Sharing some thoughts

from Helen Advent is here, happy new year a new year for the Church has begun. It always seems a bit strange that the first Sunday of advent is the beginning of the Church year, but actually what better way to start a year than in expectation of Jesus coming again.  The idea of Jesus coming again can be concerning to some. In the programme the Vicar of Dibl ey one of the strangest parishi oners Alice Tinker asks the Vicar for the date when Jesus would co me again, after all you  need to be ready with a cake or something. The vicar explains that it wont be like this, as Jesus will jus t arrive, Alice Tinker replies, “ Well, that’s very ru de.” Alice then wonders what she might be doing if Jesus just turned up. Our readings this morning have made us think about what we will ,  or will not  be doing when Jesus returns. I wonder what we might be wearing, it sounds strange but when Jesus comes again would you want Him to find you  wearing your pyjamas or nigh...

Today’s  (alternative) collect is one of the most well- known of all of the collects used in the Church calendar.  “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people;  that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  It’s  also one of the longest lasting. It’s  changed slightly over the years, but the part that most people remember best has remained unchanged, and that is the first 2 words, ‘Stir up’.  O f course the words bring with them  all kinds of connotations about stirrin g up the Christmas puddings -  that’s if you don’t buy them in Tesco or Marks & Spencer’s. But those words ‘Stir up’ must surely mean so much more to us.  Today is of course the last Sunday of the year in the Church Calendar. Next Sunday, Advent Sunday, is the  New Year  celebration in the Church, and so as we end this one Church year, and p...

On November 13 th  1916, 100 years ago to this day, the final battle of the Battle of the Somme began (The battle of the River Ancre). That battle, which had begun on July 1 st  would end on November 19 th  with a death toll of over a million people.  It has rightly become one of the most famous battles ever fought with incredible stories of courage,  and sometimes  of the mistakes made ….   For those involved what never changed was the incr edible sacrifices … Many died – people who had often not really had enough time to even live properly as adults, many were injured and many were left with physical and mental scars for the rest of their lives…  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. For those involved many sacrifices have ...

from Helen I have been here for 5 months and in this time  you will hav e had a chance to get to know me,  to make  decisions of what type of person I am . I am sure that you have all noticed that I am not a chatty person at all and that I am very quiet , never saying a  word  ... . 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  today on this remembrance Sunday  we  will  take a moment of silence to give thanks, to remember. I think that we all need time to stop, and to think.  It  always  sounds daft to say, but there really is a sound to silence, in silence we find a new peace, in silence we are able to really stop and think.  Silence has a sound and it is golden, it is a sound that carries with it our emotions, our dreams, our remembering....

This week people in the United States will head for the ballot boxes to elect a new President. Whoever is elected will have an enormous amount of power and almost certainly have an effect far beyond the borders of the United States. We could even see the first female President. And of course this week as you will no doubt have heard on the news, the Church in Wales have elected the first female Bishop, Canon Jo  Penberthy , who will be the Bishop of St David’s. It is an historic occasion for the Church in Wales and this follows another recent historic decision which will come into effect on Advent Sunday this year when communion will be opened up to anyone who is baptised, regardless of age and regardless of whether they have been confirmed or not.  The other reflection I want to offer is the membership figures of the Church in Wales which were released at the recent Governing Body meeting which show that membership has declined since 1990 by 54%...  So what ha...