Church letter

May 2024

Click for the church letter from April 2024

Today is a new day. Celebrate it. Use it.

The year continues to roll on and we’re now a third of the way through 2024. I must learn not to take each day for granted. Each day is special; each day is unique. The days may feel similar, but each day has its own uniqueness. There is a lovely part of church liturgy that starts, “This is the day that the Lord has made”. Each day is a new gift; each day brings its own opportunities. I should “rejoice and be glad in it”. I should be pleased with this new gift. We recently had the joy of our Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday. Whilst the cloud didn’t fully cooperate and we didn’t see the first segment of the sun breaking the horizon, we did witness the first rays of light of a wonderful new day; we saw the mist in the valley below us; and we heard the birds rejoicing in a new day. They appreciated the gift - even if they were a little confused why we humans were there so early. In ‘The Church’ began The Great Fifty Days of Eastertide, from Easter through to Pentecost; a time to celebrate the “gloriously risen Christ”. This is captured in the words of the Michael Saward hymn:

It is a real time of celebration. The word ‘Alleluia’ appears frequently in liturgical speech and in song. Morning prayer begins with the traditional collection of texts by the Apostle Paul known as the Easter Anthems; and white or gold decorates the church to emphasize the joy and brightness of the season. It culminates with Pentecost; this from the Greek word ‘pentekoste’ or ‘fiftieth’ 50 days of celebration with its roots in the Jewish Feast of Weeks.

On the 40th day of this period, though, we mark the particular event of Christ’s ‘ascension’: his leaving the earthly life and returning to heaven. As Jesus was leaving, he commissioned his disciples to continue his work, and promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to help them do his work. The ascension is therefore closely connected with the theme of mission; and Pentecost with the ‘birth’ of the Church.

At St George’s we continue to mark and celebrate these events each year. They are reminders that Christians are called to be “the body of Christ” - i.e. to do his work - in this place, at this time, empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, as well as the gift of another new day to remember to use, we also have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us make the most of each opportunity and each day. And within that, the theme of hope and joy continues in this monthly letter as it has done for the last two editions of the magazine. “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Revd David Commander, Rector and Area Dean