From Rev'd Louise

Monthly reflection

October 2026 People's Emergency Briefing

I wonder how many of us have hopes or dreams for the future, for ourselves, or our children, or for the world? I know I do. And I wonder how many of us think about those hopes and dreams as we go about our daily life? If you’re like me, sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. And I wonder how many of us know, or worry, about what the future might be like for ourselves, for our children, for our world?

In 2025, citizens from across the UK were randomly chosen to join politicians, and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media, to learn more about the global climate and nature crises. At the end of November 2025, they gathered in Westminster to hear from leading experts in fields such as extreme weather, food security, health, national security, finance and economics, and energy. As a result, a 50 minute film, the People’s Emergency Briefing, was developed to help ordinary people better understand the global issues we face. The film includes short clips from range of experts (the full length presentations can be seen on Youtube), together with responses from the ordinary citizens who took part in the Westminster event.

As of July 2026, there have been over 2000 showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing film at community centres and workplaces across the nation, with 87% of those who have seen the film reporting that they felt more motivated to act. More showings are being registered every day. Anyone who wants to show the film is given a comprehensive toolkit covering every aspect of organising a showing of the film and running a post-film discussion. Those who took part in the National Emergency Briefing in Westminster are calling for everyone over 16 to see the film, and calling for a government prime-time television response to the emergency, with more MPs joining that call every day.

Many Christian churches – together with other faith groups - are among the groups organising showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing film, in accordance with the Christian teaching that Christians are called by God to do all that they can to improve well-being and prevent harm for all, both now and in the future. The Church of England defines protection and care for the planet that is essential for our existence and for our well-being as one of the defining characteristics of living out Christian faith, of being a church.

I have been to one of the local showings of the People’s Emergency Briefing, and I am very impressed by the impact it clearly has on people. There are many more showings coming up locally, and my prayer for us all is that even if we do nothing else to care for our neighbour of today, and our neighbour of tomorrow, we would all view this film.

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.

September 2026 Moving on

This month our three churches of Hope, Castleton and Bradwell say goodbye to our curate, Rev’d Lisa Price, who has been with us for the last two years. Rev’d Lisa has completed her curacy with us, a training post, and is moving on to a new post in Andover. Whilst we share Rev’d Lisa’s excitement at this next step in her ministry, we are aware of how much she has blessed us in her time with us, and how much we will miss her.

As I reflected on Rev’d Lisa moving on, I found myself reflecting too that the Christian Church has always been a ‘church on the move.’ Jesus himself was a wandering rabbi travelling, as rabbis in his time did, from place to place talking to people about God, and God’s love for all. Much of the New Testament describes how the early Christian faith was spread after Jesus’ death and resurrection, by believers who travelled all around the then known world, taking with them the accounts of Jesus’ life and death. And throughout Christian history, there have always been missionaries of various kinds; people who take the good news of God’s love, as taught by Jesus, to new people and new places.

Many of us, of course, will be ‘rooted’ in one geographical location, if not for a lifetime then certainly for a while. Christianity teaches that even for those who do not travel geographically, the Christian Church is still called to be a ‘church on the move.’ The work of a missionary – the work to make Jesus known to new people - is the calling of every Christian, and it is something that can always happen, wherever we are, however long we are there for.

As Rev’d Lisa moves to her new position, she will take with her something of her ministry in this place, and she will leave behind something of how she has blessed us. Rev’d Lisa’s ministry has grown and changed in her time with us, and we have also grown and been changed by her time with us, as we have shared our experiences of faith together. My prayer for us all is that, even as Rev’d Lisa leaves us, we will continue to be a ‘church on the move;’ a set of churches committed to sharing the wonderful news of God’s great love for all, with all of our communities around us. And I pray that we will be continually aware of God at work in us, helping us to discover new ways of making God’s love visible to all, and especially to those who have not yet discovered for themselves God’s love for them.

July 2026 Holidays

For many years now, one of the features of July for me has been visiting schools as they celebrate all that their leavers have contributed to their school. Even without new adventures to look forward to, many of us probably never lose that sense of excitement as holidays begin. So this month I found myself reflecting on holidays, and on some of the people holidays used to be named after.

The word ‘holiday,’ comes originally from ‘holy day.’ Long before ‘annual leave’ existed, ‘holy days’ - often celebrating the lives of saints - would be days when people stopped working for half a day or a day (and were encouraged or expected to go to church instead) Some historians have estimated that in medieval times, local churches might have celebrated over 150 saints during the year! Most of us have probably never heard of most of these saints, but there are two saints that I particularly notice at this time of year.

The first is St Barnabas. The Bradwell Infant School and Nursery (right next door to St Barnabas Church) celebrates St Barnabas Day each year on 11th June and I am always invited to join them for their celebration in church. ‘Barnabas’ was a nickname meaning ‘Son of encouragement,’ that was given to Barnabas by the other disciples, because he was particularly known for supporting others, and giving them a second chance when they needed it. The motto of Bradwell Infant School and Nursery is, ‘Encourage one another and build each other up,’ and it is always a delight to see how well the children at the school do exactly that today.

The second saint I notice at this time of year is St Peter, because the yearly ordinations of new priests and deacons always take place on a weekend near to St Peter’s Day at the end of June. Pictures and statues of St Peter often show him holding keys, because traditionally St Peter is believed to have the ‘keys’ to let people into heaven.

The gospels describe the ‘Kingdom of heaven’ as a place where everything is as God wills it to be, where all are equally precious in God’s sight and where all are enabled to flourish. Christianity teaches that part of being Christian is a calling to work together to build, ‘the kingdom of heaven on earth,’ that is to build communities where all flourish, and all are valued.

As I look at the two saints I have mentioned, it feels to me as if we all hold the keys to heaven. By living like St Barnabas did, by supporting and valuing and caring for others, we can all play our role in building God’s kingdom in the communities we are part of. My prayer for us all this month is that, like the children at Bradwell Infant School and Nursery, we will all try to do just that.