Bishop Malcolm writes...The message of Holy Week and Easter is that God’s love for us in Jesus is Good News - the best news anyone could ever get. How are we doing at making this obvious to everyone, as it has become obvious to us? One way we do it is simply to be present in each and every local community across Derbyshire. The way we are with our neighbours, the way we are as a church, and the way we are with each other, are all supposed to express the love of God in Christ – and very often they do! Where there is a community full of life and love and hospitality, people will experience ‘good news’ simply by walking through the door and being made welcome. Others will simply see the church tower, and be prompted to pray. But how else do we share the wonders of the life in Christ we have been blessed with? Another way is by making sure our churches are always places where people who are coming with questions about life and faith can find help in their search. Local churches either do it alone or they can team up to ensure there’s always something going on locally geared towards helping people make a start with Jesus. This can be one of the many courses available, or simply a fun evening in church or café or pub where any question is taken seriously, and where new disciples and others can explore the scriptures honestly, making the connections with everyday life. I do enjoy my ministry a lot – but the best thing I get to do as a bishop is to do confirmations. Hearing the stories of people’s search for God – and sometimes of how God has surprised them without their previously having been interested – this is an extraordinary privilege. It encourages the whole church when they tell their story. I thank God for the many churches where an annual confirmation course has once again become routine -something we lost perhaps during Covid, but now have the opportunity to revive. More and more we are hearing of newcomers, especially young people, just turning up at church wanting to see what goes on and to find out more. They don’t necessarily want to be smothered – but they are glad when there is clear information about what is going on and how they can engage if they want to. It is worth thinking of also that most searching and enquiring today happens online. My guess is that some of those who are just randomly turning up at church have begun their search out there. There are a range of great online resources out there to help people become disciples of Jesus – for younger people #thewayuk on Instagram or Youtube or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/twuktv/ is a great place to start. Or there is the Christian Enquiry Agency https://www.christianity.org.uk/site-map And there is helpful material on the Church of England website too: https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-life/what-we-believe This April we keep company with Jesus on his road to Good Friday and to Easter while the guns of war still sound, and in a world where human failure and sin are all too evident. So many lives are broken and hurting. There are many and various factors at play: with ever deepening poverty and rising inequality, with the global rise in political extremism, and with today’s preference for social media silo talk rather than open, honest conversation. Meanwhile the climate emergency only gets more urgent. It would be easy to give in, and give up hope. We must not. And yet, even in these perilous times, Sunday by Sunday, many are finding real hope in Jesus, the crucified and risen one. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are still good news to those who encounter him alive and present today. In Him there is a new creation – a whole new world. Let’s find ways old and new to pass this on. The Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton Bishop of Repton
What are you noticing at the moment I wonder? Take a moment and think. Take a moment? I’m not sure how easy we find that. The culture, the habits and practices that surround us, the newsfeed, the pace and challenge of life can mean we get to the end of the day without ‘taking a moment’. Maybe as we ‘March’ out of winter however, we can resolve to do that, to pause, to notice and to be still. How? The created order can encourage us to do that I think as we notice signs of returning and new life, as the days lengthen and we (hopefully) see some blue sky. It can be a time to metaphorically lift our heads, to leave winter behind, to look up, and yes, to be still. For most of this month we travel through Lent, which starts on March 5th, Ash Wednesday. ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ is a question that is often asked amongst church communities (and wider) as we spend time in penitence and self-denial, both a reflection of Jesus’ time in the wilderness and a preparation for Holy Week and Easter. I want to suggest, in addition, that we consider taking something on for Lent, that we resolve to ‘Take a Moment’, that we choose to deliberately press the pause button, lift our heads to the light and be still. Why? Because in that place of stillness, God can draw close, we can become aware of His presence and we can breathe deeply of His light, love and hope. As we look up and breathe, the ‘things of earth can grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace’ (to quote an old chorus) and we can know the transforming work of God’s Spirit, helping us to turn away from the sin and mess that we’re all caught up in and changing us to be more like Jesus. What are you taking on for Lent? Take a moment, press pause and be still … The Venerable Karen Hamblin Archdeacon of East Derbyshire
I hope you’ve had a joyful Christmas. I hope you have had opportunity to enjoy the celebration of Jesus’ birth with friends and family. I love this season following Christmas day which includes the festival of Epiphany, remembering the arrival of the wise men after their long journey. They brought their precious gifts to honour the child, though born in a simple stable, they knew to be a king. As we start a new calendar year, this church season from Christmas day to Candlemas (at the beginning of February) we have chance to think again about what difference Jesus makes to our lives. In the stories of the gospels, no one who met the Christ child was unchanged. Whoever they were, how ever they came to find him, their lives were transformed by the encounter. After meeting Jesus, the wise men went back to the places they had come from – but by a different route. They thought and behaved differently because they met Jesus. The past year has seen so much change globally, nationally, locally, for our church and, for many of us, personally. For some, perhaps for many, that has been difficult: we have all seen stories of violence and disaster and trauma and may have experienced it ourselves. I pray you may also have known times of peace and joy and love. After all the noise and business of December, when the parties are over and the decorations put away, we return to ‘life as usual’ among the people we share life with - at home, at work, at school, at leisure, in our street and community, in our churches. But, like the wise men, we too might choose to be and do all that differently because of Jesus. As we consider the Epiphany story, I wonder what it means for us. I wonder how you first heard of Jesus and what He means to you now? I wonder how you will honour Him through this coming year? In our churches across the diocese, we will be thinking again through the year how we respond to the good news of Jesus. How can we deepen our relationship with God, serve our local contexts, challenge injustice, and make new disciples – that others, in our generation, whoever they are and wherever they come from, may encounter Christ and be changed, for good. I pray this Christmas you, like the wise men, encountered Jesus, and that He is at the heart of a more loving, more joyful and more peaceful new year
