Good News from St Hildeburgh's

 A Reflection for January 2022:

 

All-loving God, Your hands have fashioned every lovely corner of this treasured planet, and the beautiful land of Afghanistan is as precious as every other place Your children call ‘home'. By its rivers and mountains, its fields and gardens, its busy towns and ancient villages, it is the heart's desire of its people and the place where their lives and loves are nurtured. We grieve today with those who grieve over Afghanistan, the people who call it home indeed, the people exiled or suddenly having to leave, and the men and women from other countries who have made sacrifices in recent years in the cause of that country's future. We remember with renewed sadness the loss of lives of military personnel during the years of this country's involvement in Afghanistan, conscious of the questions that must today be troubling the minds of those in our community who were bereaved, those who were wounded on operations, and those who were forever changed by experiences suffered ther

Loving God, We praise your name with all you have created. You are present in the whole universe, and in the smallest of creatures. We acknowledge the responsibilities you have placed upon us as stewards of your creation. May the Holy Spirit inspire all political leaders at COP26 as they seek to embrace the changes needed to foster a more sustainable society. Instil in them the courage and gentleness to implement fairer solutions for the poorest and most vulnerable, and commit their nations to the care of Our Common Home. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ your Son. Amen (Prayer Source: CAFOD)

Lord, in November, We call to mind all those whose lives are done. We thank you that their time, now completed, however short or long, sad or joyful, is gathered up, looked on and known by you.  We offer up remembrance: those whose absence we feel daily; those who have shaped us; those who have nurtured us; the people we are grateful to have walked with; all those we hardly knew but wished we’d known better. We give thanks for all they gave and all the future owes them. Lord, your love embraces every person  who has ever lived; you promised that you lost none. May your Spirit make us always thankful for all our gifts of love and cherished memory.   AMEN. (Source: The Church of England)

Lord,  We thank you for the Saints now gone before us whose faith defined their living and their dying; those who loved you more than their own lives; those who are still mirrors of your love. We celebrate the saints who walk among us rejoicing while they walk in your footsteps, making your name known in a fractured world, against injustice, prejudice, hatred, evil. We stand with those who sacrifice themselves to bring about your kingdom here on earth. Lord, your grace shines in the lives of Saints. We thank you for their example, their holy words. Your Spirit inspired them. Come Holy Spirit inspire us to be saints in your Church now. Amen

  Autumn Months A Prayer O God of Creation, you have blessed us with the changing of the seasons. As we welcome the autumn months, may the earlier setting of the sun remind us to take time to rest. May the brilliant colors of the leaves remind us of the wonder of your creation. May the steam of our breath in the cool air remind us that it is you who give us the breath of life. May the harvest from the fields remind us of the abundance we have been given and bounty we are to share with others. May the dying of summer's spirit remind us of your great promise that death is temporary and life is eternal. We praise you for your goodness forever and ever.    (Anonymous)

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and - the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." -  Hebrews, chapter 1 I’d like to try and paint three pictures in your mind, without PowerPoint, if possible! Please do bear with me.  The first starts with a question!  Have you ever seen a partial eclipse of the sun? You know, when the moon moves across the sun and it looks like someone’s taken a bite out of the sun itself. It’s usually a big thing, predicted for weeks ahead with lots of publicity and TV coverage. If the weather is good and it’s a clear day, you can see the passage of the moon really well. I remember looking at several over my life, one in Cornwall in mid-summer, which was quite amazing, one in the back garden here on the Wirral, six or seven years ago, and one when I was at school.  The thing I recall most about that one was that the teachers distributed black plastic photographic film. We had to hold the film up against the sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  45 years ago my husband and I were working at a mission hospital in Nigeria. We came home during that winter as our daughter was getting married. For me it was a very special occasion as it was my stepdaughter’s wedding and I had never thought I would be able to be ‘Mother of the Bride’ at a wedding. it was a wonderful experience going to the wedding in central London and to the reception in Knightsbridge. It was a highlight in my life. A month later we found ourselves in a very different situation. We were returning to Nigeria but this time not by air but over land. A Land Rover ambulance had been donated to the mission and needed to be taken to Nigeria. We drove through France, took a long ferry across the Mediterranean to Algeria, and then across the Sahara desert. We reached the Nigerian border only to discover that there had been a coup and the border was closed. For 18 days we had to camp in the sand in no man’s land between Niger and Nigeria. From being at the mountaintop expe

 

 

 

Mark Twain famously said, ‘Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.’ I have been trying to get out into the garden in the last few days, just to see what the worst of the Winter has done and to see that the early signs of Spring are beginning to show through. The birds seem to be singing louder and the first of the daffodils are just starting to poke through the soil. For five minutes, the sky cleared and a little bit of the sunshine we are blessed with her on the Wirral danced across the garden. The sky was blue, the clouds cleared, and all was right with God in His heaven. Which in a round about way lead me to think about today’s sermon and that quote from Twain. For so many people, the existence of God is a concept that they struggle with. The idea of a Creator who loves us all equally is a proposal that they find very difficult to comprehend. How could God love each of us equally, with all our myriad faults and differences? There mu