My dear Friends,It probably has been so before, but reading aloud the gospel which speaks of Jesus' final days as I did on Palm Sunday to those who were there, felt an uncomfortably contemporary thing to do.It all seemed very real and immediate. Strained relationships between friends, power struggles that sought to silence someone who was offering an alternative to the party line, betrayal by someone who was trusted, feeling out of control as the power of the state kicked in, friends helpless to intervene as the inevitable suffering and death of a loved one takes place before their eyes..... The horror of the story. Jesus, a man we think of preaching love and forgiveness, healing the sick and embracing the outcast. A man of compelling presence who helped make God more real and immediate for others, slaughtered, silenced, suffocated, scourged, nailed to an instrument of torture and killed.It was not easy to carry on reading on Sunday, it was tempting just to stop, for the events seemed not to be happening 2,000 years ago in another land, but in the here and now of our existences.Perhaps it is because you and I witness so much suffering, pain, disappointment, persecution, fear, injustice, horror and cruelty on the news on television that superimposing the suffering of Jesus onto such landscapes seems almost unbearable as we register, this time of year more than any other, the reality of what some members of the human family did to one we believe to be our creator, indeed the reality of what some members of the human family continue to do to His creatures and His creation.Which is why you and I need not just to prayerfully connect the suffering of Jesus 2,000 years ago with the suffering of so many now in 2025, but also to be present on Easter Day as the Paschal Candle is lit and raised in church, a symbol of life triumphing over death, light over darkness, love over hate. To hear the Resurrection Gospel proclaimed which makes real to us now the energy of renewal and regeneration which began in such an unpromising place in 1st century Palestine and which still infects creation with its breath of new life.If Jesus connected with the cruelty and suffering experienced by people from His cross 2,000 years ago, so too we can connect with the transformation He offers us from His empty tomb.May that energy of new life be real to us in a new way this Easter; may it fuel our prayers as we focus our thoughts on those who continue to struggle in this world; may He breathe new possibilities into the world order and dis-order, that fresh possibilities come into being between divided nations and may our broken, frightened and fragmented world know greater healing, unity and reconciliation as we move forward, praying that it may be into His future for a humanity He cares about and loves.Please join us at St Mary's as we celebrate Jesus` saving acts over the coming days.With blessings and best wishes,Jeff
‘Sunday @ 6 pm’ - Concerts in 2025Events start at 6:00pm and last one hourMarch 23 - Organ Recital by Christopher HerrickIncludes works by Mendelssohn, Parry and the World Premiere of ‘Off the Ground’ by Iain FarringtonApril 6 - Marble Hill SingersA sequence of music and readings for PassiontideMay 18 - Piano Recital by David GoodeTo include music by Bach, Schubert and RachmaninovJune 29 - Marble Hill SingersDances and Dreams: music on the light sideJuly 6 - Hymns and PimmsFavourite hymnody, hosted by the vicarAugust 31- Piano Recital Patrick TateMusic by Mozart, Chopin, Debussy and RachmaninovSeptember 14 - Piano Recital Philip LangeTo include music by Soler, Schubert and ChopinOctober 12 - St Mary's Very Own SingersLove’s Old Sweet SongNovember 16 - Howells SingersIn Praise of MusicNovember 30 - Advent Carol ServiceWith the Marble Hill Singers
My dear Friends, As we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birth and then embark upon a new year, I have asked the One whose birth we celebrate to write to you instead of me. So, wishing you well and hoping to see you over the coming days.Blessings galore,Jeff***To the people of Twickenham,Soon you will be gathering in my churches, gathering around the memory of my birth 2,000 years ago. Some will gather because they were persuaded by friends; others because they always come; some will go for the first time, wondering what it's all about and how it can possibly relate to the lives they lead. Some have spent years getting to know me, speaking with me, confiding in me, asking me questions, favours of me..........Some have never dared to lift their eyes to me in prayer, not aware that I have looked at them, noticed them, cared for them, since they were in their mother's womb.If people did but know that it is not just at Christmas that they can celebrate my birth, I their creator am with them always, longing that they live their lives in connection, in communion with me. I long to make such a difference to their lives. As once I intervened in the lives of the poor, the sick, the friendless, the rejected, the despised, I long to speak into their souls now and fill their minds with the white hot flames of my spirit, to ignite there a vision, a willingness, a desire to change the world for good. To challenge injustice, to speak for those whose voices have been quenched, to protect those who are subject to other people`s desires, deprived of freedom and dignity.The thing which hurts me the most, the thing which pierces me with pain and scars my heart is when people think that I do not care, that I am not there, in the pain and suffering, chaos and confusion, injuries and injustices of life. Where else would I be? It is no accident that I chose the cross as the abiding image of who I am. I am with those in war zones, in the homes where loved ones have died, in hospital wards where people fight for their lives, with doctors and nurses who fight on their behalf. I am with politicians as they deliberate, decide on courses of action which will affect not just this generation, but generations to come. I am with women as they give birth, men as they breathe their last, children as they question whether they are loved or even lovable. Even if such people do not know that I am there and are not open to the influence and the inspiration of my love. And I am with you too, each one of you who reads these words. If I am not real to speak to you, then I am not real at all and have never spoken with anyone. But I am real, my love for you is real, my commitment to you is real and so is my presence in your life. Whether you believe in me or not, I believe in you, in your immeasurable worth, in your complex wonder, with your scars, sins and inconsistencies, with you in your doubting and your questioning and in your infinite possibilities.Christmas is a time for the giving of presents, is it not? Well, mine to you is this, the gift of myself, unconditionally. I offer you my forgiveness, my compassion, my understanding, my acceptance. I offer you my healing, my peace and my love. I ask for nothing in return but please know that I, who once turned a few loaves and fishes into a feast for thousands can take even the smallest offering you may make me, and transform it into wonders. Even the smallest gift of a part of yourselves will be precious to me and I will treasure it as though it were the most extravagant and exquisite gift in all creation.So may this Christmas be a turning point, for the world and for you and me. For I am your God, the one who caused you to be. I am your creator who longs for you to be creative in your living and in your loving, in your relating and in your serving, and I promise you this my friend: You and I shall walk into the new year together.With the blessings of my love,Emmanuel.***Image - Detail from Christ Icon, 6th Cemtury AD, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
