Dear friends,
As we approach Trinity Sunday we are reminded that God is, and always has been, three in one. It is a strange idea to try and comprehend and, despite many hours in lectures and reading theology books, I never really feel I can wrap my head around it fully. However, setting aside the nitty gritty complexities (and many accusations of heresy over the years) I think there is something very instinctive about it, if we take it at face value. It means that God is in a loving and sharing community even aside from the relationships we might have with God and one another. In means that the root of all things is in community and also that the source of all life is not in conflict but in unity.
I think we have so much to learn from this belief that God is three and yet one. We all long for community, for people to support us, to celebrate with us, for people who will look out for us. Many of us find this in family and friends and sometimes in work or school settings however, our hope at St Martin’s is that we could also find these things at church. Over the winter we began to form a new community on Thursday lunch times as our café became a place for people to share their lives. Feeling inspired by this and by Café Connect that our volunteers ran pre-COVID, a small group of us have been meeting to plan a new iteration of this valuable space. Café Reconnect will be a place for people of all ages, and all stages of life, to come together from across our community to find new friendships, meet one another and find community in our often lonely world. It will be a café for everyone whether you want a quick bite and a chat or a long cup of tea with an old friend. We hope that through our pop-up café spaces over the summer and our ongoing lunchtime cafés beyond that, Café Reconnect could become a special place in our community.
The way that we understand God being in agreement and in unity should challenge us in all sorts of ways, calling us to be people who disagree well, seek to serve one another and always being open and curious about the beliefs of others. Church is a great place to think about all these things (and hopefully to begin to practice them in all our lives) so whether you come every week or haven’t been for a while you are invited to come and explore faith together. Let’s be people that ask questions, wonder aloud and try to find better ways for us to be in this world, in community, in love and kindness and in unity.
Our Sunday services this week will centre around this theme of Trinity as we gather at 8:30 for our spoken Holy Communion and at 10:30 for our All Together service for all ages. You are welcome!
Grace & peace,
Rev. Phil