“Hope Springs Eternal”
As some of you will know, my mum has been ill with bone cancer as a secondary to breast cancer, over recent months and died, as a result on 17th August.
So why the title to this article? Why am I not overcome with sadness (although I do miss my mum)? Why, on 4th September, did we hold a celebration, rather than a funeral? Because mum had put her trust in Jesus, originally when she was 15 years old, but also, ever since then. She had heard the message that there is forgiveness of sin (sin – that turning our backs on God; not obeying Him in what we do, say or think; and going our own way, because we think we know better) through Jesus death on the cross, taking the punishment that should be ours. She acknowledged that she had sinned, and asked Jesus to forgive her and make her right with God, so that He would be her Father and she would be His child. And then she walked through life with Him, building that relationship with Him and knowing His help and guidance throughout life.
Now God not only promised that we would know life with Him in this life, when we put our trust in him, but that when this life ends Jesus would come and take us home to be with God forever.
Jesus once said: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
And in verse 6 He said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“
That’s why, even though I may be sad I won’t see mum here again on earth I know she is now with the Father, and with Jesus her saviour and Lord and I can rejoice.
With Jesus we can have confidence in this life, we can know Almighty God, the Sovereign Lord as Father, but we can also be sure that we will be with Him forever.
The modern hymn “IN CHRIST ALONE” sums this up very well and is well worth finding on Youtube if you are not familiar with it.
Do you have this confidence?
God bless, Beck Burgin
CHURCH IS BACK
We have now resumed our 11am Sunday services back in the church building after a period of about six months. In order to do this, we have had to make the place COVID-19 secure which involved writing Risk Assessments and Action Plans which, amongst other things, called for well spaced seating, masks to be worn, hand sanitisers, a suitable cleaning regime and lots of notices.
It has been good to be able to get back together but sadly congregational singing is still not allowed under the current guidelines even though an in depth Bristol University study has reported that the risks of singing and talking are much the same and can be largely mitigated by not doing either loudly and staying a good distance apart.
If the rules get tightened and we are forced back to using Zoom, it won’t be the end of the world. On our last Zoom service, not only were we able to sing (in our own homes), we were able to get a live update from a couple working in Africa.
YOUTH CLUB
Youth club resumed outside some weeks ago subject to the weather being suitable and has been meeting at 6:00 – 7:30pm of Fridays at the OHMG field. Evenings are starting to get darker and the weather is becoming less conducive to meeting outside so the intention is to finish off the Risk Assessment and Action Plans necessary to enable the club to meet inside the church again. This will require careful planning so that suitable activities can be provided and numbers may have to be limited. A weekly email is being sent out to parents and young people to keep them informed and we are happy to add others to the list; just send an email to info@EastingtonMethodists.org.uk .
MOSSY MADNESS
Roz Wisniewski the Youth and Families worker for Eastington and Whitminster is setting up free family sessions for 5 to 11 year olds and their families. They will have an outdoor theme relating to the natural world and be subject to a maximum of 5 people taking part plus herself.
These will be run in Brownings orchard, the local Snakey Park (OHMG) or in your own garden and run for approximately one to one and a half hours. They can take place after school or on a Saturday. There will be a range of activities from simple games, to crafts related to the outdoors, wildlife spotting and quiet contemplation of the outdoors. All COVID restrictions will be followed appropriate to outdoor activities.
To book your first session contact
Roz on roz@EastingtonMethodists.org.uk or tel: 07761902249.
The theme of the first session is Harvest. Roz looks forward to meeting you and your family soon.
You must be logged in to post a comment.