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A time to remember

29/10/2014

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The clocks have gone back, the daylight hours are getting shorter and the memories of summer are but a memory.  In fact one could nearly make ourselves believe that summer wasn’t here at all.  However, November is known as the month for remembering.  On Tuesday 11th November at 11am we are encouraged to pause and remember for two minutes those men and women who so bravely gave of their own lives in the fight against war and terror.  As their memory lives on, we are also encouraged to pray for their loved ones, and to pray for those who are still on active duty fighting for the freedom we so often take for granted.  There will also be an opportunity for us to remember at acts of worship and church services on Remembrance Sunday (9th November).  As a Chaplain of the Royal British Legion, I would like to extend to you an invitation to join myself, other clergy and members of the Strabane Branch of the Royal British Legion on Remembrance Sunday at the War Memorial on Derry Road at 9:30am for an Act of Remembrance with wreath laying ceremony and then for the annual parade and service in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Sion Mills at 3pm.  Also at 11:30am there will be a Service of Remembrance in Christ Church, when as parishioners we will have the opportunity to remember and give thanks to God for the democratic freedom we enjoy.

As we remember those who have died in two World Wars and other conflicts, let us not take for granted all that has been achieved for us.  Many of us will wear a poppy as a symbol of remembrance and a reminder of the sacrifice which has been made.  Let us also remember another sacrifice, which was made on a far of land - a sacrifice which was made for freedom, where a willing man was nailed to a cross and died because He loves us.  In John 15:13 we read “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.  John is of course writing about Jesus.  As we think of the poppy, let us also think of the Cross and what Jesus did for us.  Each of us can experience the freedom which He offers to us, if we only would invite Him into our lives.  Henry Francis Lyte’s hymn ‘Abide with me’ is often sang at Remembrance Services, and I pray that the last verse will be a prayer that each of us can meaningfully pray:

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


 

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Come ye thankful people come

11/10/2014

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As most of you know, I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in France, and although this was my third holiday in Normandy, there are always new things to see and experience.  One thing which I was aware of this year was how early the Harvest season seemed to be for the locals.

Harvest can mean different things to different people.  For some there is the appreciation of the different colours of the leaves on the trees and for others it means the start of a long winter with dark evenings.  As I write this and look out my window, I see an array of colours, from light green to dark green, from yellow to golden brown, from orange to dark red – the splendour of creation.  When we watch the colours of the season change, and the leaves finally drop off, and notice the farmers hard at work in the fields, one cannot but help recognise the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promise “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22).

The singer/ songwriter Brian Doerksen in his song ‘Creation Calls’ asks this question “How can I say there is no God? When all around creation calls.”  For me, that is a very powerful question.  When we look at the wonders of creation, the beauty and splendour of the world, we see the majesty and generosity of God.

Bishop Ken has announced that 2016 is to be a year of mission in the Diocese, with every parish actively getting involved in different forms of mission, and 2015 is to be a year of preparation for this.  Each of us, who are believers in God, have a Harvest to prepare for.  This Harvest is when Jesus returns and calls His people to be with Him.  As the prophet Jeremiah puts it “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20).  We are called to sow and reap, we are called to spread the Gospel message near and far, we are called to lead people to Jesus.  When the great Harvest takes place, when Jesus returns, one question remains – where will you be?

Placing our trust firmly in Jesus gives us the assurance, the hope, and certainty, that we will be gathered into His eternal Kingdom.  This is a good reason to give thanks at Harvest.

I have felt the wind blow, Whispering your name
I have seen your tears fall, When I watch the rain.
How could I say there is no God? When all around creation calls!


 

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