Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends,

Last week Margaret and I were able to escape north of the border for a few days for the first time for a year. 2 nights we spent in a bothy with minimal facilities which took us over 2 hours to walk there. It was wonderful – watching the sun go down over the sea, the silver sands, skinny-dipping in the sea, the absence of people (most of the time), the deer’s eyes reflecting in our head torches at night. Later in the week we took a boat across from Mallaig to Knoydart, which you can’t reach by car, and I managed to climb a remote mountain where the sense of space and silence were fantastic. The whole time away reminded me of the quote ‘Time and silence are the most luxurious things today’.

We all need to make time to find that space and silence away from all the crazy busyness of our world – and church can too often contribute to that crazy busyness. There’s a great story about a family who lived next door to a Christian family and were very attracted to the Christian faith as a result, but didn’t follow it up because ‘We couldn’t live at your pace’! Now that I’m back to being responsible for a local church, albeit on a part-time basis, I’m very conscious that I need to continue to make time to get away, from church, grandparent and volunteering responsibilities, time to just experience space and silence. That’s when I feel closest to God so I know that He thinks I need to do it too! When I was in full-time ministry I was quite strict about taking my day off, which was often spent seeking out some of the more remote and quiet places in the Peak District or, before that, in the North Pennines. I need to find that discipline again and I would suggest we all need to do that.

As most of you know, I am passionate about our need as Christians to care better for God’s creation, and the more time we spend in His creation – that can just mean sitting in  a garden or a local park – the more likely we are to care better for it. One of the best things I’ve noticed about schools in recent times has been that many now have little gardens and encourage their children to grow things, so they can be connected to the natural world from a young age. My own grandchildren in America have this year got into growing their own food, just on a small scale using pots, but it’s a great start and their thrill at eating something they have grown is wonderful to share.

So make an effort now, before the weather turns against us, to seek space and silence in the outdoors, to listen to God (we all spend too much time telling Him what to do rather than listening to Him!), to re-connect with His wonderful creation.

Peace and love

Paul

On behalf of the Bede Methodist Circuit Staff Team

Bible Studies continue on Thursday 30th September at 7pm. We are studying Mark’s Gospel as part of Bible Month.