Ministers February 2020 Message
Dear Friends,
On the final Sunday of 2019, I referred to the song ‘So, this is Christmas’ by written by Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1971. The song like the other Lennon song “Imagine” was a protest song against war and terror but it was also a song of hope which asked people a vital question “What have you done?”
“So, this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun”
“What have you done?” is a question many ask, as one year closes and a new one begins. The closing days of 2019 testified to this as the media focused on that question and, as a result, showed articles and TV programmes listing things like the top ten greatest moments in sport, the top ten news stories, and all kinds of similar things looking back and giving people the opportunity to review what they had done in the past year.
So what did you do in 2019? Maybe it was a year of milestones. Maybe you moved on to the next stage of life. Maybe you got married or maybe you welcomed a child or grandchild into the world. Or maybe 2019 would best be described as a little more of the same – you worked in the same job, lived in the same house and had many of the same kinds of experiences as in previous years and, while it might not have been the most exciting year of your life, it was certainly an ongoing and blessed time. Or maybe 2019 was a hard year. Maybe it was the year a loved one died, a year of family conflict, the year when you made some bad decisions. Maybe it was a year you’d like to forget!
No one yet knows what will happen or what they will do in the remaining eleven months of 2020 but no matter what happens, in good times and bad, perhaps we might all travel with this reminder: that while the days ahead may sometimes be challenging, the love of God in Jesus Christ will offer us healing when we hurt, strength in every struggle, the delight of new discoveries, the peace that passes understanding, the hope that lifts spirit and the faith that inspires. The love of God in Jesus Christ will lead us on the way, on the paths we follow, the causes we embrace, the joys we celebrate, the experiences we have, the truths we tell, the church we create and bring us closer to the meaning of all our tomorrows.
In 2020, so may the words of the ancient 3500 year old but ever young Aaronic blessing surround you and “The Lord bless and keep you! The Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”
Yours,
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