Circuit News
A reminder that next Sunday morning’s Service will be a Circuit Farewell Service for Rev Sonia Hicks and Deacon Andy Packer. It will be at 10.30 am via Zoom.
Reflection by Deacon Andy Packer:
‘In Genesis 12: 1 we read ……… The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” For me, the key word in this passage is ‘Go.’ It gives an image of competitors at the beginning of a race waiting for the starter to shout ‘Go’! Someone being sent away and banished to the outer darkness or maybe that of ‘le tour’ (Tour de France – which would normally be taking place around now) as the crowds shout ‘aller’ and ‘allez’ (‘go’ and ‘come on’), words of encouragement.
Yet in the passage the ‘Go’ which God is directing towards Abram (he’s not renamed Abraham until Ch 17.) is a bit of both and more. Abram has been settled for many years, maybe getting a bit complacent(?), looking forward to some restful later years but God has different ideas and calls him to ‘Go’!
Committing ourselves to God’s way will always mean travel and moving on. (Tell me about it!). Not always in the physical sense but in a call to move on emotionally, Spiritually and in our faith; in our thinking and understanding of God. There are times when we find ourselves in a ‘new place’; sometimes because we have positively searched for it or at other times by accident. (Or maybe a ‘God-incident’?) The outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic has placed us all in a new place and presented us with both challenges and opportunities. How we respond to those things will affect how long we stay in that same place before we move on again.
But that is if we want to move on! Far too often we become set in our ways and the older we get the less enthusiastic we are about change and moving. (Me included!!) The danger is that we become comfortable with ‘church’ as it was 20, 50 or 70 plus years ago and have failed to notice that God has moved on. He has called the words, ‘Follow me’ and we’ve missed it! Life for Abram and others like him was never comfortable; they lived in tents with the basic essentials so they could easily move on when the time was right, allowing God to lead and direct them to the place where he needed them to be. God never wanted to be restricted to one place which is why His presence was believed to be in the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ which always travelled with the Israelites wherever they went. (You can sense God’s reluctance when Solomon wanted to build the temple?)
So, we come to that time when Sonia and I will be ‘moving on’. We will ‘Go’ to the place where we believe God is calling us to be and serve Him there. For you the challenge to ‘Go’ may not be a physical one but from September you will all be in a different place, with Vicci joining you and offering new ideas, hopes, dreams and a new direction to travel. Through the working of the Holy Spirit (2) God will open our eyes, we will see and discover the ‘new place’ and the blessings God has placed there.
I pray God’s blessing upon you all as you continue to respond to the God who says to us daily, “Follow Me.” May He give you grace and humility as together, with Vicci, you discern the journey ahead and the plan God has for Windsor Methodist Church.
Thank you all for your love, support and encouragement over the years. As we respond and ‘Go’ to our respective callings, ‘the best of all is that God is with us’. Amen!
Thank you Andy for your inspiring Reflection and Prayer for us! We will miss you and Lynn and thank you for all your love and care of each one of us.
Words of encouragement from the Bible – with thanks to Alan Crowle. Alan would have been preaching today at our Church.
Jesus sows the good seed Jesus sows the good news in our hearts “the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man” (Matthew 13v37). Paul explains how the faith grows in us “we ourselves have the first fruits of the Spirit (Romans 8 v 23). The Psalmist asks the Lord, “O God search me, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalms 139 v23). The Lord Almighty speaks through Isaiah, “I am the first and I am the last, apart from me there is no other God” (Isaiah 44 v 6)
Prayer: ‘We pray for the world around us; for the environment; for peace where there is conflict; for racial and social justice to be seen throughout the world. We pray for our communities; for those who are shielding; for those who are fearful, for those working for the good of others in many different ways in our community.’ Amen
And a prayer of gratitude for our beautiful Earth: ‘Thank You Holy Father for our beautiful Earth! Today we especially thank You for the blue skies, the amazing refreshing beaches, and for Your almighty power controlling the mystery of the tides. We thank You for the gift of our sight, and lift to You all those who are blind and unable to see the wonders of Your creation.’ Amen