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Dreams of Home

29/7/2016

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I have recently moved house, to a city about 30 miles from our old home. I have worked here for several years, and lived here as a student, but it's all new to my wife and I've found myself appreciating it in a new way as I show her around and as we begin to share our new surroundings with friends.

Moving house has also changed our relationship with our home in some surprising ways - in a new location, furniture and pictures have a fresh aspect. There's something about packing and cleaning that creates a reflective mood. We've been looking back on events and occasions we had forgotten about, reading old birthday cards, and in the process of sharing our new address we've found ourselves reconnecting with friends we had inexplicably lost contact with. It's been a really lovely process, but we still find ourselves sometimes looking backwards and missing the things we loved about our first home.

In the Bible, particularly in the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament), the idea of home is not tied to an individual dwelling, but associated with the location and spirit of God. Throughout the early books of the Bible, our spiritual ancestors are a displaced people wandering in a desert wilderness amongst hostile people, seeking a promised land, but in some sense they are already 'home'. Their home is wherever the Ark of the Covenant and the spirit of God is amongst them, and where they are with their people. 
When we come to church – especially when we visit a new church for the first time – we are looking for the place that will be that home for us. We are seeking a place where we see the Spirit in the people and find ourselves amongst family, and when we come to worship we are seeking to authentically create relationships, with God and with one another.

We all have places of change and uncertainty in our lives, and often have to reset what it means to be ‘home’, but with the reassurance of the presence of God, who gives us each hope and a future, we can be certain that wherever we discern the spirit we can confidently make our home.

Blessings,
Kate
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The New realm of god

22/7/2016

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Pride season is always an exciting and thought-provoking time. This year was particularly poignant in the light of the recent shooting in Orlando and other violent incidents across the United States and Europe. It feels as though every time we turn on the news there’s a new reason to despair of humanity, or to be afraid.

At General Conference, we were invited to vote on a new Statement of Faith for the denomination. It was a very moving experience to pray it together for the first time, and to be part of committing to something new for the denomination. For me, the line that resonated the most strongly was this,
“We affirm Your charge to all of humanity to care for the land, sea, and air. Therefore, we will actively resist systems and structures which are destroying Your creation.”
(Click 'read more' below to view the full statement of faith.)

That call to action alone was very powerful, but as the week went on and we were gathering for worship amidst news of shootings in Minnesota, Texas, and Louisiana, it became very clear that a church that holds care for creation within its statement of faith must also be prepared to talk about the systems that oppress the people who share in the glory of that creation. In worship, we affirmed the Black Lives Matter movement, and honoured the unarmed people shot by police in the US, and we grieved the trans women who have been killed for being themselves, and committed to Say Her Name. We have all felt the pain of loss and shared that pain with one another in a very powerful way.

I am particularly grateful to the people who were present who have been directly affected by racism who shared their experiences with us, and challenged us as a church to examine our attitudes. As individuals, as a local church, and as a global fellowship we have always been called to look to where there is injustice and seek to bring justice. Now we are called to self-examination. Leaving Conference, I felt a really deep need to think about what might be at work in our movement that still keeps people from the love of God. What are my unspoken or unrecognised biases?

As an inclusive church we are all called to share the love of God with anyone who crosses our path. What could you do to resist systems that oppress and harm other children of God? It won’t be easy, but God’s grace sustains us as we work towards the new realm. Do not be afraid, God will be with you.

Blessings,
Kate


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Perfect in Weakness

14/7/2016

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My best just wasn’t good enough. I recently received some distressing news from my elderly parents which left me feeling just that. I had tried my hardest to do what I thought was right for them, and the untenable situation they were in had completely unravelled, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. I felt anger, guilt and despair. My first thought was, why did God allow this to happen?

My parents’ news reached me amidst other issues I found difficult to deal with. A friend received bad news about her custody battle to keep her two toddlers living with her. Another friend’s struggle with depression seemed unending. On the news, I felt saddened by reports from the US of race tensions, the police shooting of two black men and the killing of five police officers in retaliation. In Iraq, the deadliest single car bombing since the 2003 Iraq war killed nearly 300 people.

I don’t understand why some things don’t seem to get better despite our best efforts. My first reaction to my parents’ news was disbelief, because I thought I had done everything possible for them. Almost straightaway in response I could feel God assuring me of His love and faithfulness. I was reminded of the times when I felt devastated, powerless and lost, and how God saw me through. Walking through Newcastle the next day, the strains from a busker’s song felt like a comforting message from God– “For when I am weak, then I am strong….”

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). This assurance from God led Paul to declare that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). In our darkest moments, lies the opportunity for us to give up our struggling, and the potential for us to discover God’s perfect love.

What fills you with sadness and dread? In Joyce Rupp’s book, May I Have This Dance, she suggests some long-lasting inner struggles which make us feel dead inside, like we’ve “run out of gas”: the struggle to believe in our own goodness; being in the dark inner-world of depression; experiencing failure in relationships or work situations; feeling rejected, deserted, betrayed or abandoned; saying farewell to a loved one; losing hope and living with constant worry and anxiety.

I’m looking forward to Pride. The sad and troubling times we live in make it all the more important for us to stand-up and celebrate who we are – the expression and embodiment of God’s perfect love. Whatever struggle we may feel we are in a ‘losing battle with’, does not change the fact that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14), and that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

In love,
Carole
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Hope

1/7/2016

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I don’t know about many of you but with all the things that have happened in our world in this month of June 2016 my head and my heart have been all over the place. I have experienced pain,sadness, and anger at the death of our young and beautiful people in Orlando, and wept over the death of Jo Cox. I have struggled with making a decision around leaving or staying in the European Union and at one stage was not sure if I would vote but knew how important it was for me to contribute to the life of our world so I did.

In the midst of it all I had numerous questions. Why is this happening? Why so much violence displayed because of difference? Where is love and compassion for our neighbour? Everywhere I looked things were changing. At present here in the UK many would say its not just change but chaos as there is uncertainty about the future.

Chaos literally means a time of moving from disorder to order. It can be a creative time in which the goodness of humanity will and can shine through. We saw this as communities gathered to remember the people of Orlando, to remember the life of Jo Cox. As I pondered this reality I recalled the work and life of Harvey Milk who fought consistently for the rights of all those without a voice showing the goodness of humanity. He was known for saying ‘You gotta give them HOPE’, and for standing up for the rights of gay and lesbian people. The night he died 40,000 people, men and women, old and young, gay and straight kept vigil outside city hall in San Francisco. Why? - because they wanted change, they wanted to show love, compassion and support for a man who wanted equality of all.

These gatherings we have seen in Orlando and the UK are our sign of HOPE. In the midst of despair we are united and stand beside each other against violence to reach out to our brothers and sisters. We want the violence and the hatred to stop so we stand together throughout our world to break down barriers, reduce violence and intolerance and to promote human rights and, as Cardinal Juan Fresnos of Chile said, ‘Whoever stands up for human rights stands up for the rights of God’.

God bless,
Lorraine
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