Here is Rita’s message:

Thank you for meeting with us wherever you are for our weekly meditation. As I write this we are once again about to face lockdown in our country, beginning in this week of Remembrance.

Today I'd like to share some words I read in a newspaper at the weekend, written by actor Laurence Fox: “In this Covid year, the physical acts of remembrance present their own hurdles. And precisely because of that, we must think harder about the national sacrifice this country has made in two World Wars and since. That has always been the guiding principle behind remembering. Remembering those we have loved and lost, of course, but also recalling what it was all for. It was a battle for national survival, a fight for the freedoms and liberties that come with our national way of life..... And it comes at a price”.

Now Remembrance Sunday takes on a new importance as we think of those who have paid that ultimate price because of Covid, especially front line health workers who have sacrificed their lives whilst caring for others. We pray for those who have lost loved ones, as once again we are in the midst of a battle for survival. And our world seems to be a very dark place where so many folk are in despair. Yet in just a few weeks in the church's year, we shall be approaching Advent. I like to think of Advent as a time of travelling from darkness into light, hastening as it does towards the winter solstice when the days will start to grow slightly longer. A time of promise then, but also an opportunity for transformation because the coming of Christ happens over and over again in our daily lives, and we should be ready and open to receive Him. For Christ is manifest in the changing seasons and in the dawn of each new day. He comes to us year after year in order to be with us in the dark winter months which lie ahead. He wants to be involved in our plight and comes close to us so that we may reach out to Him. So we think of Advent as a time of hope. And hope, like despair or indeed a virus, is contagious.

Reading: Luke 21:25-28

Advent Prayer: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. Hear our prayers, Lord, and lighten the darkness of our minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

I hope these few thoughts will help you over the coming weeks as we face even more difficult times ahead. Keep safe, God bless.

Rita