Catching up

The Easter holiday gives opportunity to stop and do nothing. Time however to look back on a number of weeks and play catch up on my blog. 

Harlow Carr looking stunning 

Hares or Rabbits squaring up for a fight! 

February half term and the chance to visit a Welsh Vineyard over looking Tintern Abbey.

It may be a ruin but you can still imagine what it must have been like at its height. 

Well you do have to test the wine!

A trip to Cardiff and the assembly building the slate and wood is a brilliant design. 

So time for a coffee, but no we were too late as the woman just served the person before  us!

So no welcome on the hillside here  - is it because I voted to remain?

It was birthday time with our Family Worship Centre and they went to town in decorations, singing and celebrating. One of the many hopeful signs at Firth Park is the fact the two congregations are going to explore creating a covenant relationship. 

Good news at last, we can now start to remove the pews and fittngs as we have conservation approval. So we may one day see this space transformed into two. A soft play centre for the community and new worship space that's warm, comfortable and accessible to all. It will be a space to do social cohesion work.

A trip out to Renishaw Gardens always worth a visit .

And of course a chance for tea and cake. 

Well we had never made it to Wentworth Castle Gardens so we did  which was a good job because they have now closed due to lack of funds.

Firth Park saw another two classes from Hinde House Lower School visit , and in groups they all made an Easter garden. It was of course the opportunity to share the story and look at art work that seeks to say something about God's story of love. 

Our own Sunday morning youngsters made this beautiful Easter Garden below.

So its been a busy Lenten period and Holy Week.

It began with tge ashing service at St Peters, with a three week lenten course ' is the cross necessary for firgiveness?' Then the joy of a Palm Sunday to an early Maundy Thursday communion I led at Dronfield. It was really encouraging   to see so many folk from different churches at  St Pauls Dronfield at 7am. Each day through holy week they gather at 7am. 

Then in the evening a simple meal at Firth Park so we could go out into the dark night like tise first disciples, to await Good Friday.

The procession this year saw a few teenagers trying to be clever shouting and pushing. It was however so appropriate to have a sense of people looking , jeering and laughing. Then in the evening at St Peters a Labyrinth for people to take time to reflect on their lives in preparation for Easter Day.

 

Malcolm had taken time to give our church doors some real focus with creative crosses. 

Easter Day itself saw the cross transformed by flowers.

Of course none of this is just about making us feel good . So sitting in the church are the parcels ready to go to Asebu In Ghana an expression of God's love and the need to go on sharing our rich resorces with others . 

Easter Day proved to be full on. Early morning communion at our Hatfield church followed by a service at Firth Park, and finally the celebratory service at our Dungworth Methodist Church  which is to close in June. No one can be happy about churches closing but our work and witness is never about buildings. Christian community changes and needs to keep moving. Death and Resurrection is part of our story . 

When our work in a set of buildings has been completed we need to move on in anticipation that we might once more become that subversive community that disturbs power and unsettles lifestyles.

So catch up complete and its full steam ahead for a general election. We may never know the true motivation for why the PM called one. We may have our own views on the reasons which firmly make us cynical. I can only hope, that the fears which were played upon that led to the vote to leave the european union, will not be played upon  again, to hide what is in fact going on in our society. We have a social care system that needs major investment but we have a government in denial. We have an education system being starved of funds while money is being provided for free schools not needed , and  a false story is being told of the need for Grammar schools which will only create division and not a cohesive society. We have an enormous need to build social housing but the lack of political will to do so. What we are not seeing is a shift to the values of God's Kingdom. Most strange that it was a PM , the daughter of a Methodist, who created a divided society , privatised everything going and used a war to gain popularity. Now we have the daughter of the vicarage who is once again shifting the balance of power to the right. So get ready for the poor to become poorer and the rich even richer.