Dear friendsWell, Advent is well and truly underway. After a wonderful concert by the Avon and Somerset Police Choir last Saturday (and with huge thanks to the team here who helped organise such a successful event), we held our "One Church Sunday" service which was a great opportunity to get together to mark the start of Advent together (apologies to those who missed out on the bacon butties because we ran out!). We then had a quiet and peaceful Evening Prayer in the afternoon.As for now, the Advent calendars have been opened (I'm delighted to have a cheese advent calendar this year!), the first candle on the Advent wreath has been lit, we've sung "O Come O Come Emmanuel" for the first time, Mary and Joseph are on their trip around the parish with the "Posada", and it's the Christmas Bazaar tomorrow! I do hope you'll be able to come along, between 10.15 and 2.15. As well as lots of lovely stalls, there will be refreshments and lots of free activities for children.Advent has also meant the start of Advent groups. A number of you have attended one of the 3 groups running (Monday or Thursday evenings, or Wednesday mornings) and it's not too late to go along next week. Others will have looked at the material at home, as this was a welcome addition to the opportunities to engage this year.This week we have been invited to think about Mary's journey to visit Elizabeth, after she discovers she is pregnant. We are invited to consider how we "receive the light", and in this week's case, in the words of the Magnificat, Mary's song, her awareness of blessing even when being asked to do such an enormous task for God; how we "walk in the light", how we might travel more wisely in our life journeys, and who might accompany us; and how we reflect the light, how we might reflect God's character and goodness in the way we live. This is frequently the pattern of my prayer "as we receive your light and love, Lord, so may we reflect that light and love to all we meet", as I'm a firm believer that we can't give away something we haven't got ourselves. I really appreciate this additional element of the journey, between receiving and reflecting, and that is to allow the light and love of God to change the way we travel through life ourselves.We commented in Morning Prayer today that we may sometimes have a tendency to think about what "others" need to do, and miss the number of times the Psalmists are crying out to God for their own needs, their own sin, their own situations. We need to receive God's light for our own souls sake, as well as to be able to reflect it to others!So as our journeys continue, we continue to ponder how we receive, walk in, and reflect the light and love of God. This Sunday we will be worshipping at 8.30am with a said Holy Communion service, and at 10.30am with a High Eucharist, and Sunday Spirit for our young people. This will be followed at 12.30pm with the internment of the ashes of a dear friend to the church, Ted Bowden. Everyone is invited to come along and be part of these services.Before that it would be great to see you tomorrow at the Church Bazaar!With all good wishes, as everBecky
Dear friendsA number of us came together to watch the first episode the "The Chosen" on Wednesday. This is the series that tells the story of Jesus through the encounters he had with ordinary people, in those 3 years of his ministry. Firstly, it is an incredibly well done production - authentic in location, choice of actors, sights and sounds. But more than this, it is eye opening. Without doubt poetic license has been used, and the creators put a disclaimer at the start of the episode, that the story should primarily be understood through the writing of the Gospel. Even so, The Chosen fills in the gaps. We see the back stories, the family dynamics, the view of typical family life in that time and place, the very real threat of Roman rule, of the tax demands ... and this is only episode one! What was remarkable for me, was that we only actually meet Jesus in the last few minutes. Everything else has been scene setting, everything else has been building up. We can see, as those who know the end of the story, how much the people need Jesus. We can see, as the observer, the life changing difference Jesus makes, and in this episode, it's to Mary Magdalene's life. And we were left wanting more - when are we going to see episode 2!!I wonder how much harder it is to translate this to our own lives. To the awareness that we need Jesus, to see the life changing difference Jesus makes to ordinary lives? Even when we know the end of the story!This Sunday is Christ the King and then we move to Advent - where we prepare ourselves again to kneel at the manger. This Sunday is also "Stir up Sunday", which of course is usually translated into the time to make Christmas puddings. However, in the original Book of Common Prayer, the collect prayer is "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord the wills of thy faithful people". This suggests this is a moment to seek God's action with us, even if this is uncomfortable. To turn again to the awareness of who Jesus is, whatever "King" means to you, in Him, to be aware of our need for him, and to be prepared to receive again the life changing difference Jesus can make - turning our ordinary lives into something extraordinary.You can watch "The Chosen" on You tube, and I really commend this to you. We will watch episode 2 in the new year together, if you would like to come along. Everyone is invited, as everyone is invited to receive the love of God, in Jesus Christ.Why not also come along on Sunday, to gather together, to learn together, and to worship together.With love in Christ the KingBecky
Dear friendsToday is St Martin's Day, when we remember a man who showed radical generosity and kindness. I’m sure many of you know the story far more than I do, that during his time as a Roman guard, Martin or Tours cut his cloak in two to provide warmth and protection for a beggar he came across while on duty. He therefore became the patron saint of beggars, wool-weavers and tailors (also because of his cloak), soldiers, geese (some say because they gave his hiding place away when he tried to avoid being chosen as bishop), and innkeepers. He was also renowned for having a servant heart, and offering hospitality from his meagre cell in the monastery even though he was a Bishop. On his death, he chose to be buried in the cemetery of the poor.What a remarkable legacy for us as a church, situated as we are in one of the more deprived parts of Bristol.I met with a couple in church today, to plan the funeral of their family member. We spoke about the years of storytelling that has happened in our church - the stories of the whole of life, from birth to death and beyond. We spoke about the years of prayer and worship that have taken place. I said that I felt the church knew itself to be the parish church, the church for the community, the gathering place for story, the place for the realities of life, the joys, suffering and sorrow, to be shared. They have never been in the church before, but they said they could tell it was a place of life, with the kitchen, the different areas within the space, the beautiful children's area ... and whilst they would not claim to be Christians, they said they could sense a peace within the four walls.Of course, the building is just the holding place within which we gather in order to be sent out into the world. If we are to follow St Martin's legacy today, we would, in our sending, be intentional about the ways we would reach out to others, to have servant hearts, to offer hospitality, to reflect the warmth, love, acceptance and generosity that we receive from God through the body of Christ to which we belong.There is so much going on in our beautiful church over the next few weeks, beginning this evening with a special service at 7pm, followed by cheese and wine. Everyone is invited. We also have special services for Remembrance on Sunday at 8.30am and 10.30am, and then next Wednesday is the opportunity to gather for curry and to watch the first episode of "The Chosen". These are all opportunities to gather in order to be sent, and it would be great to see you there.I invite you to consider St Martin's story and see what part of his legacy feels like an invitation to you. I would love to hear what you think!With every blessing as everBecky
Dear friends,We are in a pivotal moment in the church year, described as "between All Saints and the first Sunday of Advent". These are a lot of churchy words that simply speak to me of the breadth of the community that we are part of. All Saints is the festival that reminds us of those who have gone before us, which we also celebrated last Sunday with the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. It was very moving to gather and light so many candles in memory of those we have loved who have died. This with All Saints, and the reminder of the vast community of the faithful, sets our faith in a broad context which perhaps we need now more than ever. As I read recently, the season isn't "some saints" - and with that just celebrating the well-known, popular figures, Saints with a capital "S", of the past - but "<u>all"</u> saints, those unlikely, awkward individuals who were prepared to speak up and speak out even if this was unpopular. I think we need those saints now, in a time of our lives where there is uncertainty, fear, crisis, lack of confidence. We need those voices that speak about a love and power that is broad, full of meaning and purpose, that challenges the status quo. When Chris preached last weekend on All Saints she invited us to consider that we are all saints in waiting, or apprentice saints, and I wonder if this is a space we can inhabit in this in between time, as we approach Advent and then journey back to Bethlehem, back to the start of the story. How can we speak up and speak out against a narrative of fear? How can we challenge the status quo when we see there is injustice? How can we have the courage to ask the awkward questions?The Diocese is in the process of discerning and growing the new Diocesan strategy. The four values that will underpin who we are as a Church going forward are: openness, generosity, creativity and bravery. These feel like the characteristics of the saints that have gone before us and might even be the characteristics of those who have encouraged you in your own faith journey. They are certainly characteristics of who we will be hoping to be as a church community.I mentioned last week that we would particularly be invited to be generous, wherever we can, over the coming weeks. We will continue to give information, opportunities and links to those areas that most need support. Do please consider ways that you can give, either financially, with your time and effort, or with your prayer accompaniment. We continue to be that community of the faithful, who knows, who might even be saints to others.I look forward to seeing you at the various opportunities to gather over the coming days, to pray, learn, worship and grow together.With best wishesBecky
