Dear friendsI hope that you are well, and haven't been overwhelmed by the rain this week. Today, I was involved in supporting a charity to plant 5000 trees... I obviously didn't plant that many (!) but in the rain and deep mud of a farm in Long Ashton, I learned a lot about 'cutting a slip' (digging a hole with a spade), 'heeling it in' (using my boot to push the mud back around the tree sapling) and 'putting on the guard' (making sure the cane and sapling were protected by a cardboard tube). It was muddy work, but a great opportunity to offer something into the community, and have good conversations. As the rows of trees took shape, adding to the many hundreds that have been planted throughout this week, we then walked away, knowing we had to leave them now to grow, trusting we'd done all we could to give them a good start.This reminds me of what it is like to be church: sometimes we need the spiritual earth around us to be dug up or disturbed a bit, so that something new can be planted. Sometimes we need to have things bedded in, so that we can consolidate something we've learned, or to embed a new behaviour. Sometimes we need to have a bit more support and structure around us, so that we feel secure as we grow. And sometimes we need to step back, knowing it's God that gives the growth. I wonder which of these feels most comfortable to you? I wonder which makes you feel energised, or drained, or anxious, or excited?In Lent we have the opportunity to adjust our behaviour, our habits, our routines, either by taking on something new, or giving up something, and I believe these are the times when we can be more open to all that God might want to do with us, through the Holy Spirit. Maybe God is going to disturb us a little, maybe we'll feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe God will enable us to feel more sure or certain about an aspect of our faith or our relationship with Him. Maybe there will be an opportunity for something additional that will enable us to feel supported or stronger in our faith, or maybe we will just need stillness and space to simply be with God. As a church, there are lots of ways in which each of these aspects can be facilitated - Lent Groups, gatherings for worship, the Lent Quiet morning, weekly audio prayers... I do hope that you will find your way to be intentional in this season, to be open to what God might want to do with you, and as ever to know that you are loved by Him.This weekend we gather at 8.30am for our traditional Holy Communion service, and at 10.30am for our All Together Communion with Baptisms. Please pray for our 6 young people being baptised, in these early stages of their faith journeys. Your prayers and encouragement are part of their support structure as they grow. Please come along to these opportunities to gather - you're invited.With every blessing as everBecky