A letter from Revd Charles Dale, one of our Area ministers. April 2021Time seems to have flown by since the last letter I wrote in July last year bang in the middle of Lockdown 2, with the hope of coming through that period and getting back to normal and here we are in Lockdown 3.! I think it is more important than ever to ask of oneself ‘how am I really coping and getting on both physically and mentally?’ Life certainly isn’t the same and we’ve gone through such a lot of changes since then and we have to get used to the new way of being and doing and adapting to a new norm. Thankfully for me, what hasn’t changed is my faith and trust in God, times of waiting on him and persevering in prayer and praise; enjoying the natural world around me (although Kingstone woods has been a tad muddy over the winter months!) and the love of my close family. These things comfort my soul. But you might expect that of me! However, I have found these times as challenging as anyone else, with lots of wilderness times.It has helped for me to reflect on Jesus and of his wilderness experience; of how he felt and what was going through his mind as he negotiated that time in a barren landscape, famished and full of the temptations of earthly life. This, after he had received that wonderful affirmation from God at his baptism as the Spirit descended on him as he came out of the waters to start his earthly ministry. Rather though, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness! I’m sure that experience was not what he was really expecting. Even more so as he entered what we now call Holy Week and the dark and tragic events that led to his cruel death on the cross. The events of the last twelve months weren’t what we were expecting either, with its restrictions and bereavements of all kinds.You may feel you are in a wilderness place as you negotiate the do’s and don’ts of Lockdown and the consequences of the pandemic; lamenting the days gone by and of untold personal hardships in your life. What are the things that have kept you going? What brings you comfort?As well as dry barrenness, wildernesses can though be places of development and growth. Much of the Bible and its times involve desert experiences with times, yes of testing and waiting on the Lord, but also of discovery and blossoming. The people of Israel wandered for 40 formative years, but they eventually crossed over into the Promised Land. Jesus had 40 days of testing and formation after which, as St Luke writes, ‘the power of the Holy Spirit was with him’, just as he was at the baptism. Jesus was strengthened and enabled for his ministry through these experiences, but throughout often went to out of the way places to pray, to continue to be refreshed by God, his Father.I take heart in the fact that, for Jesus, the wilderness and the dark tragic time of Holy Week culminated in something more glorious. That glory can be yours too, whatever you have personally lamented in these past times.Easter is a time when we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death, promising new life and hope for those who trust in him.One of the churches canticles is called ‘The Song of the Wilderness’. It’s set as an Advent song of praise, but I think is really appropriate for our times and of the promise of hope that is Easter. Its starts like this:‘The wilderness and dry land shall rejoice; the desert shall blossom and burst into song. They shall see the glory of the Lord; the majesty of our God.’On Easter Day, Mary stood weeping at the tomb, but Mary’s tears of sadness soon became tears of joy. To her was revealed the glory of the risen Lord. Whatever you have lamented and mourned these last twelve months, may your tears of sadness turn into tears of joy; may you too know the comfort and glory of the risen Lord.There are better times coming and we will be together again; times when your own wilderness and dry land shall rejoice and your desert blossom and burst into song. As you journey on may you be comforted and strengthened in the song: ‘Alleluia, Christ is risen.’ May your response be: ‘He is Risen indeed, Alleluia.’Blessings and peaceCharles
Dear friends,I began this letter sitting at dad’s house waiting for the gas man to come and repair dad’s boiler, no heating but plenty of hot water. Thankfully dad is in St Marys Mount at the moment and enjoying every minute. My thoughts drifted to where we are as a world at this moment. We have to stay at home, keep our distance and wash hands. Unfortunately this means contact with our communities is very limited. The few people we come into contact with, either by phone or electronic media, are absolutely delighted that we have bothered to contact them. As a member of the clergy team I am conscious of the restricted pastoral care we can give to our community, often when they are in dire need of it. Time on the phone or social media do not seem the same as a face to face conversation, it always seems to be lacking something. The same applies to our worship, I know that Members of the team do a sterling job creating online worship for our area congregations, even farther afield. Distant worship, distant learning and distant pastoral care, our contact with others becomes more remote. I sometimes feel we are all turning into a modern Robinson Crusoe cut off from the world and all alone.Our thoughts are concentrated on the future, when will this pandemic end, when will I be free to go out and mix with family and friends and when will we back to normal?For many there will be a time when, although free to come and go as you choose, the spectre of the virus and fear of contagion will be always there, hovering in the background. Some will experience a time of new beginning building up new friendships and contacts. All of us in some way will have to build up our lives virtually (the pun is intended) from scratch. How that will shape our lives and communities we do not know. Can we carry on as before the pandemic? In some ways we as a church will be like the original disciples setting out to build the new church that Jesus empowered them to do. In a way we will be sharing the same questions as those disciples. What do we do? How do we do it? Should we do it this way or that way? Do we have enough people and resources to continue? Have people’s expectations or approach to worship changed, especially after experiencing different styles of worship on line. Have we as Christians changed inside after lockdown or self-isolation or shielding?As I said to the congregation at Marchington, at the end of my only service this year, be of good heart, God will see us through. As followers of Jesus we are used to having to wait on the Lord and this isolation should be treated as a time of waiting and a time of prayer that will reinforce our own inner belief in God and a time to prepare us to for the time we can gather again to worship and minister fully to all God’s people.All God’s blessings.Chris..
I wonder how many of you were interested in the poll for the best ever Christmas movie (won by the 1946 film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’); well in 5th place was that 2003 rom-com ’Love Actually’. Even though I watched a few films over the Christmas period I didn’t see it listed on TV this year!! We did watch ‘Notting Hill’ again but I digress. It may seem odd to be harking back to December but, as has been said before, Christmas builds up for months prior to the day, then disappears almost entirely 2 days after, yet we are still in the ‘Christmas’ period until Candlemas - 2nd Feb. Shops and supermarkets keep us looking forward to the next big event/s (with Easter eggs already on display); and tucked away among the cards we glimpse images of hearts and flowers as Valentine’s Day looms large on the horizon. Yes, it’s time to start planning the perfect surprise for that special person in your life…. only we are in lock down again! Anyway, it got me thinking about Valentine; who was he, and why do we associate him with love – and a love that is sometimes shrouded in secrecy?Well, it appears there were 3 potential candidates for the honour and it wasn’t until the 3rd century that St. Valentine’s Day was declared in memory of a priest of Rome who was martyred. Legend suggests it all stems back to the time of Emperor Claudius, during the period when Christians were being persecuted, and who made a decree forbidding soldiers to marry – his logic being that married men would not fight so well if they were thinking about their wives! Valentine felt this was unjust so he defied the emperor and conducted marriages for young couples in secret. Eventually he was found out, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Legend also says that during his imprisonment he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “From Your Valentine”. Probably, though, the most plausible story surrounding St Valentine is one not focused on eros (passionate love) but on agape (love of God): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.We certainly are living in somewhat dark days, both metaphorically and physically; and love can sometimes seem to be in short supply as we find ourselves limited to what we can do and those who we cannot meet. It was into such times of turmoil that God’s amazing love was revealed in human form in the birth of Jesus, and 40 days later when the baby Jesus was presented in the temple that Simeon declared that “his eyes had seen God’s salvation, a light to enlighten all people.” Then, as now, people felt lost and lonely with no-one to help them; and Jesus still comes with a message of help and comfort, a guiding light to all in darkness. Thankfully, that message is still heard today and is responded to through acts of kindness and concern. As we anticipate Valentine’s Day and continue our Thursday evening applause for heroes, we are reminded that ‘God’s Love, actually, is all around.’John
