My Sunday

I’m this week writing a session for our local preachers and worship leaders on leading worship in a rural context. Today I’ve done three services in villages and I’ve been to an installation of a lay ecumenical canon in the cathedral. Four services in a day is a bit mad. It’s a good job I only work one day a week! 

Service number one was in Kirkby Malzeard. The chapel building closed at the end of October 2022 and for a year now once a month we’ve been worshipping in the lady chapel of the c of e in the village. Our members on other Sundays are at different churches, Grewelthorpe, Harrogate Road and Dallowgill but decided to try and keep some Methodist presence in Kirkby with a monthly service and a bi monthly coffee time. 

There were five of us today. The lady chapel was freezing and it is always very dark so difficult to read anything. We will see whether we can sustain a monthly service. With a small number of possible people who will come when we hit holidays or family commitments there are few of us. One thing I’ve learnt about rural ministry is you need to try things. And review them! I spotted this notice in the church porch today: there are now many examples of one church offering hospitality to another. I suggest we need to share resources in the future far more.

Service number two today was at Dallowgill. Dallowgill is my smallest church and four years ago when we came to visit the circuit, I wasn’t shown it because they were convinced it wouldn’t be here. Today there were twelve of us there for a covenant service. Dallowgill now has a community of people who want an afternoon service as they are farmers with work to do in a morning. The congregation are a mixture of locals and those who travel a distance to be with us. We are doing okay. There’s just a question about governance for the future. I want to bring them and my other small chapel at Sawley together as one society on two sites. This will make both places stronger. Sadly there’s suspicion that I might be closing them (which is rubbish) and they want to keep their money! Sometimes rural churches need to be flexible but they can be stubborn. Change? Why? 

I was in a hurry to get to the cathedral at 3.30. I learnt a long time ago never to hurry in a rural setting! Sheep don’t hurry…

And then you meet the school coach coming at you and then in front of you Doris and Evelyn decide to have a chat in the middle of the road!!!

I got to the cathedral about fifteen minutes into Evensong. Today one of our Methodist folk Meg Munn, the former MP for Sheffield Heeley and a minister in Tony Blair’s government was installed as a lay ecumenical canon of the cathedral. 

There were twenty Methodists present to support Meg. It’s good that ecumenical relations with the cathedral are developing. It was hugely encouraging to have Bishop John Pritchard tell me the other night the Dean told him Canon Claire and I are moving ecumenical relations on. I love living in a cathedral city. The place oozes peace for me. Today was a lovely occasion apart from the woman who bumped into me afterwards and my coffee went all down me. So I needed a change of shirt before service four! 

Service four tonight was at High Ellington, another of our remote rural chapels. It’s largely run by a farming family but has recently had new people join it. There were seven of us there tonight. There were nearly only six! At 6.28 someone was told “lock the door, we are all here.” I said “no you aren’t” as my wife was about to be left out in the cold. 

The rural chapel has in places lost any expectation anyone will join them they do not know. I once had a chapel which put out six chairs for six people and didn’t know what to do when a seventh person showed up! 

I was really glad tonight to use their new lectern. Isn’t it fab? We had a good time. It’s very rural. Before they locked the door Rachel turned to Robert and said “you gonna set them traps?” 

A long but fulfilling day. The rural minister will do three services on a Sunday. That’s my norm here. And when you get home there’s always a face which says “why have you been gone so long?” 

Rural worship leading to small numbers isn’t easy, but for me it brings joy and fulfilment. Even if by Sunday night I’m absolutely done in! 

Partnership in Manchester

It’s rather scary to note that in September it will be thirty years since I arrived in Manchester to train for ministry. Thirty years!! I have to say Manchester changed my life. I loved back then its vibrancy and positivity and fun. When I come back, it always feels like coming home. 

Today I was back in the city to see what the Methodist Central Hall in Oldham Street does ecumenically. I’m going on a Churches Together training event next month for new ecumenical officers and you have to do a context visit first. So I was glad Ian Rutherford invited me to come today to see what happens in Central Hall and flows out of it. 

Ian suggested I arrive in time for a 12pm prayer meeting. Since the beginning of January people have gathered every weekday to pray for an hour. The hour today was amazing. There were 50 to 60 people gathered from all over Greater Manchester of various traditions and ages. I sat with some students from the Metropolitan Uni. The prayer meeting wasn’t what I expected! We prayed out loud together but separately. So there was a cacophony of noise in the chapel. Deacon Jenny who led the hour quoted the verse of the hymn which says “the voice of prayer is never silent.” 

We had a time of praise. I loved that Andy Fishburne was there. He was in the World Wide Message Tribe when I lived in the city. He prayed “Jesus you are brilliant!” A lady behind me kept clapping Jesus. Some voices were loud, others were silent. We had a period of silence listening to God, a time to pray that hidden treasures in us might be used, and a time to pray for different parts of the city and light candles and put them on a map to remember different communities. I placed a candle on Mossley, my first appointment.

Several things struck me about the prayer meeting. Church wasn’t mentioned in the hour only that we might need revival! And —- most of us didn’t know each other but there was a power about being there to do something. There was also a confidence that God might be doing something and a joy to be in his presence. Also unlike some prayer meetings in this style there was a desire to pray together to pray for transformation and wellbeing in the city. One man kept praying out loud “eradicate poverty, eradicate poverty.” 

At the end we clapped God. But it didn’t feel sickly or trite. It was a genuine privilege to be amongst these people. It was a positive expression of unity in diversity. I only get three or four at a prayer meeting!! There were several there for the first time. I wonder how they got to know about it. What also impressed me was I didn’t feel a stranger in the room. I don’t do crowds and I don’t find mingling with new people easy, but this was great. I ended up praying in a style I’m not usually comfortable with! What happened there?

After lunch, Ian showed me round the vast building that is Central Hall. It’s now used by various church groups, not just a Methodist congregation and is home to a refugee group and has a cafe run by ex offenders. There was a vibrancy about as we passed various groups using the building. 

Ian then told me about a shared commitment to social justice in the city. He’s involved in various projects bringing hope and recovery out of trauma  for people working in partnership with other agencies like the cathedral and Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, who sees the faith communities contribution to the what does the city need question as the city’s conscience. I was very impressed by Ian’s commitment to work with partners to seek the common good and his gentle yet determined leadership bringing the Gospel and its liberation with others where it is needed most. 

It felt as we chatted this afternoon we’d known each other for ages and we only met today. What really made me feel hopeful is that while our contexts are very different, the same emphasis in ministry is developing in my context just as it is in Manchester. 

Yesterday, the building stronger communities lady from the new North Yorkshire Council called a meeting of possible stakeholders to form a community partnership in Ripon. Present were several councillors, a representative from Ripon Together, Ripon Bid, Ripon Community House and me. What’s great is that the council want a faith representative on the group and I have to say I was welcomed and my views were respected and listened to. Ian and I reflected that things have changed and where the Church is prepared to engage with the issues people face today and ask the questions people want answering, rather than the questions we think need answering, then there can be good engagement with others. I rather like Andy Burnham’s phrase that we are the conscience of a community.

Manchester has always had a vibrant pulling together spirit. The cotton mills of old “cottonopolis” were places, while hard to work in, which formed strong bonds of friendship; the Peterloo massacre was an event where people rose up together against injustice, I was in the city when the IRA bomb went off. The city was rocked for a time but it rose again, resilient. The post box above wasn’t destroyed. It’s a sign together we cannot be defeated. Ian shared he has there when the bomb went off at the Arianda Grande concert in the Arena. For a while there was a flashback to that IRA bomb. But people stood together, including faith groups.  Even walking round the city tonight there felt a sense of pride and togetherness that this is our city and we share it together and together we will work for it’s good. Isn’t it brilliant the Church is part of that? 

It was lovely after I left Central Hall to go into St Ann’s Church. I used to use it a lot as a peaceful place to receive. Then it was lovely to mooch round Waterstones on Deansgate “the largest bookshop in the North.” I was very good. I only bought one book on the Ramsay Macdonald first ever Labour government 100 years ago and how together those involved made a difference. It was then lovely to have dinner in Annie’s which is my favourite place to eat in the city. It used to be owned by Fiz off Coronation Street. I’ve no idea if she’s involved now. It was lovely to walk through the old Corn Exchange now full of up market eateries. What community would have been in there in its day? 

I guess today has been about the opportunities proper trusting partnership can bring. Churches are struggling. We cannot do all we want to do now because we don’t have the resources. Maybe we are being called to join with others who share the same desire as us to make things better and we throw the Jesus answer into the mix. We need each other. Before we left each other and we prayed for each other’s ministry (how fab was that?) we reminded each other of Wesley’s sermon on the Catholic spirit: “if your heart is with my heart, give me your hand.” 

We need each other. I have gifts to give you that you don’t have. You have gifts to give me that I don’t have. Together we travel on. Mind you, there is a limit how much we tolerate people. I need a break from the worse for wear ladies on this train from Leeds to Harrogate who are shouting “we have pizza, we have pizza!”

January 6 - The Epiphany: a Christmas ending

This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future's
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.

The story we remember on the feast of Epiphany completes the story of the birth of Christ with the arrival of travellers from the east. They are called magi, wise men, magicians, or even kings, and the traditions that have spun off of themhas resulted in much speculation about their mysterious identities. In an attempt to nail down the story, legend ventured that there must have been three, one for each of the named gifts, and some even went so far as to give them names and cultural identities. But whether they were practitioners of magic, priests of royal courts, or astrologer and scholars, it is their actions that give them their role in the story. They were willing to follow a star.

Long before telescopes and computers, people named the stars and charted their long journeys through the heavens. These early stargazers noticed patterns and consistency in their movements. Perhaps we can imagine they felt the stars were part of a greater story, and that the stars had the power to influence events on earth.

Early books of the Bible testify to the power of stars in the life of ancient people. Job mentions three constellations: the Bear, Pleiades, and Orion. Childless Abram goes out at night and hears a promise from God that he will have many children, as numerous as the stars. Stars are said to “Sing together” and “shout for joy” in the Book of Job, and Psalm 147 tells us God names all the stars and determines their number. Clearly, the stars held meaning for the ancient people of God.

So at Epiphany, we see wise men coming from the east, following a star.

Perhaps the wise men got hooked on studying the stars when they were kids. One night they were looking and saw a star unlike any they had ever seen. We don’t know how but they identified the location of the star as being over Israel. They did some research and somehow determined the star was announcing the birth of the King of the Jews.

 

What they did next was fascinating! They packed up to find the King. We know they were well-to-do by the gifts they took with them. It took them awhile to get to there, certainly many months. When they got to Israel they did the logical thing and went to the capital city. That’s where they expected he had been born. But they were wrong. They asked around and found out the Bible prophesied the King would be born in Bethlehem. They headed there.

 

As they left Jerusalem they were thrilled to see the star again!  This time it led them right to Jesus. They found him in a house and worshiped him, giving him the expensive gifts they brought. As they headed home they were warned in a dream not to tell King Herod where they found the King. They obeyed and went home without telling him..

 

There are dozens of theories on where the wise men originated and how they knew so much about stars; the Greek word used in Matthew’s gospel is Magi, a group of learned scholars who advised kings by interpreting dreams and astrology. While much about the wise men is unclear, what is clear is that these men are not Judeans, but Gentiles. 

They are bearing witness to a cosmic event of astronomical proportions: the birth of a baby—though nobody seems to know exactly where he is.

We can imagine their shock when they discover that Herod is clueless about where this baby was located. Surely, King Herod would know if a king were born in his kingdom. It is in this detail that we can see how foreign these wise men are; they are seemingly naïve, unaware of the dangerous politics of Judea and unaware of how different this new king will be from other kings. They are simply seeking the king whom the star announced.

They follow the star until it stops over the place where Jesus was. It’s so simple. While it may seem mysterious and strange to us to follow a star this way, it is not strange for them. It is simply how they understand the world. It is simply how they found Jesus.

This is a story of journey and discovery that teaches us a lot about what it means to search for God in the midst of our own life experiences. Commentator William Arnold lays it out in this way: First, these wise people had been studying. They knew their history. They hadn’t merely stumbled onto this momentous event. They had searched their own past and their sacred texts, and the result of their study was a readiness, or at least a willingness, to recognisethe sign when it appeared. Second, these scholarly folk did not keep their noses in the books all the time. They also were keen observers of the world around them. . . . Third, they were willing to seek confirmation of what they had learned and seen. They moved, put their feet . . . in motion to follow this sign. They took a chance on being proven wrong – or right! Fourth, they were willing to ask for directions along the way, even if they were wrong in their choice of who they asked. Fifth, having found the confirmation of their convictions . . . they responded with all the gratitude they could muster. Sixth . . . they still remained vigilant and attentive – open to further visions and insight – and thus they were responsive to their dream-delivered warning to go home by another road. 

The magi provide a powerful illustration of what the journey of faith, and the journey of life, can look like when we focus our intentions and attention in the right places. Willingness, observing, action, seeking guidance, responding with gratitude, and continued openness; these sound almost like a list of new year’s resolutions of ways to be more faithful. The magi help give us tools that can help us find our own stars to follow towards the epiphanies God has in store for us in the coming year.

Which brings us to our covenant prayer on the first Sunday of 2024. We make our promises looking up to the possibilities that the grace of God might lead us to. We journey in faith believing God is worth following. We begin the year looking up.

One of the permanent sculptures in the grounds of Houghton Hall in West Norfolk is by the American artist James Turrell. It is a simple square structure on stilts, accessed by a gently ascending path winding right round it to an open door. And there, unbidden by anything except instinct, a hush falls on even the most talkative of people. There is nothing inside the room. But also, somehow, immense promise and possibility. The wooden seat running around its four walls invites you to sit and lean back. And you notice for the first time the enormous square opening above which leaves you completely exposed - to the turning of day and night, to the weather, and to something powerful which stirs in you as you look up and through it.

Turrell’s construction forces you to focus on the sky and, drenched with the wonder of that sky, and quieted by the requirement to pay it complete attention, you find yourself in sacred space. You are in an observatory but also in a chapel. The similarities between prayer and star-gazing are strong. 

Both require us to stop and fall silent, to abandon ourselves to watching and waiting.

We know so little about Matthew’s mysterious magi but their unswerving focus cannot be doubted. Their openness both to God and to scanning the skies leads to their obedient following of the sign of their times: a difficult journey follows, a dangerous encounter with a despot, and then, homeward bound, a last-minute change of direction. But within all that, what a discovery!

It is not always easy to follow a star. As the year turns in this fractured world, we would be wise men and women to try to read the signs of our times in the context of prayer, of watching and waiting upon God. Our current lostness and longing will lead to new discoveries, new responsibilities. Where will we be led this year? What will be our Epiphany?

Maybe the question that faced Herod is the one that faces us: how will you react to the child who has come to bridge the gap between the Divine and the human? 

If we recognise that Jesus is God’s outrageous gift of generosity that changes lives, then we can begin to move from the restrictive fear that Herod felt to the liberating joy that the Magi experienced as the star led them to the place where they could meet God. If we accept that Jesus is the bridge of hope and redemption we can move from despair to hope, from emptiness to fulfilment and from darkness to light. 

Jesus, Word made flesh, the physical presence of God, takes us from the reality of the incarnation to the unfolding realisation of who and what God is and does as we celebrate Epiphany. Without God’s inspiration and engagement, humanity would have remained stuck in a place far from hope and far from heaven.

God’s gift to the world was his taking flesh, being born, we need to accept that gift. That’s the best way to begin a New Year. We renew our covenant. We journey in faith.  “Those who follow the Creator of the stars often find themselves in the midst of an Epiphany, called to follow stars that may at first seem beyond their reach.” We need to heed the example of these wise men. For them Jesus was worth not just the gold, frankincense and myrrh, not just travelling the 1400 mile round trip, not just going back to their own country another way, they were willing to risk everything to find him, accept him then be changed by him.

Whoever you are, wherever your star is, don’t losesight. Don’t lose hope.  Keep on with your journey. Follow the star. Be excited this year that there are new things to be discovered. Every day. 

Thank you for reading these reflections as we’ve journeyed through Advent and through Christmas. I’ve been glad to know people have enjoyed them. I’ll do another series in Lent. 

January 5 - Thank you for coming

It was rather fun this morning to sit with someone lamenting the fact that ministers today don’t do any pastoral visiting. She then said “what are you doing for the rest of the day?” I said “pastoral visiting!”

I’ve done three visits today. I wish I had time to do more. It will be 30 years in September since I landed in college. Our pastoral tutor told us we should do six visits in an afternoon! The world has changed since 1994 and the role of a minister has too, but it does not mean we don’t do any visiting at all! It was good today to be valued for simply showing up. 

Part of the role of the minister surely is to be visible. I try to visit but I also try to be seen in shops and eateries and pubs and events in my communities as well as calling into church things. To turn up, to have come, is important. To be told “we never see you” means something is very wrong. 

That Jesus came as one of us, showed his face, took time is one of the most wonderful bits of the Christmas story. John says literally that he pitched his tent amongst us. Let us be as surprised as Brenda was this afternoon to find me on her doorstep! It’s fun that people want me to do more visiting then when I do they say they can’t believe I’ve time to visit them!! 

Let us on the eve of Epiphany and in this penultimate reflection of this series which has been going since Advent, echo the lovely verse with the words of Elizabeth greeting Mary, and let us use them to respond to the glory of Immanuel with us…

“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

January 4 - Reconciliation

Can I still quote carols in January? In Hark the herald angels sing, Charles Wesley uses the phrase “peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”

As we enter 2024, maybe reconciliation should be on our agenda. That God closed the gap between himself and humanity through incarnation is the miracle of Christmas. Our response to it should be to work for peace, rub along together and work hard to be respectful and celebrate where we can do things together even where we think differently. 

The trouble is we live in a world where we don’t want to put things right or work at closer relationships. We easily blame or ignore those who don’t think like us or we think where is a breakdown in relationships it wasn’t anything to do with us. In a church long ago I had two married couples who used to fall out spectacularly. I’d regularly preach about the need for reconciliation. One couple over coffee would say to me “well done, they needed to hear that!” then ten minutes later the other couple would say to me “well done, they needed to hear that!” 

We speak at Christmas about togetherness and cosiness then we do our best to be as far apart from others as possible and we cause hurt and misunderstanding so easily. We need to lament about our lack of commitment to live in harmony. It doesn’t mean always agreeing. It means living with respect. I’m glad that Ripon later in the month is doing the week of prayer for Christian Unity. The week will end with a joint service where the former Bishop of Oxford, John Pritchard will preach in our Methodist Church. We are getting closer as churches because actually co-operation and fellowship is far more important than matters of ecclesiology and doctrine. Maybe! I will one day break bread behind the altar of a c of e church!!! Or maybe I won’t! 

Today I find this commentary I read earlier powerful, going back to the carol words:

 I began to think of how the message of Christmas has become so awfully distorted. Christ came to spread some good cheer among humankind. He came for the purpose of making everyone’s Christmas a bit brighter. He came to do some very nice things for some very nice people. He came to add a spiritual dimension to our Christmas celebrations. He came to put his imprimatur on what we already do to celebrate Christmas, so we can feel good about what we already do to celebrate Christmas. He came to make us feel better about ourselves.

And we sing Christmas carols. We sing Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” And we come to that line, “God and sinners reconciled,” and it doesn’t even faze us. After all, we don’t actually need reconciliation. “Me and God, we get along just fine.” It doesn’t even register that the reason for Christmas was not that God might take our already pretty good lives and add a bit of religion to them, the way a cook adds a dash of salt or a bit of spice to an already pretty good dish to give it just a bit more flavor. And even when we talk about putting “Christ back into Christmas,” we are thinking of a Christmas that is already pretty good, and making it just a bit better.

But that is not what Christmas is about. Rather:

Christ came to a rebellious people, to rescue them from their rebellious ways.

He came to a people who weren’t any smarter than the dumb animals in our live nativity scenes in order to make them wise.

He came to an unclean and unholy people, to purify them and make them holy.

He came to an idolatrous people, to get them to smash and throw away their idols.

He came to a people who were his enemies, so that he might make them his friends.

He came to a people who had rejected him, so that he might open their minds and hearts to submit to him and worship him, gladly and freely.

He came to a sinful people, so that he might die for them, and pronounce them forgiven.

He came to a people who were dead in their trespasses and sins, so that he might resurrect them, and they would live again.

He came to an already convicted and condemned people, so that he might not only grant them a stay of execution, but indeed, a full pardon.

In short, he did not come to do something nice for very some very nice people. He came to do something radical for some very bad people. He came so that we who were estranged from God, might be reconciled to God. “God and sinners reconciled!” That is the reason for Christ coming. That is the reason for the incarnation. That is the reason for Christmas.

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 

January 3 - Taking Time

Three days into a New Year, are we feeling overwhelmed? I met with Sarah, my colleague in Ripon this morning and we shared together how knackering Christmas is as ministers give out day after day after day after day, when you stop your body is bound to need time to recover. I’ve slept most days since Christmas! Then as a New Year dawns there’s all sorts of expectation that suddenly bombards you: what about that funeral next week, where’s your hymns for Sunday, what about those plan dates, when am I going to write that bible study for Monday? Then there’s personal stuff I need time to deal with. 

I love that bit in the Christmas story where Mary, knackered from an awful journey, birth in a stable, strange visitations from shepherds and magi, and mentally shattered from it all, she takes time to treasure these things and ponder them in her heart.

Maybe we need not to rush into the New Year with plans and busyness but instead take time to treasure the things God has given us and ponder where we are before taking decisions and setting any goals. What if we in every service or meeting had a time of silence to wait on God and ponder in prayer? That might allow God to set the agenda. We need to take time.

Early into 2024, don’t be overwhelmed. Stop. Be still. Treasure what you have. Ponder. It isn’t selfish. It is vital. You can’t keep rushing about or have your head so full of demands you cannot function at all. Just saying! And talking to myself!!!! 

January 2 - planning ahead

My Anglican colleague in the LEP we share laughed in an e mail reply as I asked him  questions about April and he replied “you do plan a long way ahead!” Yes, on 2 January I’ve done all my plan dates for Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost! It’s only eleven and a bit months until Christmas :) 

Some people are good at long term planning, others are content as long as they get through the day. Part of the Christian ethos is to have vision, to look far ahead, to think positively about the future. 

We are on the edge of Epiphany. How long do you think those wise men who studied the stars took in planning their journey? They took time to consider the facts, tomorrow would be better than today, a star was worth following even if they didn’t know where it was going to lead them. 

Many people will have returned to work this morning. In meetings there has probably been some goal setting and vision discernment going on. We plan but even our plans may not as we hope. But not to plan and just wallow is not the life of faith. We plan in expectation. I’ve learnt to say to Anglican colleagues who don’t understand Methodist plans, “let’s sort the whole year then it’s done!” 

How confident are our plans? Maybe George Bernard Shaw had it right when he said “ You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'

January 1 - Emerging into reality

How has the New Year begun for you? 

It was good to be with others in Ripon last night as we carried our candles from the cathedral to the market square. What struck me as we walked along Kirkgate was that as people’s candles blew out in the wind someone you didn’t know appeared to relight them.

At the beginning of 2024, a lot of wishes sent say we should have a prosperous New Year. I’m uncomfortable with that. The prosperity Gospel will always ignore or damage the poor. Instead like the light bearers and sharers last night, we need a commitment to community. Urgently. 

Breakfast tv this morning had a man talking about self improvement. At the beginning of the year there are those who will tell us we are too fat, too unproductive, too selfish, in fact we need changing! In the world today added to wars and rumours of wars is the scare of tsunami in Japan. 

This year will also see elections in this country and in America. Both could be brutal dominated by nasty stories spread by the other side to make us see voting for someone might be foolish. No wonder the Archbishop of Canterbury in his New Year message today called for leaders to remember those they disagree with share a common humanity and we’ve forgotten decency. 

Where’s the Christmas joy gone? Maybe we have to search for it. Maybe we have to let the fripperies go for another year. I was in the Spar getting a pint of milk. Even walking past tubs of chocolates and biscuits made me feel unwell. There comes a point when we’ve had enough. Walking into one of my churches just now Christmas is still up, but some of it is looking tired and notices are now very out of date. We walked out of the building after Christmas morning service and we’ve not been back in there since as there wasn’t a service there yesterday. 

Maybe we have to look for Christmas joy in small ways, in quiet places, where people do share light to strangers and where we work together to defeat the darkness. Maybe we need a new commitment to seek God this year. Let’s not let the gloom and tiredness and negativity around us beat us. 

John Wesley knew about New Year optimism. His world was as complicated as ours is. But he spoke with confidence into society the heralding of God’s Kingdom where it hadn’t been heralded before. He saw an optimism because of God’s grace which was, and is more powerful than wars and selfishness and this lack of decency out there today. 

If you keep a diary, what have you written today on its first page? Slept. Washed up. Put washing on. Dinner. Bought some bits in the shops. Opened church for a craft group. Rain. That’s been my January 1! 

Reflect then today that the age of 82 Wesley wrote in his journal, on Saturday 1 January 1785, this:

“Whether this be the last or no, may it be the best year of my life!”

There’s optimism in Christ! 

Someone suggested the other day we take a jar at the beginning of the year and every time something good happens we write it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. Then we read all the pieces of paper next New Year’s Eve, and we will see, despite everything, our blessings will outweigh our despondency. That’s not a bad idea. We will then see, as we sang in my last hymn yesterday that God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year. 

A happy and peaceful New Year then. May we pass the light to each other and be thankful it shines no matter how mad it is around us.