February is often wrapped in the language of love. Cards, chocolates, flowers and well-meaning slogans remind us that love is something to be celebrated—sometimes loudly, sometimes commercially. But the love we are called to as Christians is deeper, quieter, and far more demanding than sentiment alone.
Since I arrived in the Benefice, we have spent time together looking honestly and prayerfully at who we are, and who we hope God is calling us to be. We have asked not just what our churches do, but how we are present—how we are with our communities in the everyday rhythms of life.
Out of these conversations has come a new Benefice Mission Statement:
“As a Benefice we are dedicated to ‘being with’ our communities to bring faith, hope and love, showing that God’s places belong to all.”
Those words—being with—have mattered deeply to us. They remind us that mission is not something we deliver from a distance, but something we live out alongside our neighbours. Making the opportunity to collect money for our local Winter Night Shelter and The Children’s Society at our Christmas services and food for our Pop Up shop on a regular basis, and being able to support many local charities through the Scarecrow Festival are really important to us. It is about presence before programmes, relationship before results. We ask the question ‘who benefits’ because we are here? It is important to us as a church that we are meeting the needs of our communities, our community dog walks are a way of ‘being with’ those amongst us who like to walk (with or without a dog) and they will be restarting in March this year. We are always open to suggestions for initiatives that will benefit our community. This is why we now have our Jimmy’s Baby and Toddler Group and our monthly Wednesday Welcome.
To help us live into this calling, we have reflected together on the values that might guide us. As mentioned before, four have emerged as especially important: Openness, Commitment, Kindness and Fun. These are not abstract ideals, but practical expressions of love, rooted firmly in Scripture—particularly in the words of 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul’s famous passage is often read at weddings, but it was never meant to be confined to romantic love. It is a description of how Christian community is meant to look and feel. Without love, Paul says, even the most impressive faith is empty noise. With love, ordinary acts become holy.
Openness calls us to connect with those we have not reached before. Love, Paul reminds us, “is not self-seeking.” It turns us outward. Openness asks us to notice who feels absent, unheard, or unsure whether they belong—and to take the risk of making space. This may mean rethinking familiar patterns, listening more carefully, and allowing ourselves to be changed by the people we meet. We are in the process of looking at all areas of inclusion:- disability; sexuality; mental health; poverty; gender; ethnicity; and this will continue over the next few years. This is one of the reasons we are pursuing creating step-free access for St James, to make it easier for people with wheelchairs, walkers and buggies to access our building, over 2026 we will be revisiting our sound system to make sure that is working well and will help people who are hard of hearing and we also now use a screen at St James to allow us to be more visually creative. These are a few of the things we are doing but we are also looking at both the churches in Eastwick (St Botolph’s) and Gilston (St Mary’s) to bring them more up-to-date with running water, toilets, sound systems and more community areas, getting them ready for the many ‘new people’ who will join our communities in the future as the new housing development begins to be built.
Commitment reflects love that “always perseveres.” We are committed to nurturing people of all ages in diverse and appropriate ways, using imagination and courage. In a world that often moves on quickly, commitment says we will stay. In all our communities the church has been ‘open’ and available to everyone for hundreds of years. We will invest time, prayer and energy, trusting that God works patiently, even when growth is slow or unseen. We are investing time in our children to help them to grow well through Messy Church and our Family services, to consider others and learn about Jesus and how Jesus can shape all our lives for the benefit of our communities and ourselves.
Kindness sits at the very heart of Paul’s words: “Love is patient, love is kind.” Kindness is not weakness; it is a powerful witness in a fractured world. It means embracing everyone on their journey of life and faith, no matter where they are. No preconditions. No hidden tests. Just the steady assurance that God’s love meets us exactly as we are, and invites us to walk forward together.
And then there is Fun—a value that may surprise some, but one we have come to treasure. Joy is not an optional extra in the life of faith. Creating opportunities for people to come together, connect and enjoy themselves reflects a generous God who delights in community, the Bible is full of stories of celebrations. Laughter, shared meals, creativity and celebration can open doors that sermons alone sometimes cannot.
Paul ends his great chapter with words we may know well: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Faith sustains us. Hope lifts our eyes beyond the present moment. But love is what the world encounters first when we truly live the Gospel.
As we move forward together as a Benefice, our prayer this February is simple but profound: that we may be known not primarily for our buildings, our traditions, or even our activities, but for our love. A love that is open, committed, kind and joyful. A love that reflects Christ. A love that shows, in quiet and faithful ways, that God’s places truly belong to all.
Your Priest, Alison