Monthly address
January
Dear Parishioners,
Can I begin by wishing you all a very happy New Year. It’s hard to believe we have reached that time already!
It’s a strange time of year, we are looking back at the year that’s past and looking into an unknown future. As far as church activities go, we have much to look forward to. On 8th January we start a four week course on Healing Prayer with the Rev. Pat Mollen. You don’t have to be part of the healing team to come to this, everyone is welcome. We can all benefit from knowing how to pray for healing. We also have Bible Week beginning on Sunday 19th January. Of course we will be having our Kids Club again in August, and our 2025 Pilgrimage in September is already arranged, a little nearer to home this year in Crossgar. In November, we will launch our calendar for 2026, featuring photographs from our Eco Hub photography competition. You can see who the winners were on page 10. We can even mark up a special event for 2026 already as our parish is planning a visit to Olo Diocese in South Sudan. We will be having some fundraising for this event, so get your thinking caps on.
You know we make all these plans for the future; maybe you have holidays organised already, but we forget that time is not a given - we forget that the Lord might return even before the clock strikes twelve. It might sound like a fairy tale - the clock striking twelve - but the bible reminds us that history is moving toward a divine climax, where justice and peace will ultimately be established. This belief should inspire us to live lives that reflect the values of the Kingdom of God - love, justice, mercy and faithfulness. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore encourage one another with these words”.
In these times of uncertainty and challenge, let us hold fast to the promise of Christ’s return. Let us live in a manner worthy of the calling we have received, reflecting the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs hope and redemption. May the anticipation of Jesus’ second coming inspire us to remain faithful, to persevere in good works, and to eagerly await the day when we will see our Saviour face to face, coming in power and great glory.
Every blessing and much love to you all,
Carol
Rev. Carol Harvey
Rev. Andy Heber
december
Reflections from the Glebe House
“Will I be ready when Christ returns?”
Advent this year begins on 1st December, and one of the great themes of this season is the Second Coming of Christ when he will come in power and glory to judge the world. It’s maybe not a theme that we think about very often, particularly when we are so wrapped up in business, preparing for Christmas, but maybe one question we should all ask ourselves is, “Will we be ready for that day when it comes?”
Some years ago I took part in an evangelism training course in which we were encouraged, when sharing our faith with others, to ask them two penetrating diagnostic questions:
• Have you reached the point in your life where, if you were to die tonight, you could say for certain that you would go to heaven?
• If you were to die tonight and stand before God and he was to say to you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What would you say to him.
I’ve rarely used these questions when seeking to share about God’s love with people as they are very blunt; nevertheless, however challenging they are, they are questions which shouldn’t be avoided! The parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-11 does impress on us the need not to be complacent and lazy but to make sure that we are living our lives in the right way with nothing we regret. The fact is that none of us know the day or the hour, and none of us know when our own lives will end. The only way we can live in this state of readiness is to make sure that we are storing up our riches in heaven within a right relationship with Jesus, rather than living for ourselves on earth.
Many people think that the end of the world could be approaching as many of the biblical signs such as increasing warfare, political instability, persecution of Christians, and natural disasters (due to climate change) are now increasingly prevalent. In addition, the statehood of Israel has been established and the current war between them and other countries in the Middle East shows that nation, as predicted, being opposed by the nations. Who knows also what will be happening in our world soon, now that Donald Trump has been elected as the American president!
We can’t control world events, but one thing we can do is make sure that we are personally ready to meet Christ when the time comes. The bible is written so that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13) and this comes, not through doing good works, but through Christ’s death on the cross for us which gives us the possibility of making right our relationship with God. Please make sure that you have responded to Christ’s offer of new life. Knowing you are accepted and loved really does take the pressure off living.
So Advent is a time of waiting and preparation as we prepare our hearts to welcome Christ, yes at Christmas, but also when he comes again. Try not to let these days before Christmas be swallowed up by busyness; make room for quiet, prayer and reading this month and give Christ the place he deserves in your life. As John Rice says, “You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell Him you have received His Christmas gift.”
Wishing you (in advance) a very happy and Christ filled Christmas. Andy