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A HOLIDAY WHICH proved to be a ‘revelation’ in more ways than one
occurred back in 1986 in Austria.
Now it may surprise you to hear that there are lots of mountains in
Austria - they’re everywhere! And, of course, the best views are
from their summits. And therein lies the problem (for me, at
least at the time). I had a phobia about ascending and descending to
the tops in cable cars and chairs. I would keep my eyes tightly
shut until arrival - much to the amusement of my wife and all around
me, even in closed cars or gondolas - don’t mention the open ones!
This particular day we set out from Söll to ascend the Hohe Salve
(views into Italy), but unknown to us it is a two-stage affair.
The lower was a closed gondola and our ascent coincided with the lunch
break shutdown for 1 hour. To my horror the second stage involved
open single seat chairs. I froze!, before fortifying myself with
lunch in the cafe.
During this interval we struck up a conversation with a charming
German man on holiday with his two delightful young sons. The
crunch came when he asked if I would have one of his boys on my lap to
go up as he couldn’t have both on his. “Of course he won’t mind,”
said my wife brightly (thanks Dear). We eventually set off - eyes
tightly closed as usual.
Now this lad never stopped chattering from the off (I couldn’t
understand a word of course) and I eventually opened my eyes to see
what he was seeing. Through his enthusiasm I suddenly saw my
surroundings as if for the first time (as indeed it was) and I was
transfixed. When we arrived at the summit he asked his father to
thank me for making him feel so safe and secure. And I’d been in
a blue funk at the start!
From that day on and on all subsequent visits to this wonderful
country, you couldn’t keep me off the cable cars and chairs, all thanks
to a bright little boy whom I couldn’t understand. But I was
caught up in his enthusiasm and he proved to be a revelation by giving
me an insight to what I was missing. Truly a case of ‘Out of the
mouths of babes and sucklings’
I guess that young lad is now most probably nurturing a family of his
own and I’m sure he will prove as inspirational to his family as he was
to me.
Yours in Christ
Father Mike
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THANK YOU to everyone who let me know how much the June magazine was
enjoyed. This was mainly due to the contributors without whom
there would be no magazine. I just put their articles together.
The hardest part for me was getting the picture for the front cover.
No travelling for me this time, the picture this month comes from a
little closer to home!
I am always interested to hear what you like and dislike about your
magazine. If you can find time please let me know three things
you like and three things which could be improved and we shall see what
we can do.
As we prepare for our summer holidays we have another variety of
articles on offer. Apart from the regular content, there are
reflections on memorable holidays (our theme), pictures from the
Prestbury Village Fayre celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday, several
delightful pictures of the Brownies with the Venerable Robert Springett
at St Nicolas, and Bishop Rachel at St Mary’s, all from the same
weekend!
Many years ago when working in a terribly well-known top secret base
somewhere hereabouts I realised an expert was someone two weeks ahead
of most others. My skill was writing software for mainframe
computers. I don’t do that anymore, I just mess around on PCs and
I am by no means an expert. The illusion is pressing buttons and
seeing what happens until I find one that works. I’ve been asked
several times whether it is best to upgrade to Windows 10. My
answer has always been ‘yes’. We’ve all got to try to keep up
with the rest of us. If you haven’t already you have until July
29 to download your free copy of Windows 10. Don’t be afraid.
Don’t be left behind. It will be different. There will be a
few problems, different for each of you. If you cannot see the
answer you can always ask your search engine for help.
Perhaps in the coming weeks you will visit a museum. If there
is anything that strikes you about your visit please share it with our
readers. Wherever you are going or whatever you are doing this
summer, I hope you enjoy it. See you in September!
 Brian Wood
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In 1937 my father’s eldest sister invited him and the family to stay
with her in her flat at the seaside town of Southsea. I was then 12,
and with my four years older brother Edgar, we were quite willing to
change the delights of our Gloucestershire village of Tutshill for the
south coast.
To be staying in a flat was a great novelty for us and best of all
was “the shute”. This was a method of disposal totally different to the
“ash bin” at home and you simply opened the lid near the sink and off
went anything you no longer needed. I think there was probably more
than was needed sent off but the novelty took a while to wear off.
My aunt was employed across the road in Kimbell’s, a large store with
a restaurant which she managed. We were very impressed and even more so
when they were fitting up the room for an evening do and I was given
the freedom of the microphone. Of course your own voice always sounds
totally different from what you think.
The beach was a bit of a surprise as it was not the sands like we
were used to at Weston and Barry Island but was made up of large
pebbles which were a trial on your bare feet. The first dip in the sea
came as a bit of a shock but we soon began to enjoy the waters of the
Solent. We later went across for a day trip around the Isle of Wight,
with Blackgang Chine and the Needles as highlights. The next time I saw
the latter was on returning from war time service in the Middle East.
We did a trip on a steamer called the Gracie Fields, as it had been
launched by our number one star of stage and screen, which took in
Portsmouth dockyard and Southampton docks, though there was a snag. I
was very impressed by the large signed picture of the star, but not so
much by the smuts which issued from the funnel. A lot of the
passengers, instead of enjoying the sea breeze sought refuge downstairs
and away from the pollution.
At Southampton we went for a tour of the Cunard liner Berengaria
which was in dock after a luxury trip. We were very impressed by the
opulence of the state rooms and the art work on the different levels.
Then to add their own full sized swimming pool was a lot for two
Chepstow boys to take in.
At the Portsmouth yard we marvelled at the bulk of the aircraft
carrier which only a few years later was sunk and lost to the fleet.
The other destroyers would all be put to their war time use and we
caught up with them on Pathé newsreels in the cinema.
Looking at a snap taken in Blackgang, I was surprised to see that I
was wearing my grammar school cap – did I take it on holiday with me?
Then a picture of father in a deck chair wearing his trilby hat which
he would use for going to town. Anya reminded me that it was often the
style to wear your best clothes when you went away on holiday.
A disappointment for me was that Henry Hall and the BBC Dance
Orchestra, with crooner Les Allen, were to appear in the hall of the
pier theatre, but unfortunately it was the week before we arrived. I
have always hated out of date posters ever since.
We also had a visit to Hayling Island where we happily ran in and out
of the sea for most of the day. There was a price to pay. As soon as we
tried to put our shirts on so the tingle went through us and we spent a
miserable night, in spite of being doused in fuller’s earth. Slowly our
skins began to peel and we took it in turns to peel the other’s back.
Nonetheless we agreed we had thoroughly enjoyed it and went one more
time before 1939 put paid to any coastal visits for five years.
Tudor Williams
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John Powell’s article “A Mountain to Climb” (June 2016 magazine, pp.
14-15) raised some important points about the nature of change in the
church and the difficulty of attracting and keeping young people.
As John says, Celebrate! has been going for over 10 years – there has
in fact been a Celebrate! service every Sunday (sometimes with a short
break during the summer holidays) since October 2004. But,
despite that, there are clearly some misconceptions about what
Celebrate! is all about, so I’d like to offer some insights on behalf
of the Celebrate! leadership team.
How does Celebrate! relate to other congregations?
There can be an impression that Celebrate! is some sort of training
school from which attenders will graduate to a proper grown-up service.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Celebrate! is a
fully-rounded worshipping congregation in its own right, with its own
identity and its own style of worship, just as, for example, the 8
o’clock and 11 o’clock services at St Mary’s have their own style,
identity and regular worshippers. In terms of numbers
attending regularly, Celebrate! is on a par with, and sometimes
exceeds, the 11 o’clock and can claim to be a major service within the
North Cheltenham Team – it is no longer an experiment!
Is Celebrate! just for young people? It’s worth saying
that, although we are blessed that the Celebrate! congregation includes
many young families with pre-school and infant school children, it also
attracts a wide variety of worshippers from all ages and stages, by no
means all of whom are accompanied by children.
Is the Eucharist important to the Celebrate! congregation?
It may come as a surprise to some to learn that on the second Sunday of
each month the Celebrate! service is in fact a sung eucharist, in a
format which is relevant and accessible to that community.
How do we nurture the Celebrate! congregation and help them to
continue worshipping? Mary Turner wrote in a report to the
PCC last year that during the time Celebrate! has been going “a huge
number of people, both adults and children, have attended; some just
for a short time, some for a longer time and some of us for the whole
eleven years.” Of course, some will drift away – they
always do. But at least they were here for a while. After
Celebrate!’s tenth birthday party, at which the Bishop of Tewkesbury
was the guest of honour, Fr Michael Cozens wrote: “I reflect that what
Bishop Martyn was saying on Sunday is so true; we have no idea of the
seeds that have been planted and how they might bear fruit.”
There is of course still plenty of room for improvement. In
common with many churches, we struggle to keep the 7 to 11 year old age
group coming to church, in the face of so many alternative weekend
activities. Currently we are tackling this through our JC
Supersound group for children from Reception upwards. This
small but enthusiastic group meets once a month to learn songs which
they then bring to the monthly “Big Sing” service. The emphasis
is very much on the children learning to lead worship through music,
not simply performing the songs.
We also recognise that many young adults currently struggle to
maintain previous patterns of commitment to the wider life of the
church. This seems to reflect busy lives with many
competing priorities. We – in common with the wider church
– have no easy answer to this, but it may involve re-imagining what
committed membership means in our rapidly changing times.
Overall we remain
positive about Celebrate! as it continues to grow and evolve. As
John said in his article, “engaging with change can bring unexpected
rewards.” Indeed it can! For a
change, why not come along to Celebrate! one Sunday and see for
yourself how God is working with this part of his Prestbury family?
You will be most welcome!
Jerry Porter
on behalf of Celebrate! leaders
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Bishop Rachel was at St Mary’s for a Confirmation and presided at
Celebrate! and the 11 o’clock service on Sunday 12 June 2016. She
asked for no photos during the services, so these pictures show her
being briefed before the services.
The singers/band at Celebrate! having a
quick rehearsal.
Bishop Rachel accompanied by her new
Chaplain, Fr David Gardiner, with Howard and Elizabeth Nichols
Pictures by Stephen Murton
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We decided on arrival at Salisbury Cathedral to go first through the
cloisters to the Chapter House to see Magna Carta. This is in a special
“tent” to protect it from the light. Having viewed the ancient
document we looked around at the windows and carvings. My eyes were
drawn to something more modern!
All the way around the walls was a stone bench for the members of the
Chapter. Some, near the Bishop’s place, had the name of the person who
sat there but all (except the Bishop’s!!) had a cross stitch cushion.
Each cushion had the name of a Saint with his or her emblem and
flower. Nicholas, with sprigs of holly, caught my eye and I took a
photograph of it. Further on I found Mary and then Mary Magdalene. I
began to look for other familiar ones and found Alban for the diocese
we came from and John the Baptist from our last church. All Saints I
found but no Lawrence. What a shame!
Chatting to a very pleasant guide I mentioned my disappointment and
the reason for it. “Did you see his chapel in the Cathedral?” she
asked. We explained that was to be our next place. She told us to look
in the south transept. We worked our way around following the
excellent pamphlet we had been given (the modern font was particularly
eye-catching). We came to the north transept and there was the chapel
with a beautiful, spectacular frontal.
So North Cheltenham is all there in Salisbury!
Gillian Jackson
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Prestbury always turns out in style when there is a Royal
Celebration. This time we were celebrating the Queen’s 90th
Birthday. On Saturday 11 June 2016 The Burgage was closed to
traffic and, despite the light rain, everyone enjoyed the stalls and
attractions. Some specially-invited nonagenarians were served tea by
ladies from the WI. Sir John Herbec was invited to cut the cake.
Pictures by Edward Wyatt
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We may be all over seventy years old (and many well over!) but the
thirty-nine residents of Capel Court Residential Scheme in Prestbury
know how to celebrate. Last weekend we were not only marking the
Queen’s 90th birthday but also, by coincidence, the 30th anniversary of
the opening of our complex of bungalows. The land by The Burgage had
been given to the Church of England by the generosity of Major Capel
and the newly built bungalows were opened in June 1986 by Princess
Alexandria as a residency for retired church workers and their
partners. Since then over a hundred people have enjoyed living in the
cosy houses with their beautiful surroundings.
So, on the 9th June, the present residents decided to mark our
anniversary by welcoming the new Bishop of Gloucester to share lunch
with the residents and to officiate at our celebratory Holy Communion
together. It was Bishop Rachel’s first visit to Capel Court and we were
delighted with her warm and friendly approach to us all.
Then, on the following day, around a hundred guests were invited to a
grand tea party. The sun shone, the staff gave up their time to provide
a wonderful supply of cakes and sandwiches (washed down with Buck’s
Fizz!) and, to show we are not just pretty faces, we had created a fine
exhibition to show off the “arts and crafts” skills that so many
possess in “The Court”. It was generally agreed that the whole exercise
had been a great success - so onward and upward to the next excuse to
have a celebration again!
A resident
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Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th June 2016
The 36th Cheltenham (St Nicolas) Brownies have often held their
sleepover at St Nicolas. There were some very important people
come to talk to them at their opening ceremony on the Saturday evening
- the town crier; Dame Janet Trotter, Lord Lieutenant of
Gloucestershire (the Queen’s representative); Councillor Chris Ryder,
the Mayor of Cheltenham and Laurence Robertson, MP for Tewkesbury.
The Brownies learnt all about the Queen and spent time making tiaras
and teddy bears with royal insignia. After a midnight feast and a good
night’s sleep the Brownies were up early for Church Parade. The
Archdeacon of Cheltenham, the Venerable Robert Springett, presided over
the Sunday service. He made sure the Brownies were involved
throughout.
Pictures by Karen Walker
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The Children’s Society works with children living in poverty and
teenagers at risk. As you can imagine, this covers a broad range of
work. Each month we are bringing you a story from one of the areas of
our work. Last month we focussed on our work with refugees and asylum
seekers, this month I’d like to introduce you to Sian, one of our
project workers.
Sian works with children who have gone missing from home or care and
will conduct what we call a return home interview with these children
and young people.
A return home interview, or RHI, is essentially a chat after a young
person has been missing. We’re an independent, non-judgemental
compassionate voice and we give the young people a chance to tell their
side of the story, to talk about what’s going on in their lives and why
they went missing.
For example one young woman disclosed to us in her interview about
honour based violence going on at home. There was a constant
surveillance by her dad and she was not allowed to read any of her text
messages, it all had to go through dad first. He had the passwords to
her Facebook account and everything. He didn’t let her go out on her
own. So she didn’t talk to us about her missing episodes, she talked to
us about what was going on at home, and we allowed her the space to
talk about that. We get a lot of first-time disclosures like this in
our interviews.
Our success stories unfortunately lie in being able to advocate a
young person’s victimhood to the professionals around them, so they get
access to the support they need. For example we did a double return
home interview for some young people who had been missing, and they
made a set of first time disclosures around serious physical and
emotional abuse and neglect in the home. One of them had been raped
when she was 13 while the other one was there. They had then been
placed somewhere else and were being neglected there too. At meetings,
the local authority kept referring to their behaviours. ‘They keep
doing this, they keep doing that’. We fought and fought to make them
realise that such behaviour is normal for a young person who has
experienced that level of trauma. We told them, these are victims and
need to be seen as victims.
Many professionals think going missing is just something that
happens, but going missing is a symptom of other issues, and the more
times a child goes missing the more risk there is.
Your donations, prayers and time enable our work with children and
young people who run away from home and care to continue. Thank you.
Roseann Thompson
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Seven brave souls chose to ignore the dire weather warnings for 21
May and we were glad that we did because the rain amounted to little
more than a short sprinkling at the start of the walk. We may have been
too late for the fritillaries in the North Meadow at Cricklade but
there were plenty more wild flowers to admire including some yellow
flags in the disused canal. Thanks to Margaret Compton for an enjoyable
morning walk and lunch in a rather quirky pub!
Janet Waters
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June’s walk was a break from the norm. After a good lunch at
The Crown, Kemerton we commenced our walk, once again ably organised
and lead by Janet Waters. After the wet weather of the previous week we
were blessed with a fine afternoon. A group of 14 enjoyed walking
through part of the Nature Reserve before ending back at Kemerton and
its Walled Garden. We were all amazed at this beautiful garden filled
with such colourful flowers being maintained by the owners and a very
small group of helpers. The afternoon was rounded off by a visit to the
local church of St Nicholas with its beautiful Reredos painted by
a local lady, Gwendoline Hopton, in 1912.
Thank you, Janet, for a most enjoyable afternoon.
Margaret Compton
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Preveza airport in the ‘80s was a runway, Customs and Baggage a shack
with bougainvillea between the cracks in the concrete, putting you
immediately in the right frame of mind for a holiday. The cabin crew
would throw back the exit door to a wall of heat and cicadas, the sky a
surreal blue. After the cool of the inflight air con the contrast was
overwhelming and immediately exhausting.
Herded to a jetty and an open boat with an outboard engine, all 30 or
so of us sank into whatever space there was on the wooden benching.
The same faces were repeating themselves through the haze - the rest
of the flotilla no doubt.
There was little conversation, we were fast becoming drowsy in the
full sun, only the pitching against the current keeping us conscious,
swigging our warm bottles of water and leaning into the breeze.
After an hour or so we were aware of shallower water, the whitest
quay side houses held within the crook of the harbour’s arm. The
engine was stilled and the sudden quiet was absolute, and stunning.
This was pre Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, so those of us who were first
time visitors to Greece were mesmerised at the whole experience.
The lead crew greeted us and suggested we dump our bags as soon as
they had shown us to our boats, all apparently named in maths symbols,
and go for a swim to revive. I had never much enjoyed swimming pools,
the echoing and the smell of chlorine, but warm water so clear, so
blue, just lapping at the boat ladder, that was more than okay. The
whole flotilla found their voices and chattered and laughed as dust and
tiredness slipped from us.
Later, a few yards along the harbour wall, we all got together in the
taverna. It would seem that, by and large, sailors are tolerant and
friendly, and no time is wasted on hanging back. You will be together
for a short time only, and may well have to rely on each other. The
children too, from toddlers to teens, got together and wandered off in
the safety of a small community.
Next morning we settled readily into the routine, straight into
shorts, no preening required, breakfast of yoghurt, honey and apricots.
Then the itinerary meeting, a trip to the charcuterie and to a baker’s
for lunch ingredients, then anchors aweigh (no electric winch).
One of the daily decisions to be made was whether to clamber into the
dinghy for a beach picnic or eat on deck and swim off the boat. The men
quite liked to be at the helm, which meant the ladies dropping anchor
and, mostly, we were quite good at judging the depths.
Except the day it had been agreed to meet up at a gently sloping
beach where we could simply walk ashore. On approach the ladies were
somehow distracted and one after the other, to howls from the skippers,
12 keels scrunched loudly on the shale as timings went awry.
It was a male naturist beach. All crews lunched on board, facing the
horizon. Ladies were subsequently allowed to take the helm. Sometimes.
The experience of dolphins playing in and out of our bow wave, stars
you could almost touch as we rowed back from a taverna, or each crew
doing a turn at the beach barbecue built from driftwood everyone had
collected, those are among the best of memories.
I dare not go back.
Anya Jary
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Plan your summer with the Summer Reading Challenge and stacks of
great children’s events at Prestbury Library!
Tue 26th July (10:30-11.30) Big Ears
and Dream Jars
Thu 4th Aug (10:30-11.30) ‘Matilda’s
Newts’ plus John the Magician at 11am.
Tue 9th Aug (10:30-11.30) George’s
Marvellous Medicine – Bubble Fun*
Fri 19th Aug (14:30-15:30) Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory Crafts
Tue 23rd Aug (10:30-11.30) The Witches
–mouse masks and finger puppets
No need to book – just turn up. *Parental supervision
required for Bubble Fun!)
Here at Prestbury Library we are gearing up for the Summer Reading
Challenge 2016. The challenge is aimed at readers aged 4 – 11 and
encourages them to read six books of their choice over the summer
(collecting stickers and rewards along the way).
 The
theme for this year is ‘The Big Friendly Read’ – celebrating the
centenary of Roald Dahl as a master storyteller. Please come along to
one of our many linked craft sessions and themed events shown above
–all free and no need to book.
Registration for the Summer Reading Challenge begins in Prestbury
Library on Saturday 16 July 2016. The challenge ends on Saturday 10
September 2016.
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to
amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing
ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and
to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while
sitting in her little room in an English village.”
―
Roald Dahl, Matilda
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/gloucestershire-libraries-3143135002
http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/
Opportunities for Young Volunteers
Reading Hack is a programme led by young people aged 13-24 who carry
out reading activities and volunteering, called ‘hacks’, to gain
skills and experience. The programme aims to inspire young people to
become advocates for reading. As part of Reading Hack, young people
may volunteer to help with the Summer Reading Challenge or with other
roles within libraries. So what is a ‘hack’? A hack is ‘a clever
solution to a tricky problem’. So a ‘reading hack’ is an activity with
reading at its core that encourages young people to use the library
and inspires others to read. Please do get in touch if you have any
ideas or would like to get involved.
Jo, Karen, Laura, Tessa and Becky
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On Sunday 22nd May Prestbury URC celebrated its 150th Anniversary.
It has provided a non-conformist presence in the village for all that
time. The church was full for the communion service led by Maz.
Afterwards the congregation and friends enjoyed a delicious
celebratory lunch after which the two birthday cakes were cut by Gwen
Hewinson. We were delighted to see Joan Winterbottom again as well as
to welcome the Revd Angela Smith from the North Cheltenham Team (Canon
David was able to join his wife for cake at the end) and the Revd Dee
Brierley-Jones. Friends came from The Church in Warden Hill, St
Andrew’s and St Mary’s. Unfortunately, Glyn and Sheila Jenkins
were unable to attend as were Richard and Felicity Cleaves of
Highbury, but they all sent their best wishes.
Fiona Hall
Pictures by Martin Clarke
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Book Review
Published by Vintage Books ISBN 9780099599630
“When a court determines any question in respect to….the upbringing
of a child….the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount
consideration” Section 1a The Children Act (1989)
Fiona Maye is a successful and highly respected High Court Judge in
the Family Courts. As such she bears responsibility for pronouncing
considered and well-argued decisions on many and varied cases, all of
which have a profound effect on the lives of those people involved.
Understandably, there is also an emotional effect on Fiona’s own
personal life and marriage, and the novel explores the balance between
work and home, and the challenges which arise when there is an
unexpected emotional and personal link. Her career in law has been so
important to her that she has never found the right time to have her
own children and this is sensitively addressed.
The judgements in several family legal cases are described, many of
which have as their context the firmly held beliefs of parents. Two in
particular are very significant in Fiona’s life: the separation of
some Siamese twins, and the treatment of a 17 year old Jehovah’s
Witness by blood transfusion. Ian McEwan’s elegant, well researched
descriptions paint a clear and moving picture of the intricacies of
the different points of view in each case. In particular he looks at
the dilemma of the ability of a minor to make his own choices, and at
the area of “Gillick Competence”, in the face of the law which states
he has no legal right to make his own decision.
The remainder of this short novel revolves around the consequences
of Fiona’s decision, which, Ian McEwan has stated, was based on a real
case.
This is a gripping and thought provoking book to read, with an
outcome both frustrating and poignant, and I would highly recommend
it.
Wendy Price
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Scholars all over the world commit their time to trying to
understand and answer questions about different aspects of life, our
world and our Creator. In the Bible we read of a young man who
asked Jesus the most important question ever. What do I do to
inherit eternal life?
The beginning of Jesus’ response was what the Rabbis and Scholars of
the day would have no doubt wanted to hear; ‘You know the Ten
Commandments’. Being a Jewish male, the young man responds by
saying he has kept these since a child; as he would have sat in the
synagogue for many, many hours studying scripture. I imagine
that his response would have been pleasing to the ears of the Rabbis
and Scholars. But Jesus, as he responds takes the conversation
much deeper as he says, ‘but there is one thing you lack. Go, sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ Not what the man wanted to
hear, as he had great wealth, and left saddened by the words he had
heard.
How do we relate to this young man’s story today? Jesus’ words
in John 15:1-2 are a good place to start. ‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me
that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful’. In the summer our
gardens can be full of green flowering shrubs, fruit bearing trees and
colourful flowers as a result of some thought out pruning back in the
Autumn.
What about our lives? Do we radiate and reflect the beauty of
Christ because we are open to his pruning? Are we allowing Him
to hold our hand as we get rid of baggage we carry, either in relation
to our own uncertainties, or attitudes and labels others place on us?
This was a huge
challenge for the young man who asked about eternal life and can
equally be a challenge for us. But God doesn’t expect us to carry out
this act of pruning our lives on our own. In Mark 10 when Jesus
looked at the young man he loved him (verse 21), and this act of love
was indicating that Christ wanted the young man to prune his life with
God there in the centre of it all. Likewise, God offers himself
to us in the process. Jesus says ‘I am the vine, and my Father
is the gardener… you are the branches’ (John 15:1-5); we are connected
to God. Therefore together, if we are willing to be open to God’s
voice, he can gently show us what areas of our lives need pruning,
even when this is a painful process, so we can grow and bear fruit in
our lives and share Christ’s love, care and compassion within our
families, church life and community.
Sharon Macauly
You can find the story of the young man’s encounter with Jesus in
the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verses 17 – 22.
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This year’s
Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust event takes place on Saturday
10th September. The purpose is to raise vital funds through
sponsorship, which are then shared between a church of your choice
and GHCT which provides grants for historic churches in the county in
need of repair and maintenance.