I am pleased to be with you all at St Martins this Sunday. I did my years placement as an ordinand with you in 2020/21 and felt so welcomed by you, so am pleased to be coming back to see some familiar faces and meet some new people as well.This week is Mothering Sunday, a time which in recent years has come to celebrate the role of a mother, which can have mixed feelings for many people. Back in the 16th Century it was less about mothers and more about visiting your ‘mother’ church, a church near to you or your home church. It was also a tradition that if you worked in a place like an estate you would have been given the fourth Sunday in lent off to visit your family, and would probably go to church to. As I come to St Martins this week I will be thinking of it as coming home to the church family that I was part of for the year, and still feel part of.On Sunday I will be thinking about being a risk taker or an opportunity maker, and how God is with us in all of our lives, and how we make the most of where we are placed. As well as taking our own risks, as mentors for others we also can allow others to take risks and make opportunities. I was given many new opportunities when I was with you a few years ago and took those things I’d learnt away with me to the churches I was going back to. We worship a God who is the perfect nurturer and parent. As The Mothers Union service introduction says ‘On Mothering Sunday we gather to praise God our Heavenly Parent for his constant perfect love, which protects and surrounds us through good and hard times.’I look forward to catching up with you over coffee this week.Ruth
Dear Friends at St Martin’s, I’m very much looking forward to being with you again this Sunday and I hope that Lent is progressing well for you. In conversation with a colleague this past week, he pointed out that although nowadays we rightly focus on our journey towards the Cross during Lent , in the past the focus was on journeying towards both the Cross and the font. This was because Lent was the time when people were traditionally prepared for baptism at Easter. I hadn’t thought about this before, but it makes sense of this week’s Gospel reading, when Nicodemus asks Jesus what it means to be ‘born again’, i.e. baptised. Even today we don’t baptise or conduct weddings during Lent (or Advent) as these are times of preparation and not the right time for new, celebratory beginnings. There are no flowers in church, no gloria, no alleluias, images and crosses are often veiled and everything is kept as simple as possible. The purpose of this is to highlight our reliance on God: when all the props are removed, our faith is laid bare and inevitably our gaze turns to the One who loves us so much that he sent his Son to live as one of us, and to die for us. Through our baptism we are all reborn in the Spirit and as we continue our Lenten preparation, I pray that you will know the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. With all good wishes, Nicola Stanley Canon Pastor and Vice Dean, Bristol Cathedral
Dear Friends at St Martin’s, I’m very much looking forward to being with you again on Sunday! The last time I was at St Martin’s was in early September at the start of autumn and this week it’s felt at last as though winter is almost over and spring is finally on its way. In the Church’s year spring coincides with Lent, and sure enough Ash Wednesday – marking the start of Lent - is only a few days away. Lent is our time of preparation for Easter and the best way to start keeping a holy Lent and so be prepared for the celebrations at Easter, is to attend a service on Ash Wednesday and hear the sobering words, ‘Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.’ This is the day in the year when all Christians are urged to make time to repent of the sins which separate us from God. Many of us choose to mark Lent by giving something up or committing to a spiritual practice, such as praying the Lord’s Prayer each morning, or giving thanks to God for the day each evening. There are often courses and Bible studies to take part in too. Our Lenten resolutions don’t have to be complicated and it’s better to set a realistic goal rather than be too ambitious and then feel we’ve let ourselves – and God – down. I’ll be back again in a month’s time when Lent will be well and truly underway, so let’s pray in the meantime that God gives each one of us the grace to keep a holy Lent. And if you would like any pointers as to what you might choose to do this Lent, please catch me over coffee on Sunday. With best wishes, Nicola Nicola Stanley, Canon Pastor and Vice Dean, Bristol Cathedral
Dear friendsThis is my last weekly message before my extended leave begins - I feel as though January has passed at such a fast rate, but that might also be because I had no idea it would be so much work to take 3 months as "sabbatical" and my feet haven't really touched the ground. I had hoped to be in touch with more people to catch up on news after Christmas, and I'm sorry I haven't had the capacity to do that.So, this begins with my love in Christ and very best wishes!The main theme for my study while on leave is "who I am when I'm with you". I'm particularly interested in interactions between people with different personality types, which I hope will inform my understanding of conflict and peace-making, which many of you will know is an area I've supported for a number of years. I've also always loved to work with people generally, and I'm fascinated by the idea that we can be easily drawn to conversations and relationships with some people, while we might find it more difficult to even communicate with others. So, these are the things I'm going to study and hopefully learn more about. I'm also going to learn "who I am when I'm with God" in retreat and quiet times, and when I'm not looking at emails!!As I shared in my sermon last week, we know that God knows who we are, loving us deeply and completely, and will meet us in those ways that are unique to us - whether this is in nature, activity, silence, conversation, art ... but also that we are loved, in the words of the theological author Philip Yancey, too much to leave us where we are. To know that we are works in progress, created beings, still being created, by a creator God, allows us to be open to all that we might still learn, even if we've been around the block a bit!This seems to be a constant feature of Jesus' ministry - there is a story behind every story, where people are learning new things about themselves, or new things are being revealed. I'm going to expand this thinking in my message this week where I'll talk about God being a "person creator rather than a problem solver". I would love to see you if you're able to come along to church at either 8.30am or 10.30am, where we'll be sharing Holy Communion at both services.I'm so delighted that we're also holding the Christingle service at 4.30pm, outdoors around a fire with hot chocolate and biscuits!In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers for the next few weeks, as I also learn "who I am when I'm not with you"!In Christ, as everBecky
