As we live this season of Easter looking towards Ascension Day, followed ten days later by the Feast of Pentecost, I want to encourage us to consider how we might set aside those ‘in-between days’ to focus on prayer. In particular, I want to encourage us as individuals and communities to ask how we might participate in the initiative Thy Kingdom Come | The Church of England (TKC). This global call to prayer resonates strongly with our vision of LIFE Together and our commitment to ‘share the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ so that people may know life in all its fullness’. Over the years, TKC has grown to embrace all church traditions, and I hope we might all find our place within it. Do look at the range of resources.
If you are organising a special prayer focus or events, please do let us know by emailing ku.gr1776941953o.coi1776941953dsolg1776941953@mosn1776941953asn1776941953 as we pray for people of all ages and backgrounds to encounter Jesus Christ and to grow in faith.
However, before we reach Ascension Day, this Thursday (April 23) is St George’s Day and there will be celebrations throughout England in the name of our patron saint. While we know very little about St George (who did not become the patron saint of England until the 14th century), it is commonly thought that he was born in what is now Turkey. He was a soldier in the Roman Army in Palestine and killed during a time of Christian persecution in the early 4th century. For me, when it comes to reflecting on the sort of country we do or do not want to be, there is poignant irony in George being our patron saint, not least as we consider the controversy there has been around the increased presence of the flag of St George on lampposts and buildings. For some this has been connected to a nationalism that seeks to exclude and even threaten, and within our communities there are those who are fearful because of the colour of their skin or the accent of their voice. At the same time there are those who are anxious about migration and who perceive themselves as unheard and overlooked in this country. So it is important to remind ourselves that as The Church of England (and for England) we exist for every resident in our diverse communities across a range of views and political opinions. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are challenged to love our neighbours as ourselves, recognising how easy it is to ‘other’ people and fail to see every person created in the image of God. Perhaps St George’s Day is a good day to echo the question asked of Jesus in Luke 10:25-37 ‘who is my neighbour?’.
As the Church, we are called to build community, and I am thankful for the many ways the welcome and hospitality of Jesus Christ is being lived out across this diocese. I personally hope that people will not shirk from celebrating St George’s Day, and that the flag will be flown confidently from our church buildings with a renewed delight and confidence in the Church we want to be for and in England. Earlier this year the Bishops’ Working Group for Promoting Unity in our Nation published a letter in which they stated: “We rejoice that the flag of St George is the national flag of England and contains a cross as a sign of our Christian heritage.”
Before I end this letter, I do want to mention this coming Sunday (April 26) which has been designated by the National Church as Vocations Sunday. It might be something of a tenuous segue, but I think that there are resonances with both St George’s Day and TKC, as we desire every person to encounter Christ more deeply and to go on becoming who they have been created to be as precious individuals called to live and build community rooted in our God of relationship.
These coming days are a good time to engage in conversation with people of different ages and backgrounds, regarding people’s gifts and skills and what makes their soul sing. The landscape of vocation is infinite, yet so often people do not see their own potential, so it is the responsibility of all of us as members together of the body of Christ, to fan people’s gift into flame.
Exploring vocation is all about what it means for us to ‘be’ the Church – gathered and sent. It may be about vocation in family and home life, or exploring something new in a specific sphere in the wider world. It may also be about exploring a new ministry in the gathered life of the Church.
For some people, exploring vocation might be about considering licenced lay ministry such as being a Reader, or beginning to explore ordination perhaps as a Self-Supporting Minister alongside a current sphere of life Self Supporting Ordained Ministers | The Church of England.
I am also acutely aware that there will be those who long to explore a particular vocation but circumstances in life mean this is not possible. It is vital to underline that this does not diminish anyone as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and whatever our joys and struggles in life, may we be courageous in deepening how we live and share Christ’s life in all its fullness among the people and places of our daily lives – which perhaps takes us back to St George’s Day and ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.
I end with some words from one of the familiar post-communion prayers which are good words to echo as we live the days ahead with these significant landmarks on the horizon:
‘May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life.
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen
(Post communion prayer, Common Worship)
News Hub
