It’s that time of year when I find myself inexplicably craving period costume dramas on the tele – all those awkward stilted conversations and heaving bosoms – and big bowls of hearty soup. We all go conkers bonkers and start to dig out our cosy knits. All, we hope and pray, is safely gathered in. Another month, another tender love letter from the natural world around us, generously abundant in beauty and enchantment as the seasons roll on.Generosity has been on my mind of late. I recently attended the funeral of a very dear friend, Sheila. With her wife Sue, Sheila lived her whole life generously. She quietly and gloriously enriched the lives of her friends and her community, and wherever she went she made new and treasured friendships, all over the world. She was ridiculously intelligent, but she wore it humbly and without show, all the while changing the world for the better. Since I’ve known her, Sheila has been a significant inspiration to me. It breaks my heart that she is gone. Her legacy, however, will continue, because she lived so generously.I wonder if the greatest enemy of generosity is fear. When we live fearfully, we may cling on tightly to what we’ve got, pull up our drawbridges, bolster our defences. But what, then, of all the others who get left out in the cold? Fear and struggle are inevitable in life, none of us escape them. While fear can be useful in helping us to make good and wise choices, at its worst fear can also stunt our compassion. But if we can hold our fear alongside hope, gratitude, and love, it need not define us; we find ourselves with the freedom to live generously.Maya Angelou said that when we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed, and I am minded to agree. What might living generously look like for you today? What ways might you be a blessing? Maybe with your time, your patience, your financial resources, your hospitality, your talents, your prayers, your smile? If we know what it is to struggle or to be afraid, perhaps that understanding will encourage us to recognise and respond generously to struggle and fear in others, both friends and strangers.Now, I’m going to cuddle up in a big cardigan, enjoy some Mr Darcy, and raise a glass to my wonderful friend Sheila.God bless you my friends.Rev Angie x
As always, our Parish News is packed with stories from all our villages, a helpful listing of the many events in our parishes, wildlife notes, book reviews, lots of small ads, and of course a Chuckle Corner.You can click the link below to view or download the October edition of the Parish News in PDF format.
Okay, so hands up if you can’t believe it’s September already … how are we here already?! September is a month laden with anticipation, hope and nervous expectation for many of us. New school shoes and slightly too-big new uniform perhaps; the thrill of going up a year or the worry of starting big school. Maybe starting out on a much more focused pathway at college or leaving home for the first time to start university. For you farmers, busy as bees and praying for good weather, so that all may be safely gathered in. When I was a girl, September always meant looking forward to the fair arriving in town, with its lights and music, wonderful smells and frisson of danger.For the longest time, autumn was my favourite season, with each year refusing to grow old quietly and demurely, but instead, like an outrageous great aunt or magnificent drag act, parading itself with flair and drama and sass. Just as the farmers are heaving on their muddy wellies, and the school kids are proudly sporting their new togs, so in September the autumn is strapping on its thigh high boots and getting ready to party. Glorious!As the season changes around us, the world is changing around us too, endlessly throwing up new things to wonder at and new things to fear. Likewise, we are all steadily changing (the inevitability of change is one thing that forever stays the same). For Christians, in the swirls and twirls of life, God is our constant and yet always full of surprises. If God has never surprised you, it’s possible you might not have been paying enough attention!Whatever it is that sassy September will bring you, whatever fairground ride life resembles for you now (dodgems, rollercoaster, big wheel, teacups, merry-go-round, ghost train?), I pray that you will know some measure of the peace of God’s constant love for you, and some thrilling surprise at the joys this beautiful season can hold. For all school kids, students, teachers and school staff, all those busy working our farms and orchards, to all fairground workers, drag acts and outrageous great aunts, I pray God’s blessing over you, with love.Rev Angie xImage by Frank from Pixabay
As always, our Parish News is packed with stories from all our villages, a helpful listing of the many events in our parishes, wildlife notes, book reviews, lots of small ads, and of course a Chuckle Corner.You can click the DOWNLOAD link to view the Parish News in PDF format.