Its nearly time for the Donkathon SO do follow Polly’s daily blog on www.donkathon.org You can follow last minute preparations and then after 25 June you can watch the daily progress towards St Melangell in North Wales – Join the fun!
June 2021 Pastoral Letter (English)
FACE TO FACE
To the members of the Family of St Asaph
A Pastoral Letter for June 2021 from Bishop Gregory
It is exciting to have started the process of meeting up with people face to face once again. People who have been familiar only on the screen, and often not even that, are suddenly able to meet with me once again. I have been to see my parents at their home in south Wales, even if hugging was still not permissible at the time. It is so much richer to be in one another’s presence, to be able to take in the responses of gesture, body language and expression as well as the spoken word, unmediated by a screen.
Zoom – something of which I had barely heard at the beginning of 2020 – has served us well, particularly for business meetings, and I suspect that we’ll be keeping the format. However, our meetings have become more formal, there is little or no side talk, certainly not the opportunity to catch up with items that are not strictly business, but about enjoying friendship and support, or at least only in a very diminished way. The time is fast approaching for friendship to resume.
So too, there should be excitement in our faith. The Christian faith speaks of an intimate face to face encounter with God, which is distinctive in the world of faith. “Now we may see through a glass darkly”, wrote the apostle Paul, “but soon we shall see him face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13.12). He is speaking of our appearance before God at the end of time, and the journey towards God in faith, but this final encounter is not the only intimate meeting with God that is described in the New Testament. “In many and various ways God spoke to our forefathers,” wrote the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” (Hb 1.2), and you can feel the excitement in the First Letter from John, “That One who was from the beginning, to whom we actually listened, whom we have seen with our own eyes, and touched with our own hands – he is the Word of Life.” (1 John 1.1). Christians believe that in Jesus, God came among us, to be touched and to touch, to heal and to set free, to redeem and to bear witness to love. I do believe that, by God’s grace alone, I shall see God face to face one day, but even now, I know that I am called into an intimate meeting with him in my heart – when God may minister to me, and I may lay the burdens of my heart before him. I am called to be a friend of Jesus – and you are as well.
In fact, if Jesus spoke true, we may find ourselves meeting him all over the place. “In as much as you did this for the least of one of my brethren” said Jesus of the service of generous love, “you did it as to me.” (Matthew 25.40). If we rejoice over the resumption of face to face encounters, so too we should rejoice over the promise of friendship with God, that begins now, even if it will come to fruition in its fullness only in eternity.
Actually, it looks as if even the unlocking of our national lockdown may take some time yet. As I speak, the Prime Minister has dialled up his uncertainty: June 21st may not be the day after all, and the delta variant may cause further delays. Even then, I suspect that our diaries will not fill in the old way – I find my colleagues expressing caution still about the return to worship, the organisation of in person gatherings, and the cycle of committee meetings. The ending of lockdown will come not with the throwing of a switch: “Hey presto, we are back to normality”, but with a slow testing out, of courage and caution in equal measure.
Like neighbours after a long and bitter dispute, we shall have to feel our way back to an equilibrium of contact with which we feel comfortable. Let us pray then for the organisers of meetings and events, and for the gift of wisdom. Let us pray that God will help us to go not too slowly, nor too fast; let us pray that medical knowledge and the science of immunisation may keep pace with the mutating virus, and let us pray that at each step, the relationships that we rebuild will be suffused with a deepened sense of faith, hope and love that enables us to see the face of Christ in friend and foe, in neighbour and in colleague, in stranger and in outsider.
Update
St Melangell’s Church and Centre are now beginning to reopen.
Please note: pre-booking is required due to space restrictions and social distancing regulations.
The St. Melangell Centre will reopen from Monday 28th June 2021.
The Church is now open for weekly Sunday services at 3PM.
From the start of July, a further biweekly service will be held on Thursdays at 12 noon, alternating with a zoom group. Holy Communion is offered at this service currently on a monthly basis. The communion for June is to be held this week on 17th June (amended from the planned date of 24th June). The next communion will be on 1st July.
The church will also be open for visitors and for private prayer.
All of the above still require pre-booking, social distancing, face masks and hand sanitation. This situation may change at any time, so please check again before travelling.
Sunday reflection
Reflection for the second Sunday after Trinity
“The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain….”
Jesus, in Mark 4:26-34.
“They are trying to fuse the idea that recovery from Covid has to be an eco recovery.” Commentator Harry Cole, of the leaders in the G7 summit.St Melangell’s valley is looking spectacularly beautiful at the moment with the trees, hedgerows and fields full of new growth, blossom and wild flowers. This is one of the wild flower meadows here – it’s glorious!
Jesus’ words in today’s gospel are particularly appropriate as the earth here produces its bounty and brings balm to the soul in these perplexing times. The soothing and beneficial effect that nature and the countryside can have on those who are anxious or troubled is well known and Jesus, with his keen eye for images in nature and farming, reminds his hearers that growth will happen – but that it happens in stages, when the time is right. There are times when his followers have to hold on to that and to accept that, despite their best endeavours, if the time is not right then we have to trust and wait patiently until it is. That can be hard!
Not seeing progress when we expect it can lead to disappointment or discouragement but also means that we have to grow spiritually, and that the faith we profess has to mature. In the reading today Jesus, exaggerating to make the point, speaks of the importance of growth and likens this to the mustard seed which “….is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (vv31,32)Recently, hopes of progress on an long-running administrative matter here have been dashed yet again and this was initially hard to bear. The words of Jesus today, the beauty in the valley and the trust that other people will play their part mean that these words also brought a different perspective:“Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages….. and yet all the law of progress is that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – and that it may take a very long time.” Theilhard de Chardin – who was turned into Teilhard de Chardonnay by my spellchecker!The length of time that growth and change takes has been clearly visible in the G7 summit this weekend as some of the consequences and complexities of Brexit rumble on, the so-called sausage wars amongst them. The irony of the leaders, their staff and security arriving in their polluting and individual planes, helicopters, motorcades and warships before statements were issued about the concern about climate change, the sea and the environment was also not lost. But there is always the hope of progress and growth…… though discerning when to wait and when to act quickly is not easy, as environmental activists urge that speedy responses are now imperative.The decision when to act and when to wait is not ours alone as others tasked with their own roles and responsibilities are also involved. As the clock ticks for the environment and for each of us in our own situations, the hope of progress and growth in the fruition and harvest God has for his Kingdom here on earth involves faith, humility and perseverance, regardless of what timescale his followers may perceive.
That growth is being developed in a myriad of ways, only some of them involving his church and its members. In that wider vision and in God’s timing we trust – just as God entrusts to us the stewardship of his creation and our part in enabling the growth of his Kingdom:“It’s a long way off, but to getThere takes no time and admissionIs free, if you will purge yourselfOf desire, and present yourself withYour need only and the simple offeringOf your faith, green as a leaf.”The Kingdom, by R.S.Thomas.
With my prayers; pob bendith,Christine, Guardian.
Sunday reflection
Reflection for the First Sunday after Trinity.
“We fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” St Paul in today’s Epistle, 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1
“The Spirit that our God bestows, The mystery that loves and knows, The very soul our Saviour bought, Speaks through a body born of bread – and wine. The clinging vine That climbs some crumbled wall in France.” From At the Eucharist, a poem by Studdart Kennedy, the Army Chaplain known as Woodbine Willie.
Today is the First Sunday after Trinity, as well as the Sunday nearest to the festival of Corpus Christi, thanksgiving for Holy Communion. It’s also the anniversary of the D-Day landings in 1944 and marks the dedication of the British Normandy Memorial at Gold beach; ironically those who campaigned so long for this to happen are now unable to travel to the ceremony in France due to the Coronavirus restrictions.
Corpus Christi was also the first time I presided at the Eucharist as one of the first women to be priested in the Church of England in 1994, having served four years as a deacon. During that time, I met a war veteran who was one of the bravest people I ever knew as he lived with PTSD throughout his life after his experiences but considered this to be part of his service to his country. Former Sergeant Maurice Enser told me an extraordinary story that I have never forgotten and which, with his permission, was later published. Maurice died some years ago but his account of receiving Holy Communion in a dilapidated hut whilst under fire follows in his own words as a reminder of the cost of Corpus Christi, the blood shed by those who died or were injured during the war and all who have to live with terrible memories. May Maurice’s understated words of bravery under fire inspire courage in those who need it during the battles being waged today.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
“If someone had asked where was the worst place to hold a church service that would have been it, right on the brow of a hill in full view of the enemy. However 2nd Lt. Martin and I went in and the Padre was in there and three or four other men ready. We started the service. After a short time we heard shelling start….they were aiming at this hut we were in. They had seen us go in and probably suspected we were observing their positions from there.
The Padre’s name was Captain Barrett, a very brave man, and he continued the service – we had communion. When it ended he said, “I think you had better take what cover you can.” We all lay on the floor. Mr. Martin and the Padre went into one corner, they were the two officers, and a soldier I had never met before shouted, “Do you want to come and join me?” I crawled over to where he was and dropped into a small slit trench there. By that he certainly saved my life and I told him that fifty years later when we met. We remained there and the shelling continued fast and furious. On more than one occasion a shell came through one wall and out of the other and didn’t explode – if it had been brick or steel or anything like that it would have exploded.
The next minute a shell dropped in the middle of us. The place was covered with dust and the smell of cordite and I could hear groaning and moaning. I got up and crawled over to where the two officers were and I reached Mr. Martin first. I knew he was dying and as I put my arm under him he groaned and gasped and died. In his back was a terrific hole. Then we helped Captain Barrett, the Padre, and he was in a bad way, his legs were completely shattered.
When I went back to my Platoon they had had a few shells but no-one was hurt. I had to tell them what had happened and that I was now their Platoon Commander. One young man, whose name was Paxton, said, “Could we have a bit of a service for them?” Well, it had been a bit of a troublesome time for me, it was difficult to gather my senses together, but I said to Paxton, “All right then.” We sang a hymn and then we had a prayer and I had a New Testament in my pocket. I read something and then I said a few words. At the end I said, “God Bless and go back to your duties.” I know Paxton in particular was pleased with that.
In the event, he was killed in my presence about two weeks later. I had no opportunity to have a bit of a service for him – I was taken prisoner at that time and I have never met his family. That was many years ago now but I did go with my wife to Belper on holiday three years ago and we happened to see a war memorial. I went up and had a look at it – and Paxton’s name was on it.”
Sunday reflection
Reflection for Trinity Sunday.
Nicodemus….came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God….”
Jesus answered, “…… What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” From John 3:1-17, NRSV.
Jesus answered, “…… What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” From John 3:1-17, NRSV.
“It is commonly said that the Trinity is a mystery…. But it is not a mystery veiled in darkness in which we can only grope and guess…. It is a mystery in which we are given to understand that we will never know all there is of God…. It is not a mystery that keeps us in the dark, but a mystery in which we are taken by the hand and gradually led into the light.” Eugene Peterson.
In today’s Gospel for Trinity Sunday, Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night – perhaps as he didn’t want to be seen openly with him or because he wanted a quiet talk with him. As a member of the ruling Sanhedrin and a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have placed heavy emphasis on following the established laws of Judaism but Jesus speaks in their complex conversation of being born again and of a new way of life that is not about rules but the love of God and the power of the Spirit. He likens this to the wind, which is invisible and can be heard but blows where it will, and challenges Nicodemus with a different way of interpreting some of the traditional teachings of the faith into which he, too, was born. Nicodemus is not easily persuaded, but later suggests to his colleagues that they should investigate Jesus before judging him (John 7) and also brings a huge quantity of spices to anoint Jesus’ dead body when taken down from the cross (John 19:39). His relationship with Jesus clearly has some effect on him.
Relationship is also clearly at the heart of the Trinity and, although this term isn’t mentioned as such in the Bible, it’s shown in challenging encounters like this. The meeting with Nicodemus happens as Jesus is starting to build relationships with his followers early in his ministry but these are later devastated when the disciples betray and deny him, fleeing from what has been so carefully nurtured as Passiontide develops. Jesus is left alone, experiencing utter dereliction in his words, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” before being placed in the solitude of the tomb. After the resurrection, the fledgling community is slowly rebuilt with the love that death cannot touch and even richer relationships develop as the Good News of the love of God the Father, revealed in the life of the Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit begins to spread.
During the pandemic, countless rich relationships were disrupted as the lockdown led to isolation, hardship and sacrifice for many for the sake of the longer term benefit of all. The challenge now lies in rebuilding what can be restored and in developing a way of being relational to the needs of others as well as ourselves so that good news may prevail, whether on June 21st or later. It will take patience, care and love – but it can be about more than endurance or survival. Trinity Sunday reminds us that the Love of God in relationship and community can also be an inspiration when we look for the signs of new life developing and hope suffusing relationships and communities as we are also “….gradually led into the light”.
There are alternatives: PD James warned that, “the modern holy trinity is money, sex and celebrity” but the history and mystery of the actual Holy Trinity may become more enlightening as perceptions change. Each generation has the opportunity, like Nicodemus, to choose whether or not to explore what this means to life, faith and our relationships with God, each other and ourself. Perhaps there are relationships that need care and revival in our lives today – could something be done to restore them?
What a mystery and a joy it can be to discover that, when our response is inspired by God’s love, we can be part of the encounter of not only an historical event but also the living, breathing, loving reality of the Trinity today!
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
St. Melangell’s feast day reflection
Reflection for St. Melangell’s feast day.
Greetings from the Shrine Church on St Melangell’s feast day!
Or is it? January 31st was the original date in Wales of the saint’s festival and it’s also suggested online that the saint may have lived in the sixth, seventh or eighth century. 27th May is now stated on many websites as the date but others including the Diocese of St Asaph mark the day on May 28th and so two days of celebration are possible. Coinciding with the Bank Holiday, there could be various ways of observing this but, with the pandemic still being an issue, there will be just the one service of Holy Eucharist and various meetings by Zoom instead. These meetings will involve forty people in France, America, Sweden, Scotland and Wales as technology means it possible still to overcome the challenges of boundaries and isolation to make virtual connections and find common ground. They are drawn by the life and example of a woman who lived so long ago and yet, with her concern for the welfare of the people and creatures around her and the legacy of sanctuary and hospitality that lives on in this valley, is very much a saint for our time too.
The difference in the dating of Melangell’s feast day shows in the two prayer cards being circulated this year. Both are based on the text written by Kim Orr, who lives in Colorado, USA and feature the same image of Melangell by the American artist Tracey Christianson. Kim has a small shrine to St Melangell in her garden and wrote a prayer to the saint for 27th May, sending it at the same time that the Diocese of St Asaph also suggested a prayer card for 28th May. Graciously, Kim gave permission for her prayer to be adapted into a collect, so that it could be sent around the Diocese and beyond. So, with the printer who devised Kim’s prayer card and Fr Henry who also assisted, four Americans and three Brits collaborated to produce the prayer cards that are in circulation and both are attached. It was a bit complicated but it happened!
Thanks to all of them and to you for the prayers that are requested for the mission and ministry of St Melangell’s. The challenges of the pandemic closed church buildings last year and some restrictions still remain this year, but who knows what lies ahead? Life is a bit complicated currently for us all but, with collaboration and perseverance, the challenges may be overcome and a way forward found. May Melangell’s example of quiet courage, prayerfulness and practical care be inspirational as we step out in faith, as did she.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
Sunday reflection
Reflection for Pentecost
”Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven…. and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” From Acts 2:1-21, NIV.
We have transformed raw steel into racing machines, turning flames into hope and ruin into beauty – written on Coventry‘s City of Culture mug.
Derby’s Museum of Making opened this week in the Silk Mill, Britain’s oldest surviving factory which dates from 1721. So often in museums, the exhibits are in cabinets to be looked at rather than used but the 30,000 artefacts here are all on display and visitors to it are being encouraged to make something during their visit. The function of many of its objects is unknown and curators are asking the public to tell them and become active participants if they recognise the purpose of what’s in front of them. The museum needs its visitors and they need the museum too, as both discover more about local heritage and as the future also begins to take shape in the present.
The success of the Silk Mill, and the colourful story behind its development, played a pivotal role in Derby’s industrial development, leading as it did to the later textile mills of pioneers such as Richard Arkwright. People started to come to Derby to see this “model of manufacturing wonder” and its new purpose means that they are flocking there once again now that it has reopened after its adaptation and repurposing.
In today’s passage in the Acts of the Apostles, many visitors ‘from every nation under
heaven’ are also flocking to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. They are devout Jews who, when they hear and see what is happening, become both amazed and perplexed. Others in the crowd think that drink is involved until Peter tells them that this is the Spirit being poured out – on all people. Not everyone is willing to receive this gift but, later, about three thousand people are baptised that day (2:41). Many wonderful things begin to happen then – and are still happening today.
However, some believers today think that this event is an historical account from the past rather than a sign of God also actively at work in the present. It’s possible to see this as a special event as the Good News begins to emerge from the familiar traditions of the past into the transformation of lives and futures in so amazing way. In doing so, it’s easy to overlook that the Holy Spirit is still active and not be open to what that might mean for Jesus’ followers now, who sometimes choose to be bystanders or critics – like some in the crowd then – rather than being actively involved in what is happening.
It’s also easy to overlook that all those who have been baptised have already received the Holy Spirit. As the Church in Wales’ baptism service puts it, “Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit you give to your faithful people new life in the water of baptism: guide and strengthen us by the same Spirit……” Whether or not that same power, guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit will be sought in the new way of life now emerging from the chaos of the pandemic will vary for each individual as choices are made, lifestyles change and devastation sometimes results.
Coventry, the current City of Culture, faced enormous destruction during the war and the industrial change since but still celebrates turning flames into hope and ruin into beauty. At so pivotal a time this Pentecost, there will be continuing opportunities to be actively involved in fanning the flames of hope or simply watching what evolves from the efforts of other people. Some will become involved and others won’t but the one thing to be sure of is that the Holy Spirit is active in the church today and elsewhere too. However, it’s also possible for churches to be seen as archaic museums and treated as such, too. That doesn’t have to be the case but active participation is needed if the wind and fire of Pentecost are to bring about the change that is possible and necessary today for the shaping of a better future for all. Otherwise, the bystanders, critics and dust prevail.
Where and how might it be possible, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to transform flames into hope today and ruin into beauty after all the devastation that has happened recently?
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
Sunday reflection
Reflection for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after Ascension Day.
“Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen… Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” From Acts 1:15-17,21-26, NIV.
“The ascension of Elijah may be compared to the flight of a bird, which none can follow; the ascension of Christ is, as it were, a bridge between earth and heaven.” Baumgarten.
Today is the Sunday after Ascension Day when Jesus left his disciples, having told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. They do this and Acts 1 tells us that women and Jesus’ family are also included in the group of those who gather to pray, now about a hundred and twenty of them. That number of men was required before a synagogue could have its own council and, with suggestions that Jesus may have appeared to five hundred people at the same time (1 Cor. 15:6), this inclusive group seems to be part of a growing number of believers beginning to form a legitimate and different community within traditional worshippers. Growth and change is already happening and Peter suggests that, following the suicide of Judas, another apostle should be elected in his place.
The symbolic link with the twelve tribes of Israel was important within Judaism and the replacement is sought from within those who have been present since the start of Jesus’ ministry and have witnessed all that has happened. There is a choice between two, Judas Barsabbas or Matthias, and lots are cast after prayer asking for guidance -the traditional way of making a difficult choice. It’s interesting that, this being before the coming of the Holy Spirit and Matthias being chosen, he is added to the group of apostles but nothing more is heard of him. However, the convert Paul later emerges from outside the original group as a key leader in all that then begins to unfold and it’s clear that the Holy Spirit is active in a new way of being which contrasts with former practices and is for Gentiles as well as Jews. A different form of worship and belief is evolving and, later in Acts, the change is clear – lots are not cast and leaders are now chosen for being “full of the Spirit and wisdom” as well as “full of faith” (Acts 6:3,5).
Much has been expected of those who are in leadership today at this time of such profound change during the pandemic and, understandably, wisdom or faith has not always been the hallmark of those in authority or their critics, given that this crisis has not been faced before. In the light of the Indian variant beginning to spread so quickly just as restrictions are being eased, it’s also been hard for some folk to wait without knowing what will happen or when, before the necessary data is available and when what is hoped for could be snatched away. We are having to live with inevitable uncertainty and it’s hard, but unavoidable as a different way of being emerges for us as for those first disciples.
Having witnessed the terrible suffering of Jesus, his death and resurrection as well as the shock of being left behind, his followers could have panicked, pursued their own preferences or turned aside from what was being asked of them. That could apply to each of us, too, as the complexities of the pandemic continue, but those first disciples found instead the courage to wait patiently as they awaited the fulfilment of all that was to be. Jesus took his earthly experience with him at the ascension into heaven when that “bridge between earth and heaven” was created and it lead also to the blessing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. First, though, there had to be the time of prayer, waiting and trust in leaders – for both those first disciples and for what is faced today, whether in the UK, India, Israel, Palestine, America or elsewhere.
Please pray for leaders who come to mind and those who live with the consequences of their decisions.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.
Sunday reflection
Reflection for Rogation Sunday
“I no longer call you servants…. Instead I have called you friends…. This is my command: Love each other.” Jesus in John 15:9-17, NIV.
Peter ordered that [the Gentiles] be baptised… Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. From Acts 10:44-48, NIV.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again…..
He says again, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’
From Mending Wall by the American poet Robert Frost.
Today is Rogation Sunday, named from the Latin rogare, to ask – a reminder of Jesus’ words in John 14, “I will do whatever You ask in my name.” In times when a poor crop would mean hunger to come, prayers were asked in springtime for God’s blessing on the sowing of the seed and the hope of a good harvest. Rogation processions developed to bless the fields, sometimes leaving crosses there as a reminder, and often following parish boundaries. George Herbert, the poet born in Montgomery not far from here, wrote of the four ‘manifest advantages’ of a Rogation procession:
“First, a blessing of God for the fruits of the field: Secondly, justice in the Preservation of bounds: Thirdly, Charity in loving walking, and neighborly accompanying one another, with reconciling of differences at that time, if there be any: Fourthly, Mercy in time is, or ought to be used.” The Country Parson, 1633.
Over time, this grew into beating the bounds, also walking the boundaries to ensure that the youngsters of the parish would physically know the landmarks and limits of their own location. This was also an opportunity to mend any dilapidated walls or fencing and settle any boundary issues, whether of the land or relationships. Given the zeal with which sheep here sometimes try to break out of their field, Frost’s poem about boundaries and whether or not to maintain them is amply illustrated in this valley:
“We keep the wall between us as we go/ To each the boulders that have fallen to each.“
In the Gospel and Acts readings today, boundaries are being broken down. After being followers, disciples and servants, Jesus now calls those with him his friends, telling them that he has made known to them everything that he has learned. That is an astonishing thing for Jesus to say to them and to us today as these words are read – but the hallmark of this friendship is love, a command not an option. Peter also, having initially thought it important to keep the boundaries of the faith and custom of the Jews, has realised that Gentiles are part of God’s plan because they have been heard speaking in tongues and praising God. The Holy Spirit is being poured out on even the Gentiles! After a struggle with what is being asked of him, Peter now urges their baptism and is then asked to stay with them which, previously, he wouldn’t have been able to do according to the demands of the ritual of Judaism. What an astonishing and fundamental change of heart for both Peter and those Gentiles!
All this has implications for us as some boundaries established during the pandemic are now being broken down whilst others are still being maintained. Shortly, it will be possible to meet indoors and to hug those from whom we’ve had to be estranged during the last year – some will welcome this whilst others may not. For some, an adjustment may be required and, for others, a change of heart and mindset like Peter’s as the consequences of the pandemic on lives and health the world over continue although they are easing in the UK.
If there are things with which we struggle, then perhaps we should ask God’s guidance this Rogation Sunday as the limits of freedom and responsibility are explored and access to heath care and food are marked. The supermarkets now enable the provision of food more readily, but this comes at a cost as this week’s tensions between Jersey and French fishermen over the limits of fishing rights have shown. That applies to the human stewardship of creation, too, and the simple act of not cutting the lawn has been suggested for No Mow May so that bees, insects and wild flowers can be helped to flourish. As we face the needs of others as well as ourselves and Jesus’ command to love, each of us will have to decide whether to maintain or dismantle the boundaries we face, and what we need to ask God for. In this perspective, Frost’s words may have a renewed resonance:
“Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walking in or walking out
And to whom I was likely to give offence
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall
That wants it down…..”
With my prayers – pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.