Friday 6 January 2017

From the Vicar - January 2017

Happy New Year, the start of a New Year means a new beginning and we look forward with interest and with hope to all 2017 will bring. This time of year is always a time of looking forward and looking back, giving thanks for the events of the past year and looking forward to the promise the New Year holds. 

2016 brought about several major changes, particularly on the political front, changes that will impact on Britain’s future in Europe and in the World. On a personal level for most of us 2016 will have been filled with a mixture of joys and sorrows. Things that we worried about at the start of the year will have paled into insignificance by the end of the year and we place our trust in God as 2017 begins.

Are you a worrier? Possibly we all are to some extent, but more often than not the thing we worried about never happened and when the unexpected does happen then we are so busy dealing with the situation there is no time to worry. The Bible tells us not to worry ‘Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow…….’  We know we can’t add a day to our lives by worrying about things, and yet it is something that we find very hard to lay to one side.

I remember someone saying to me ‘Oh Dad’s such a worrier, he worries about everything and if he hasn’t got something to worry about he worries about what he may have forgotten that he should be worrying about!’ We may smile but maybe there is an element of truth in that for us all.

Look at the birds of the air, Jesus says, consider the lilies of the field. (Matthew 6:25-34) Jesus says enjoy this day which God has given you. Jesus was be able to live in the present, even though he knew he was on a journey that would ultimately lead to the cross, he didn’t spend his life worrying about the eventual outcome, he put his trust in God and got on with the mission God had given him.

And Jesus wants us to live life to the full. He wants us to see the glory of God’s creation and to see God’s beauty and compassion in the world.To see God’s love reflected in those we meet and to share his love in the world.

I wish you a happy and peaceful 2017.


Val Rowlands