Dear friends,
Many of you are aware that almost every morning and evening for the last eleven months, I have walked from our home in Argyle Way to the church and back again, a distance of about a mile each way. This routine not only keeps me physically fit but also gives me the time and space I need to keep me well mentally and spiritually. I find that it is helpful as I walk to focus on whatever I can see and hear around me, from the spectacular views of the hills at the start of my journey to the call of the robin welcoming me at my destination .
I particularly enjoy looking for signs of the changing of the seasons, especially now that Spring is around the corner. Early in the new year, however, I had been concerned by the fact that the bank between the Police Station and the India Gate was covered with brambles and the remains of last year’s growth. How would the daffodils which had given me such delight last spring manage to grow and blossom? To my relief, one morning I came across a volunteer from Dunblane in Bloom strimming the debris and within days the green shoots were emerging from the cleared ground.
We are approaching a new season in the Church Year, a time perhaps to seek to clear away those things in our lives that are getting in the way of God’s love. Lent in Lockdown is an opportunity to turn inwards, to deal with any old hurts and fears and the feelings of grief, guilt, unworthiness or anger that accompany them. It’s the perfect time to make more space to allow Hope, Love and Joy to grow in our hearts and minds. We may not be able to meet together to receive a cross of ash on our foreheads this year, but we can take some time on Ash Wednesday to reflect on the meaning of that symbolic action and commit ourselves to allowing God to work in us this Lent, transforming us from the inside out. Readings and prayers will be sent to you next week to help you make the most of this opportunity.
I am looking forward to marking Shrove Tuesday with Young Church families at an online Mardi Gras party. Photos of church members or friends making or flipping pancakes would be welcome for next week’s newsletter…
With love to you all,
Nerys
(Photos courtesy of Dunblane In Bloom)
