February Vicar's Letter	Archive
Jayne writes..... Happy New Year to you all! I hope you are also enjoying our 40 day celebration of Christmas-Epiphany! This 40 days comes to an end with Candlemas which we celebrate on Sunday 1st February. I always think of this as a special day for grandparents and indeed all elderly people, as we read of how Simeon and Anna, two faithful elderly folk who have longed and prayed for the coming of the Messiah, are in the Temple to greet the young couple, Mary and Joseph, when they bring Jesus to be presented to our Father in heaven. At St Cross on that Sunday, most appropriately, we shall also be celebrating Holy Baptism as a baby is brought to be baptised and welcomed into our church family and into the whole family of God. As a sign of belonging and welcome the family will be given a lighted candle, the symbol of the Light of Christ shining in our world and in all of our lives. A little later in February I shall be attending a course for ‘new incumbents’ or in other words newly appointed vicars. I have been asked to consider a number of questions, including what impact has my coming here had on my life. In reflecting upon that I have come up with a number of answers, one of which has to do with a sense of belonging. I would like to thank you all most warmly for your cards, gifts and greetings at Christmas; these have been a sign to me of your love and care and I am most thankful for the sense of belonging that I have as part of our church family and in this community. I do believe that this sense of belonging is a basic spiritual need that we all share and we may find that this need is fulfilled in a variety of ways. Some of us are lucky enough to find it within a family, for others belonging to a circle of friends can be just as significant or even more so. Being part of a club or society, sharing a common interest with others or joining in with sporting activities can also help to fulfil our need for companionship and to feel that we belong. For some it may be more difficult to feel ‘at home’ with others. This may be due for example, to past hurts, to isolation brought about by illness or old age, to bereavement. In the current economic climate there is the ever present threat of redundancy and if that happens there can be not only a financial impact, but also a spiritual impact which can take several forms, including an experience of a sense of loss as an important social network is suddenly jeopardized or lost altogether. Linked with the need to feel that we belong is also the need for acceptance. What does the life and ministry of Jesus have to say to this? How does the Gospel address this need? Where is the Good News for us? There are many instances of which we read in the Gospels where Jesus demonstrates his acceptance of every single human being; he spent time with those ‘on the edge’ of society and showed his unconditional love to all. In our journey with God we find too that we are loved absolutely and unconditionally by God in Christ and we are called also to model our own behaviour on that of Jesus, seeking out those who might be feeling ‘on the edge’ of things for whatever reason, and helping them to know they are loved and of infinite value and worth. Each one of us has our part to play in the community to which we belong and we live in mutual dependence. I have recently enjoyed the film called ‘Australia’, directed by Baz Luhrmann , in which one of the main characters is a young boy called Nullah , played by Brandon Walters, who struggles with his sense of identity as the child of an English father and an Aborigine Mother. A thread running through the film is that of the importance of storytelling and at a time of great grief and sadness Nullah asks Lady Sarah Ashley, played by Nicole Kidman, to tell him a story. She tells him the story of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and he is able to identify with the ideas expressed in it, thus giving him a point of meeting with Sarah, a coming together of his story and the one told by her. As Christians there may be much that divides us, but that which unites us is our shared story which is of course the story of Christ and the work of salvation he wrought, His-Story – one that is told through Word and Sacrament as we worship together. As we turn from the celebration of Christmas and towards our Lenten preparation and our remembering of the Passion of our Lord, my prayer for each of us is that as we are drawn closer to God so we may draw closer to one another and find a sense of belonging in the Body of Christ.

February Vicar's Letter

Archive

Jayne writes.....

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you are also enjoying our 40 day celebration of Christmas-Epiphany! This 40 days comes to an end with Candlemas which we celebrate on Sunday 1st February. I always think of this as a special day for grandparents and indeed all elderly people, as we read of how Simeon and Anna, two faithful elderly folk who have longed and prayed for the coming of the Messiah, are in the Temple to greet the young couple, Mary and Joseph, when they bring Jesus to be presented to our Father in heaven. At St Cross on that Sunday, most appropriately, we shall also be celebrating Holy Baptism as a baby is brought to be baptised and welcomed into our church family and into the whole family of God. As a sign of belonging and welcome the family will be given a lighted candle, the symbol of the Light of Christ shining in our world and in all of our lives.

A little later in February I shall be attending a course for ‘new incumbents’ or in other words newly appointed vicars. I have been asked to consider a number of questions, including what impact has my coming here had on my life. In reflecting upon that I have come up with a number of answers, one of which has to do with a sense of belonging. I would like to thank you all most warmly for your cards, gifts and greetings at Christmas; these have been a sign to me of your love and care and I am most thankful for the sense of belonging that I have as part of our church family and in this community. I do believe that this sense of belonging is a basic spiritual need that we all share and we may find that this need is fulfilled in a variety of ways. Some of us are lucky enough to find it within a family, for others belonging to a circle of friends can be just as significant or even more so. Being part of a club or society, sharing a common interest with others or joining in with sporting activities can also help to fulfil our need for companionship and to feel that we belong. For some it may be more difficult to feel ‘at home’ with others. This may be due for example, to past hurts, to isolation brought about by illness or old age, to bereavement. In the current economic climate there is the ever present threat of redundancy and if that happens there can be not only a financial impact, but also a spiritual impact which can take several forms, including an experience of a sense of loss as an important social network is suddenly jeopardized or lost altogether. Linked with the need to feel that we belong is also the need for acceptance. What does the life and ministry of Jesus have to say to this? How does the Gospel address this need? Where is the Good News for us?

There are many instances of which we read in the Gospels where Jesus demonstrates his acceptance of every single human being; he spent time with those ‘on the edge’ of society and showed his unconditional love to all. In our journey with God we find too that we are loved absolutely and unconditionally by God in Christ and we are called also to model our own behaviour on that of Jesus, seeking out those who might be feeling ‘on the edge’ of things for whatever reason, and helping them to know they are loved and of infinite value and worth. Each one of us has our part to play in the community to which we belong and we live in mutual dependence.

I have recently enjoyed the film called ‘Australia’, directed by Baz Luhrmann , in which one of the main characters is a young boy called Nullah , played by Brandon Walters, who struggles with his sense of identity as the child of an English father and an Aborigine Mother. A thread running through the film is that of the importance of storytelling and at a time of great grief and sadness Nullah asks Lady Sarah Ashley, played by Nicole Kidman, to tell him a story. She tells him the story of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and he is able to identify with the ideas expressed in it, thus giving him a point of meeting with Sarah, a coming together of his story and the one told by her.

As Christians there may be much that divides us, but that which unites us is our shared story which is of course the story of Christ and the work of salvation he wrought, His-Story – one that is told through Word and Sacrament as we worship together. As we turn from the celebration of Christmas and towards our Lenten preparation and our remembering of the Passion of our Lord, my prayer for each of us is that as we are drawn closer to God so we may draw closer to one another and find a sense of belonging in the Body of Christ.