Dear Friends,

 

We  began Lent last Wednesday – at least, some of us did – by receiving on our foreheads, at one of the two services which were held on Ash Wednesday, the ashy sign of the cross, which is a reminder both of the death of Jesus, with which Lent ends, and of the 'dust and ashes' of our own  mortality. I always find that moment when the splodge of ashes is placed on my forehead a moving and thought-provoking experience. To be marked so visibly is itself something different, these days;  long gone, thank goodness, are the days when human beings were branded, as slaves, with the mark of their master, so it does feel rather odd, as you eye other members of the congregation and wonder if your splodge is as noticeable as theirs. And then there is the dilemma of whether to wipe it off or not: dare I go into the supermarket with my mark of ashes? After all, Jesus rebuked people for parading their piety in public.

 

As the sign of the cross is made on each person's forehead, these words are said:

'Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.'

The word 'turn' is the significant one. Lent is about re-positioning ourselves with the intention of going in a new direction. But the turning can be an effort to someone stuck in their ways.

I recall the beginning of T.S. Eliot's poem Ash Wednesday:

 

            'Because I do not hope to turn again

            Because I do not hope

            Because I do not hope to turn

            Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope

            I no longer strive to strive towards such things'

 

How many of us have given up the hope that our lives could ever be any different? We are resigned to our old weaknesses and failings, and they feel almost like a comfortable pair of slippers – that's just who we are! Well, Lent challenges us to turn in a new direction – even just a few degrees might make so much difference!

 

At the end of Lent comes Easter, and the night before Easter day was, in the early days of Christianity, the time when new Christians were baptised.  As dawn was breaking, they literally turned away from the darkness of their past lives, with all their failures,  to face the light of the rising sun – the Son of God, defeating the power of darkness. From now on, they would live in that light, and their lives would be different as a result.

 

The reminder, of those ashes, that we are all mortal, and that our time in this world is limited, ought to be an incentive to change direction while we can. As well as being a time of soul-searching, Lent is also a time of grace and new opportunities, and the re-awakening of nature around us reminds us of the promise of new life. So perhaps we could view this time leading up to Easter as a chance to reflect on our lives, and on some small (or even large!) way in which they might be different from now on. It's never too late to move in a new direction....

 

Have a good Lent!

 

With love,

Rosey

 

PS.Please note our new address – 41 Vowles Close, Wraxall BS48 1PP

We've moved in a new direction!

 

 

 

A time of turning round*

 

Truly dust we are, and to dust we shall return;

and truly yours wee are, and to you we shall return.

Help this to be a time of turning round and beginning again.

Through the forty days of Lent, help us to follow you

and to find you: in the discipline of praying

and in the drudgery of caring -

in whatever we deny ourselves,

and whatever we set ourselves to learn or do.

Help us to discover you in our loneliness, and in community,

in our emptiness and our fulfilment,

in our sadness and our laughter.

Help us to find you when we ourselves are lost.

Help us to follow you on the journey to Jerusalem

to the waving palms of the people's hope,

to their rejection, to the cross and empty tomb.

Help us to perceive new growth amid the ashes of the old.

Help us, carrying your cross, to be signs of your kingdom. Amen

 

•          this was one of the readings at our Ash Wednesday service

 

 

 

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN NAILSEA & DISTRICT

'HOPE OR HOPELESS? - A LOOK AT SOME TOPICAL ISSUES

IN THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

A series of Lent talks has been arranged, so that together we can listen to some stimulating and distinguished speakers, reflect on what they have to say, and join in informal discussions afterwards. Please support these talks, at 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings during Lent, if you possibly can – it will be worth the effort!

 

Wed. 24^th at Holy Trinity: Rev. Jolyon Trickey (Rector of HT) on 'Money'

Wed. 3^rd March at St. Francis: Mary Colwell on 'The Environment'

Wed. 10^th March at Christchurch  NB AT 7pm: Bishop Peter Price on 'Politics'

Wed. 17^th March

Wed. 24^th  March at Chris Sunderland on