Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends,

Hope you are keeping well.

Luke 10: v5:Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house’.

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples he said their first words on entering a house were to be ; ‘Peace to this house’. They were to be ambassadors of peace and goodwill. Without peace nothing is possible.

For many years I’ve been a member of the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship where the focus on Holy Communion is important to help us live our daily lives. The Minister says to us ‘The Peace of the Lord be always with you always’. What a wonderful gift is being offered to us - the Peace of Christ, a peace which the world cannot give. Then the Minister invites us to ‘offer each other a sign of peace’. The hand we reach out to our neighbour is the same hand with which we receive Jesus in Communion. We come to the Lord’s table to receive blessings from God. If we took nothing else away with us from here but peace, our time would be well spent. We must be prepared to give back something of what we have received. The end of the service is not like the end of a football game or film where we simply get up and leave. At the end of the service we are sent out! Having received the peace of Christ, we are then sent out as ambassadors of that peace to others.

We have to accept that our peace will not always be accepted. It may come back to us like the echo of our own voice. But at least we ought to try. In our world torn apart by rivalry, anger and hatred, we have the challenging calling to be living signs of love that can bridge divisions and heal wounds.

Prayer meetings continue on Zoom every Wednesday morning at 10am.

With good wishes and prayers
Revd Huw Sperring on behalf of the Bede Circuit Staff.