Ardenmarches

MINISTER’S LETTER FOR FEBRUARY

“How are you settling in?”
If I had a pound for every time I had been asked that question in the last couple of months I would, as they say, be a millionaire.

The answer is…we are settling fine. In fact, we feel quite settled already. It has been good to begin to get to know everyone, to find our way around and to see all the things that are going on in churches and parish.

My first impression, before we arrived, was that there is a lot of life and activity in the Arden Marches churches. A few months in and that view has been confirmed. With all the various services and groups we can truthfully say that we are a very active group, which is great. But that doesn’t mean that we can all sit back and rest on our laurels.

There are some key questions to ask in the midst of this activity.
Firstly, we need to be constantly reminding ourselves why we are here. We are the Church of God here in Studley, Mappleborough Green, Oldberrow and Morton Bagot. Our purpose and vision derive from that call of God on our lives. The call of the God who loves us so much that he sent his Son into the world to bring us forgiveness and healing. So we are here to be his people - the worshipping and witnessing Christian community of the forgiven and healed.

Archbishop William Temple once said that the Church was the only organisation “formed for the benefit of those who weren’t members”. At the heart of why we are here is that others may know that love, forgiveness and healing. So we need to have that at the forefront of our minds.

But secondly, if we are to be sharing that good news with others we, ourselves, need to be encouraged and growing in our own personal faith and walk with God.

We not only need to ask about what are we doing to share God’s love with others, but also some personal questions. What am I doing to grow and build my faith? Or even, what am I doing to grow and build the faith of my brothers and sisters in Christ? There are bible study groups already in existence, we are planning another Alpha course or there might be other things we need to think about so that we can grow and build your faith.

It is easy in the midst of the all the activity to forget these key questions. We all need to grow in our Christian faith if we are to truly be God’s people in this place. Over the years I have been amazed by the number of people trying to live an adult Christian life on a Sunday school knowledge of their faith. In the midst of their activity they have forgotten to grow and build their faith.

A third question that we might be asking is also a personal one. If we have at the forefront of our minds why we are here, if we are also taking care of our spiritual welfare (and hopefully of those around us) we also need to ask ourselves “what is it that God wants me to do in his church?” Some have already answered that question and we are blessed with many people active in the life of our churches, for others I will make it a very blunt question…“what are you going to do for God?”

There is plenty to do and the more people that are doing – the more we can do. From the Outreach team to the Community Worship team, from the tea rota to the reading rota, from prayer to pastoral care - there are always vacancies. As someone once said the only unemployment in the Kingdom of God is voluntary. So what are you going to do for God?

There is much to be thankful for in our group of churches. We are seeking to be God’s people in this place, but there are always questions to challenge us and always more to be done.

“Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord”

David Silvester