Reflection

Dear Friends

During August we have been doing the ‘Everyone Welcome’ course—and its given us plenty of thought. We have considered our buildings, our publicity, our welcome and how we help new people to belong. What the course brought home to me was the importance of personal relationships. All the statistics show that people respond to the personal touch. We become aware of this ourselves when we go into shops or restaurants and staff treat us as special.

Personal relationships always take a bit of effort, be it our loved ones or our friends. It means giving something of ourselves. Experiencing true friendship it isn’t all one way—our efforts are often returned many times over and we receive so much. I was surprised by how much I got from writing a letter to my new sponsor child Brian—when I signed up I thought about what I was giving but didn’t realise how much I would get back.

God made us to be in relationship—living in isolation brings us right down. We know from experiments that have been done in the past that a baby who is just fed and changed but receives no other attention fails to thrive. Adults are the same. We need each other and we need to know we are loved, respected and wanted. I wonder is there an isolated, housebound person near you that you could drop into every so often and give a little of your time? And what a difference a smile makes! Just acknowledging people with a smile can make a big impact. Its so sad when people cannot acknowledge the existence of another human being as they walk by.

God loves each one of us as we are—he waits longingly for us to relate to him. His love knows no boundaries, its endures all things and it is there for everyone. When we have a personal relationship with him, we find ourselves filled with peace and joy bringing a confidence that enables to face life’s ups and downs just because we know deep down in our innermost being that we are loved and wanted. He will never reject us.

Have you drifted away from him? Perhaps you would like to take the opportunity of using the national ‘Back to Church Sunday’ to come back to St. Margaret’s; its on Sunday 26th September. Or if you would like to find out more about this God of love then why not join our Alpha course on Monday 27th September? More details for both these events can be found in the magazine.

God Bless you with the knowledge of his love,
Rev. Vicky Fleming