Rev Chris update for 21st February, 2021

Dear all
The snow has gone – good or bad? It depends on your perspective. We now wait to see what announcement is to be made on Monday regarding the hoped for easing of restrictions.
In the meantime, we have entered the period of Lent as we count down to Easter. On Wednesday I held Ash Wednesday services on the telephone and on zoom. It is difficult to say when we will have any physical services until I know how restrictions may change. I have attached a Services & Events page that takes us through to the first Sunday of March and would bring the following to your attention;
WEDNESDAY 24th at 7pm is the first evening of our Lent Course using songs and themes from the Greatest Showman. The evening’s theme is: A MILLION DREAMS, exploring what hope and liberation might look like in the world that we live in.
Here is a song link to listen to and the Zoom code to join the evening;

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86801579332?pwd=UFNTd2xRdUFmYnNybTJrdjVocFpiUT09

Meeting ID: 868 0157 9332
Passcode: 493365

So, we are in Lent which is when many people say that they are going to give something up, maybe chocolate or alcohol. But that doesn’t really do justice to what this time is meant to be about. The concept of giving something up is rooted in the ancient tradition of fasting – essentially abstaining from food and drink for a period of time as a means of focusing more on God.

The real nudge here is ‘focus’. What is it that we focus on? If you had to list your priorities what would that list look like? I would imagine family would figure highly, perhaps happiness, perhaps the importance of community, education, healthcare etc.
How many of us would put God at the top of that list? If we did do our lives reflect that, if we didn’t, why didn’t we? What are the implications of believing that God is active and present? Is God a reality in our lives or does He feel distant and disconnected?
Maybe Lent is a good time to ‘re-focus’ – it might just make a difference.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honour, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he ploughed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
HEBREWS 12:2-3 (The Message bible version)
Blessings,
Rev Chris