thought for the day

Somebody once said :

 

If we are to unite, we must love

If we are to love , we must meet.

 

Many of us will have a variety of meeting schedules for this week, either at work, socially or at home. but do we meet at a deeper level? On Saturday Daniel and dave cemented a new garden bench to the ground by the 12 Apostle trees outside Christ Church. Yesterday the bench was duly blessed , baptised by the rain, photographed, dried and sat upon.It is our prayer that the bench will find a place for many positive meetings either with another person or quietly as we imagine God sitting alongside of us encouraging us with whatever we have got to face in life. In the midst of our busyness, may the bench remind us to slow down and in the process to stop, look and listen. above all may the bench be a symbol to remind us of the importance of meeting with God and our neighbour at a deep level on monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening as we did yesterday in worship at Christ Church.

Every blessing

Simon

A challenge

"What we are asked to do at present is not so much to speak of Christ as to let him live in us, that people may find him by feeling how he lives in us."

(Thomas Merton - 1968)

I wonder how this challenges us to become more fully disciples of Jesus in this Easter season.

Vicar’s report to APCM 2009

Thank you enormously for all the support and encouragement you all bring to life and ministry of Christ Church with St Mary’s in the Old Town Partnership of Churches. We have lots to be thankful for and strong foundations on which to build for this coming year. I would like to offer you a picture for your reflection; a typical act of generosity shown to us in the gift from a family in the parish, of a large enclosed trampoline which stands in a previously dead part of the garden behind the garage and the kitchen. Hours of fun have been had by the Stevenette boys, occasionally their parents, and many of their friends. Bouncing up and down – a word for us all not original to myself is "bounce back ability" We live in challenging times in our country, the Church of England and in Swindon. It is not clear where we will be in one year, five years or ten years. However God is clearly with us and he wants us to grow in these 3 areas:-

1. Community - from what has been said to me by Christ Church pilgrims who just spent a week on Iona -community is one of the key features there. Our vision is connecting the community with Christ. In countless ways people are looking for a community which will nurture and support them and in which they can make a difference in people’s lives and grow in Christian confidence. To give some examples: the Friends of Christ Church, especially in bringing housebound people to worship and their 100 club; the Thursday Fellowship for adults with learning difficulties; the Friday evening curry club and the gatherings at 9am at daily morning prayer with coffee afterwards - these are all nurturing our God given humanity as we support and encourage each other.

2. Trust – we live in a world with so much governance, form filling, and checks and balances, much of which is good and helpful however let us not lose sight of what it means for us as a Christian community, to trust God, to trust each other and trust that God will work through us. God needs us to show resilience, courage and maturity. As we face up to the challenge of Church finances, so clearly presented by our Treasurer Ian Walters, we are being called to be more generous and sacrificial. Bishop Lee at the Maundy Thursday blessing of oils Eucharist in the cathedral talked about a poster in Uganda – the church in Uganda belongs to God – what does it mean for us to say the church of England belongs to God, Old Town Partnership of Churches belongs to God, Christ Church with St Mary’s belongs to God?

3. Wholeness – our Bristol Diocesan vision encourages us to create communities of wholeness with Christ at the centre. We have tried over this last year to develop what it means to be an active member of Christ Church. The Methodist and United Reformed Church have a clear understanding of membership; we need to unpack further what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus Christ and his followers in the whole of our lives.

In conclusion; community, trust and wholeness mean that our spiritual foundations are vital as we focus our hopes and dreams in Jesus Christ and his gospel. Our parish bible verse for the year – Be strong, take heart all who hope in the Lord. Let us in the silence hear God saying this to us personally and together – Be strong and take heart all you at Christ Church and St Mary’s who hope in the lord.

Reflections on Life's Road,

Some people travel in straight lines;
sat in metal boxes, eyes ahead,
always mindful of their target,
moving in obedience to coloured lights and white lines
mission accomplished at journey's end.

Some people travel round in circles:
trudging in drudgery,
eyes looking down, knowing only too well their daily, unchanging round
moving in response to clock and to habit
journey never finished, yet never begun.

I want to travel in patterns of God's making:
walking in wonder,
gazing all around, knowing my destiny though not my destination
moving to the rhythm of the surging of his spirit.
A journey which when life ends, in Christ has just begun.

by Julie McGuiness

What God taught us last Sunday

On Sunday 15th March we had a focus on the work of Street Pastors. They provide ministry to those in the pubs and nightclubs of Swindon Town Centre from midnight - 4am on Friday evenings. Street Pastors work as a collaboration between local churches, the police and the Local Authority as a pastoral response to neighbourhood problems, engaging people where they are on the streets. Several members of Christ Church are Street Pastors. A new training course is beginning on Friday 27th March, further details from -www.streetpastorsswindon.org.uk

The Thursday Fellowship of adults with learning difficulties led our Searchlight worship brilliantly on The Armour of God, Ephesians 6. Further info about this group from John Roe 01793 485082. .
Together we are all part of God's living church and we all have a special part to play.

What is yours?

Prayer for the week:

on Tuesday we celebrated St Patrick's Day - these words were used at Christ in Quiet and have helped many in our ministry this week:

Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me, Christ before me
Christ beside me, Christ to win me
Christ to comfort and restore me
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Why not learn these words off by heart?

Thought for the Week

The gospel reading Mark 8.31-end challenges us about what it means to be Christ's disciple in the whole of our lives. The words from Jesus "if any want to become my followers let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" need to be applied to the whole of our lives.. During Lent we have the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Jesus' life and particularly why he died on a cross. The word sacrifice may be counter cultural but it is certainly true that God wants us to be wholehearted and joyful as followers of Jesus. At the end of the sermon we heard a modern setting of the Lord's my shepherd psalm 23 why not use these words to inspire your prayer this week? In the evening Simon and the choir went to help lead choral evensong at Malmesbury Abbey. We had a wonderful evening and would encourage you to visit the Abbey during Lent if you have the opportunity. There is much we can learn from their ministry in particular praying on the streets for healing between 10 and 12 noon in all weathers each Saturday morning; which can inspire our mission in Old Town Swindon. Each Tuesday lunchtime during Lent we are having Christ in Quiet between 12.30 and 1pm. Why not see if you can find half an hour of quiet this week when you could receive God’s refreshment and Holy Spirit to enable you to be the person he made you to be. Please be assured of our prayers, God bless you as you follow Jesus.

Simon