Archbishop's speech at the Parliamentary Press Gallery lunch

Archbishop's speech at the Parliamentary Press Gallery lunch

Shifting the focus - Halloween

 How do you, as a Christian, respond to Halloween? Here at the rectory, we like to think that we can subvert the conventions of Halloween. Rather than avoiding and demonising all Halloween activities (which now, unfortunately, seem to be part of British culture) we need to use it as a way to engage with others. There is an interesting webpage that discusses 10 ways Christians can engage with Halloween. Click on the link to read more.
Alan and I have been carving our Christian Pumpkin to light on the 31st October. We have used a variety of techniques and none of them would pass health and safety checks (- Alan managed to stain his pumpkin red).
So here are our efforts - why don't you have a go and spread some Light on the world!

 

Link to Hope

Well done St James Church, Milton Abbas - after a very successful coffee morning yesterday, over 50 boxes were filled for Link to Hope ( you can read about this charity by clicking on this link). The coffee morning drew in many people from Milton Abbas and surrounding villages to help pack the boxes. It was a very busy morning in the South Aisle!

Lyfe and walking with God

The upper Home Group at Milton Abbas are following a Lyfe Course at the moment. Lyfe (click here to link to website) provides small group sessions 'to help people discover a deeper life with God. Lyfe helps people to grow holistically and to experience a transforming relationship with God through Scripture and spiritual practices that have inspired and sustained Christians throughout the centuries.'
We are a small group and the conversation flows easily. The challenges that are suggested each session are challenging! They certainly make us think about how we live our lives.

Alan keeps up to date with their resources and this was the latest letter to think about:-

Walking with God

Bookshops are filled with biographies of famous people telling us about their amazing lives.

Looking at some of the books available, there seems to be little regard for how long you’ve lived. Apparently, you can tell your life story and still be in your thirties!

I love Enoch’s life story, recorded in Genesis: ‘Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.’ That’s it! We don’t know anything else about his life. What a great way to be remembered.

This phrase is used of other people too – Abraham, Noah, Moses are all said to have ‘walked with God’. I think that walking with God involves a habitual, continual life of love and obedience to God.

Dallas Willard states: ‘We need to become the kind of people who routinely and easily walk in the goodness and power of Jesus our Master.’ This is where the Bible and spiritual practices are so helpful: they help us to stay connected and awake to the presence of God wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

Keep on walking!

Rob Hare
Lyfe Resources &Bible Engagement manager.

Giving Thanks and Breaking Bread at Milton Abbas

 

 

 

                      before                                                                                   after


It was a lovely evening  with the  harvest festival followed by supper at St James, Milton Abbas, attracting a good number of people. The readings included Matthew 14:13 -21- The feeding of the 5000 and I think the ladies felt they had fed a similar number of people by the end of the evening. Many people stayed and sat down together to share a superb 'come and share' supper - far more than was originally expected. It was a great opportunity to give thanks for food, friends and fellowship!