Part 3: Thoughts for Sunday 3rd May

What follows are my thoughts on the lectionary readings alongside some personal thoughts, we are very fortunate to be able to access the URC Sermons on a Sunday in written or Audio format, I think it shows how resilient we are as people, my own thoughts pale into insignificance by comparison, I may also touch on subject matter that I have already spoken about, so I ask for your forgiveness in advance. - Keith Finch

“The disciples (in Acts) met each other’s needs by sharing their possessions and wealth. We are not used to this in our culture – neither that kind of dramatic generosity nor the vulnerability of having people know that we are in need. But we are church just as much as the community we read about in Acts. How can we meet each other’s needs? The first step may be for brave people to allow others to know that they have a need in a certain area. This can be very hard in a culture where self-sufficiency is so prized. But we know that circumstances can hit any of us in unexpected ways. Can we find ways to break down this barrier – e.g. by inviting people to identify a need anonymously using a box at the back of church? The needs could be displayed on a ‘board of abundance’, where others who have something they could share relating to a specific need could post an invitation for the anonymous person to speak to them about.”
 
Last week some of us decided to decorate our Church cross, social distancing was maintained throughout, when I visited the church no one else was in the vicinity, I posted as did others the pictures on Facebook, Claire mentioned that she had been asked by people passing if they could add flowers to the cross, setting in motion the question – do we reach out enough or to put it another way are we reaching out in the right way? I can’t remember if I have used this quote before, I probably have but I don’t apologise for using it one more. It came from Juliet Rosenfeld who is a psychotherapist “While loneliness may sore for some, technology, even its just a landline can really help with this. “ So maybe when we come out the other side and we will ,let’s remember all the things we promised we would do, all the compassion shown to ALL our front line workers, remember how good it was to talk – to keep that regular contact that in normal times we put off till tomorrow. It’s something I have promised to carry forward, I am now in fairly regular contact with an old friend & also with an ex work colleague. 
 
So once again I have come to the end of my Blog for Sunday May 3rd2020, I would like to close with a short prayer:
 
Dear Lord,
In these troubled times, give me space for stillness,
A place for prayer, ways to walk in your path,
A continual reminder of your presence with us,
To walk in your path with purpose.
Let us share the “Peace” with one another in a virtual reality.
Amen.
 
Extracts taken from Roots with permission.