Dear friendsAt school this week, I took the assemblies in which I asked "how do we know what love looks like"? I used Jesus' teaching about the greatest commandment, and there was a lot of excitement with the cake I used as a metaphor (perhaps too much excitement with key stage 1 children ... I may not be invited back!)We spoke about sharing, kindness in actions and words, giving a hug, being helpful, looking out for those who were lonely or sad, even if they're not your friends. As ever, the children of Knowle Park school are wise beyond their years and a delight to spend time with.This resonated with all we considered last weekend, with our wonderful gathering on St Martin's Day, where we remembered with love the story of our patron saint, and our church family. We then marked Remembrance Sunday with the message of love and peace - remembering backwards and remembering forwards.The General Synod of the Church of England met this week, and a huge item on the agenda was the ongoing conversation about living in love and faith, and how the Church might recognise and bless relationships where people are of the same sex. It is a conversation that requires love in the face of difference - and there are many different positions on the subject. For some, the recommendations for prayers of love and faith that will soon be able to be offered in church will not be enough. For others, they are too much of a departure from the traditional teaching of the church. As many have said, we have often found ourselves in places of different positions in the Church of England (whether about the ordination of women, or the issue of divorce, to name a couple) and we have managed to love each other as the body of Christ nonetheless. This is a conversation that will continue, and in time we will need to have the conversation in our church about how we navigate this season of the life of the church.One of the values we have identified as a PCC is: We are a church with a culture of radical inclusion. So we will want to find a way for all of God's people to find a place of love and acceptance. There will be more to say in the coming weeks when the House of Bishops in the Church of England release more details and information about the next steps.This Sunday the Church of England encourages churches to mark "Safeguarding Sunday", the opportunity to celebrate all the good work that is going on behind the scenes to protect children and vulnerable people, as well as to reflect on how they are supporting those who have been hurt or harmed. This is another opportunity to consider what love looks like in action - in the way that we are intentional about protecting those who are vulnerable, and in highlighting another of our church values: We are a church that believes every human being is precious and worthy in God’s sight.You're invited to be part of our worship this week: 8.30am we will hold our traditional Holy Communion service, and then at 10.30am we will hold our Sung Eucharist with Sunday Spirit for our young people. It would be lovely to see you there.With every blessingBecky