Dear Friends,May 14th is the beginning of Christian Aid week. This year they are featuring Malawi - where there is a deep need for better seeds to enable better harvests in a changing climate. May 14th is also Rogation Sunday, the first of days this week traditionally set aside to pray for our land: for its fertility and good harvest to come. There is perhaps an invitation to begin to be an answer to our own prayers and those of our counterparts in Malawi by even a small gift this week. To pray for our parishes, farmers and local land we will be meeting at Countisbury at 2pm on Sunday for a reflective walk to the top of the hill where we have a good view to pray for all our parishes -if you want to join the walk please wear good shoes and dress according to the weather!May 14th is also the first Bell Sunday - when we give thanks for the joyful contribution made by our bell ringers through our church seasons. Thank you to all who ring in our churches - we know that you make such a difference to those marking milestones in their lives in church - and visitors often comment that it was the sound of the bells that brought them to church.This coming week something new is starting: Laurence is offering a time to gather for prayer at 9.30 at St Mary's Lynton on a Thursday morning, beginning 18th May. All welcome.God blessSamanthahttps://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week?gclid=CjwKCAjw6vyiBhB_EiwAQJRopvUKIhIavzTfhpZKNAAUtoSQ0Z28W2Su4Jmlz5TAAV7o69cuwACktBoCQm4QAvD_BwE
Dear Friends,Like many of you, I have spent much of the morning watching the crowning of King CHarles III. In an age of mass communication, the desire for instant images and the consequent intrusion on privacy and erosion of mystery, I was deeply moved by the most spiritual action of the ceremony being removed from view: the anointing of the King for his service was a moment between just him and his God. The moment at which he was shown most clearly that nothing he is or does is in his own strength alone was a moment that was for him alone, even in the midst of a full congregation, and a worldwide audience.Just as the Archbishop encouraged us to see that the call to serve, the call to love in action, is a call to all of us; so too perhaps this moment set aside reminds us to focus on how all that we can be and do as those who serve, as those who put love into action, is in a strength that is given to us, that comes from beyond us, is a gift from God. I invite you, sometime over this coronation weekend to take some quiet, personal time, as if screened from the demands of daily life, to ask for, or to reflect on the strength God gives to help you live out the calling God has given you.God blessSamanthaReminder: Christian Aid week is approaching: at a time of so many international areas of need, it is a good time to put our love into action via a proven charity which works well on the ground in such areas. At St Mary's Lynton on 14th/21st there will be a retiring colection for Christian Aid.
Dear Friends,We have reached "good shepherd" Sunday - the Sunday in Easter-tide when we hear Jesus explain that he is the good shepherd who the sheep follow because they know his voice. A memory from when I came for interview here is a conversation with the then Rural Dean who had come to North Devon from the urban Midlands. He said for him one of the great blessings of being here was the way that the gospel came alive in this rural context. The imagery of sheep and shepherd is vivid here, it is woven into our normal lives. Now I can echo that - I will never forget conversations with the children at Parrcombe school when they explained to me skills needed of a shepherd, while I was majoring on the love of the shepherd for the sheep they were very quick to highlight the need to be "strong and firm because sometimes sheep are stubborn"; and their admiration for the shepherds of the Christmas story who looked after sheep without the aid of quad bikes. So when we listen to Jesus choosing the character of a shepherd to show what he is like maybe it is also a Sunday to give thanks for the culture in which we live here, shaped by living close to the land and the skills of tending to the daily needs of the creatures we depend on. Let's hold in our prayers all those who have been through and maybe are still in the long days and nights of lambing. As we think about this week's gospel may those around us deepen our insight into the God who calls us all into safe pastures.God blessSamantha
