MAY 2011 Vol. 33 No. 5

Dear Friends

Travelling along the A46 these days feels a bit like a parable of modern life. The landscape is constantly changing. It’s even getting a bit like that (albeit on a very, very small scale) on the journey from East Leake to Gotham! New roundabouts and re-routed roads can make the traveller feel disorientated. A much travelled and hitherto familiar route suddenly requires concentration. So many things in life change, sometimes gradually and imperceptibly, at other times rapidly. Change can feel exciting or threatening. One thing is certain – nothing stays the same for ever.
In a changing world the Church faces many challenges. Some of the old traditional ways of doing things just don’t resonate with the modern generation, or even with some older people who have come to a new understanding of what it means to be a Christian or who find different things feed their spiritual lives now than in earlier years. For others the older traditions have more appeal later in life, or there is a longing for the Church to provide stability and constancy, giving comfort and help in coping with other changes going on all around.
The journey theme is prominent in the Bible, in both the Old and New Tesaments. The key event in the Old Testament is the Exodus. Through Moses, God led his people Israel out of slavery in Egypt. God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the pillar of cloud or fire settled, the people stayed in that place until the pillar began to move again. There are times when God is telling us to stay in one place, and other times when he leads us on the next stage of our journey. For many of us the difficult thing is discerning when God wants to move us on. It can be hard to leave behind what is familiar and to set off into the unknown. Long before the time of Moses, Abraham responded to God’s call to set off on a journey, trusting God’s promise to give him a land, and to bless him with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Abraham is remembered today as the Father of all three monothestic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
When old routes disappear and new roads are constructed, we need to follow the signs or listen to the satnav. As we travel through life, let’s look for God’s signposts and learn to listen to his directions, knowing that God is with us whether the landscape is familiar or strange. Jesus promises his followers that he is with us always, and if we put our faith in him we can be assured that our ultimate destination is to be with God in glory.
With my love and prayers

Glynis Hetherington