Dear Friends,

We seem to be properly into autumn and all the changeable weather it brings. Much like in our own lives we need to remember to enjoy the moments of sunshine, making the most of the good things that come our way, knowing that there will be rainy grey days at times but trusting that the light of friends, family and God will continue to shine into our lives. In the garden, the time has come for planting bulbs. I find it to be an odd activity because it involves such a long wait. In between now and when they first begin to sprout they will be left in the cold and the dark. On Sunday we reflected on how this act of planting can be a symbol of our hope. Much like Jesus was buried and yet rose up out of the ground, becoming our hope forever, the bulbs that we planted together in the garden as part of Sunday’s service will one day poke up and remind us of the hope we have. Hope for our own lives but also, hope for the future of God’s beautiful creation that is currently so at risk.

For those who want to think some more about climate, ecology and how faith fits in with it I would highly recommend Pope Francis’ Laudato Si (don’t worry, English translations are available!) or Planetwise by Dave Bookless who is the Director of Theology at A Rocha, an inspirational conservation organisation doing amazing projects around the world – definitely worth a look. For those who would rather listen than read Dave features in episode 29 of the podcast Fieldwork which is available to stream on Apple, Google or Spotify visit https://www.fieldworktalk.org/ to find out more.

Our children and young people continue to be a wonderful part of our community and, as shown on Sunday, can often add so much to our services. In the coming months we will be welcoming their contributions even more, particularly on the fourth Sunday when they stay in church with us. Parents, look out for more information on this soon, everyone else, join me in looking forward to what they might offer us as they join in more with our worship.

Over the coming months our PCC will be putting together a little booklet that will help potential new vicars to get a feel for what our church and surrounding area is like. This will include descriptions of all the services and activities we do as well as describing our vision and values. This will be an important me for us to all be reflecting on what we want St Martin’s to be in the future and therefore what sort of person might be suited to lead us towards that. We hope to include quotes from all of you about your experience of St Martin’s so do have a think about what your favourite aspects of church are and what it is you love about them. As with any leadership role like this, there will be a process to finding the right candidate so please remember to pray for all involved in writing the profile, advertising and when the me comes, interviewing candidates. Our hope in all this is that we would discern God’s voice and calling in the process, not just hoping we pick someone who seems to be fantastic to us but who also feels a sense of calling to Knowle, our parish and our community.

This Sunday we will gather at 8:30 for Morning prayer led by one of our licenced lay ministers, Frank. This will be followed by a service of Holy Communion at 10:30 with an activity in church for the children and young people. Do join us for one or both of these as well as tea, coffee and conversation afterwards.

Every blessing,

Phil