Pastoral Letter
Dear Friends,
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all those who contributed
towards and supported the Holy Trinity 800th birthday celebrations. It was a
wonderful weekend, and despite the weather doing its best to dampen our spirits
it was a superb community occasion. The Church looked wonderful, and we were so
pleased that so many people made the effort to visit the Church and the fete,
and we were delighted that the weekend raised nearly £4,000 towards the Church
restoration fund. Many thanks to you all.
One of the great pleasures of walking my dog Henry at this time of the year is hearing the Skylarks singing so joyfully high up in the sky. They seem so exuberant and carefree.
I once heard the story of a young skylark who discovered one day a man who would give him worms for a feather. He made a deal -- one feather for two worms. The next day the lark was flying high in the sky with his father. The older bird said, "You know, son, we skylarks should be the happiest of all birds. See our brave wings! They lift us high in the air, nearer and nearer to God."
But the young bird did not hear, for all he saw was an old man with worms. Down he flew, plucked two feathers from his wings and had a feast. Day after day this went on. Autumn came and it was time to fly south. But the young skylark couldn't do it. He had exchanged the power of his young wings for worms.
I think the story of that skylark is a moral tale that is very appropriate for today's society. Pick up a tabloid paper and analyse its message. It speaks of our greed, our preoccupation with material possessions, the way that we so often worship our bodies, the way that we worship so called "personalities", and the way that we worship the wonderful gift of procreation. We seem to worship everything else other than the God who made us, loves us, sustains us and wants so much to have a loving relationship with us.
St Paul speaking of the society he knew 2000 years ago could just as easily be speaking of our society today when he wrote:
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans1:21)
During July we have decided to pray for the G8 Summit, that the leaders of the eight richest nations might have their hearts and minds guided to show real compassion and concern for the plight of the deprived nations of the Third World. I think that initiative is one important step in the right direction. Perhaps we all ought to rethink our priorities in life, and start to think about the needs of others rather than ourselves, and, like the older and wiser skylark, rise higher and nearer to God.
May God bless you all.