Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends.     

I wonder what you are like at losing things. What are you like at finding them again?

Recently, I have been through a spate of losing things. Firstly, my diary, then my wallet, a set of sermon notes and finally a ten-pound note.

Thankfully all these things apart from one did eventually turn up, just not in the places I was expecting them.

My diary was found in a box of bits I had been carrying into the garage. I can only imagine I had put my diary on the top of the box I lifted out from the car.  My Wallet was found in a pair of shoes I had on the shoe rack just inside the front door. It was found there because a day or two earlier when I was heading out for a run, I remembered that I had picked up my wallet from the bed and I had placed it in my pocket to take and put in a place downstairs. I forgot to do this until I was about to set out on my run and suddenly remembered I had my wallet in my pocket. I just pushed it in the shoe and intended to collect it on my return. I obviously forgot!

My sermon notes for the given Sunday had been placed in a folder, with notes from another meeting and placed back into the storage cabinet. This took quite a bit of step retracing to find this.

And finally, most painfully (being a Yorkshireman) The ten-pound note was never recovered because I was wearing the trousers with a hole in the pocket, and you guessed it I forgot!

This spate of losing and finding things got me reflecting on my lent journey this year.

Where am I looking for God and expecting to find God at work?

So far in my lent journey it has been in and with people that are not used to discussing God that I have found God’s presence in abundance as I have sought to respond to the many pastoral needs that have come up in the communities in which we serve.  Right in the midst of the turbulence in people’s lives where death of a loved one, struggles with finance addiction and poverty or the diagnosis of a terminal illness have all in recent months and weeks seen God at work, faith questions been asked and conversations about God’s love, healing and redemption brought to the fore.

So, I want to challenge us this week, this Lent, to look and see what and where God is at work. It may very well be in the places you least expect as we seek to find God this Lent to be shaped, formed, made new as we draw close to God. 

Friends, may we never stop looking for God at work in the world for it is a risen saviour whom we serve.

Prayer meetings continue on zoom Wednesday mornings 

Lent course on Prayer every Thursday evening in Lent at 7pm 

Have a blessed week

Rev Matt Sheard
On Behalf of the Bede Methodist Circuit Staff team.