Dear Brothers and Sisters
In 1925, following on from the ravages of the Great War, and with Communism and Fascism becoming dominant forces throughout Europe the Catholic Church instigated a new feast day; Christ the King. This feast celebrated the belief that the true King of this world was the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, rather than the demagogues of the day who demanded power and authority over mankind. From the 1970s onwards other Christian denominations started to celebrate this feast and since 2000 it has been part and parcel of the Christian year in the Church of England.
This feast began as a response to war and the violence of political systems but I believe that this year it speaks to us as it never has before. Almost every country of our world has been effected by COVID19. We have hope in the vaccines that are being developed but the end of this disease is still some way off. We have endured lockdowns, loneliness, anxiety. We have endured so many negative emotions this year, but in the midst of it all we have seen so much love. The service for others of our volunteers and key workers. The dedication of our health care workers. The inspiration to the nation given by so many from Captain Tom to Joe Wickes to Marcus Rashford and so many others who have given us hope. And for those of us who are people of faith, this year, as perhaps no other year in our lives, has been the year when we have placed ourselves and those we love in the hands of God. This year truly has been a year of faith.
In our Gospel reading today Jesus reminds us how we should live out our faith; by serving others. Feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting prisoners. We have seen so much faith lived out in action this year but, as always, there is so much more to do.
The end of the Church year is a good time to reflect on your own faith journey. It is worth spending some time looking back on the year and thinking about all the good that has been there, in among all the other stuff. As we reflect on all that has been and look forward to what is to come perhaps we need to think about how we can respond to those around us. How we can live out our faith as an example to others.
Christ is truly our King. He is our God, we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. We have nothing to fear and safe in this knowledge we have so much to give to our community, our world, to each other.
As we move into the winter some of us may well struggle to keep our homes warm or know others with the same problem. NidderdalePlus have put together some information on Warm and Well North Yorkshire, which is set up to help us all keep warm during the winter months. This link will take you to the information which has a really useful film all about the project. https://www.nidderdaleplus.org.uk/how-to-stay-warm-well-this-winter/ You can contact Warm and Well on 01609 767555 or email them on [email protected] Their website is www.warmandwell.org.uk
Make sure you and your neighbours stay warm during these coming months.
We should know sometime next week what will come after this current lockdown. Until then we will continue with the worshiping together in Spirit. I will use the Service of the Word (the one I sent you last week) at 10am. on Sunday in the Vicarage, using the readings for this Sunday. Please join in with me if you would wish or use the service material at a time that best suits you.
There are lots of other alternatives for worship on Sunday. The National Church of England Service continues to be online and other services can be accessed via radio and TV. Locally both Otley and Ilkley parish churches have services available on YouTube. The Daily Hope phone line can be accessed on 08008048044. For those with smart phones the Church of England Time to Pray app is still free to download and use.
Many of you found the Church of England’s ‘Prayers for use during the coronavirus outbreak’ booklet very useful during the last lockdown. I still have some available. Please let me know if you would like one.
I hope that you are finding the Prayer for the Nation material I sent out a couple of weeks ago useful. It is good to have a focus for our prayers each day and to know that we are praying at the same time as others across the land.
So for the next few weeks we will have a different format for the Bulletin with readings and prayers on a separate sheet. Normal(ish) service will resume as soon as we are able.
In the meantime I promised you an update on the growth of my Movember moustache. Once again, my apologies for the pictures, I do have a face for radio and I’m not sure there has been much growth since last week but here we are. Charlotte has already told me that the moustache will not become a permanent feature.
God bless you all.
Stephen