Jesus called himself the good shepherd. In first century Palestine, and for that matter in 21^st century Palestine, the image of the shepherd on the hillside carefully tending the sheep would have been very familiar and comfortable. The sheep following the shepherd. The shepherd watching over them and protecting them from harm.

Imagine. Imagine that flock of sheep in Palestine Jesus is talking about, and him as the shepherd.

We come from a different place, a different time. It may be that as you imagine those sheep, that shepherd, another character finds a way into your thoughts.

Jesus never included a sheep dog in any of his stories or parables. Why should he? Sheep dogs have never been used in that part of the world to herd sheep – such a concept would have been entirely unknown. All the same, I wonder if there is a place for a sheep dog in Jesus’ Good shepherd narrative. Some time ago, while reading, I came across to idea of Christians as sheepdogs. Jesus refers to his people as sheep.  What if we can be both sheep and sheep dogs?

For me, this metaphor is helpful because it moves us from the ‘sheep’s passive acceptance of God’s love and care to the sheepdog’s active engagement in the shepherd’s plan.

The sheepdog gathers the flock to the shepherd, following his commands or instructions. The sheepdog might not always know what the overall purpose is, but they’ve been trained and they have learned to recognise the call of the shepherd. As anyone who has ever owned a dog will know, the training never ends – there’s always something new to learn and sometimes what is taught is forgotten in the rush to get to something that is seemingly better!

How would our faith-life be different if we understood that we were always in training?

What would it mean to understand that there are new things to learn, old skills to sharpen?

If Psalm 23, another example of God as Shepherd, speaks of intimacy and security then this reading can only reinforce it. Jesus isn’t just a hired hand who runs at the first sign of danger. He embodies strength, power, sympathy, kindness and mercy, and he doesn’t just care for the sheep, he gathers the flock to himself.

Have you ever seen the film ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’?

My computer doesn’t like me spelling ‘happyness’ like that. There’s a red zigzag line under it and autocorrect is having an opinion. It wants me to spell it with an ‘I’. More on that later.

This, somewhat improbably named, film is based on the true story of a single father who, determined to create a better life for his son, undertakes an unpaid internship to become a stockbroker. Even when the family are made homeless he must turn up to work in clean smart clothes. Discrimination is rife. They correspond to no stereotype. Support is limited and barely accessible. The day-care facility is so bad the teacher writes about the importance of ‘happyness’.

A sizeable chunk of screen-time is spent with Chris trying to find the safest places to spend the night while attempting to safeguard his son’s childhood by making it all seem like one glorious adventure. For little Christopher things are simpler. As long as daddy is there all is well. Although there is, of course, the occasional tantrum, angry outburst and frustrated word – and that’s just the father! They are often dependent on the kindness of strangers.

At one point, when Chris is at his most desperate and trying to find a safe place to spend the night, his son Christopher tells him the following story:

“A ship wrecked man prays to God to save him. A boat approaches, but the man tells it to go away because God will save him. The boat leaves.

Later a second boat arrives, and the man sends it away, saying God will save him. A third boat comes and he does the same.

The man dies.

When he gets to heaven, he complains to God for not saving him when he prayed. God tells the man he sent three boats but the man sent them away.”

That’s not quite how little Christopher tells it! You might well have heard different versions but the basic premise that, if we choose to look, God can be found in unexpected places remains true. Without revealing too much of the film’s end I can say that seemingly small events and decisions have huge implications as the story develops and by the time the end comes it is possible to look back and see the golden thread that runs from beginning to end.

Ultimately the fates of many of the characters are bound together, just like any other community.

The more I think about the title of this film the more I find myself wondering: is there really an ‘I’ in ‘happyness’ at all?

Love and blessings,

Laura

There once was a man: the CEO of a major company. He was retiring and looking for someone of good character to replace him in his responsible job. There were five people in line for this promotion. All of them capable, with good references and lots of experience. There was nothing to choose between them and on paper any one of them would fit the bill.

So the CEO set them a task. Giving them each a seed to plant he told them to go away for 6 weeks and that, at the end of that time, the person whose plant had grown the tallest would achieve this promotion. So that’s what they did. Compost was liberally added, watering was frequent and plentiful. Enough sunlight given (but not too much). In each case everything possible was done ensure that the plants grew well.

Four of them did.

One of them didn’t so much as show itself above the soil.

The day finally came to present them to the CEO. While the first four proudly presented their healthy, growing plants for inspection, the fifth person shifted in their chair, avoiding eye contact and trying to hide his empty plant pot. It seemed he’d failed. Eventually the inevitable moment came and he shuffled forward, expecting any moment to be laughed at and probably sent home minus any job whatsoever. The CEO looked at that plant pot for a long time. Then, finally, went to the fifth person, put his hand on their shoulder, turned to face the others and said: ‘This is your new CEO’.

Cries of astonishment and distress. ‘How? Why? That plant didn’t even grow! They can’t even keep a flower alive, how are they going to manage with a whole company?’ ‘No,’ said the CEO. ‘That plant didn’t grow. And neither should yours have done. All the seeds I gave you were dead. The rest of you have been out and replaced them. This person is the only one who had the courage to tell the truth. Even knowing the consequences.’

Do you ever find yourself looking at someone else and thinking ‘Why am I not more like them? If I were like them then I could serve God in so many ways and do so many things.’

Now of course, in real life, none of us are given ‘dead seeds’. Each and every one of us, no matter who we are, has gifts and graces. Those things are part of what makes us who we are. Perhaps our plants may be different shapes and sizes, but they all grow.

Having the courage and honesty to be ourselves isn’t always easy. We may feel we have little to give. We may compare ourselves with others.

The challenge, then, is to live according to who we are, being honest with ourselves and with God about our strengths and limitations.

You might say we are challenged to a true version of ourselves.

And we come before a God who knows us absolutely

Dear Friends,

“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’

And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”

Minnie Louise Haskins

It was 1939 and King George VI faced the challenge of giving his Christmas radio broadcast to an Empire facing the uncertainties of war. George VI was reluctantly thrust into the spotlight following the abdication of his elder brother; he wasn’t brought up to rule and lived with a life-long stammer. During this challenging Christmas speech he quoted an obscure poem his wife had found in an unknown book a few days earlier.

Minnie Haskins, then aged 64, wasn’t near a radio at the time of the broadcast. It wasn’t until a few hours later that she heard a summary of what had been said and realized the King had used her words. Overnight a poem written by a woman few people had heard of and published 27 years earlier in a book that received little or no acclaim, became one of the most quoted works of the 20^th Century.

 “Stars” played a key role in our Christmas at Conway Road this year and this continues as we celebrate Epiphany, watching as the Magi follow a star in the Heavens right to feet of God incarnate – the Light of the World. At the baptism of Jesus we see Heaven and earth collide as Jesus is declared God’s beloved Son.

At Christmas 1939 an unlikely King quoted an unlikely poet who spoke of an unlikely God. A God who chose unlikely heroes: the unmarried woman; the simple carpenter; the unclean shepherds; the foreign magi; a man from the wilderness. Each gaining more from his coming than they could possibly imagine. Inviting them to put their hands into his and be guided.

As we enter this New Year, may the God who is full of surprises bless us too in ways that are beyond our expectations, hopes and dreams, and may he use us in unimaginable ways.

We put our hand in his and trust in him.

Happy New Year!

Love and blessings,
Laura

To whom can the holy God be compared?
    Is there anyone else like him?
Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
    The one who leads them out like an army                           
    he knows how many there are
    and calls each one by name!
His power is so great—
    not one of them is ever missing!

Isaiah 40: 25-26

A few weeks ago I stayed for a couple of nights in a Shepherd’s Hut not far from Rhadyr.

Even leaving Cardiff after having lunch with Over 50s so as to get there before dark, I still managed to miss the turning off the main road and it took a while to negotiate the narrow, stony track down to the site. The farmhouse might have been within a stone’s throw, but the whole place had the feeling of being in the back of beyond. Nevertheless the chair was comfy and the pile of books on the little table inviting. Bliss!

A couple of hours later I looked up for long enough to realise it was getting late and about time to finalise plans for tomorrow with friends. My phone was nowhere to be seen – in the hurry to get settled in I’d left it in the car. Not a problem. I got up, grabbed the car key, opened the door and stepped outside. Pitch blackness was everywhere.

Living in the city, light pollution from cars, houses, and streetlights means we rarely experience true darkness. There’s usually some spec of light to focus our eyes. Berating myself for not bringing a torch (apart from the one on my phone) I waited for my eyes to adjust. Nope. No can do. Oh well, better be careful.

I’m ashamed to say that it was only when the silly thing was retrieved that I remembered to look up at the stars. The clear night twinkled back at me, almost in amusement at my antics. Utterly beautiful. And I’d nearly missed it – too busy focusing on other things.

You probably already know this, but stars are a key part of Conway Road’s Christmas plans this year. The Creativi-TEA group and the Over 50s are currently knitting, crocheting and otherwise creating small stars so that a group of us can go around the local community offering them as gifts to our neighbours together with an invitation to the many services planned for the Christmas period (more about this on the next page.) But we need your help! The more stars we have, the more we can deliver. Pick up a knitting or crochet pattern from the New Room or create your own from any material you like and bring them to church on or berofre Sunday 3^rd December!

These stars will help the people receiving them to pause for a moment to think about the true Light of the World and the meaning of Christmas. Who knows what else God will do through them?

Every blessing,

Laura

Storytelling is, and has always been, a major part of our culture. Anyone who has ever stayed up until the early hours with a book they ‘just can’t put down’, or read (or told) a particularly gripping story to a small child, can attest to that. I remember listening to my Nan – who had a real knack for storytelling – talk about her own childhood in such a way that I could imagine the actions and behaviours of people I’d never met but felt I knew even if they died decades before I was born. Many of us will know of a friend or relative with a special gift for weaving a tale; someone able to bring a story to life. Maybe you are one of those people yourself!

Most of the best stories are at least based on reality. In 2018 3Generate – the young people’s yearly national Conference – challenged adult members throughout the Connexion to share stories of how God had touched their lives and how they had seen God at work in the world. By the time 3Generate met the following year more than1200 letters had been received. The Methodist Conference, following the example set by the young people, declared that the year 2019 – 2020 be ‘A Year of Testimony’ with the President and Vice President taking the theme ‘What’s your story?’ for their year in office.

This year, once again at the insistence of our young people, the Methodist church has made a commitment to becoming a ‘net zero’ organisation. We could do more to protect this world God has loaned us.

Such is the power of 3Generate.

And we’re going!!!! On 6^th October 23 young people from the Cardiff Circuit, including four from Conway Road, are getting on a bus and journeying to the NEC just outside Birmingham for a weekend adventure alongside over one thousand others from across the Connexion. The programme is exceptional – have a look on the Methodist Church website to find out more about what we’ll be doing!

I have no doubt that those of us who are going will be telling stories about our experiences for a long time. Perhaps you have your own stories of past youth gatherings too. I’d encourage you to share them with our young people, not just because they’re funny or poignant, but because in doing so we all remember that we’re part of the same story and we are all children of God.

Now, I’d better get back to reading the 3Generate programme!

Laura

Did you know that the tallest man ever was 8ft 11in tall?

Did you know that the most jigsaws owned by one person is 1047? 

Did you know that the record for ‘number of toilet rolls balanced on the head’ is 12?

Did you know that the record for solving a rubik’s cube is 3.47 seconds?

If you haven’t already guessed I’m writing this with the most recent book of Guinness World Records open in front of me! In a recent ‘Spotlight on…’ article for the Circuit Newsletter I admitted to collecting copies of this publication and find it extremely interesting – though slightly odd in parts! 

Whenever I get my hands on a new copy it’s always the facts about people – their experiences and achievements – that fascinate me. It’s amazing what human beings can achieve, and what we choose to try to achieve. Facts about the nature of the universe or space travel are fascinating but a bit beyond my understanding!

My inability to contemplate the enormity and diversity of God’s creation isn’t new. Whenever I ask a group of people for their favourite Psalm, Psalm 139 usually comes pretty high up the list. ‘Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high I cannot attain it.’ says the Psalmist in verses 4-6, summing up both our inability to comprehend God’s goodness and God’s absolute knowledge of us as individuals. I don’t mind telling you that I find it to be one of the most beautiful, comforting and reassuring passages in the whole Bible.

While my Book of Records tells me what I need to know to put together a quiz, or to satisfy my nosiness, or to find a few facts to start the church newsletter, it tells me virtually nothing about the people involved. Flicking through the pages of my book I see snapshots of them; just a couple of sentences to say who they are/were and what their record is/was. People are reduced to a single activity, experience or trait. 

In reality, of course, human life is far more complex than that – each one of us with our likes, dislikes and quirks. The idea that God, the creator of the universe, knows everything there is to know about us and yet still wraps us in love is beyond understanding, but that doesn’t make it any less true. 

And so we enter the summer holiday season!

I’m a great lover of words, and especially their origins and histories. It may (or may not!) interest you to know that in June 2018 almost 900 new words and phrases were added to the Oxford English Dictionary, including ‘binge-watch’, and several words from A. A. Milne’s ‘A House at Pooh Corner’ which celebrates its 95^th birthday this year. Since then of course, words like ‘lockdown’ and ‘bubble’ have taken on a whole new meaning. The English language, both written and spoken, is constantly evolving along with the world around us.

The word ‘holiday’ has only been in use since the 1400s, coming from the Old English word for ‘Holy Day’ – a period where the day-to-day cycle of work and recreation was set aside to focus specifically on God. There are at least 8 holy days or periods mentioned in the Bible, and down the centuries the Christian church has introduced many others including Lent, Advent, Good Friday and Pentecost, as well as the more commonly known ones like Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.

For many of us these holy days (or festivals as we’re probably more used to calling them) still provide fabulous opportunities to reconnect with God and join our prayers with folk from down the ages and across the world. I make no secret of the fact that the Christmas Carol Service and the Christmas Eve Service are my highlights of the church year, never failing to move me deeply. Maybe you feel the similarly, or is there another service, ritual or practice that never fails to help you draw closer to God?

But what, you may be wondering, does this have to do with the July/August notices?

At a first glance the next two months may appear to be the absolute opposite of a traditional festival period. Indeed they have a reputation for being a quiet time in the life of the church. We don’t celebrate any major holy days, although some other denominations do. However, I would say that for that very reason August in particular (or if not August then whichever month or period has the least dates in the diary!) holds a vital role in our lives both as individuals and as a church. The prophet Elijah, sitting in the mouth of a cave waiting to hear God’s voice, listened hard through wind and earthquake and fire, but it wasn’t until the silence came that he finally heard the Lord speak (1 Kings 19: 11-13). Sometimes it’s in quieter times, when the noise and busy-ness of everyday life stops for a moment, that our minds and hearts are able to focus all the more on God.

Holy days indeed.

I hope and pray that, however you spend your July and August, you will have time to rest and relax in the love of God.

Enjoy your holy days!

The Church family at Conway Road Methodist enjoyed their annual summer picnic in Pontcanna Fields on Sunday 25^th June.

The event was well attended, and the afternoon was full of talking, laughing, and eating.  Together with an assortment of fun pack games and activities enjoyed by spectators and players alike. Including the annual rounders match, which was hotly contested and saw some excellent displays of batting, bowling, and fielding from both sides. With the player of the match being awarded to Seb for he’s outstanding display of all round skills. 

During the afternoon we also saw some remarkable demonstrations of strength and determination in the tug of war matches. With the junior church girls team narrowly beating the boy’s, in a very tightly contested bout and the adults only just managing to overcome the collective strength of the junior church team.

All in all, the picnic was a great success and a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon relaxing with friends in the park. In preparation for next year picnic a  number of attendees have already been spotted talking tactics for the return matches!

Sunday morning saw Deacon Laura leading us in our Harvest Festival Service.

We gave thanks to God for all we have been given and to those who provide, while also considering the inequalities in our world and the need to care for its resources.

The Church family brought gifts of food and toiletries which will be taken to the Trinity Centre for distribution to those in need.

The lessons were read by Emmie and Avril, (one about 10 times older than the other!).

Laura then asked us to consider the ingredients needed to make bread (as seen amongst the items on the communion table), and to see how small things can make a difference to lives and to our world.