March 2009 - Vol. 31 No. 3

THE REVEREND CLAIRE GOODE WRITES:

Dear Friends

It is now more than 6 months since I was ordained Deacon in Southwell Minster and moved to live in East Leake. I have met, and been welcomed by many people in the 12 parishes where I have been licensed to serve. My working brief from the Diocese is to be a Cluster Curate working across the whole group of villages in the South Notts area and it’s not always obvious what this means in practice. We are still trying to work it out!

Unfortunately, it does mean that I am not able to meet and talk with people on a weekly basis and forming relationships takes that bit longer. When I first came to the area, no one expected me to know who they were, let alone their names. Now, I do sometimes know who they are, but still can’t always remember the names – or the correct person they are married to! As I have thought about this aspect of ministerial life – you know who I am, and me not remembering, yet again, it occurred to me that aspects of our relationship with God can be like that. Do we have a close relationship with God, where we know him and can call him by name? Or is it more as a nodding acquaintance, where we aren’t quite sure if he is ‘Lord’ or ‘Father’ or ‘God Almighty’ or ‘Saviour’ or ‘Friend’ or …?

Shortly, we will be entering the Season of Lent in the Church Calendar and we will mark its beginning on Ash Wednesday with a service of Holy Communion and a marking of ash on our foreheads. Lent can be a time of year for ‘self-examination, penitence, self-denial, study and preparation for Easter’ according to the Seasonal Introduction in Common Worship. I invite you, therefore, to come with me, and use it to come closer to God – in your walk with him, in your discipleship, on your own particular journey of faith.

So, what it is that I will do or not do in Lent? Give up chocolate or alcohol? Go to church three times on Sundays? A few years ago, my godmother wrote me a letter during Lent explaining that her Lenten discipline was to write a letter each day to someone on her Christmas card list. I thought this was a great idea – last time I tried it I managed 11 letters! I’m going to have another go this year. You can ask me how it’s going. You could try using the ‘Love Life Live Lent’ booklets published by Church House with suggestions on practical kindness during Lent for all the family – the example I liked best was “Say something nice behind someone’s back”. Lent is also a time for study – this year I am going to try and read the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book by Timothy Radcliffe called ‘Why Go to Church?’.
All of these things help us to focus away from ourselves and think about what it is to want to follow God’s way and walk his path. Let us use the time to get to know God that little bit better so that when we come to the agony of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday we understand Christ’s coming that little bit more.

A prayer for us all this Lent:

We pray to the Lord for the courage to give up other things
and to give ourselves to him this Lent.

With my love and prayers


Claire