June 2024 Pastoral Letter

Dear Friends,

Towards the end of John’s gospel there is a long section known as Jesus’ ‘final discourse’. It is a deep section of text with Jesus explaining what life is going to be like in the future without his actual bodily presence. You might have heard it read and preached at Pentecost last month. There will be times of deep sadness which will be overtaken by feelings of deep joy. At the time though, it must have seemed almost impossible that the disciples could feel joyful in the difficult circumstances of the present, and in the future when they were warned of difficulties and persecution. This joy came from the transforming power of the gift of the Spirit that gave the disciples a joy that could not be suppressed.

The present times we live in may not seem so joyful or certain, perhaps. Or do we face a God given opportunity? How can we each possibly deal with the calamity of global warming, how will our vote in General election (remember to register for a postal vote of you are going to be away on the 4th July 2024) make a difference to those in need, and what about the clarion call for peace in our world? If we let all of these issues get to us, we may feel a sense of despondency if we are not careful. How do you respond? How would you define or describe your own spiritual lives in Christ? I tried discussing that with the children at Callow End last month. It is a challenging topic but does boil down to some basic ways of living, loving in faith and hope.

Jesus invites us to participate with him in doing his work until we are called into eternity with him. That participation is to be undertaken in good times or bad just like the first disciples and is intended to be an experience of joy no matter what the circumstances. This is of course a lot easier said than done, but joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. That joy can grow and flourish when we attach ourselves to Jesus as part of the vine that he spoke of in John’s gospel (John 15.5), and our joy, he promises, will ultimately be complete in him (John 15.11).

How can this be that Jesus gives us a joy that cannot be taken away? We often confuse happiness with joy. Our joy may come when we complete a seemingly endless task with which we have had to persevere and struggle, or when someone does something that makes us feel special. That joy is heightened when we know something good has been given to us by the God of the universe and the whole of creation. Somehow, we are known so personally. I am blessed to feel that way by ministering in these five villages, four churches, three schools, two care homes as one benefice of faith hope and loved. I see acts of loving kindness - do you?

We do have some good things to look out for over the summer. We have weddings (including two at Guarlford) and more baptisms, visiting history groups interested in our church history - a visit from Historic England at Powick. We also will gather to commemorate the D-Day landings 80 years on with a service at the war memorial at Callow End. If this letter gets to you on time, go join in and support the Madresfield Village fete at Madresfield Court – and support the church stall too. Later this month, we will be looking at our churches’ environmental footprint, burden and legacy. We might feel that it has nothing to do with us, but we all have a place in God’s creation for a purpose and we must all strive to do our best to honour, respect and protect it.

And in our prayer life, too, we join in Christ’s intercession for the world, praying for others that their joy may be complete whatever struggles they face now. Jesus promised his disciples his joy would be in them and would be complete. So too, the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah said, ‘it is the joy of the Lord who is our strength.’ (Nehemiah 8.10) . Every blessing ……Rev Gary