For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. Ps 22:24As we complete our time of Lent, with the intensity of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, culminating in the glorious rejoicing of Easter Sunday, we pray that God’s Kingdom will be completed in the world, and that His holy Name will be honoured throughout the earth, beginning, of course, with ourselves.We pray for the Liverpool Diocese, as we adjust to our new interim bishop, Ruth, asking for God’s blessing on her, and that she will find a genuine welcome amongst loving colleagues. We pray for all deaneries that are undergoing changes to their parishes or are considering them. May they listen well to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.We continue to pray for the process of finding a new Vicar for our parishes. We pray for the Trustees (the church patrons), the PCC representatives and all involved in the process. We pray that God will guide the right person to apply for the post.We pray for all our young people during the school holidays, and the start of the summer term. Many of our youngsters will be taking GCSE and other exams, and we pray that they will be able to do their best without too much stress and concern, remembering that they are wonderfully loved by God regardless of their academic success. We pray for on-line safety for them, that they will not be touched by bullying or abuse.And we continue to pray for lasting and enduring peace in the places of conflict in the world, that justice and mercy may be shown in every nation, and exploitation, greed and power-hungriness may be a thing of the past.Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’} John20:16
APRIL 25 NEWSLETTERJulie WritesThe sun is shining today, and I’ve managed an hour in the garden pruning and cutting away old growth to make space for the new buds to flourish. A blackbird came for a splash in the pond and the frogs are busy doing what frogs do at this time of year. Spring has definitely sprung.I’m reminded of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and the reckless praise of the people as they recognise the God-moment, breaking off palm branches and throwing their precious coats beneath the hooves of the donkey, welcoming Jesus as ‘Son of David’, a title of the Messiah. Jesus does not whip up the crowds, he comes on a humble donkey, but he does accept their praise. The religious leaders were angered by this and tell Jesus to control his disciples. Jesus declares that the very stones would cry out if the crowd were quiet.God may not come to us riding on a donkey, the God-moments are not always explosive in significance as Palm Sunday was. But God is not absent from his world. There are many smaller God-moments. God often comes to us through others, through his world, through events and we can know his presence in the everyday. Of course, we just need to make the time to recognise that God moment and give our hearts to honouring God, to see beyond the commonplace and the mundane and see the glory in the dust.We have a few more weeks to go until that ‘Glorious Easter morn’ but I look forward to journeying with you on the way.Julie.
