9th January 2022: Letter from the Locum Minister Rev Marion Paton

Dear Friends,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you are all keeping well and that you have had an enjoyable Christmas celebration.
This is the time of year when the Christmas decorations come down and we return to normal, whatever normal is these days! It always seems a rather dark, dismal and difficult time of year, with short daylight hours, bad weather, a greater tendency to ill health, and no Christmas lights and music to cheer us up. But did you know that the Christmas season does not end officially until the beginning of February, at Candlemas? For that reason, we shall continue to sing some of the music that we associate with Christmas in our services for a little longer. But even after Candlemas we should all try to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in our hearts and our lives throughout the year.
By the time we reach February, the daylight hours are beginning to lengthen noticeably and, if the weather is not improving much, at least new life is beginning to show itself in the garden. Having said that, there are already shoots of new life in my garden and I guess in many others, possibly because it has been so mild lately. If we look for them, the world is full of symbols of hope.
We have spent much time and effort recognising and celebrating the birth of the Saviour and reminding ourselves that, whatever the secular world might say, ‘JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON’. People have come to worship who never come at any other time of year, and they have been welcomed and I hope, helped to feel at home with us. They too have acknowledged the birth of the Saviour.
But now our task is to remind these people that Jesus doesn’t disappear for the next eleven months, to return next Christmas, amidst new hype and commercialism. He is with us all through the year, our companion on life’s journey, our inspiration through the gift of his Holy Spirit to all people. So, let us make it as easy as we can for all his people to acknowledge his constant presence in our world, and in their lives if they will allow him to be there. And let us do what we can to share and reflect the light of his love in our worship week by week, and through our lives every day.
With love and blessings,
Marion