LETTER FROM THE VICARAGE - APRIL 2024

We reproduce here the monthly letter from our Vicar as it appears in our parish magazine, the Parish News.

Letter from the vicarage

Dear Friends,

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself who said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Acts 20:35.

April is the month of Annual Meetings, whether that's ecclesiastical or civil, they all seem to seek folk to join the ranks of whatever organization they represent, from angling associations to philatelists' clubs, they're all on the lookout for office-holders! The Church is just the same, we all hold our Annual Parochial Church Meeting before the end of April. APCMs are a time for reports of the previous year's activities and a chance to look ahead and plan for the future. Time is a precious commodity, and I am always thankful that so many of you are willing to give of your time and talents to serve us across our churches and village communities.

St Paul, writing in the Acts of the Apostles as stated above, includes some of the words of Jesus not recorded in the Gospel narratives, that we are blessed by giving. This can include all forms of service, practical and financial. I value the opportunity that these meetings give us to say a big 'thank you' to all who have served our churches on their PCCs this last year and those who will be standing for election this coming year. Also for those who work behind the scenes in many cases, cleaning our churches, flower arranging, organising countless rotas and those who lead our home-groups and prayer groups. We all need to play our part, helping to share the load, and growing in faith as we exercise a particular 'ministry' within the Church. Of course, you may falsely believe that you have nothing to contribute, but this is not the case. We all have gifts we can offer to build the Body of Christ in this place.

St Paul ,writing to encourage the believers in Thessalonica, wrote in in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” So let us be encouraged and encourage one another to join together in all we do to make our witness and outreach a celebration of unity and joy in the Lord Jesus seeking to build up the Christian family in service to one another and our local communities.

Clive