Thought for the Week: Church Building – 28th August 2026In last Sunday’s Gospel reading we read in verse 18 Jesus’ declaration to the disciple Simon: “18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”.There was lots of good material to focus on in that Gospel reading, so I didn’t touch on that verse. Perhaps I should have done because it is an excellent reminder that the church is not ours, but belongs to Jesus himself. So, it is Jesus building His church, not us building our church. We can’t build a church, only Jesus can. When we think about building the church, we must acknowledge that our faith in Jesus Christ is the very foundation. In the Bible, Jesus tells us that He will build His church upon the rock, which is Peter’s acknowledgment of Christ’s identity. This signifies that as a community of believers; we stand firm on Jesus Christ as our cornerstone. Each of us plays a vital role, building not just any church, but a living, breathing organism that reflects Christ’s love and teachings. When we align ourselves with this foundation, we can weather the storms of life, grow deeper in our faith, and draw others into a relationship with God. Our unity and strength lie in this strong foundation. Together, we are called to be salt and light within our communities, extending God’s grace and truth to all around us.One of the joys and challenges of being church is that we have buildings, which we need as we face unsettled weather. It would really test our faith if we worshipped God in a torrential downpour or below zero temperatures. Indeed, I wonder how many of us would bother with worship if that was what we faced. Our church buildings are practical necessities, rather than objects to be worshipped in themselves. They would no longer be churches if they were empty, because it is people worshipping God within them built on centuries of faith filled believers that make them churches, rather than just church buildings.The Church that Jesus tells us He is building on Peter (the Greek word Petros means ‘rock’) is His Church, a community of believers who worship Him and live out the Christian faith in their community. That is what the Church is all about – our names and buildings facilitate this. Sadly, too many of us focus on the buildings themselves rather than the living, breathing, changing organism that is the Church of Jesus Christ.During August we have had the opportunity to be the ABC Church as we’ve gathered as one community worshipping God together each Sunday.Come Lord Jesus and build your church.Geoff.Vicar of the ABC Churches
Thought for the Week: Water on a thirsty landRachel – 21st August 2026For I will pour water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my spirit on your offspring And my blessing on your descendants Isaiah 44:3We’ve all been affected by the drought this summer, as lush grass turned to straw and dust, and plants that should do well in our climate shrivelled and died. Trees shed their fruit too soon in the struggle to survive. Crops were harvested early with half the usual yields. The very young and the very old suffered in the relentless heat, staying in their houses with the curtains closed against the fierce sun. And a couple of days ago, the rain came at last, and for once we are all delighted about it, savouring the freshness and the smell of wet earth.There are times of drought spiritually as well, when we feel that the heavens are brass and God can’t hear. The best we can manage is to stay in our churches, hang on to what we have, cling for dear life to the traditions and patterns that we feel safe with.In the Hebrides in the late 1940s two sisters, Peggy and Christine Smith, aged 84 and 82, one blind and the other crippled with arthritis, were so sad that no young people attended public worship at their church, that they began to pray about it, long hours on their knees. They were joined by others. They prayed that God would pour water on the thirsty and floods on the dry ground, and beginning with a trickle, in time a flood of people poured in to the church, moved by a power they couldn’t explain. People repented in the fields and byways, flocking to praise God and hungry to hear the Bible expounded. There was great joy and awe. The revival was intergenerational and people were drawn to attend church without being told to go.Could it be that we are at the end of a dry season? Get praying! Could God be preparing the hearts of people we know to encounter him? Get praying!It’s nearly a month ago now that Amy, Philip and myself, along with others in our Deanery, attended the Diocesan Conference at York University, entitled Called and Sent. One of our keynote speakers was Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster, who spoke about reaching those we currently don’t. She spoke prophetically about there being a river, a rising tide, the end of the dry season, bringing God’s lost sons and daughters home.A couple of weeks ago in the Newsletter there was a link to a piece of music that Epiphany, an ensemble of classical musicians, composed for our deanery, represented by Nick Morgan (area Dean), Amy Batchelor (our children, youth and families worker), myself and Philip Reid (Church Warden Holy Trinity and trainee LLM). One of the prophetic words that came out of this was about water. Our Deanery is bounded by rivers and has one running through the middle – but there are also wells, filling up with living water that people can drink from.Let’s be encouraged and seek God together. Rachel (LLM)
Thought for the Week: New Beginnings - 14th August 2026Two weeks ago, when I wrote the thought for the week, I focused on the visibility of God and our role in it. This week I ask you to look to the future as a new community of churches, as we prepare for a new pattern of services to meet the needs of our differing communities. It is important as we do this that we look outwardly as a church into the communities we serve, and I open with a passage from Philippians 3:13-14: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” As I reflected on this passage, I noticed how this encourages letting go of the past and moving forward with purpose and this for me was very much the message I want to convey in this letter.I remember very early on in my managerial career using the phrase ‘at … we did it like this’ and often hearing at other times (and probably saying it myself) ‘we’ve always done it this way’. Where would we be in the world if this was the status quo? No motor cars; no electricity; no internet. But more importantly, where would we be if that had been the approach Jesus had taken? Jesus was sent by God to change the world, Jesus came to change the world and Jesus changed the world. Why then do we resist change so much? I am as guilty as you, the reader. I want things to be as they always were. I like consistency, I like predictability, I like to know where I am. However, I know God wants me to do different, and so I face that difference head on. I may not like it, I may not want it and at times there may be fear and dread in my mind, but I truly believe that Jesus is with me on that road and is my ‘rod and staff’.From the beginning of September, we have a new pattern of worship for our community of churches (I am no longer referring to us as a group) aimed at ensuring that there is a service for everyone somewhere in one of our Communities. Each Sunday there will be at least one Holy Communion Service at 9am and 10.30am in one of our Churches, and Oasis will continue to rotate around the Churches as previously. There will also be a new communion service at St Paul’s, Colton on a monthly basis. St John’s, Acaster Selby will continue to host Evensong on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Holy Trinity, Acaster Malbis and All Saints, Appleton Roebuck will continue their shared lay-lead service on the second Sunday. And, of course, we must not forget our wonderful Messy Church which will continue as usual. I therefore commend you as our Church Family and our Church Community to support these services and build the Kingdom. AmenAlan (LLM)
Thought for the Week 7th August 2026ChangeI have written about this dirty word before … and probably will do again. I think we all struggle with change (me included – just ask my wife), but change is a natural part of life, which we often only notice when it is something which we hold dearly. Change takes place all around us all the time, our environment changes whether human-made or natural. There are constant cycles, yet we never return to exactly the same place. A very British example would be the weather – a major talking point! Are we ever happy with the weather? In church life though, we don’t like change. Most of us want everything to remain just as we are familiar with it being, but like our natural environment, that is simply can’t happen. Just in the last few months, all our churches have experienced some big changes. People we have known, and love have gone to glory. We find ourselves having to make changes because they are no longer about, but surprisingly we just accept such changes. Others have become ill or found other pressing commitments. Church communities rally round to meet those new needs. Change is inevitable and constant reality in life. Since integrating the AAAs into the ABCs in more formal way, although in a very loose way to allow for future flexibility, the ABC Churches Leadership Team (CLT) has had to make some changes to the pattern of worship. Sadly, these are necessary changes as we have less resources to enable us to maintain the pattern of worship in every church in the way that we have perhaps come to expect. It has been a long and costly process for the CLT, as we have wrestled in prayer and argued (in a very Christian way), over some of the proposals. Not everyone has agreed with every proposed change, mainly because it is painful to accept change especially to the churches with which we are most closely connected. Personally, I would have liked to maintain the existing patterns in each church, but that is simply not possible. It is important for all of us to remember that no change is ever permanent and, on that basis, your CLT will continue to listen, pray and even make further changes. God never changes in who he is; he only changes what he does in response to changed human circumstances - precisely because his justice and mercy are perfectly steady. The “change” is in our relation to him, not in his being. The Bible invites us to embrace change not as a threat, but as part of God’s loving, purposeful work - rooted in His unchanging faithfulness. We trust that God knows what he is doing - it would be a sorry state of affairs if we didn’t. So let us all trust God as we head into the future, following Jesus together.Blessings,Geoff
