Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends,

I hope this letter continues to find you well.

While I was on sabbatical, I took the opportunity to do some work on my model railway layout, added a new factory, increased the amount of scenery and roadways etc. The track plan was from a book, but I adapted it to what wanted, it creates my little world. My wife Alison has enjoyed constructing a few Lego sets, as a child I had the basic bricks and I made a few creations of my own but now Lego is a little more prescriptive there is a book to follow. Earlier in my life I studied transport and linked to this was town planning and I remember studying the idyllic aspirations of the garden cities planned post war which were to make our country a better place to live in. The residents of Welwyn Garden city or Milton Keynes would be better judges of whether that hoped for utopia was every achieved. Over the past few weeks, we have experienced a quite different world, aspects of which have been good, some bad. In relation to covid we have valued the work of refuse collectors, postman, carers and nurses in a whole new way, communities have come together to clap these workers on a Thursday evening. We have worshipped in a new way and there have been renewed contact across the circuit like never before. We have the potential to create something different, something better.

As we begin to come out of lockdown, we enter a different world and return to a normal, but the pressure is to make it a better normal. In our churches what do we hope to return to, those who attended the zoom service last week will have seen a video of what Church may be like and in the coming weeks we will see how that materialises for own churches. On my Model railway I followed a plan and Alison follows the Lego book. We have a God who wants to guide us in his plan. God wants us to use our talents and gifting to put his plan into fruition I adapted my track plan but let us allow God’s wisdom to permeate through all we do as Church. Let us make a better world a better Church. Let us take time to get it right. Last Week Jane sent the letter which included a questionnaire which a number of you have already completed , if you haven’t already replied please do so, your comments however small are valuable as we seek God’s direction on how we move forward together as a circuit for the coming weeks and further ahead.

Let us seek God’s wisdom in all that we do in his name.

There is still much happening within the life of our churches and circuit, as follows:

Sunday worship on Zoom at 10.30am. https://zoom.us/download.

Zoom Bible studies on Jonah : Mondays at 7pm Thursdays at 10.30am.

Morning prayer every Wednesday on Zoom at 10am.

Please continue to look after and pray for each other. If you need help or support, then please contact your pastoral visitor or minister.

Every blessing

Revd Neil A Maynard, on behalf of the Bede Circuit staff team.