Dear Friends,

I hope you are well and enjoyed the (mostly) sunny bank holiday weekend! We finally seem to be catching up with the spring and I keep hearing from people that they are busy planting vegetables, tidying their gardens and enjoying the longer evenings, watching insects and bats alike. It does seem to me that the wildlife in our city is less than it once was, but I suppose we can pray (and plant) to try to coax life back into our increasingly concrete world.

Life at St Martin’s feels quite spring-like and full of bustle too as 9 people have been preparing for the confirmation service this coming Sunday. The bishop will confirm a total of 30 people – so many that she joked about taking up the old tradition of delivering the prayers from horseback as she rode along the long line! Becky and I, along with Chris and Jes, have thoroughly enjoyed our conversations with the young people and adults who are exploring this next step on their journey of faith. Please do be praying for them as they take this important step as well as asking them about their experience if you are interested for the future. I think it is important for all of us to find spaces and places to ask the questions we have, wonder aloud about the mystery of our faith and find people to support us as we go through life. Perhaps others of you would be interested in a Saturday morning gathering to read the Bible together and pray? Let me know if you are.

This week various people who minister within our diocese, including the clergy and lay ministers, gathered in Filton for an inspiring and thought-provoking study day with Rev’d Dr. Richard Burridge. He encouraged us to reflect on the Bible with a renewed diligence and to ask ourselves if our conclusions about it are honestly aligned with the life Jesus modelled to us. He challenged us to not simply find interpretations that are self-serving and beneficial to those that are like us. To do this he suggests we need to always look to read and understand the Bible in inclusive communities – spaces where a variety of voices from a range of perspectives can be heard. We wholeheartedly agree and believe our community and our understanding of faith will be stronger as more perspectives are shared. Whilst our focus on Wednesday was the ongoing discussion around our understanding of sexuality and marriage in today’s church the principle applies to any topic. With that in mind, we have an idea’s box at the back of church – please let us know your thoughts and ideas about how we gather as a community so we can continue to find ways to meet together that are helpful and accessible to everyone in our community.

This Sunday we will have opportunities to gather to worship in two different ways – first in our simple, spoken communion service at 8:30 and then in our informal, interactive café service at 10:30 with breakfast. You are also welcome to come and support those being confirmed at St Paul’s church in Southville at 16:30. You are invited!

Grace and peace,

Rev. Phil