About Us

Letter from the Vicar

Dear friends,

 Recently I visited some churches in East Anglia which had beautifully carved angels in the beams of the roof - as well as plenty of gruesome demons lurking in the darker corners of the church. The "angel roofs" served as a visual reminder of heaven and were designed to be a focal point during religious services, to create a sense of awe and wonder for the congregation. They were also a display of wealth and craftsmanship that showcased the skill of medieval carpenters and woodcarvers. Angels are mentioned nearly 300 times in the Bible and appear in both the Old and New Testaments In the early days of the Christian church angels appeared on several significant occasions. It was an angel who moved the stone which had been placed in front of Jesus Christ’s tomb after his execution to stop the body being stolen. The same angel told two women who came to fetch the body that Jesus had risen from the dead. Later an angel appeared to one of Jesus’ followers, Philip, sending him to meet a senior Ethiopian official. Another angel appeared in a dream to a Roman centurion, Cornelius. And an angel miraculously helped another follower, Peter, to escape from prison. Over the centuries since then, many Christians have reported experiences that they can only explain as encounters with angels. The New Testament book, Hebrews, suggests that angels can and do intervene in people’s lives… ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.’

As for demons we might be tempted to dismiss them as a rather antiquated way of explaining things we can’t understand. But in the Bible demons consistently do three things. Firstly, they cause self-destructive behaviour in the person they are possessing. Secondly, they cause the person to feel trapped by their condition. And, finally, they separate that person from their family, friends and community. Sadly, there are many today suffering from mental illness, addictions and other habits which lead to self-destructive behaviour, and make people feel trapped, and often separated from family, friends, and community. Whatever our demons may be they leave us in need of healing. When Jesus exorcised demons, he demonstrated an authority through his spoken word that other exorcists did not have. This authority is why the people were continually amazed.

In his letter to the Romans St Paul wrote “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

People have different beliefs about the nature of evil but the church has always encouraged us to follow Jesus’ example, that is to use good to overcome all that is evil. There’s an old story about the Eskimo who had two dogs, one white and one black. Every Saturday he would enter them in a race where people bet on who would win. Sometimes the white dog won and sometimes the black dog won, but the Eskimo won every time! Someone asked him “How do you know which one will win”? The Eskimo said, “The one who wins is the one I feed during the week.” Every day we have an ethical battle on our hands between good impulses and evil impulses. The impulse that we feed will be the one who will win.

Rev’d Brenda