But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me.(Micah 7:7)
Dear friends,
May I first of all pass on to you my prayers and warmest wishes as, by the grace and goodness of God, we herald in a New Year.
Yet may I, most of all, as brothers and sisters of Christ, united as three churches in the West Sevenoaks Team Ministry, invite us all to pray for one another in hope. Not simply the reasonable hope that 2022 might see the continuing lessening of the impact of Covid 19 and its variants across all of our lives and the life of society; but the hope that sustains and directs the people of God – that the Lord is in this place, all our places, at this time, and in the time that is to come. Within this thankful realisation we watch and pray; act and discern to keep faithful to God as we walk in his ways.
Our three churches have, as the Team has itself, as indeed all our lives, been affected profoundly by these last two years. Much has been put on hold; some things have ended; the rhythms of our spiritual lives and the life of our fellowships have been powerfully affected. The restrictions within worship have been one thing, the closure of our churches has been something else. Nevertheless we are hopeful that we are breathing more freely again and that breathing may enable us to breathe more of the Spirit in our churches and within our Team as we seek to grow spiritually, numerically, joyfully and prayerfully.
Granted that this pandemic has taught us the reality of what we have said in previous times but paid lip service to – that we are not in control and that those who are wise know that it is the present moment that we pay attention to, not on some predetermined future that may never come.
As, my friends, we give thanks for the gift of time in hope for the Lord, we watch and pray; act and discern – and much more we love and delight; we support and encourage; we uphold and sustain.
All of us know that in the time given within this coming year there will be revealed disappointments as much as opportunities; pain as much as joy; tragedy as much as miracle. Yet we are sustained through it all – not brought low in despair and not raised high in pride – by our pilgrimage with the Lord Jesus; by that travelling with our Saviour that we do together in our hallowed places of prayer, in the communities we serve in our respective parishes and within the Team.
As the gift of the miracle of time passes as one day slips into another, so let us we hold one another up and pray as a blessing upon each other God’s word from Numbers 6: 24 – 26.
‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’
May the Lord bless us all.
Rev Mark Bridgen
Team Rector: West Sevenoaks Team Ministry
