From Rev'd Louise

Monthly reflection

November 2026 Being prepared

As I look around the vicarage garden, it is full of preparation for difficult times ahead. Trees dropping their leaves, squirrels burying food, many plants dying back and, as our wildlife camera shows us nightly, at least three hedgehogs urgently feeding up before hibernation. The natural world is preparing to survive the rigours of winter. And on our news not long ago, we have had government advice urging us to prepare for potential hardships caused by cyber attacks or the climate emergency.

Scientists and politicians seem to speak of two strands of preparing for the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises. Politicians seem to focus on how we might be able to ‘become more resilient’ to some of the effects. While for at least four decades, scientists have been urging us to take steps to reduce the risks by lowering the emissions that are causing global warming, as their research shows consistently that the consequences of ‘life as usual’ are potentially unsurvivable. Yet although most of us know we need to make changes, many of us struggle to do so.

Historically Christianity has taught many, and conflicting, views about being prepared for what the future may bring. Bible passages such as Jesus’ words about ‘do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear’ (Matthew chapter 6, verses 25ff) have been used to justify a ‘God will take care of it all’ attitude which negates human responsibility. Some strands of spirituality foster an attitude of ‘just appreciate the present moment,’ which can be used to promote a similar disregard for the impact our actions have on others. Yet throughout Christian history, running through all of Christian teaching has remained Jesus’ key commandment to ‘love our neighbours as ourselves,’ together with parables such as the Good Samaritan, teaching us that however broad our concept of ‘neighbour’ is, God calls on us to broaden it further.

Whether or not we include our non-human neighbours in our personal definition of ‘neighbour,’ all the major Christian aid agencies and charities identify the climate emergency as a major cause of poverty world-wide, currently undoing decades of progress to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. For me, all of these statistics are important, but what is far more important is that I believe our call to love our neighbour means, in essence, seeking to live kindly, and only taking what we need, or what we can take without causing harm to any.

So for me the big steps are important; looking at what I eat, reducing my energy use, changing my energy supplier, looking carefully at how I use my money. But for me the little steps are important too: ensuring all left over food is eaten not thrown away, trying not to buy things I don’t need, wearing clothes and using appliances until they wear out, crushing tins and cutting plastic rings to ensure they don’t harm wildlife, moving snails and slugs off paths so they don’t get trodden on, and so on. My guiding principle, which grows out of my Christian faith, is to seek to try to live kindly and to tread lightly through this life.

My prayer for us all this month is very simple; it is that we would all seek to do more good, and seek to avoid doing harm.

If you would like to sign up to receive a weekly reflection, or to receive the regular newsletters from churches and Christian groups across Hope Valley, please go to https://mailchi.mp/2c07821b33f6/sign-up-for-ponder-and-pray or https://mailchi.mp/cbb9a512a36e/hope-valley-christians-newsletter or email me on [email protected] and I can sign you up.

October 2026 People's Emergency Briefing

I wonder how many of us have hopes or dreams for the future, for ourselves, or our children, or for the world? I know I do. And I wonder how many of us think about those hopes and dreams as we go about our daily life? If you’re like me, sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. And I wonder how many of us know, or worry, about what the future might be like for ourselves, for our children, for our world?

In 2025, citizens from across the UK were randomly chosen to join politicians, and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media, to learn more about the global climate and nature crises. At the end of November 2025, they gathered in Westminster to hear from leading experts in fields such as extreme weather, food security, health, national security, finance and economics, and energy. As a result, a 50 minute film, the People’s Emergency Briefing, was developed to help ordinary people better understand the global issues we face. The film includes short clips from range of experts (the full length presentations can be seen on Youtube), together with responses from the ordinary citizens who took part in the Westminster event.

As of July 2026, there have been over 2000 showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing film at community centres and workplaces across the nation, with 87% of those who have seen the film reporting that they felt more motivated to act. More showings are being registered every day. Anyone who wants to show the film is given a comprehensive toolkit covering every aspect of organising a showing of the film and running a post-film discussion. Those who took part in the National Emergency Briefing in Westminster are calling for everyone over 16 to see the film, and calling for a government prime-time television response to the emergency, with more MPs joining that call every day.

Many Christian churches – together with other faith groups - are among the groups organising showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing film, in accordance with the Christian teaching that Christians are called by God to do all that they can to improve well-being and prevent harm for all, both now and in the future. The Church of England defines protection and care for the planet that is essential for our existence and for our well-being as one of the defining characteristics of living out Christian faith, of being a church.

I have been to one of the local showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing, and I am very impressed by the impact it clearly has on people. There are many more showings coming up locally, and my prayer for us all is that even if we do nothing else to care for our neighbour of today, and our neighbour of tomorrow, we would all view this film.

September 2026 Moving on

This month our three churches of Hope, Castleton and Bradwell say goodbye to our curate, Rev’d Lisa Price, who has been with us for the last two years. Rev’d Lisa has completed her curacy with us, a training post, and is moving on to a new post in Andover. Whilst we share Rev’d Lisa’s excitement at this next step in her ministry, we are aware of how much she has blessed us in her time with us, and how much we will miss her.

As I reflected on Rev’d Lisa moving on, I found myself reflecting too that the Christian Church has always been a ‘church on the move.’ Jesus himself was a wandering rabbi travelling, as rabbis in his time did, from place to place talking to people about God, and God’s love for all. Much of the New Testament describes how the early Christian faith was spread after Jesus’ death and resurrection, by believers who travelled all around the then known world, taking with them the accounts of Jesus’ life and death. And throughout Christian history, there have always been missionaries of various kinds; people who take the good news of God’s love, as taught by Jesus, to new people and new places.

Many of us, of course, will be ‘rooted’ in one geographical location, if not for a lifetime then certainly for a while. Christianity teaches that even for those who do not travel geographically, the Christian Church is still called to be a ‘church on the move.’ The work of a missionary – the work to make Jesus known to new people - is the calling of every Christian, and it is something that can always happen, wherever we are, however long we are there for.

As Rev’d Lisa moves to her new position, she will take with her something of her ministry in this place, and she will leave behind something of how she has blessed us. Rev’d Lisa’s ministry has grown and changed in her time with us, and we have also grown and been changed by her time with us, as we have shared our experiences of faith together. My prayer for us all is that, even as Rev’d Lisa leaves us, we will continue to be a ‘church on the move;’ a set of churches committed to sharing the wonderful news of God’s great love for all, with all of our communities around us. And I pray that we will be continually aware of God at work in us, helping us to discover new ways of making God’s love visible to all, and especially to those who have not yet discovered for themselves God’s love for them.