It seems hard to believe that it was all the way back in March 2015 that PCC first discussed the possibility of alterations within the church, to accommodate the needs of our growing Outreach Project, and to improve our worship space. Even since those first conversations, the Outreach Project has continued to grow, and to become a major feature of the life of this church and of the community.
Surveys in this country show that two thirds of people who have no faith know somebody who is a Christian. Most think positively about the Christians they know, and the same surveys show that about 20% (one fifth) of people are open to getting to know Jesus better. Taken together, that means that those of us with faith have quite a responsibility to help bring the non-Christians we know to Jesus.
This month will mark a historical event in the life of this parish. At Chester Cathedral, on the afternoon of Saturday 15th October, for the first time ever we shall have a Reader licensed to minister among us. Sarah Dutton writes in this edition of God’s calling on her life, and also more generally about Readers in the Church of England, a ministry which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
Later this month (15th September at 7.30pm) there will be an important event at the cathedral to launch a year-long initiative for all of us to further develop our Bible reading.
As Christians, we are used to talking about having Christ-like attitudes in our daily lives. But, if we are honest, how much does that really impact what we do as individuals, or as different groups in the church? The PCC is considering adopting the Jesus Shaped People programme for Holy Trinity Church. What does this mean?
I write this just after our Fun Day held on June 11th, to celebrate the Queen’s birthday (see p16 for pictures). We had a good turnout in spite of the dubious weather, and good fun was had by all, young and old. We organised a variety of activities at the Fun Day, including biscuit decorating and also making a crown (thank you to Lynn Wakefield and Clare Davies for leading those). These were primarily designed to be for the children, but one of the delightful things was to see how adults (old enough to be parents, or even grandparents) also enjoyed taking part.
One of my all-time favourite passages in the Bible is in the second half of Mark’s Gospel chapter five. Typically for this Gospel writer, two incidents are woven together: the healing of a little girl, Jairus’ daughter, is sandwiched between the account of the healing of the haemorrhaging woman. The fact the woman has been unwell for the same length of time as the girl has been alive, 12 years, is part of the beautiful parallel in this account.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to every parish priest in the country, encouraging us to pray for the nation in the week leading up to Pentecost. This is from their letter:
No sooner are the Christmas cards and decorations removed from the supermarket shelves, than hot cross buns and Easter eggs appear. It is like retailers want to hurry us through the year, by beginning to sell things a couple of months ahead of their due date. But I have to confess, I am less bothered by the hot cross buns in January, than I am by tinsel appearing in September. It is not just because I really enjoy eating those buns(mmm…toasted with butter, nothing better!) ....
I love the Spring. Trees which formerly looked cold and lifeless, with branches completely bare through the winter, now in the spring produce green shoots, leaves appear, and soon we will have blossom sprouting too. They might have looked dead, but they certainly were not, and now are full of signs of life. And it is wonderful to celebrate the resurrection and Easter when this transformation is happening in the world around us....