Pastoral letter
Dear Friends,
I never cease to wonder at God's wonderful creation. Whether I am watching birds and enjoying great flocks wheeling about the skies, or amazed at the latest pictures to be beamed back from space, there is always something that takes my breath away and reminds me that we have so much still to see and enjoy.
Harvest is an opportunity to thank God for creation and to celebrate all that we enjoy about it.
So God created human beings, he blessed them, and said,
I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat.
We may not grow so much of our own food in our gardens (although a few energetic souls do still have a vegetable garden or allotment and enjoy the fresh taste of newly picked food). It is also a time to reflect upon our responsibility as stewards of creation.
Your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.
Whatever we believe about the mechanism of creation there is no doubt that human beings have a great responsibility to care for the world. How we produce our food, how we use the world's natural resources, how we dispose of our waste is important and affects not just humans but all of creation. Even simple things like switching off the light when we leave a room can make a difference.
This autumn we will be reflecting upon our faith using the themes of Our Calling. Worship, Learning & Caring, Serving and Telling others are all linked together in our spiritual life. That must be true of our Harvest thanksgiving worship as well. Our worship of God should lead to us wanting to learn more, striving to care for creation and to serve other people, and to share the message of God who has made the world and saved the world through Jesus.
Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it,
for by his power each tree and flower was planned and made.
Jesus is Lord! The universe declares it.
Sun, moon and stars in heaven cry Jesus is Lord!
God Bless
