THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – Vicar Geoff – 3rd July 2026Do not conform ... but be transformedOur ABC Churches verse for the year contains two diametrically opposed words. Conform and transform, and I want to pick up on these opposites this week.In recent years we have seen an increase in the number of people not wanting to conform with the expected societal norms. We have seen growing unrest with the political leadership in our nation, and not just our current government. We have even seen it in the Church of England as small but increasingly vocal groups have rejected the direction that the leadership of the Church of England has taken. I myself find frustration in the seemingly increasingly top heavy bureaucracy that appears across all aspects of society.The Apostle Paul encourages us not to conform, which fits with followers of Jesus being a light not hidden and that sprinkling of salt that makes a huge difference. We are not to blend in with our surroundings, hiding under a bushel or be absent from society bringing the true flavours of the goodness of God to the fore. Instead we are to make our voices known, to stick our heads above the parapet and be willing to make ourselves unpopular standing up for Jesus. We are called to live as He lived and not to be concerned with what people think about us. We are simply not meant to blend in, but stick out like sore thumbs.Of course, that is easier to say than do, but actually if we are to be agents of God's love in the world, we cannot bend scripture to fit our purposes or change what the church stands for in order to blend in with society. God is God and we are to reflect His life, love and purposes, which are unchanging,So this is really a call, not to conform but to stand out so that we can transform the community, nation and world around us. That is not going to be easy, but Jesus never said following Him would be.Blessings,VicarGeoff
Saturday 18th July 2026 13:00 to 15:30 at St Mary's, Boston Spa. Dear friends, As discussed at our May Deanery Synod meeting, we are holding an afternoon to focus on Becoming More Like Christ as a deanery. This is open to anyone in our deanery's churches who wishes to contribute and be part of our prayerful discernment. We will begin with a short act of worship at 1pm, followed by a time of sharing, discussion and prayer. The focus of this is the first aspect of our Living Christ's Story vision - Becoming more like Christ. How are our church communities already doing this? Where might the gaps be at present? What support might we need to fill those gaps, and how might we work together better to live Christ's story? We will be using the Rhythm of Life materials as the starting point to ask ourselves the following questions to give us an overview of the ways God is at work and how he might be calling us.I hope you can make it to this opportunity to worship and pray together (the most important aspect!) and to learn from one another as we seek to support one another in building God's Kingdom in our wonderful communities.Yours in Christ, NickThe Rev'd Nick Morgan
