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LiFT 7th September
Good evening all,
It’s good to be back. I really mean that – I had a wonderful holiday and packed loads in, and as a result felt really well rested and refreshed. As I began the holiday I had a repeated prayer that was actually something I heard rather than said –
“Refresh me,
revive me,
show me”
The first two of that triplet have certainly been given, now I wait to be shown what this season will bring and what we are to do with it. I wonder, what do you think we should be thinking about next?
This week back has been so busy but lots has been achieved and I’m really looking forward to being at the Usk Show on Saturday. I can think of nothing better than roaming around our agricultural show having conversations with new people and being the church visible in the place God wants it to be!
What do I need to tell you?
Well, by now you have all heard Kevin’s news that he will be leaving us at the end of November. The conversation (at a higher level than me!) has already begun about the future and I am confident that we will be fine! Kevin has done an excellent job in setting up the ministry area so we have good foundations and are in a better place than some others. Kevin is with us until the end of November and plans for a good send off and gift will follow in due course.
Finally can I make one of my frequent prayer requests please? As the ministry area beds in and we learn new processes I think we are vulnerable to dis-ease and disagreement. Let us pray that as Chirstians we can speak kindly, work together even when we disagree ,and that we can find God’s will and purpose in all that we do. Our money and our buildings are tools for his mission, let us find ways of making that exciting, creative, and possible. Thank you 🙂
With love to you all,
Sally xxx
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.
07813 264429
LiFT17th August
Good evening all,
As you read this I am either frantically gathering stuff or am well on my way to America to meet Will and have a much needed rest. Thank you for all your well wishes for my trip. While I am away I will not be picking up any emails or phone messages, WhatsApp or Messenger messages, so please don’t worry if you contact me but don’t hear back.
For urgent things contact Kevin on his phone – 07592 822022
For routine things that cannot wait until September, please email Kevin –
I will be back in Church on 3rd September and will begin to pick up emails and messages from 4th September. How quickly I get back to you will depend on how many emails and messages there are! I know you understand this but it’s always worth giving dates, and saying thank you for the way you so generously honour my time off. Thank you.
I’m a bit sad that I will be missing the Usk Pride event that is taking place on Saturday 26th August. The church will be taking part in this event which is aimed at young people, as an opportunity to be affirming, and offer a safe place to ask questions. The team at St. Mary’s will be making friendship bracelets with the young people and would welcome your help if you have an hour or two to spare. Please contact –
or
This venture is new to the area and offers us a wonderful opportunity to let people know that as a church we do not judge, and are keen to tell the world that everyone is loved by God.
FInally, be assured that being on holiday doesn’t stop me praying and I shall continue to hold each of you in prayer every day. I will be back soon enough :0
Love to you all,
Sally xxxx
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.
LiFT 10th August
Good evening friends,
I trust you are well and that something this summer is bringing you joy? Is it big or small? Sometimes the best of joys is in the little things, don’t you think?
Next Thursday I will send my letter as usual as my last piece of work before I fly to the USA to visit Will’s mum and take a holiday. I’m giving you a week’s notice just in case there is anything really urgent that you wanted to be in touch about. Next week is already full but I am happy to chat on the phone or answer emails of course, if you have anything you need to chat about before September. I will be back on 1st Sept. and will be in full swing from the Sunday/Monday.
And what about this week? Well it’s been a good week with some interesting conversations and meetings about the future. The overwhelming mood from people is one of hope and optimism. There’s a good feeling, and none of us can put our finger on precisely what it is that is giving this feeling. That all sounds rather exciting to me – these feelings rarely come from nowhere, perhaps they are God at work in our midst, helping us to connect and be his hands and feet in our communities. We all feel pressure to fill our churches and make the books balance, but actually our buildings and our cash are tools for the real work – bringing those we meet into relationship with God by loving them and not judging them. Perhaps that is what we are sensing? One of the things about this that is important is that we must share it. When we tell others that we are hopeful, when we celebrate publicly, when we share our optimism it can become infectious, and it encourages others. Churches that talk about positive things become positive places.
FInally, can I ask you for your prayers please. Alongside all that is wonderful, which definitely needs our prayers, I am also aware that some are struggling. Let’s not forget to pray for those who are finding life tough at the moment. Thank you.
I shall see lots of you at the Big Breakfast on Saturday I hope (Memorial Hall, Usk, 8-11m) or perhaps at church on Sunday.
With love Sally xxxx
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.
LiFT 3rd August
Good evening all,
A late one this evening having just got back from attending Harry’s graduation ceremony. It was a lovely occasion.
Part of the service reflected on how this particular cohort of students began their studies in a life of covid lockdown, with all their studies online, having been awarded their A levels based on course work etc. He didn’t meet his lecturers in person until year two and here he is , graduating and ready to begin the next phase of life.
We look back at what our parents and grandparents endured, but I suspect that we haven’t really noticed that we have lived through something that will be taught as a moment of significant historical interest. And here we are, continuing to do our best, to love each other well, and to make a contribution to life around us.
Let us be glad for all that God has provided, all that he has accompanied us through, and all that he will encourage us towards. It’s quite a balancing act to acknowledge struggle, endurance, hardship, and accomplishments, without feeling indulgent, victimised, resentful, or just cheesed off. My prayers tonight are ones of gratitude for all that has remained , for the awesome sense of human spirit that is within us, and for all that we have achieved and accomplished in the face of adversity and difficulty, whatever that might be.
And that’s probably enough from me tonight – I’m tired and sentimental, a bit achy, and definitely way too rambling to be left alone with a keyboard!
With love and continued prayers for you all,
Sally xxx
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.
LiFT 20th July
Good evening lovely people,
What a busy week – lots of stuff going on in school and far too many meetings, but lots of good decisions and lots to be hopeful and thankful for.
How are you?
Just a couple of things to share with you this week –
First, are you aware that there is a team in the ministry area that writes and shares intercessions every week for use in our Sunday services. This is especially useful for those churches who don’t have anyone confident or willing to write prayers, but does ensure that they are part of the service that is led by someone not ordained. Would you like to receive a copy of these for use in your church? Would you like to be part of the team in your church who prays the prayers, with the congregation? Please let me know. As you can see, there is no need to be able to write them, although if you would like to then I’m sure that would be greeted with enthusiasm by the MA team. Prayers led by a member of the congregation are always more meaningful, and I love the way that lots of our churches are praying the same prayers week by week. (Some people like to tweak them and add in things personal to a particular location, and that is of course a good thing!
Second, can I let you know that I am taking a few days off next week. I’m long overdue a visit to my parents who are getting frailer and really should receive a bit more of my time and attention. Please don’t ever tell them I’ve used the word frail in their context. They would be horrified and probably use that stern parent voice they still like to try out on me from time to time 🙂
I will be around at the tail end of the week but won’t be getting back to emails until 31st July at the earliest. If you need anything please contact Kevin.
Finally, at our recent Ministry Area Council meeting, Sue Russell shared a prayer that was written for and about Oscar Romero. I share it with you now, as a wonderful prayer that is both encouraging and reassuring.
With love to you, Sally xxxx
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realising that. This enables us to do something and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.
LiFT 13th July
Good evening my friends,
Here is this week’s chatty catch up; I hope it finds you well?
Importantly, can I remind you of the vision morning we are having on Saturday in St. Cadoc’s Church, Raglan, with archdeacons Ian and Stella. This is a wonderful opportunity for all our churches to spend time thinking about what we might like to do and how we might build on the diocesan vision, bringing the love of God into our communities through the strands of discipleship, stewardship, social justice, environment, and equality and diversity. The morning isn’t about giving out jobs or creating work, but will, I hope be a chance for us to dream dreams and then think about what help we might need from the diocese to make those dreams come true. I’m very much looking forward to it and hope to see you there.
Prayer requests this week – on Monday we have the leavers service in church for the year six children from Usk Primary School, sending them on their way to their senior school. It’s a time of many mixed emotions and I would be glad if you joined with me, praying for them and their families. Let us pray for the teaching and other school staff too, as they approach the end of another long and busy term. Thank you.
Finally, let me share with you the little passage from the bible that was part of my ordination pathway, and that has been the focus of my ministry. I’m sharing it because I can’t help but reflect upon the idea that for all that I think I am in control, God chose me, I didn’t choose him, and the ministry I am tasked with, amongst you all, is both wonderfully fulfilling, and every single day bears fruit. Thank you for your part in that.
John 15:16a
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.
Amen
With love,
Sally xxx
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–Please note I will not usually reply to emails received on Fridays as this is my rest day. If you need me urgently please send me a voicemail on my mobile number. Thank you for your understanding.