Busy Bank Holiday Weekend
It’s been a busy bank holiday weekend. Praise God – Ish has returned to full health and strength and loves doing what he does best, communicating the Gospel to all ages. And so we had lots of fun and laughter on Saturday at Ish’s concert in Christchurch Sandown on the Isle of Wight. Ish’s passion has always been to teach scripture and on Saturday he gave us all plenty of scripture verses to learn and think about. It was great fun to see all ages join in singing with amazing enthusiasm.
The organisers Charlotte and Andrew have been great friends for years and did a brilliant job in arranging the whole event for families. It was also great to catch up again with one of my cohort from my old theological college training days in Salisbury, who also happens to be Mark the Vicar of Christchurch Sandown. We had a great time reminiscing over our college days and all the lovely people we were on that course with – very happy memories.
On Sunday we were back in the cathedral to attend the installation of our new Acting Dean Simon at Evensong. It was lovely to see so much support for Simon and to meet up with lots of our friends many of whom are clergy from across the diocese. We have known Simon for a very long time, and I actually trained for the ministry many years ago in a placement under his mentorship at St Paul’s his parish church. The service was very moving, and we are looking forward so much to having Simon lead our team of clergy and the cathedral services.
One of the strengths of the Church is friendship and fellowship and we felt a real sense of that as we mixed and caught up with so many good friends this weekend. I am reminded of this scripture:
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Let Us Pray
Lord God, we thank you for family and friends, for fellowship in the Gospel and for the love, kindness, and encouragement you model through our Lord Jesus Christ. May we also encourage one another and build each other up in our faith and in the scriptures. Thank you for friends and colleagues who have walked our faith journey through different times and seasons with us. Thank you for all we have learned in and through each other. Help us to study your word more so that we may grow closer to you.
Amen
Resources
Hebrews: Live by Faith, Not by Sight (Wiersbe Bible Study Series) by Warren Wiersbe
Ish is known for his Scripture Songs and for his gift of storytelling. So I am recommending 2 Scripture resources from our Ish Shop today.
