We look forward in the coming weeks to welcoming Revd Jassica to join us here in Great Yarmouth. It’s a big step for her and her family as they travel to a region they know little of and to serve among people they don’t know. However, I am confident they will be made welcome.

This week, our first reading seems like a small step in the grand scheme of the Acts of the Apostles but was actually a huge step in the early church’s mission. Paul receives a vision of a man pleading for help in Macedonia, and he and his companions immediately respond, crossing into new territory to preach in a new land to new people. In Philippi they encounter Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, who becomes the first recorded convert in Europe. The faith is spreading.

This passage is rich with encouragement. Following her encounter, Lydia and her household are baptised which reminds us that God often guides us in surprising ways, opening doors we might never have considered. Lydia also shows openness in listening to a new voice and a new teaching, even if she was not expecting it. Her faithful response helped sow the seeds of Christianity in a new continent.

Fr Simon