Letter from the Rector 2025 Jan - Apr
5 January 2025 Second Sunday of Christmas
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Let me start by wishing you all a very happy New Year, and that God’s richest blessings might rest on you and our church family throughout 2025!
What will the year hold for us, I wonder? At this time of year, commentators, columnists and talking heads will be making their predictions for the coming year in their own specialist fields. Some of them will prove reasonably accurate, others spectacularly wrong. But whilst we should be humble when making plans and predictions for the year ahead (see James 4:13-16) – we can’t live without making any plans at all.
So, putting aside all the uncertainty in the world, the church and our own human frailties, what are our hopes and ambitions for the next 12 months?
As a Parish, my hope is that the growth we have seen in the last 12 months continues; that we manage to reach more people with the good news of Jesus and see many more come to a saving faith. The two Hope Explored courses starting in January are a part of that strategy, and there will be more courses in the year to allow people to explore the Christian faith. But we also need to grow our outreach to those who won’t come into church. So I hope we’ll also be more regular in holding our stall in the town centre, and that we’ll get more equipped to be ready to give a reason for the hope we have to our friends and neighbours.
I hope this year will see us all grow in the knowledge and love of God so that we walk more in his holy ways. That isn’t a quick change but something that happens through the regular disciplines of worship, prayer and Bible reading. There are still sheets in our churches for Year 2 of our Bible reading plan: why not commit to taking part in that programme? The lending library will continue to make its way around our churches: why not commit to reading 1 good Christian book every 3 months? In church, our Sunday teaching programme will focus on Mark’s Gospel, the books of Isaiah and 1 Corinthians, with a summer series in the Psalms. Our Lent series will look how we can walk with God in the midst of suffering. Can you commit yourself to attending more frequently so you don’t miss out?
God-willing, 2025 will see the completion of the planned improvement and repair work at St Barts, All Saint’s and St Paul’s – although the latter may be quite a few months in the coming. We’ll be looking at projects at St Mary’s and Abbotsbury too. The move of the nursery away from St Paul’s this spring will bring new challenges (not least financially) but also new opportunities to work with other organisations and to have the space and time to run new courses and programmes to build God’s Church. One of those organisations will be Teignbridge Christians Against Poverty, who are our latest mission partner.
A number of you have asked about a curate to replace Ben. Sadly, a full-time curate won’t be on the cards for 2025 (although 2026 is a possibility), but God-willing, Jon Bealey will finish his training in the summer and be ordained amongst us as a non-stipendiary minister. It will be great to have him on the team.
From time to time there will be special events: another church weekend at home is in the early planning stages. There will be lunches and social events to help us get to know each other better, and special outreach events at Easter and Christmas to draw people in to hear the gospel. Alongside that, life in our benefice will continue in its current form: 6 Churches – 5 styles – 1 message: That God so loved the world that he sent his One and Only Son, so that all who believe in him, may not perish, but have eternal life.
So how might you play a greater part in helping to build God’s kingdom in our parish over the coming year? Can you commit to be more faithful in prayer? In reading the scriptures? In looking for opportunities to speak about Jesus and invite people to church? In serving in new ways? Except in times of revival, God’s Kingdom usually grows slowly and steadily, in unspectacular ways. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if in 12 months’ time we can look back at another year of steady growth in number and commitment and knowledge and love and give God the glory for all that he has done amongst us! God’s plan is to grow his church. So let us head into 2025 secure in the gospel of Jesus, seeking to live for his glory, and praying for God to continue how work amongst us
Songs for the week: Here we stand Emu music
Grace and peace,
Dave
12 January 2025
12 January 2025
Dear Friends,
I’ve just finished my first book of the year. (That’s no huge achievement, it only had 80 pages and was very large print!) The book is called The Preacherman of Dartmouth and tells the story of the life of John Flavel. Flavel was born in 1628 and lived through some very difficult times. He lost his parents to the great plague, had 3 wives die, including 1 in childbirth, and as a dissenting minister who would not submit to the new rules on using only the Book of Common Prayer in public worship, he endured years of threat, home imprisonment and saw many of his friends and congregation fined, imprisoned or killed. It's a stirring story of courage under real pressure and persecution.
The world and culture we live in is not nearly as threatening. But what will keep us going as individuals and as a fellowship of believers if we find that 2025 becomes a year when the LORD allows a time of testing to come upon us? I think St Paul, who knew more than most about suffering for the sake of the gospel, had at least part of the answer when he spoke about the marks of a true Christian being faith, hope and love. They were all present in Flavel’s life too. So over the next 3 weeks we’ll take a brief look at each one from the context of standing firm no matter how difficult 2025 might be.
A STRONG FAITH.
Many people treat their Christian faith in the same way that they treat their car: as something helpful that they know works and wouldn’t be without – but which they really don’t know much about beyond the basics. Is that true for us, I wonder?
In some respects, a simple faith is all we need. The wonder of the gospel is that it is simple enough for a child to understand, yet deep enough to satisfy the greatest of minds. But why should we be satisfied with just a simple faith and a basic understanding? If the gospel message is a message of such power to save the worst of sinners, of such grace to reach to all who accept it, and of such resilience to remain unchanged through the ages, should we not seek to understand all that God has done for us? The gospel is light and hope and peace; it frees and cleanses, changes and equips. If we do not grasp what the gospel CAN do, how can we receive all that God has for us?
And we are not just talking about doctrine or academic theology here are we? Our faith is not in a set of propositions – but in a person- in fact three persons! In the only wise God in three persons: Father Son and Holy Spirit. Our faith is not just a set of propositions to be believed, but in a God we are invited to know, to worship and obey. This is where the analogy of faith being like a car really comes off the road! For our faith is not a thing that we drive, but in a Father who loves us; a Son who died and rose again for us; and in the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
So the question isn’t how much do we know about God, but how well do we know Him? How close is our friendship? How intimate our fellowship? How easily do we drift into prayer because we want his help and guidance? How quickly do we slip into praise because we know that all our good gifts flow from the hand of the God who knows us and loves us? How often do we bury our heads in his arms and pour out our sorrows and cares to him? These questions will tell us something of the strength of our faith. And if our answers are not what we would like them to be, the answer is to draw near to God, because when we do that, he promises to draw near to us. In times of testing – whatever they may be- there is no greater comfort than knowing that the God who holds the world in his hands is also holding us.
It was deep and personal faith that allowed John Flavel and St Paul to continue their writing and preaching and ministry when the risks – and the costs - were so great. It is a faith like this that will allow us to stand firm and stay faithful no matter what 2025 may bring to us.
Songs for the week: Faithful one - Robin Mark and Pat Barrett - Build My Life (feat. Chris Tomlin) (Live)
Grace and peace,
Dave