Blog
The sun is shining brightly this morning (Thursday) as I write this, but we’re all still feeling bruised by the events of the last few days. Some of us have experienced significant trauma and loss; others are trying to get on with life amidst water shortages, power issues and ongoing clean-up efforts in our neighbourhoods; still others are experiencing a kind of ‘survivor guilt’ – aware of the loss around us and conscious that we have come through this relatively unscathed. In the midst of all this, there are hopeful signs as community members rally to comfort and practically support each other (look out for the appeal in this week's Staying Connected to see if you can help in any way).
The first part of the year always seems to fly by at speed and this year again it feels like we’ve just taken down the Christmas decorations and now Easter is upon us! Holy week this year will be a little different – we haven’t previously had services all through the week, but this year we will have evening services (18h30) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then a Tenebrae service on Thursday night (18h30) and the usual Good Friday (09h00) and Easter Sunday services (06h30 and 08h00).
The largest non-glacial underground lake in the world is in Dragon’s Breath Cave in Northern Namibia. You would never guess that the location is home to this huge body of water as the lake lies beneath the Kalahari Desert. It is possible then, in the heat of the day, to be standing on the burning sand with your tongue swollen from thirst, desperate for water, and yet not realise that the world’s largest underground lake is literally beneath your feet.
In the USA, a recent survey found that “more than half of all Republicans and nearly half of all Democrats believe their political opponents to be ‘immoral’.” That seems to be a sign of the times, doesn’t it? Our world feels more and more polarized – we hold a strong view on a subject (eg: politics, theology, even Covid vaccines) and then anyone who sees things differently is wrong, crazy, or even immoral!
I'm sure that some of your carefully laid plans for the last week were disrupted by the sudden re-implementation of load-shedding. It's always frustrating, but sometimes these enforced "Eskom sabbaths" bring unexpected gifts. This last Wednesday, the load-shedding schedule managed to take out both sessions of our Lent course with incredible precision! So, in the office, we spent two hours that morning working with ancient technology (pens and paper) - Laura and Valda took the chance to work through and update our membership list, and I made more progress on a sermon with pen in hand than I normally would in front of a PC with all its email and internet distractions
It’s been a busy week! On Tuesday night we were together for pancakes, with everyone chipping in and helping with food, set-up and cleaning up. It was such a happy evening with plenty of laughter and re-connecting – well done to all involved!
Last Sunday we thought about the power of names and the way that God renamed several key characters in the Bible to reflect something about their new identity. The names of those key figures – Abraham, Sarah, Israel, Peter – would always remind them of who they were.
Last Sunday was our annual covenant service and, although we may think of this service mostly in terms of our recommitting ourselves to God, we were reminded that grace always come first. It is God who takes the initiative and comes to us first, seeking relationship, long before we take any steps towards God.
Our Exec met this week and I’d love to share some of the key decisions we made and feedback we received: 1. We are excited to let you know that our 07h30 service will be starting again from Sunday 6 March.
On Sunday we read the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 and reflected on how this was a kind of conversion for Peter – a dramatic shift in his thinking, feeling and doing as a result of God calling him to cross boundaries and reach out to a Gentile family. We recognised that we too are called to cross boundaries in this way, just as Jesus first did for us.