On Sunday 5th September 2021 we entered a new Methodist Year and it was appropriate that this was designated as Climate Sunday. We have all been on a journey; shared and yet different. We have found out things about ourselves, our neighbours, the creation of which we are a treasured part and about our understanding of who God is.
On Climate Sunday and during the Autumn season, which includes a most treasured tradition of harvest festival, we are challenged to consider how we respond to the God given gift of life that is in us and around us. For many the creation has been a saving grace during the pandemic, we have become aware of how we are a part of it, and it is a part of us. This God-given relationship grounds, sustains, and feeds us so that we and all creation can flourish.
I was in the garden doing some tidying and reflecting on our forthcoming move when the well-known passage from Ecclesiastes 3 popped into my head. “There is a time for everything” and from that the following flowed which embraced my experience of Pandemic and the current move:
On Climate Sunday and during the Autumn season, which includes a most treasured tradition of harvest festival, we are challenged to consider how we respond to the God given gift of life that is in us and around us. For many the creation has been a saving grace during the pandemic, we have become aware of how we are a part of it, and it is a part of us. This God-given relationship grounds, sustains, and feeds us so that we and all creation can flourish.
I was in the garden doing some tidying and reflecting on our forthcoming move when the well-known passage from Ecclesiastes 3 popped into my head. “There is a time for everything” and from that the following flowed which embraced my experience of Pandemic and the current move:
There is a Time for Everything
| A season for removal for the familiar to be packed away hurriedly or thoughtfully life laid bare A season for longing for reopening Running fingers fondly over taped seams gazing at blank sheets A season for grieving the loss of that which filled a day people and places, things treasured and those that were a bind A season for creating facing the reality glimpsing possibilities to live in the moment | A season for anxiety holding one’s breath senses and mind on high alert to the signs of the times A season for reopening the road to recovery reacquainting ourselves with that which was packed away A season for enquiry daring to examine what we have learnt through this season of experience |
| As we begin a new Methodist year, I wonder …. What have we learnt and how have we been shaped by this season? What is our testimony of the presence of God? How are we going to live together in the season that is now upon us, to the glory of God? Looking forward to sharing this season together. Peter Catford, Superintendent Minister |  |
