Letters From Brian, Our previous Minister
Recent copies of the letters from our previous Minister Brian.
These are reproduced from the monthly Newsletter..
October 2022: From the Minister's Dusty Bible
I recently discovered there is a major fault with the copy of a Bible that sits on the shelves. It’s definitely a Friday afternoon job. Sections of it are in the wrong order. Thus, its gathering dust because A) it’s church Property and B) I can’t bring myself to throw it away. A lot of it still ‘works’ so to speak but chunks of it are in the wrong place. It was this that alerted me to the problem. I did idly wonder if I had read it out and not noticed; I am sure I didn’t. If I did no one seemed to notice.
We all have moments when we don’t notice what is before us.
The Bible study group is about to embark on Ecclesiastes in the next few months. The writer thought life is meaningless, but as the work progresses there is a greater hope waiting, Eccl 1:3-9, the teacher comments on wisdom, pleasure, power religion etc. All these are good currency in the right moment. But if we are not looking carefully, we may feel we are getting nowhere.
What would you change from your daily routine. Looking for the keys, the remotes, the address book. I would like someone who knew what arrangements I needed to make for estimates, sorting appointments or chasing up things people were supposed to be doing. It would give me far more time to do the work instead of looking for phone numbers, listening to music on the phone systems etc
Life can feel a bit of a treadmill. Ecclesiastes has a gentle rhythm directed by nature, for instance the sun. Rise, set, repeat. The writer also looks to wind and water that keep their courses (most of the time). But we can find predictable calm dull in the modern world where everything has to have a soundtrack, an app, and an emoji (silly face on a message or text)
That said adults do crave some variety: the new clothes, fresh view, or a new big-ticket item like a car. I have car leasing which means the vehicle changes every four years. I loved the last one, but it was not available again, and I and the present ride were not made for each other. The car came with its own bell tower of alarms chimes and warnings. It’s a good example of the new not always being an improvement. It has affected the way we feel.
Sociologists are now saying people should be ready for more than one mid-life crisis. This phenomenon is now coming later with the change in age profiles. People used to realise their life was past the halfway stage. One or two people here have said that they have had more than one mid-life event. You better get planning; perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes can help you try new things. I already have a motorbike which lots of men crave for their midlife event; so, I am wondering what comes next. It won’t be wild water swimming that’s for sure. Have you seen the gang of them on the sea front first thing?
I have said on a few occasions if you are still here, God has a plan for you. Perhaps that is the place to start in living with a new plan and an openness to what he has in mind.
Oscar Wilde’s comment may urge us on to better times ‘There are two kinds of tragedies; one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it’.
Choose carefully.
The Bible study is pretty full, but Christine Casban can show you the material we are using if you would like to do it with friends
Brian
From Our Previous Minister, Brian
We all have moments when we don’t notice what is before us ....