To the people of God on the way to the promised end
Last weekend was a time of great rejoicing with and within the wider Body as we attended the induction service of our new Presbytery minister, Nigel Hawken on Saturday, and on Sunday commissioned Pilgrim’s elders with the good news that Chist IS with us.
One of the most significant moments for me was the presentation of gifts as the children brought forward the prayer leis that they had made during the service, placed them around the elders’ necks, and then received a blessing in turn as the elders (some even kneeling) laid hands upon them.
In order to be a living Church, our conversations have to hold in tension these four threads:
- God’s continuing mission in the world,
- expressing our unity in diversity,
- personally committing to playing a part in building up Christ’s body,
- and regularly considering the legacy that we will leave our children and their children and their children’s children.
In the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain we witness how the past and future are brought together in the persons of Moses and Elijah (pioneers of our faith) and Peter, James and John (pivotal figures in the early Church) to bear witness to that glorious affirmation – “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!” (Matthew 17:5)
Today, we find ourselves with Christ on that high mountain from which he leads us towards the table of remembrance, the cross of great suffering, and, ultimately, the liberating hope of the empty tomb.
How do these places give shape and substance to our mission, our unity, our stewardship, and our legacy as we claim, in Christ, our own belovedness and seek to pass that affirmation on?
Yours in Christ
Yvonne