I wonder what is the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘Advent’. Or ‘Christmas’ for that matter.

Maybe it evokes an image of an Advent wreath; candles waiting expectantly for their turn to be lit. Maybe there’s one church service in the season that’s particularly special to you. Perhaps it brings thoughts of decorations or preparations for visiting family. Maybe the first image that comes to mind is a memory of a previous Christmas.

Whatever it makes you think of, it seems difficult to get away from all things Christmas-related. Some of the shops seem to have been playing Christmas songs for months and the earliest recorded sighting of a Christmas tree this year was mid September!

The word that comes into my mind most frequently at the moment is this: Hope.

Okay, so that’s probably got as much to do with the ‘Forward in Hope’ initiative we’re exploring as part of the Circuit, but nevertheless it seems particularly relevant as we step into Advent. Advent is a time of watching and waiting; a time of gathering excitement, when we anticipate a celebration of the hope that was fulfilled in the coming of God incarnate into the world. As Christians we travel the Advent road alongside a billions of others worldwide and down the ages; a road that began before time itself. A road that does not end in Bethlehem. For many of us it’s a road we have walked many times and yet, as we hear again the familiar and yet hugely challenging words of The Greatest Story Ever Told, there is always something new and exciting to discover.

This Advent I hope that every person reading this, whether you are in the habit of singing ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ in September, or put up your Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve (or are somewhere in the middle) will have the time and space to step back and marvel at the glorious, surprising and varied journey we travel with one another and with God. 

I wish you a joyous Advent and a very merry Christmas!

Our Autumn Fayre will be on Saturday 9th November from 10.00am until noon.
Come and enjoy a morning browsing the stalls and enjoying a cup of coffee with a slice of cake.

A fundraising event not to be missed!

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Part of a traditional Franciscan Blessing

At the moment it seems scarcely possible to turn on the television, open a newspaper or read the news on the internet without being faced with images of our neighbours, both near and far away, who bear the image of God’s face and yet are without food, shelter or the essentials of life.

It seems poignant, then, that by the time you read this it will be November, we will have entered a season of remembering and be approaching Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day. We will be remembering those events within our history that have shaped, and continue to shape our world, and the people who were and are still caught up in them. Men, women and children. People from all walks of life; of all nations and places; of all races and religions. We remember the millions of people whose lives can never be the same again as a result of conflict, and those who have lost their lives.

In the face of all this it can be difficult to know what to pray for. There is so much to think about that it can seem impossible to get our heads around. This Franciscan blessing asks God for foolishness: not the kind of foolishness that views the world through rose-tinted spectacles, but the sort that that recognizes oppression, injustice and cruelty and has the courage to speak out against it, believing that we can make a difference.

I’m reminded of the story of the young boy walking along the beach throwing beached starfish back into the water.

‘Why are you doing that?’ asks his friend. ‘There are thousands of them. It won’t make any difference.’

The boy reaches down for another starfish, turns to his friend and says ‘It makes a difference to this one.’

May God bless us all with that foolishness.

Dear Friends,

Like everyone who grows fruit and vegetables, my harvest has been affected by the bizarre weather we’ve experienced in recent years.

As an amateur grower of whatever I fancy it’s been a minor inconvenience and a chance to experiment.  I’m fortunate not to depend on my produce for survival. Right now, everything that survived the recent rain seems to have come into its own. Plants I’ve been peering at for months are suddenly growing at an almost alarming rate They almost seem to have forgotten they’re seasonal plants.

Fruit and vegetables are not the only harvest to behave like that. The harvests of our lives can feel the same. We watch, pray and work for a cause or hope that is close to our hearts, seeking to serve God. We seem to wait a long time before things suddenly begin to slot into place – not necessarily as we expected. Or perhaps we’re sure our lives are heading in a certain direction and then something happens, circumstances change, and we’re pushed off course. We still reap a harvest, just not the one we anticipated.

How does this relate to your life?

Has God ever sent you down an unlikely path?

Have your actions ever led to unexpected consequences?

’You reap what you sow,’ says Paul. I pray you will sow love and compassion in your community and reap it tenfold.

A Garden we might plant (Anon, Australia)
First, plant four rows of peas:	Presence; Promptness; Preparation; Perseverance.
Next plant three rows of squash:	Squash gossip; Squash indifference; Squash criticism.
Then, plant five rows of lettuce:	Let us obey rules and regulations; Let us be true to our obligations; Let us be faithful to duty; Let us be loyal and unselfish; Let us love one another.
No garden is complete without turnips:	Turn up at meetings; Turn up with a smile; Turn up with new ideas; Turn up with determination to make everything count for something good and worthwhile.

 

“Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.”

                                                                                                The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This is the final sentence of the book ‘The Life of Pi’ by Yann Martel. It’s the story of a young Indian boy (Pi Patel) whose father, the owner of a zoo, makes the decision to move with his family to Canada. Unfortunately while on the journey they are shipwrecked and Pi finds himself adrift in the middle of the ocean in a small lifeboat with only a large Bengal tiger (the somewhat improbably named Richard Parker!) for company. After many adventures and an indeterminate period of time Pi and Richard Parker arrive in Mexico where they are taken into custody and questions are raised about Pi’s account of himself and his experiences.

This is only a very vague précis of an interesting book (I recommend it to you!) and there’s much I could say about it in this message. From reading the final line it might be possible to deduce some of what the story is about. At any rate, one might gather that ‘Mr. Patel’ had been shipwrecked and coped at sea for a long time despite the presence of a tiger. However, in order to discover the whole story it would be necessary to read the book from cover to cover many times. Even then I suspect most of us would miss bits!

The saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ is as applicable to people as it is to works of fiction. Our media-focused age makes it almost inevitable that every day we will read stories in the news papers or online, or see images on the television, about people or places we know very little about. The challenge not to rapidly draw conclusions based solely on the snippets of information we’ve heard or seen is very real.

Perhaps to a lesser extent we may find the same challenge in our relationships with those who we see everyday.

Reading one line – even the last line – of a novel may give us a taster of what the story is about; but it’s only by sitting down, preferably with a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits, and taking the time to really engage with the whole book that we can hope to get a full picture. So it is with our relationships with one another and those we meet from day to day. Just a brief glance at the gospels is enough to tell us how much Jesus valued open, honest sharing with those he came into contact with. Conversation without judgment. Love without strings.

May we all take the time to sit and listen to one another and so deepen our relationships with each other and with the God who knows the whole story.

Every blessing,

Laura

By the time you read this I will probably be away at Methodist Conference. Conference meets every year and is made up of lay and ordained representatives elected from every district in the country, as well as visitors from further afield. Any Member of the Methodist Church can be elected to Conference, and this is the body that makes major decisions in the Methodist Church.

This isn’t my first Conference, but my experience has been rather odd. In 2017 I was Ordained in Birmingham – well, Wolverhampton actually, there were a number of ordination venues scattered around the area – and stuck around for most of the week out of sheer nosiness. Discovering that it was really quite interesting, I put my name forward as a rep to Conference 2020 for the Southampton District but… you’ve probably already spotted the problem… COVID happened. I was a rep at both the 2020 and 2021 Conferences, both of which happened online!

The work was done, but it wasn’t the same. As is always the case when a group of people with shared interest get together, Conference is a loud, buzzing gathering. Yes, there will be a lot of business – that’s what comes of having a system of consultation rather than one or a few people arbitrarily making decisions; But although the formal business takes place with all due reverence, most of the ‘putting the world to rights’ happens over a cuppa (or something a little stronger?) at the end of the day. Personally, I’m going with a long list of people I ‘really must catch up with’ and expect to come away having seen about half of them, but with a head full of ideas and excitement about where God might be leading the people called Methodists.

Because, make no mistake, God is moving in the national church – not necessarily conventionally, but when has God ever been conventional?

It’s our task to pray, expect God to answer, and then follow God’s lead.

Love and blessings,

Laura

“…But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

If you were at the Circuit Service on Sunday 19^th May I’m sure you’ll understand why the events of Acts 1 and 2 remain at the forefront of my mind – what a fantastic day!

Several times in the weeks sine then, my mind has been drawn to the hymn ‘Jerusalem’ which comes from William Blake’s poem ‘Milton’. It isn’t a piece I am particularly familiar with and for a variety of reasons has not featured in Methodist hymn books for many years. However, having hummed snatches of the tune rather a lot recently I’m beginning to realise that it is not just Jesus’ references to the city of Jerusalem just prior to his ascension that caused it to come into (and stick in) my head.

The hymn begins ‘And did those feet in ancient times walk among England’s mountains green?’ If we take this question literally the answer, as many have protested throughout the years, is ‘Don’t be daft! Of course they didn’t!’ The narrative of the New Testament takes place within the context of a specific area of the middle-east more than two-thousand years ago. We can say with conviction that the historical Jesus did not ever visit any part of what we now know as the United Kingdom…

… and yet the risen Jesus, ascended and available to all, breaks into the world offering a grace and love that transcends time, space, and every other restraint imaginable. Suddenly the Kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem, ceases to be a dream for the future and becomes a reality to be experienced now.

In his book ‘A Rumour of Angels’ Peter Berger writes of the importance of ‘Keeping the rumour of God alive’ through acts of love and witness. The historical Jesus may never have set foot on UK soil but the Body of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, are tasked with being his hands and feet on earth. Hands that work without agenda; feet that walk alongside others without seeking reward.

Thus we join in the work that God is already doing in this community and throughout the world.

Love and Blessings,

Laura

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