Dear Friends,

 

Make-overs make for good TV – they never seem to lose their appeal. We tune in to watch dreary, unattractive houses being transformed into inviting homes, alive with colour and style; or wildernesses hacked away, redesigned and replanted,to become new creations worthy of Chelsea. Isn't it amazing, we say, what can be done with a bit of imagination? And there is the key to it all – the power of the imagination, which can envisage how a place or a situation might be completely different.

 

Imagination inspires people to get things done, in order to bring about change. I wonder who it was who first had the imagination to turn that old ramshackle building in the churchyard into a wonderful new parish room? As a result of that dream – translated into architect's drawings and computerised images – the foundations of the Cross Tree Centre are well under way; just this week, tons of concrete were poured into the earth, as the first stage of what will be the new development.

 

'Prophets' were really the people of every age who had the imagination to see how things should, and could be, different. That often involved radical criticism of the present situation; but it also meant a vision of new possibilities for the future. As our our building project in the parish gets under way, there will be a study group for anyone who is interested to discuss the prophet Nehemiah, who inspired people to get on and rebuild the ruins of Jerusalem after a time of devastation. You don't have to be 'scholarly' to come and join us – just interested in finding out about a man whose imagination made a difference. All welcome for the first session on Monday 1 June, 7.30,at the Rectory

 

I believe it's really important that we should all be people of imagination, always striving to open our eyes to see how situations could be different. It's easy to see how it works in arranging or decorating a room in your house: perhaps you get tired of how it looks, and then you might see a picture in a magazine, or just sit to rethink how the room could be different, with paint of a different colour, or the furniture arranged differently, so that suddenly you see it all in a new light. Or re-designing your garden – there's another popular target for the make-over enthusiasts – to create a new look, with decking, or gravel, or a water feature. So we see, how with imagination, some things really can be changed.

 

But when it comes to other areas – the direction of our lives, our relationships, the church, perhaps even our political institutions – there, the ability to imagine things differently sometimes seems hard to summon up, and so we lapse into a state of cynicism or despair, doubting that situations could ever improve. But the imagination of someone with vision, who can see what needs to be cleared away, or re-arranged, or changed, can light up an apparently hopeless set of circumstances with new possibilities. We certainly need a few people like that at Westminster in the coming months – but who can imagine what will emerge from the current mess?

 

At recent celebrations in Liverpool, the bell-ringers of the Anglican Cathedral played the Beatles' song 'Imagine' – a tribute to  four of Liverpool's most famous  sons (it sounded rather strange, set to the sonorous tones of huge heavy bells!)  That song imagines a world free of any of the conflicts which have so often been sparked off by bad religion – 'You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one; I hope some day you'll join us and the world will be as one.' If you look at the end of 'Revelation', the last book of the Bible, you'll find another example of imagination: 'I saw a new heaven and a new earth.......'; and you could describe the popular song 'Jerusalem' as William Blake's version of 'Imagine'.

 

So here's a task for lazy days of summer: as well as redesigning your house and garden, spend some time just imagining how other things might be different – in your life, your family, our church,

the local community, our country – and then start thinking what steps you could take to make your dreams a reality. It's amazing what can be done, with a bit of imagination.....

 

With love, Rosey

A DAY OUT IN GLASTONBURY.....

 

July 4^th is the Key Event in the celebrations of the 1100^th anniversary of the Diocese of Bath & Wells. All sorts of happenings will take place in Glastonbury that day, based in, or around, Glastonbury Abbey. There will be a service at which Bishop Peter will preach, there will be workshops and entertainers, many stalls, and plenty of food and drink, all in a carnival atmosphere. The day will end with a great celebration in the early evening, with Bishop Stephen Cotterell as guest speaker. A coach has been arranged to take people from the Nailsea area, which will leave the Clevedon Road car-park at  9am, returning at 9pm. Approximate cost ￡6.50. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PARISH OFFICE  (tel. 857086)IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESERVE A PLACE – ALL ARE WELCOME! This will be a great day out, and we are all urged to make every effort to get to Glastonbury to join in these special celebrations.