May 2024 message from Revd. Hilary Young
Dear Friends,
As I write we are at the Easter weekend. For most, by the time this is read, that will be long ago, the chocolate consumed and the holiday a distant memory (if there was one). Easter was a joyous time in all our churches – we rejoice with GBC as well as Christians of all other denom inations at this central festival of our faith.
Baptisms in both Gamlingay places of worship at this season such a great joy, particularly appropriate as this was the early church practice. We pray continuing fruitful times for the churches in this place and espec ially for GBC and Pastor Adrian as he with his family is on Sabbatical from Easter.
But although Easter Day is long gone, for some us Easter Season continued throughout April and goes on into this month, as we remember the experience of the first disciples of Jesus, discovering more about what had happened that first Easter Day. Their despair at the death of their Rabbi, the Messiah they’d hoped for and seen killed by collusion of poli tical and religious powers of their time, became astonishment and confusion, then joyful excitement, but something they still kept to themselves.
It was not until the Day of Pentecost (celebrated this year on 19th May) that the Church was born, when the anxious first believers became empowered to spread the Gospel (Good News) of who Jesus was and is, and what that first Easter Day really meant. As I wrote of last month, it is possible to ignore or even deny the Gospel, but also to believe it, sort of, but not to truly live it.
This month I invite you to join in ... Thy Kingdom Come 2024: 9th May (Ascension Day) – 19th May (Pentecost) the global ecumenical prayer movement where Christians around the world pray from Ascen sion to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus.
In our Anglican Church we will be praying that we ourselves know more of Jesus as well as for others to come to that knowledge – watch the Newsletter for how that manifests itself beyond Sunday prayers. The power of the Holy Spirit to trans form lives is not to be controlled by human beings, but, like a midwife at a birth, we can help things that happen naturally do so in the best way possible.
I thank God for those who are finding Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, as well as coming
in penitence for where I/we have hidden or misrepresented the work of the God who is the King of Love, creator, redeemer and empower. That mystery we celebrate on Trinity Sunday (26th May) before beginning a season of Ordinary (ordered) time which is not based around the great festivals but takes us through the Summer.
During May we have Rogation season – when the crops were tradi tionally prayed for in Spring and
the Parish boundaries marked out. The three days this year run 6th to 8th May; Sunday 12th May will be
our Rogation Sunday. Hatley people are taking a Rogation ‘beating the bounds’ walk for Hatley parish, not particularly associated with anything religious, on 11th May which I hope to join, it’s apparently long, but with a shorter option and options to join and leave. A leaflet will have been distributed in the Hatleys – if you want to join in and don’t receive information, contact me and I’ll point you to the right people.
Love from Hilary