It’s the beginning of
August and we are full on into the holiday season. Many families are away,
especially those with younger children. It is a time for families to catch up
with each other, to visit aunts and uncles they have missed throughout the
year; to come together and have time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
Congregations in church
have a tendency to dip in the summer months as people are away re-charging
their batteries. So perhaps this is a good time to reflect on where we stand in
our church life and how much time we can give to enrich the Church. We live
very busy lives and it is important to get our priorities in order. Family,
friends and church can be very demanding. It is important that we find time
to refresh ourselves so that everyone benefits, and we don’t find that as we
move into September we are still worn out.
With our energy renewed we
can prioritise our needs in a more efficient way which includes our spiritual
well-being. We are told in Galatians 6, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Wonderful attributes to enrich us as a Church family.
The plans are moving
forward for the improvements of the Lady chapel, the change to the flooring
will give a feeling of more light and, with the gaining of new chairs, we will
add to the comfort of the increasing numbers who attend our Wednesday Eucharist
service. More than half the chairs for the chapel have been generously funded,
and we are still looking for further funding to complete the changeover to
20-plus chairs, which is really exciting.
Our faculty has been
submitted for our audiovisual equipment for the main church, and the aim is to
try and get it ready for the beginning of the new school term, so that not only
our wonderful church benefits, but also our school, Holy Trinity. This again is
really exciting and a lot of thanks must go to all the people who have been
involved in liaising with all the different bodies to make this happen.
I do feel as a church we
are moving along in the right direction and this has been made possible with
your full support, and by God’s Grace. The Holy Spirit moves and touches us in
extraordinary ways. In 2 Corinthians, we are told, “It is God himself who has
set us apart, who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given
us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a guaranteeing of all that he has in store
for us.” What is encouraging to see, is the work done by more and more people.
We are beginning to see the fruits of our hard work, which should make our
church more attractive to exist in the 21st century.
What we should never forget
is what St Paul says to the Church in Corinth and it is a good reminder to us:
1 Corinthians 14, “So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual
gifts; try and excel gifts that build up the church.” I firmly believe our
church is full of people who can build us up and are gifted. So long may we
continue to move forward.
Your friend,
Rev’d Paul
August 2013
