Church Blog

FROM THE VICAR When I wrote the first draft of this column back at the beginning of March, I used it to reflect on the nature of uncertainty, how we couldn’t be sure what the future might hold. Naturally, I mentioned Covid-19 Coronavirus. I’ve been through several versions of the column since then, as the situation has changed. (Thank you to the editor, who has been very patient and kind in allowing me to re-write this long after the official copy deadline had passed.) It has become clear that Coronavirus is going to have a significant effect on all of our lives, even if we somehow avoid becoming unwell ourselves. Already, plans are having to be altered, and things are beginning to be postponed or [...]

FROM THE VICAR This time of year can feel quite miserable. Christmas is well past, and summer is nowhere near arriving; even Easter eggs are still some way in the future. Bright, crisp winter days may be lovely, but it’s more likely to just be grey and raining. If your New Year’s Resolution has survived until now, then congratulations – but we all know that you are probably in the minority, and that most of us might be feeling like we have failed. Motivation and energy can be difficult to summon. Since you all know that it’s the Vicar writing this column, then you might now be expecting me to say something about how ‘all this can change if you just let Jesus into your [...]

‘From the Vicar’  For many of us, Christmas is a time to celebrate. An extended holiday period, with more food and drink than we would consider sensible at any other time of year. There are gifts and decorations. Wonderful community events. Getting together with family and friends. Plenty of church services (I look forward to welcoming many of you!), and some of the most well-known songs to join in with – both traditional and ‘pop’. And jolly good things all these are. In his own words, the coming of Jesus into our world was so that through him we can enjoy “life in all its fullness” (John 10.10). The celebration of his birth is certainly a fine reason for a feast. There are also plenty [...]

FROM THE VICAR Remember, remember… As November quickly approaches, remembering seems to be what we do. The ‘gunpowder, treason and plot’ of November 5th quickly gives way to a more solemn remembering of the war dead of a century and more on and around November 11th. But there’s more to remembering than simply recalling past events, though that’s certainly a part. When we properly remember something, we recognise that we are part of the same story, and that the events of the past – even those in which none of us were directly involved – can and do impact how we think and act and live today. The thwarted attempt to assassinate the King and Parliament in 1605 stands as a lesson to us, over [...]

It is a great delight to be able to write my first post for the website – and it really is my first, not just here, but anywhere! Being responsible for this column is only the latest in what I know will be a continuing stream of new things that accompany becoming the vicar here. There have, of course, been all the usual things that go with moving house and starting a new job; a new address and telephone number to learn (and to remember to tell everyone who needs it), new travel routines for school and family visits, a whole new pattern of life. I am beginning to get to know communities and people who are all new to me. Vickie and I, together [...]

FROM THE CHURCH WARDENS News is a strange commodity. If you want the world to know you have just completed your first literary masterpiece 'The Sludge Pumper's Guide to All That Smells', you could put posters all round the village, get friends to share it on Facebook and Instagram and in a couple of weeks’ time you might come across someone who has noticed. On the other hand if you placed a one line advertisement in The Canvey Island Gazette announcing that you had managed to book the Rolling Stones for a concert on The Isle of Wight; then you would have no trouble selling a quarter of a million tickets in half an hour. If an item of news is something you have been [...]