Dear Friends,
We are now seeing the seasons turn once more and the lighter nights are here with us. The darkness of winter is coming to an end we look forward to the plans we have made for spring and summer.
Sometimes when we make plans we find that a ‘spanner has been thrown in the works’, which often leads to us having to rethink our plans. So it was for the disciples. As we approach Holy Week with the roller coast of feelings and emotions and ultimately to Easter Day, again we are no different to the disciples. They had the highs of Palm Sunday, when all their dreams were still alive but that changed as they celebrated the Passover meal in the upper room. We heard they were frightened of what the future held for them. What they learned was, their strength came from being together as a group facing the challenges that lay ahead.
We know on that glorious Easter Morning when Jesus was raised from the dead – as well as being alarmed the disciples worked together just as Jesus commanded.
As we look at our churches and their memberships, we have concerns about the future for all our communities. Some of us have completed the Leading Your Church into Growth local over the past 10 months and this has encouraged us to look at what can be achieved as a group. We all have different strengths, which, when pooled together with the blessing of God changes mind-sets.
As we look to our future some of us may be in the Good Friday black hole but we need to remember Easter Day is coming with the resurrection and hope are just around the corner. The sale of Bibles has risen – the ‘Gen Z’ (18 – 29) and the Millennials (30 and upwards) are showing an increasing interest in the Bible and faith.
If we look further ahead we have Pentecost on 24th May, a time when all those who were gathered heard the message of hope in their own language and the Holy Spirit moved among them. The same Holy Spirit is still moving among us and encouraging us to be disciples in the truest sense of the word.
So as we prepare ourselves for the coming events of Holy week, remember , no matter how dark it may seem we have to travel through the events of Good Friday for new life to be revealed to us.
Wishing everyone a happy Easter.
Mark.