Thought for the Week from Rachel Reid, LLM – 22nd June 2026God is on the moveRemember back in 2010? There was a lot of hostility to the church. The New Atheists like Richard Dawkins got a lot of airtime. He wrote books such as The God Delusion and Outgrowing God. Religion, according to Dawkins, fuels war, aids and abets bigotry and abuses children. He lined up arguments which “proved” the improbability of an omniscient, omnipotent, eternal God who created everything. Newspapers were happily predicting that the Church of England would have ceased to exist by 2030. (Hello!) Even the powers that be in the Anglican church were advising that we needed to “manage decline well”. Christians were opposed and othered. But often you must walk through the wilderness to get to the promised land. Something is shifting. The Zeitgeist is changing. There is a sovereign move of God, quiet but slowly gathering momentum, especially among young people. They are coming to church having read the Bible for themselves and wanting to know more. Like the young Samuel in the Temple when Eli was High Priest, they are hearing a Voice, beautiful and utterly compelling, that says their name. If you want to know more about this and you’ve got 25 minutes, watch this short documentary on You Tube on the Awakening in the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDB33nIQtqE Sarah Jackson from Holy Trinity Brompton talks about investing in young leaders because God is really doing something in Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012). There is an openness to the Gospel among them. They are praying for their parents to know Jesus and his transforming, burning, world changing love. Sarah comments that we don’t need to plan to grow upward in age and inward in focus. This will happen naturally, without doing anything at all. We only go the opposite way by intentionally focussing on young people. At the beginning of the year, we appointed Amy to be our Children, Youth and Families worker, and she has been building up teams, making relationships in the villages and reaching out to families. A follow up group for young people that are too old for Messy Church is being considered and pondered and planned. If you don’t already know, Messy is a monthly meeting of 50-60 children of mainly primary school age and their families. They come to learn about Jesus through crafts, story and song, and enjoy a hot meal together at the end.Friends, there is one story that leads to life. Let’s tell the story. Let’s tell people about what God has done in our lives. The Hope of the Nations is in Jesus. The emerging generation needs to know the name of Jesus isn’t just a swear-word. If you feel led to offer to help Amy and her team, see the contact details and advert for Little Fish below!Rachel (LLM) Pray for…· All of our seven churches to grow closer as we learn to love Jesus more· Our lovely Vicar Geoff, that he might be encouraged this week in his work for our churches and communities· Amy and her team as they continue to develop a focus on growing younger· More workers to enter the harvest field and tell Christ’s storyGive thanks for …· The renewed interest in faith among young people · All those who work in the background to keep our churches running beautifullyHolidays and summertime
Thought for the week from Alan Johnston Licensed Lay Minister 17th June 2026 Following JesusThis month's Oasis theme is Following Jesus and last Sunday Ian Cartwright brought us the message. The reading that Ian used was John 14: 1-17 and as the reading was delivered verse 12 jumped out at me ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father’ (John 14:12). Following Jesus has with it an expectation, an expectation that we will be active and participate in being a Christian. Christianity is a participation sport, not a spectator sport. Jesus expects us to continue his work on earth, not because we have to, but because we want to. So what does this mean for those of us living in our parishes? Of course the first thing that springs to mind is the Great Commission. Go and make disciples of all men. Actually though, when you think about it more deeply there are many acts that we should be concerned with, which are equally aligned with Jesus’ message. This includes loving one another, supporting one another and accepting one another. In last week's newsletter I focused on God's love, thinking about the simple fact that God loves us, despite who we are. God loves us despite the differences we may have with each other. God loves us even though as individuals we may approach Christianity in different ways. I was reading an article recently that focused on the growth in the Anglican church within Africa. One of the key elements of the article was to suggest that the Anglican church in Africa is more conservative and traditional than the UK Anglican church in how they interpret Christianity. There was the suggestion that the Anglican church in the UK was now more progressive. That in itself made me think on the question that came to mind around the thought that should churches all be the same? For me the simple answer is no. We need different services to meet people's different needs. With that in mind I reflected on the seven churches we now have across our plurality and the offer we provide, an offer built on meeting different needs. There is no one best way, no one correct way. However Jesus should be at the centre of all our services regardless of how we “do church”.I ask you, therefore, to be conscious of others, and their preferences, accepting each other in the love of God, as we follow Jesus together.Pray for …Our ever closeness in our Churches and the villages we serve (Acaster Malbis, Appleton Roebuck, Acaster Selby, Askham Bryan, Bolton Percy, Colton, Copmanthorpe).The Reverend Geoff Mumford, and the work he undertakes across the communities.Our Churches Leadership Team and individual PCCs as they guide us forward in our mission.Give thanks for …The continued commitment of our church communities.Our volunteers who were admitted into the Office of Churchwarden this week.
Thought for the Week from Alan Johnston, CW & LLM 10th June 2026.God’s loveMany of you will know that we the Licensed Lay Minister (LLM) group (myself, Daniel and Rachel) were away at Wydale (the Diocesan Conference Centre) last weekend on further ministerial development. I had hoped that during the weekend I would get some inspiration for this week's Thought. And sure enough as we sat there during the first session on Friday evening it hit me, that this week I should write around the topic ‘God is love’. Then on Saturday, I had a further inspirational thought come clear in my mind based around the term collaborative ministry. It was clear I needed to write on that topic instead. Then lo and behold on Sunday morning the word “normal” jumped out and hit me with a power.So I had three terms or ideas to write about, to reflect on and to think about which was the most important to write about in this week's message. After giving this a bit of thought over the last couple of days I realised it wasn't three different ideas, it was one clear message the God was telling me to reflect on. That message, which I believe I am asked to convey to you this week, is that God loves you. Not that God loves you because of what you do, but God loves you. Full Stop. No ifs, no buts, no conditions. God loves you for the person you are, as well as the person he knows you can be.Being around my fellow LLM group, it always amazes me how different we are, how we all come from different backgrounds and we have all experienced life in different ways, yet we come together as a community of Christ’s children with the same passion for being more Christlike. Every one of us acknowledges that we are not worthy, yet each of us is steadfast in that shared belief that we are loved by God as individuals, regardless of the past.It therefore struck me, that these three key inspirational concepts were given to me in isolation to think about and reflect upon, while at the same time bringing me to understand the connections and connectedness of God's love. Therefore, I ask you to receive that love that is offered to you, by grace, and to be thankful we have such a loving God who gave his son that we might have eternal life. We as individuals may not fit the secular perception of a ‘perfect’ person, but we should be reassured by turning our gaze towards Jesus and reflect on the clear message of God’s love. I ask, who is normal, what is “normal”. We are all unique, as people, as Christians. God made us unique as such we do not need to conform to a societal perception. In that way the only normality is difference.‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are’ 1 John 3:1At the same time we have a clear purpose, to show Christ to the world and spread that love. We have a collaborative ministry to share that love together and to share it with the world around us. At the end of most services we say the words ‘Go in peace to serve the Lord’, so with one final request I beseech you – Go in peace and love to serve the Lord. AmenAlan.Pray for …A growing closeness of our Churches and the villages we serve (Acaster Malbis, Appleton Roebuck, Acaster Selby, Askham Bryan, Bolton Percy, Colton, Copmanthorpe) and all that God has in store for us, moving forward together.Christians in our communities and around the world engaged in continuing the work of Jesus, however big or small the deed.Our Churches Leadership Team and individual PCCs as they guide us forward in our missionGive thanks for …The continued commitment of our church communitiesThe work of our Children, Youth and Families worker, Amy, and the work she is doing, and those in the individual groups who volunteer and support herThe Reverand Geoff Mumford, for his faith, commitment and tireless efforts to support the demands of our individual churches and communities
Thought for the week – from Alan Johnston LLM – 3rd June 2026.Christian symbolismSitting in church recently I started looking around the building and couldn't help but notice the volume of symbolic items that surrounded me. As I looked, I stopped and considered the purpose, value and intentions of the symbols we see all the time but perhaps take for granted, or perhaps do not give too much thought to.As a starting point I looked at the building I was in and realised that in many cases, the building is the representation of the church for many in society. Now don't let me confuse you, that is not to say the building is the church but rather for many it is the initial manifestation of the church. I reflected back on that moment in my journey as a Christian, back to Preston in 1990, when I looked up at that bright red illuminated cross that was on top of Emmanuel church and uttered the words “OK, Jesus, if you exist, prove it?”At the time, that building and that cross, symbolised Jesus for me. Thirty-six years on, I have come to know Jesus more deeply and personally, than I had considered possible that evening, but my reflections made me think about how important symbols are in how we view our world and our faith. It made me think about what is important and why! I suppose, I see the symbols through two lenses: [1] a feature for me to focus on – the cross and the communion table as examples which provide a focal point in my life and worship, and [2] a means of displaying my faith. Many Christians wear a cross, a badge or a bracelet as a means of displaying their faith.However symbolism is not just physical tangible artifacts, they are also evident in acts, the things we do and say, the love and support we show. These are symbolic of our faith and give us the opportunity to be more like Jesus. As such we are a symbol of the church! We are the reflection of Christ that people see, and I ask what do we reflect? What do we symbolise? So my brothers and sisters I ask you to think of yourself as a symbol of Christ, a reflection to the world and that we all live our lives accordingly. AmenAlan.Pray for …A growing closeness of our Churches and the villages we serve (Acaster Malbis, Appleton Roebuck, Acaster Selby, Askham Bryan, Bolton Percy, Colton, Copmanthorpe) and all that God has in store for us, moving forward together.Christians in our communities and around the world engaged in continuing the work of Jesus, however big or small the deed.Our Licensed Lay Ministers as they continue their development at Wydale this weekendGive thanks for …The commitment of our brothers and sisters in ChristThe opportunities we have to meet across our parishes throughout the week, to engage in worship and share our Christian lives.The Reverend Geoff Mumford, for his faith, commitment and tireless efforts to support the demands of our individual churches and communities
