1-6, 12-18 Having travelled from Easter to Ascension day we have now arrived at Pentecost. We remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to ignite the early church.   Pentecost is an invitation to all of us to become part of God’s kingdom here on earth – to know God more closely and to be given the strength to be the body of Christ, together.   But like so many invitations in life, it’s worth looking at it a bit more deeply, to see quite what it all means.   Let’s start with the name “Pentecost” Luke begins his account with “When the day of Pentecost had come” because this was a day that was already a Jewish festival – it already had a name, Pentecost was already a thing.   Along with the Feast of Passover & the Feast of Tabernacles, Pentecost was one of 3 major Jewish feasts, coinciding with the Spring, Summer and Autumn harvests.  During these three great Jewish festivals, ever...