St Margaret's Church Prestwich

This month’s letter to the parish comes from Rev Helen:

Well, it’s September, the sort of unofficial end of the summer. Soon the autumn will start, the leaves will change colour and fall and the winter will draw in. It’s back to school/college/university for many, enjoying that last holiday with the last bits of summer sun before normality comes back in.

What a summer it’s been, the weather has actually been quite nice, we’ve had some lovely heat waves and it seems to have stuck around afterwards (just for the record I am writing this early August so if the rest of August has been a bit of a wash out…sorry!). Music has also been a big part of this summer. There have been some wonderful highs, we’ve has Oasis playing together for the first time in 16 years in Heaton Park, the brothers have made up and they are reunited and playing to the crowds. We’ve also had some lows, Ozzy Osbourne has sadly died after illness, which is so sad and having lived in Birmingham for three years I did feel that one. It’s also been a summer of sport, wimbledon and football, the Lionesses have done what the boys have failed to do since 1966 and brought it home…again! There is a joke I could make there but I won’t I’ll leave that to you…

September is also a time of thinking about change but also renewal. We are coming into the season of creation tide, when we look at the world we live in and we make a commitment to think about it, care for it and consider how we can do our bit to renew and sustain creation for the generations that come after us. There are lots of different things that can be considered from where were get our food and essentials, switching to more environmentally sustainable and ethical products, recycling, reusing and keeping things for longer…I could go on but I don’t want to nick everyone’s sermon ideas for the next month. It’s all about thinking about what we do, could we do more and how could we commit to trying something different, even if we’re a bit unsure or nervous, but know it’s for a good cause.

It’s also a time to think about our commitment to Jesus and how we are his disciples and serve his church. For both the Methodist Church and the Orthodox Church, they see September as their New Year, a time of prayer and reflection for what has passed and then making a commitment to serve Jesus in the next year. I think September is a good time for us all to do this, over the summer months we’ve had a lot of reading thinking about the future and how to build up wealth that will impress Jesus. Remembering that one day in the future we will have to give an account of ourselves to him and he will want to know, have we served him and his church to the fullest we can? How will we recommit to Jesus? So, this September I want you to ask yourself some questions.

• How can I renew my faith and be a disciple of Jesus this year?
• What can I do differently for Jesus and his church this year?
• What else can I commit to aid the mission of the Church?

This is the time of renewal and re commitment so this September think about your commitment to Jesus and how you can really be the disciple he craves in the world today.

Rev Helen