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That great Easter
acclamation which echoes around Christendom at the Easter Vigil……and is
repeated at the Eucharist during Eastertide.
And
so we have left the season of Lent, the period of preparation for Easter and
at the time of writing we are also leaving the period of cold weather, and
are now liturgically and meteorologically moving into a season of light and
warmth.
I
discovered that the cold spell before Easter was affecting not only humans
but also the local wildlife when returning one evening in March to find a
frog waiting on my doorstep. He had a change of mind however when the door
was opened and decided to return to the garden for security. This amusing
encounter reminded me of the decisions we have to make. Do we move forward
into a new experience or do we retreat into the security of our familiar
pattern of life. In liturgical and theological terms do we move forward
from our period of preparation in Lent to the new life of Easter, or do we
remain in the security of the pre-resurrection condition?
The
experience of both conditions is important in our Christian journey, and we
all need to experience and benefit from those events, but every Christian
will know that even when life is difficult, the assurance that Christ is
Risen can lift each of us from introspection to a position of acceptance
that we are not alone. If we are prepared to put our trust in our Risen
Lord, anxiety will disappear.
The
joy that Easter brings is the affirmation that good is stronger than evil –
that God’s love is stronger than death and in
St
Paul’s
words, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
The
new church year starting from our Annual Church Meeting held on Palm Sunday
will bring us new challenges. The debate and decision about the removal or
retention of the church pews; the possibilities of new activities and
services to encourage new church members; a possible follow-up to the
successful Talking Points week held last autumn; the opportunities for us
for outreach as the trustees of an historic church in which Nelson
worshipped, in this Year of the Sea…and many more….are we prepared to move
forward or to retreat into the security of the familiar? If the frog on
my doorstep had decided to come into the warmth of our house, what
opportunities would this have opened up? Replies to the editor.
Finally many of you will know that our vicar Tom is on sabbatical leave
until mid July. This will be a growth experience for all of us and I ask
for your prayers and in particular for Tom who is developing a new on-line
clergy support scheme. We wish Tom well and also Jan his wife in supporting
him in this new adventure.
John
– your Honorary Curate.
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