Pastoral Letter November 2019
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot!
The shenanigans we have witnessed from the houses of Parliament in recent months might cause some folk to sympathise with Guy Fawkes!!! November in the Church is a time of remembering. On All Saints day we
celebrate all Christians departed and remember their service to God and the Church. We also observe All Souls day; a day to remember our loved ones departed this life. It is really painful to remember our loved ones who have died. It is said that time heals, but this is just not the case with bereavement and grief. As time goes on we just learn to live without our loved one, but the pain of losing them doesn’t go away. This is the cost of love. And the irony is, that hard as it sounds the saying is true, ”It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” With this in mind, I would like to warmly invite you to join us for a service to remember our loved ones departed this life. On November 3rd, we are holding an All Souls Service at 3.00pm at Evenley St George Church. It is a service for folk to come and be with others who are bereaved, and those who are grieving. At the service you will have an opportunity to come forward and light a candle in memory of your loved one. It doesn’t matter how long ago your loved one died, the service is for everybody who would like to remember their loved one in this way.
November is also when we remember as a nation the men and women who have died in war and conflicts and in service to Queen and country. Remembrance Sunday is our opportunity to honour them and recall the sacrifice they have made for our freedoms. A friend reminded me the other day that it is also an opportunity for us to remember the ex-service men and women who are living with traumatic memories and physical disabilities and whose lives have been blighted by war and conflict. We are holding Remembrance services in all of our villages within the benefice, to which I warmly invite you. Please check the Astwick Vale Benefice website for times. So although November is a strange mix of remembering with joy, sadness, love, honour and pride. We look forward to a day when sadness will be no more. The Bible tells us in Revelation 21 that there will come a day when God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes. And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away.
And what a wonderful day that shall be. God bless you.
With love Sue Cooper. (Revd)
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Pastoral Letter December 2019 →
Pastoral Letter October 2019 →
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