Dear friends,

I hope you all had a really good Christmas and New Year. We were delighted to welcome so many new faces to our services and events over the season, it was lovely to see you, and there is always a welcome for you here.

This month on Sunday 1st, we celebrate the ‘Presentation of Christ in the Temple’, or Candlemas. Our Christmas trees, cribs and decorations will then be put away for another year, well not quite, but you know what I mean! And before you know it, we are looking towards Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent!

Lent invites us to pause, to take stock of our lives, our hearts, and our priorities, and to make space for God’s gentle voice amid the noise of daily life.

For some, this season is marked by giving something, or several things up — a small sacrifice to remind us of Christ’s great sacrifice for us.

For others, it’s about taking something on — a new habit of prayer, a daily act of kindness, or taking time out each day to read and reflect on Scripture.

However we choose to journey through these forty days, the aim is the same: to draw closer to the One who walked the road to the cross out of total love for us.

This year, let us see Lent as an invitation. An invitation to slow down, to pause, to listen, and to let God shape us more into the likeness of Christ. Whether in the stillness of prayer, or worshiping together, or in the service of others, may we find ourselves renewed in faith and hope as we journey onwards together towards Holy Week and the triumph of Easter Day.

God Bless
Keith

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