Letter from Rev Jacqueline
Can you believe February is beckoning already? It seems as though the Christmas season arrived and was over before you knew it.
As ever, thank you to everyone who helped with the Advent and Christmas services and activities and gatherings at St Peter’s – Christmas Tree Festival, wreath-making, Christingle, carol and crib services and everything in between. Despite the obvious restrictions, we managed to journey through Advent and enter into the Christmas spirit of hope safely together and to be able to celebrate the ongoing journey of Epiphany where the wise men arrived and brought hope for our own light-searching journey and Candlemas, where Christmas and Easter meet one another in the hope of the moving from darkness to light and the dawning of spring and the perpetual story of God’s love for us all that shows itself through the birth of Jesus and all that is to follow.
Whether we want to be part of that story of love or not, we are indeed blessed to belong to it anyway, and the good news is that the blessings of God’s love aren’t just for those who accept and follow but also for those who might not yet be able to turn towards the light of Christ – the blessings are there for everyone – always ready to be offered and received when the ‘yes’ of our hearts reaches out and joins in….
Blessings are found in everyday life – and very often they can be found in the darkness where, just like a candle, the spirit of all that is comforting, strengthening, encouraging and hopeful shines the brightest and gives a positive and meaningful light in a seemingly dark and pointless situation. A blessing can bring a smile to a frowning face, a skip to a heavy step.
A blessing is different from a greeting, a hug or a salutation. It opens a different door to our human encounter… We bless to draw closer to that yearning for wholeness – where everyone comes together and all is made good and peaceful in our hearts and in the world…
Sometimes it seems as if blessings say very little about God – that’s because they say everything about God – about a God of our everyday lives – of our everyday joys and fears – hopes and dreams – in our everyday human experience and the caring and sharing we can bring to each other.
Wherever one person takes the care of another into their heart, they have the power to bless. To bless someone is to offer a beautiful gift.
And so, as we tenderly put away our Christmas journey for another year, let us remember that all of this would be pointless if it didn’t carry practical meaning and purpose in our daily lives and so please join me in giving heartfelt thanks for the tireless and heart-warming volunteering and financial and practical support that went on in Wrecclesham and Farnham central during this festive time through the various community and charitable organisations – all reminding me of a poem we always read out at our Carol Service as a reminder that the real purpose of the love that came down at Christmas is to share and care for each other and for our planet.
The work of Christmas by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart…
And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way,
in all that we do and in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins.
So in this transitional month of February – where the hope of Christmas and promise of Easter collide as we prepare to journey on into Lent (2nd March) may we all be open to experience the blessings that come our way and may we all remember that we can be a blessing to others in our acts of friendship, kindness and support towards those around us and even those further afield…
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