Minister’s Letter
The URC Manse, La Grande Route de St. Jean,
Sion,
(01534) 861386. (Jsy) (01481) 264109 (Gsy)
December 2011/January 2012
My dear Friends,
I write this letter in the middle of November, and Christmas seems a long way away, but this article has to include both Christmas and the New Year.
A few days ago, I was listening to Radio Jersey and one of the presenters said that she had been visiting a relation in the UK and “Santa” was already there in the shopping precinct. It was all a bit early for her, and it is for me, too.
But we can’t wait until the last minute to write cards and buy presents, especially if they have to be sent to England or further afield – so can we find a balance?
I think we can. We have a message to proclaim – that “Love came down at Christmas” – and that message belongs not just to December but through all the year. Christmas Day is special, but so is every day, if the love we show to others reflects the love that God has shown to us. And every day means all the days of 2012.
Perhaps I can encourage you to make one new resolution: to pray daily, however simply, that you will look beyond your concerns and think of the needs of others; to be ready to act on what you see and hear. And at the end of each day, to give thanks to God for what you have received, as well as given, and look forward to the next opportunity of service.
There are many days in 2012 – may we take the message of Christmas love into each one of them so that we may begin each day with the words of John Keble:
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life and power and thought.
With every blessing and good wishes from our family to yours
Patrick, Gillian, Matthew and Andrew
Minister’s Letter
|
La Grande Route de St. Jean, Sion, St. John, Jersey JE3 4FZ
|