Rector’s Reflections

It was a privilege, on the third Sunday in January to lead, in addition to our morning services, a 4pm Refresh Service at Horndon Church, followed by a 6pm Discovery Bible Group at Orsett Churches Centre.

Our Refresh Services are informal acts of worship, with contemporary worship songs,  and give people an opportunity to share. On this particular occasion, our theme was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the contributions were many and diverse with much to give thanks to God for as well as many things to think about on the subject of unity and what it means for us as a church both locally and globally.

The Discovery Bible Study Group, which is a joint venture with the Wellcome Church, was on the theme of  the Temptation of Jesus and the Bible passage was Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written,

“One does not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you”,
    and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’

Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

“Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.”’

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

The pattern for Discovery Bible Study is that the passage is read and re-read several times and involves retelling it in our own words. We think about what it says about God, Jesus or his plan, about people, what it might say to each one of us and what we might tell other people as a result of this. And we had some great discussions about the different temptations we all face in our daily lives and how praying, spending time drawing close to God, and familiarising ourselves with the scriptures, as Jesus did, can help us to resist temptations.

I really recommend coming along to Refresh or the Discovery Bible Study Group. All are welcome. No previous knowledge is necessary, and both are held on the third Sunday of the month- Refresh at 4pm at Horndon Church and Discovery Bible Study at 6pm at Orsett Churches Centre.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Take care and God bless,

Sue

Happy New Year to you all!

Thank you to everyone who worked hard during December to ensure that all our Christmas services and events ran smoothly. And thank you to those of you who came and shared in worship. It was lovely to see you. Please do remember that you are always welcome at any church service at any time of the year.

We were, of course, privileged to be able to celebrate Christmas without fear for our lives. Ironically, and sadly, for many of our brothers and sisters living in the Holy Land, this would not have been the case.

You may have noticed that the carol ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ was  omitted from our services this year.  Out of respect for our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, many of whom are living in fear, it just felt insensitive to sing ‘O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie…’ when that is currently far from being the reality.

I have, for the past two years considered including, in one of our services, an alternative version of ‘O Little Town’ which was shared with me on a clergy training day, the lyrics of which reflect the current situation. I decided against this, recognising that people do want to come to church to celebrate the joy and glory of the birth of Jesus at this time.

However, I would like to share those words with you now and ask that you might use it as a prayer for those living in fear in the Holy Land, as we move forwards into 2025.

1.O sad and troubled Bethlehem, we hear your longing cry for peace and justice to be born and cruel oppression die. How deep your need for that great gift of love in human form. Let Christ in you be seen again and hearts by hope made warm.	3.Amazingly and lovingly Jesus the child has come and, brought to birth through human pain, makes broken hearts his home. He comes to comfort all who weep, to challenge every wrong and, living with the weak and poor, Becomes their hope, their song. Words by Wendy Ross-Barker
2.While morning stars and evening stars shine out in your dark sky, despair now stalks your troubled streets where innocents still die. And Jesus, born of Mary, whose love will never cease, feels even now your pain and fear, longs with you for your peace.

I will continue to pray for peace in our world as we journey forward into another year and I wish you all a peaceful and joyous 2025. May God bless you all.

Sue

As 2024 draws towards its end, I would like to thank Revd Max, the churchwardens, the PCC and everyone who has worked hard, to serve God in in the Parish over the past year.

As the evenings become darker earlier, the new Church calendar begins, and we enter the Advent season expectant of the coming of the light.

So, our Christian year begins with waiting. We wait in anticipation of Christmas when we  celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we wait in hope for when Jesus comes again. Luke says in his Gospel,

‘And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’ (Luke 21:25-28)

Some of Luke’s words resonate with us today, as we witness the terrible things that are  happening in the world. Yet Luke tells Jesus’ followers ‘to stand tall and lift up your heads.’ Rather than allowing fear and confusion to dominate our thoughts, we are called to look up as we  wait for and work for the coming of God’s reign.

Christ is here, urging us to “keep awake”, and to trust in his light, a light that no darkness can put out.  

We stay awake, watch and wait, for we do not know the hour or the day of your arrival.

Come, Lord, bringer of hope.

Create in us a desire for a world transformed to reflect your glory.

Come, Lord, bringer of hope.

Lead us in your ways, as together we make a change, to dispel the darkness of poverty.

Come, Lord, bringer of hope.

CAFOD

As we approach Christmas, please do join me in continuing to pray for our world and for all those in need, remembering, also, to thank God for his goodness.

I look forward to seeing you over the next few weeks and wish you a joyous and blessed Christmas!

God bless,

Sue

September 2024

I am sure that many of us have been horrified by the recent rioting in many cities around the country.

On one of the Sundays when the rioting was at its height, I preached the following words, which one of the people present at the service asked me to share.

Our former Bishop of Bradwell posted on his Facebook page that his daughter had phoned him from  abroad to say, ‘Dad, when you go out, remember you are Asian.’

What a sad indictment of the society in which we live.

As many of us know, Bishop John is now the Bishop of Liverpool, where there have been terrible racist riots. And this is just one of many places where these have been happening.

In contrast, in our Bible readings, we have had an extract from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, a book which can be divided into two main sections: The first part, Chapters 1 -3 are about Christ reconciling all creation to himself and to God. The second part, Chapters 4-6, stress the importance of living according to God’s will and challenge us to live in unity. And the following verses are key as to how to do that.

We are told in Verse 29. ‘Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice and be kind to one another… be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us.’

In contrast to the horrendous rioting, we have recently seen positive examples of people from around the world living together in unity both at the Olympics in Paris and, more locally, at the Essex Scout and Guide Jamboree near Chelmsford.

When I saw the scale of the rioting in the media, I said to my husband, Phil, ‘Where on earth have all these people come from?’

And, actually, it all started because of an angry and inaccurate post on social media. It made me think about how careful we need to be with our tongues whether that be with our spoken word or written word because one slanderous word of gossip can grow and have huge repercussions.

We are all called to be kind. To look for the good in one another whatever race, religion or sexuality. The list goes on.

I think I have shared before, the words on a postcard which I have up in my study. It says, ‘Love your neighbour, who doesn’t look like you, think like you, love like you, speak like you, pray like you, vote like you. Love your neighbour: No exceptions.’

It sound lovely doesn’t it, but the reality is that it is sometimes hard, because we gravitate towards people who are like us because that’s often where we feel most comfortable. It is a challenge for us as individuals, as a Parish and as the Church as a whole.

So, going back to the violence witnessed in our streets, where has Jesus been I wonder?

Well, I certainly don’t think he has been in the hearts of the rioters. They have clearly shut him out.

But I do think he has been in the hearts of those who, in the ‘Hope against Hate’ marches have stood bravely against the fascism and racism promoted at the riots.

Thankfully, most of us haven’t been involved in any of the public displays of aggression. But I think the rioting has highlighted what damage an ill thought word, email, or post on social media can cause.

We are all members of one another. And when we let our guard down and succumb to that nasty word, we are making room for the devil. Rather, we are called to use words to build each other up whether or not someone is like us, and to give grace to one another. And that also means walking away others say a nasty word.

Perhaps, before any of us loosen our tongues, let’s ask ourselves not just, ‘What would Jesus do? But, also, ‘What would Jesus say?’

Take care and God bless,

Sue