TEXT FOR THE MONTH
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord" Isaiah 11 : 2
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
"The Holy Spirit is the true counsellor. He shows us what is to come and also gives us the strength to face the difficulties that lie ahead of us. Indeed He is both the strength and the giver, for only under His inspiration can we surmount the present impasse, and be lifted on to a new plane of endeavour in which fresh possibilities provide an outlet for a new way of approach. We cannot rise to the full stature of a person until the Spirit is manifestly working in us. We cannot be of any assistance to anyone else until we are led by that divine Spirit."
Martin Israel, The Spirit of Counsel, Hodder & Stoughton 1983, page
14.
THIS MONTH'S STAR LETTER
Dear Friends,
This month we celebrate Pentecost, or Whitsun, on May 19th. I do
hope you will be able to join us for our services on that day. I heard a
Bishop saying recently that Pentecost was the most important day in the
Christian calendar. Obviously from a traditional point of view Easter has
been seen as the most important, closely followed byt the most popular
celebration, Christmas, so why did the Bishop say this? I think what he
was saying is that in these times Pentecost has become the most
important.
I was reading the other day how many in our society are
weighed down by all sorts of different pressures. For the unemployed or
the poor there is the struggle of finding enough money to have a reasonable
standard of living. For the average worker there is often the struggle of
the long commute into London or even short distances along a clogged up
motorway. For many a mother or father there is the struggle of bringing
up children to behave in a Christian manner, when adolescence and the behaviour
that follows it seems to be starting at a younger and younger age, and ending
far later than it used to! And even for the comfortable or even affluent
there can be sometimes a more hidden struggle, but a struggle nonetheless ? the
struggle against depression, boredom, and anxiety, - though these are not just
confined to the wealthy of course.
To make myself clear, I am not saying
that everyone suffers from these things. I sincerely hope you do
not! There is also a very positive side to life and we give God thanks
for it. However, I do think that what the Bishop was saying is that
Christianity has a helper for us in these struggles that face many today,
namely, the person of the Holy Spirit. The holy Spirit cannot be seen, and
certainly cannot be proved.
As I have said before, if we could prove
God?s existence we would not be willing servants but unwilling slaves, as we
would have not choice but to follow Him. Instead, God gives us the choice
? whether to reach out to Him or not; whether to follow Him, or not, and
most importantly, whether to pray to Him or not. It is in prayer that the Holy
Spirit?s presence can really be sought.
When we pray and ask
God to fill us with his peace and his joy, we are not being selfish. It
is when we have his peace and joy that we are equipped to go out and help
others and bring Christ?s love to our world. My prayer is that this
Pentecost you will find time for some silent prayer, on your own, asking for
God?s presence to fill you and strengthen you for all that life has to
offer. As we say in the blessing:
"May the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your heart and mind in the knowledge of God and
of his Son Jesus Christ".
A Happy Pentecost to you.
I do hope to see you at the Jubilee celebrations at the beginning of
June. Details are in the Parish Magazine.
Simon Tillotson
This letter appears in the parish magazine. To subscribe to the magazine please email Brian Eddy or contact the church office.
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