Rev'd Karen - July 2022

The Vicar’s Light Reflections

Light Reflections… “Let your light shine…” (Matthew 5.16)

Light Reflections... “Let your light shine...” (Matthew 5.16)

We are now in what the Church Calendar calls ‘Ordinary Time’. This comes after Easter, Ascension and Pentecost, and is the time between Trinity Sunday and Christ the King, after which Advent begins. It’s, therefore, a significant length of time, approximately from June to the beginning of December. This is the time where the church continues to reflect on the person and work of Jesus Christ and how we as Christian’s and the Church live out our calling in the world; fulfilling the mission that Jesus has commissioned us with. Crucially it is a time of growth. As we see in the summer months our gardens are growing and flourishing; lawns always seem to need mowing, weeds pulled, summer bedding planted, fruits picked and vegetables gathered for our tables. We need both sun and rain, to shine and fall; to give plants all that they need, feeding and fertilizer keeps them healthy and helps them grow strong. Ordinary time in the church is the same, and it is no co-incidence that green is the liturgical colour for our churches during this time to reflect the theme of growth.

Growth comes in many guises. There is our spiritual growth, as we pray, worship, learn and spend time together as followers of Christ, we grow in our faith and discipleship; we grow closer to Jesus and to one another. As a church we may also see numerical growth; I am so encouraged that after the stunting time of Lockdown and Covid-19, our numbers of attendees at our Sunday services, and now our new Morning Prayer services and increasing Golden Opportunities have seen a steady growth in numbers; perhaps as people are now feeling more confident to come back into church. For the first time since 2019, our Social Events and Fundraisers have been able to happen, which has helped us grow and strengthen our communities.

Let us take this opportunity over the summer months to reflect on what growth means to us as individuals and as a United Benefice. Let us use this time to prepare the ground, after this summer’s crops are done and the harvest is brought in, to see where and what we are going to plant next season. What support do we need to do this? What tools are required? What vision do we have for the future of the Benefice and wider Church?

May our “Ordinary” time be one of “Extraordinary” vision and dreams and blessings, where God through His Spirit is working His purposes out. Yes, we need to do the groundwork, we need to make ourselves available for the job, but it is God who, through the Holy Spirit moving in us, brings about the growth in the Kingdom. As St Paul said to the church at Corinth, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.” (I Corinthians 3:6) May we plant, may we water and may God make His Church grow. Amen.

Blessings, Rev’d Karen

Christ Centered...Kingdom Focused