Letters From Brian, Our previous Minister
Recent copies of the letters from our previous Minister Brian.
These are reproduced from the monthly Newsletter..
30/05/10 What are you going to do with the rest of your life?
From the ministers deck chair!
Our recent Church Weekend in Cornwall had the theme ‘ What are you going to do with the rest of your life’. I think some imagined this would be a pure marketing opportunity for all the up and coming jobs in the life of the Church.
As this was our first weekend away for some years I didn’t plunge into the Old Testament battles or anything too deep from Revelations. Instead the sessions included accounts of people who had done d something worthwhile. They made a difference and some had worked under difficult circumstances to achieve their goal.
One of the people I mentioned was Pat Seed. Pat was a free lance journalist who lived in Garstang. In 1976 she was diagnosed with cancer and was sent to Christie’s hospital in Manchester. Back then people used to say ‘that hospital’ rather than name the foremost Cancer Centre in the UK. Well, Pat was shocked by the diagnosis but she was also shocked by the news that the hospital would have to wait five years for a new sort of x -ray machine called a CT scanner. She was even more horrified to discover that the 1948 Health Act forbade hospitals from appealing for money for such equipment.
So she campaigned for an amendment to the Law and started a fund which got Christie’s their new scanner; the building to house it and paid for the staff for the first year. The fund has carried on and to date has raised more than £9.5 million for Christies and has financed four CT scanners, one MRI Scanner, a PET-CT 3-D imaging unit, lasers and many other items of equipment vital in the fight against cancer. Pat died in 1984 and she was a wonderful Christian long before she became ill. Most hospitals in the country now have at least one scanner because of the difference that Pat Seed made. She did all this while fighting her cancer.
The question ‘ What are you going to do with the rest of your life’ should challenge each of us. Philippians 3:10-3:16 shows Paul dealing with calling. In the passage we are asked to move closer to God and examine His purpose for our lives. We are also encouraged to move beyond the past. We may have done wonders already but that is not an excuse to come to a halt. Paul asks us to pursue God’s goal for our life now and in the future.
So what are you going to do with the rest of your life? I am full of suggestions if you want ideas but God is not short of some suggestions of his own. Unlike me, He really knows what you should be doing.
Best wishes
Brian
Our recent Church Weekend in Cornwall had the theme ‘ What are you going to do with the rest of your life’. I think some imagined this would be a pure marketing opportunity for all the up and coming jobs in the life of the Church.
As this was our first weekend away for some years I didn’t plunge into the Old Testament battles or anything too deep from Revelations. Instead the sessions included accounts of people who had done d something worthwhile. They made a difference and some had worked under difficult circumstances to achieve their goal.
One of the people I mentioned was Pat Seed. Pat was a free lance journalist who lived in Garstang. In 1976 she was diagnosed with cancer and was sent to Christie’s hospital in Manchester. Back then people used to say ‘that hospital’ rather than name the foremost Cancer Centre in the UK. Well, Pat was shocked by the diagnosis but she was also shocked by the news that the hospital would have to wait five years for a new sort of x -ray machine called a CT scanner. She was even more horrified to discover that the 1948 Health Act forbade hospitals from appealing for money for such equipment.
So she campaigned for an amendment to the Law and started a fund which got Christie’s their new scanner; the building to house it and paid for the staff for the first year. The fund has carried on and to date has raised more than £9.5 million for Christies and has financed four CT scanners, one MRI Scanner, a PET-CT 3-D imaging unit, lasers and many other items of equipment vital in the fight against cancer. Pat died in 1984 and she was a wonderful Christian long before she became ill. Most hospitals in the country now have at least one scanner because of the difference that Pat Seed made. She did all this while fighting her cancer.
The question ‘ What are you going to do with the rest of your life’ should challenge each of us. Philippians 3:10-3:16 shows Paul dealing with calling. In the passage we are asked to move closer to God and examine His purpose for our lives. We are also encouraged to move beyond the past. We may have done wonders already but that is not an excuse to come to a halt. Paul asks us to pursue God’s goal for our life now and in the future.
So what are you going to do with the rest of your life? I am full of suggestions if you want ideas but God is not short of some suggestions of his own. Unlike me, He really knows what you should be doing.
Best wishes
Brian
From Our Previous Minister, Brian
I think some imagined this would be a pure marketing opportunity for all the up and coming jobs in the life of the Church