Dear Friends in Christ,

This time of year, is all about change. The old year is out, the new has come. Some of us will be glad to be in a new year, others will be sad. Nostalgia for recent events may be tangible, as may be a sense of relief that a difficult year is over.

Alongside this are the January blues. After the anticipation of Christmas with all the glitter that seems to accompany it, we now get to January, with typically the real bout of cold weather, very unwell bank accounts, and a sense of losing that sparkle as all things Christmas are packed away again. And there’s the feeling of a long wait until the next moment of joy, the advent of spring, holidays, longer days.

But what’s the reality for us? We’re not immune from any of the above, but we know that the rejoicing simply begins at Christmas. The removal of the sparkly allure of the season doesn’t remove the actual joy of the love and freedom of God made incarnate through Jesus. That’s the bedrock for us, even when the world around us is at its greyest, and there’s much to be anxious about in this new year-but Gods love is infinite, vast and always with us, no matter what the externals may indicate .

Amen

Sunday 12th January: Baptism of Christ

Readings: Isaiah 43: 1 - 7; Acts 8: 14 - 17; Luke 3: 15 - 17, 21 - 22.

8.00am Holy Communion All Saints
10.00am Holy Communion St. Marys
10.30am Messy Muddy Church All Saints

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen

Blessings

Fr Kester de Oliveira