The Curate’s Blog May 2015

The Curate’s Blog

May 2015


We are Easter people and we are moving forward to a promised land! The Bible is full of accounts of God working with His people to fulfil His plans of His Kingdom coming on this earth! This kingdom is characterised by God’s Shalom! Shalom very simply put means peace - but it also means a whole lot more! Shalom is a lot more than the absence of war, or tolerance, or being in a ‘zen’ place with yourself! Shalom and God’s kingdom is about the whole world being in harmony, in community, united in Him but characterised by difference and variety! As we saw Jesus live, loving, confronting, being relational with everyone he met, we now aim for this in every area of our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. This term we are working through Joshua in our morning services and our theme is: How do we get there?


Joshua tells of a time in God’s plans for the world that was preparing foundations for Jesus to come. It speaks of hard times, war, and atrocities which sometimes leave us shocked and dismayed. But it also speaks of a merciful God, who desperately loves His people, who does not delight in seeing one person die, (Ezekiel 18.23) but is carving out His plans in a sinful and broken world. We can learn a great deal from Joshua and Israel about listening and obeying God and marching forward ‘strong and courageous’ to see God’s kingdom come in our parish, in Chester and in the world.


It has been said many times, but it still rings true, the journey is as important, if not more important sometimes, than the destination itself. This was true of Israel, it was true of the early church and it is true of us as the church now. St Mark’s is taking exciting steps forward in seeking to listen to God speak of this Shalom. Lead Academy has challenged us about our buildings, our leadership structure and many other things as well - all to see our church be more like Christ in our parish.


An exciting event for me this term was seeing God’s provision in our play ‘Blue Stockings’. As many of you will know, a group of us meet every Tuesday night to have tea and coffee, to rehearse and then to have a short time of worship at the end. The drama group desires to see God’s kingdom come, his Shalom realised, through our Tuesday rehearsals, through our performances and through other times of meeting up. We are ‘doing’ and ‘being’ church in new ways and it is really exciting and Joshua has been speaking deeply into our development as well. The group is wonderful mix differing levels of faith and church background. It has been a joy these last two years to walk with these people through hard times and wonderful times seeing prayers answered and comforting each other when things are going badly. This term has been no different and the amount of things that have come against this production happening are immense, but, God has been faithful in provision and the whole cast were immensely blessed when St Mark’s opened their doors to them again so that we could put on our play! So, thank you for those who helped, thank you to those who watched, and thank you to those who prayed and continue to pray! It is a joy to be at St Mark’s!


St Peter’s also continues to be an exciting venture. The congregation that meet on Sunday’s have been so welcoming and excited about the future. Our hope and prayers are that the parish scheme will come about soon and that we can form a new PCC which will help the whole of St Peter’s to listen to God’s direction in how to move forward!


So, as we move forward in this Easter Season, may we embrace the call to be ‘strong and courageous’ may we enjoy the exciting plans to take us forward and not be put off by the giants that would threaten to intimidate us! We walk forward, fully aware of the challenges, but with God ahead, behind, surrounding and within!