Baptism and Dedication not so onerous

This morning there was not only a baby baptism but also a baby dedication.

Baptism is a more a Methodist thing, and dedication is more of a United Reformed thing. And since Trinity is both...

One seemed more appropriate to one baby and one more to the other, and so that is what was done. In the dedication all the family gathered round, and a blessing was given by placing a hand on the baby's head. The commitments were not so onerous.

Tolerance

Revd Richard said it took a long time before tribes with their own gods came together and realised there was One God. Such a realisation should have been the start of greater tolerance. But it hasn't always worked like that. Moslems worship the one God and Christians too, but still they often look with intolerance on each other. We can be humbled by the faith of many Moslems and how they express it in their whole life. Even within Christianity there is intolerance between groups. It is not God that is separate but its our way of thinking, our way of creating hierarchies. We can only address our own intolerance as we find it.

Who Am I

Revd Richard said this was the most important religious questions. It may appear selfish at first, but in truth finding the truth about who I am is an essential step for everybody. We are all unique and on our own journey.

Resonance

First sermon I've heard from Revd Richard, our new Minister, on resonance. He stroked a Tibetan prayer bowl to make it sing. No amount of banging it, would create such a lasting sound. He said some energy in the church is creating resonance, like the warm welcome for people coming to church. And other things like the need to follow health and safety guidance, although important, did not create such a resonance by the amount of effort put in. So perhaps he will suggest other ways, like a fire Sunday which would then make it clearer. The aim of our life together is to share Jesus Christ with others. and his message. Jesus came across clearly with great resonance not though any great human power, but because what he said and did resonated with others...

Pentecost - multilingual

At Trinity this morning a minister from Mozambique, spoke in portugese, and was interpreted by his friend and former teacher - the preaching minister. The minister from Mozambique said the Pentecost was a great celebration in his home church.

Then at the Baptist Church in the evening Baptist Revd David spoke in English about Christian Aid, and was interpreted in German by one of the visitors from our twin town in Germany.

A passion for music

Revd. Richard spent the weekend with us as he had come to preach with a view to becoming our new minister.

In a special meeting after the service, the Church was unanimous is inviting him to be the new minister. I didn't get the chance to meet him, but everybody said he was very friendly.

Richard's passion is music.

Ruth's Penultimate Sunday

Revd Ruth began this service by getting us all to recite the 23rd Psalm by heart (The Lords my Shepherd...) Then she stopped us at various stages to get us to summarise what the words meant for us. This summarised version was written as we went on a powerpoint slide. Finally we all read out the modern powerpoint version as a prayer at the end. (Sorry I have no copy.) Not sure why it has not worked out for Ruth here. She only stayed two years and then felt led to move.