Sharing some thoughts

Today in our Church calendar we move into the season of advent –  T he first Sunday in advent is traditionally new years ’ day in the life of the Church,  and we begin to look forward again to the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  Like any new year, advent is a time of reflection  – it’s a time of looking back perhaps,  but a dvent is  primarily  about looking forward, perhaps to the nightmare of Christmas shopping, if you haven’t already done it, perhaps to the joys of spending time with family, the Christmas parties… perhaps even to new year, Christmas being over, and the chance to start again – to make and try and keep those resolutions once again !  But the looking forward in advent could be much longer term than any of those things, because in advent we look forward to the promised return of Jesus, and on this first Sunday in advent one of the themes of the day is ‘Hope’.  In the current economic state  many  peo...

from Helen May I speak in the Name of God: father, son and Holy  Spirit.Amen Today we celebrate the end of the kingdom season as we approach advent. This Sunday is like New Year's Eve for us in the Church. Next week will begin our new Church year. I always think that it's quite interesting to think about the differences between the celebration of  advent  Sunday and New Year's Day, although on advent Sunday we start a new leaf as we get ready to welcome Jesus at Christmas. There I said it the C word... I am sure that you have all bought and wrapped presents by now...... Today though our New  Years  Eve is a celebration as we think of Christ the King. This Sunday used to be called the Sunday before Advent but actually Christ the King is a day which will be celebrated throughout the Anglican Communion and I am glad that it is.  On this day we think of our King, the ultimate King  -  Christ Himself, who turned upside dow n all conventio...

I think some of the readings that we have for this time of year in the Church calendar are wonderful ! Not wonderful because of their enjoyment value but because of their discomfort value. That may seem a little bit strange but I think all of us at times as Christians need to feel a little uncomfortable.  So often we over-complicate things in our lives, and we can easily reach the point where we’re so good at it that we can justify to ourselves and perhaps even to others that we’re doing  all we can to do  the right thing, that we’re living a good life…  I attend Church every Sunday and pray every day… I read my Bible regularly… I send money to help charities… I help my neighbour with the shopping… The list can go on and on – we’ve probably all, either consciously or sub consciously thought such things, and there’s no doubt that every one of those things is good to do, and we mustn’t stop.  But the point of discomfort has to be reached as well ,  as ...

This week we’ve been asked in our services to think about the 2020 vision of the Church in Wales – next week there is a conference being attended by 30 people from each diocese with the  theme being, “The time is now”. The 2020 vision is almost a  relaunch  of the Church following the extensive review. You will have heard of mission areas, and an increased awareness of, and recognition of new forms of church and ministry.  As Helen mentioned last week we’ve been here very nearly a year now and I’ve spoken about change on a number of occasions in different settings and in sermons – and change isn’t something that is just my particular hobby, it is something that is happening in the church today.  Having said that, I don’t want to hide behind that fact and just say that change is being imposed, because I think change in every part of our lives is inevitable and necessary. The world has changed hugely through history – massive changes have taken place even...

Well, did you realise that we have been here for nearly a year ! In the last 11 months you will have had a chance to get to know us,to make decisions of what type of people we are. I am sure that you have all noticed that I am not a chatty person at all and that I am very quiet .... Ahem. Strangely I do actually appreciate silence and quiet, and so moments to reflect and to be quiet are important to me. The one thing that singles out silence is its importance and how hard people can find it. As we remember we take a moment of silence to give thanks, to remember and on this day to pray for people who are affected by war. It is a respect thing and so I find myself getting frustrated by people who break silence in some sporting events with applause. I think that we all need time to stop, and to think.  I understand that applause is positive but I think it can take over a very special moment when in collective memory we take time to hear the sound of silence. It   always ...

I am pleased to have been part of a generation that has not seen a major  world  war –  by saying that  I am not reducing the   importance of the conflicts in the Falklands and the Gulf Wars and  Afghanistan and  so on, particularly for those who  have taken part, but it is now nearly 70  years since there has been a world war – a war that truly impacted upon the lives of  everyone  throughout this country on a daily basis.  Memories have faded a little… those who took part have  t ried to wipe away the worst memories… time has helped to heal some of the pain from those who lost a loved one or loved ones.  One of the best reminders people of my generation has of war is from films. Many actually help to romanticise the whole idea, but a few have tried to capture some of the horrific emotion of war. One such film was ‘Saving Private Ryan’.  For those who don’t know the film was set during and immediate...