From Rev'd Louise

Monthly reflection

March 2025 Darkness

I am one of those people who really appreciate the mornings and evenings gradually getting lighter at this time of year. Before Christmas I regularly find myself counting the weeks, and then the days, until we are past the shortest day. And as we move towards Spring, I find myself saying to myself, ‘Soon it will be light at …..’

Yet, unless I am driving, I actually rather enjoy the dark. At one of the places we used to live, a deeply treasured activity was to walk our dog to the next village, and then turn off my headtorch and walk the mile or so back home along the river bank in the dark, with just enough starlight to make the slightly lighter path show up, so that I didn’t fall in the river! And most of my favourite places are places far from artificial lights; places where the nights are dark enough to really see the stars; places where I can gaze upwards for ages, with more and more stars becoming visible as my eyes adjust, places where the Milky Way really shows up as a broad, lighter stripe across the night sky.

When the biblical writers searched for ways to describe the indescribable, when they tried to find ways to say what God is like, what Jesus is like, one of the images they chose was light. St John, for example, wrote: ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all’ [1 John 1: 5]. That imagery of light being associated with goodness and hope, and darkness being associated with badness or difficulty has become rooted in Christian culture and tradition.

Fortunately there are also many places in the Bible that remind us that the common biblical imagery of light and darkness is just that; just imagery. And imagery is good when it works for us, good when it helps us understand more about God, but best ignored if we don’t find it helpful. I can imagine the writer of Psalm 139, for example, sitting in the quietness of night time, gazing at the myriad of stars, reflecting on the God who created all, and writing, ‘Even darkness is no darkness with you; darkness and light to you are both alike.’ [Psalm 139: 12] The psalmist understood that we can seek and know God’s presence in the stillness of night, just as readily as in the brightness of day. Indeed, the gospels tell us of many occasions when Jesus went out to meet with God in prayer during the night.

So my prayer for us all is that as the seasons turn, as the nights grow shorter, but also warmer, we find moments to wait for God in the dark stillness and beauty of the night.

If you would like to sign up to receive a weekly reflection, or to receive the regular newsletters from churches and Christian groups across Hope Valley, please go to https://mailchi.mp/2c07821b33f6/sign-up-for-ponder-and-pray or https://mailchi.mp/cbb9a512a36e/hope-valley-christians-newsletter or email me on [email protected] and I can sign you up.

February 2025 All change

I wonder how your new year started? For our three churches in Hope, Castleton and Bradwell, 2025 began with us cancelling church services on the first Sunday due to snowy weather that prevented many in our congregations from getting out. As I spent the first Sunday of 2025 very differently from what I had planned, I found myself reflecting on how we tend to respond to change more generally.

We have probably all known risk-takers or adventurers who seem to thrive on change, but for most of us change feels difficult. Statistics have shown that major changes in our lives, such as losing a job, or bereavement, are some of the biggest causes of stress we ever face, even if it is ‘good’ change, such as marriage, or the birth of a child.

Christians and Christian churches live in a place of continual tension; tension between our worship of an unchanging God, and God’s call to us to be continually changing in order to become more like him. Christians believe that God is perfect love and goodness, and a fundamental part of Christian faith is the belief that Christians are called to work towards a world which shows God’s values. The Gospels, in the New Testament, speak of Jesus’ followers as both ‘disciples,’ meaning ‘learners,’ and ‘apostles,’ meaning ‘those who are sent.’ So Christian faith calls us to allow God to change us, as we learn ever more about what God is like and what God wants for his world. And then to allow God’s values to send us out into the world, challenging us to use what we have learned, to transform injustice and suffering that we see around us.

That all sounds very theoretical, but how can it help us with everyday life? When we are faced with an unexpected change of plan, or a decision that is difficult? I find the letters of St Paul helpful. In his first letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thess 5), he urges them to ‘hold fast to what is good.’ So when faced with change, I try to identify what is good, in God’s eyes, about the old and the new. And in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corin 4), Paul writes about being ‘renewed inwardly,’ as we look at Christ’s life and death. Christianity speaks of ‘repentance,’ often in the sense of being sorry for the wrong we have done, but actually ‘to repent’ means ‘to turn around.’ Repentance is about which way we are looking. So again, when faced with change, I try to ask myself, ‘Am I looking towards what God wants, or what I want?’ ‘Will this make it easier, or harder, for us and others, to see and know God’s love for all?’

This month, my prayer for us all, is that we will each learn to become a little less uncomfortable with change, that we will all grow in our ability to discern when God is calling us to change, and grow too in our trust that when God does call us to change, it is always for the good of us, and for all.

January 2025 Now is the time

Apparently approximately two thirds of UK adults make New Year resolutions. I wonder if you are one of them? Although exact percentages vary, all the surveys I looked at suggested that younger people are more likely to make New Year resolutions than older people.

The names of our months came originally from an ancient Roman calendar, with several of our months named after Roman gods. January is named after the Roman god, Janus, the god of beginnings and endings, and transitions. Janus is depicted with two faces; one looking forwards and one looking backwards. New Year has traditionally been a time to look back over the last year, and forward to the coming year, with New Year resolutions intended to help us move from where we are to where we would like to be. Of course other occasions, particularly births or deaths or a big change in circumstances, can also prompt us to reflect on what is most important to us.

Looking back thoughtfully, and looking forward, planning and hoping, are both important. But Christianity also identifies now as an important time. Bible verses such as ‘Be still and know that I am God,’ from Psalm 46, and the writings of Christian mystics through the ages, teach us that focusing on now is important. Being still, physically or mentally, being ‘present in the moment,’ attentive to ourselves and the world around us – and people of faith would also add attentive to God – enables us to know ourselves better, to be more in touch with our deepest wishes and values, and more in touch with God, and his values for his world.

I believe that wonder is a precious part of being present in the now; wonder at the beauty of a sunset or a flower, wonder at the joy of love, or at our own existence. In the Bible, Jesus told his disciples that to enter the kingdom of heaven they needed to become like little children, and I am sure that part of what Jesus valued so highly in children was their capacity for wonder, their ability to be totally absorbed in the present moment.

If you make only one resolution this year, I invite you to resolve to find more time to wonder, more time to be still and do nothing, and my prayer for us all is that we may all, as Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said in the title of one of his books, ‘Do nothing to change your life.’