JULY NEWSLETTER

Hiya Everyone,

By the time you read this letter, “When Nigel comes” will have been “Now Nigel is Here” for a whole year. And What a Year it has been

Let me recap some of the highlights of this past year, or at least some of the highlights as I see them!

New Liturgy – we now have new liturgy books for all the seasons of the church year and most people I have spoken to agree that this has enhanced our worship and made us much more aware of the changing seasons in our church year
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Bonfire Night – Did you get there? It was the most magnificent occasion with something for everyone. We had a bonfire that looked as if it was one continuous firework courtesy of an off duty firefighter, fireworks galore, lovely hot food and singing along with the guitars of the Good News Gang and others. A real Benefice effort and family occasion.

A very moving All Souls Service and a Taize Worship evening at Marazion.

Christmas Eve Crib service at Ludgvan attracting over 70 people including children.

A Marriage Thanksgiving service in the afternoon of St Valentine’s Day at Perranuthnoe

New Forms of worship on a Sunday afternoon at Ludgvan and Marazion and a Benefice Maunday Thursday Service at Marazion with the washing of feet (and hands) and Taize worship.

The Spectacular Easter morning (at 5.30am) service on the beach at Perranuthnoe where teenagers (and others) played guitars, children sang and older members just marvelled as we moved from complete darkness into the light of the sunrise and the further comfort of a fantastic cooked breakfast. What a way to start the Easter Season.

Easter Day also marked the opening of a new Junior Church at Ludgvan.

And this is just a small sample of the things that have been happening round the Benefice in the past year – as I said before – What a year!

Later this month Nigel and Penny will start their daily Taize service at Marazion and that will run Tuesday till Saturday every week during July and August at 4pm in Marazion Church – not to be missed.
Of course, all of this may have passed you by and you may not like any of the new services and innovations that Nigel and his whole family have brought to the Benefice and you are quite entitled to think like that. However, things are changing whether we like it or not. We are losing Lilian to Lincoln and her family and Annie from Perranuthnoe will start her training to be a Priest.

You may have noticed that new faces have started appearing in most of our congregations. Isn’t it wonderful that God is sending all these new people to join us in this journey as we strive to “Discover God’s Kingdom and Grow the Church” (as Bishop Tim would say). I believe that they are sent by God and its our responsibility, under God, to make them welcome among us.

If we all felt the same way about these changes then it would be the first time in history, as even Moses and Jesus himself didn’t please everyone.

I mention Moses because when following the Lectionary Year we have recently been reading through the book of Exodus, you know the one, Genesis, Exodus, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the patience and humility of Moses and the stubborn and complaining Israelites. (Try reading it again – it’s fascinating). They are still complaining all the way through Numbers too.

They had just seen God hold back the Red Sea for them, He’s drowned all the Egyptian army in the same Red Sea and within three days – yes just three days they were moaning about not having all the nice things to eat that they had enjoyed when they were slaves in Egypt. I don’t doubt that some of them would have complained that their feet had got damp coming through the Red Sea but I have no biblical evidence for this!

Not that I am comparing Nigel to Moses in any way because as we all know, Moses had a long beard, a big nose and spoke with an American accent. (Well he did in all the movies I have seen). Nigel may not be Moses but God is still the same God – the same yesterday today and for ever.

It is my firm belief that our God never stops moving his people on and that we are all on a journey and that journey involves getting better acquainted with His ways and how He wants us to live our life.

In this Benefice we have a good chance now to “hitch our wagons” onto Nigel and Penny’s journey and join with them as they seek God in the Celtic tradition of “going with the flow”.

I certainly don’t want to go back (like the Israelites), indeed it is impossible to go back as we are told that “life goes not backwards nor tarries with yesterday” and I will be happily moving forward into the flow of our God and I urge all of you to join us in this exciting journey into greater knowledge and deeper worship of our God.

So - I am certainly looking forward to our next year together, my prayer is that you are too.

All love, Beth

(Revd. Beth Whyte)