{"id":326,"date":"2020-06-17T06:38:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T06:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heuristika.co.uk\/lfgdiscussion\/?p=326"},"modified":"2020-06-17T06:39:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T06:39:12","slug":"message-from-bishop-rachel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heuristika.co.uk\/lfgdiscussion\/2020\/06\/17\/message-from-bishop-rachel\/","title":{"rendered":"Message from Bishop Rachel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nAs I listen to the Cathedral clock chiming the hour as it always does, I\n am grateful for that constancy which speaks to me of God\u2019s unchanging \nlove and faithfulness, even amid so much disorienting change. At present\n I often find I have to pause to remember what day it is and which hour \nthe clock is striking!

\nIt was wonderful to enter the Cathedral yesterday, open once more to \nreceive people for private prayer and reflection. Yet the notices, hand \nsanitiser and carefully spaced chairs would not have been imaginable at \nthe start of this year. So much has changed.

\n\u2018Change\u2019 is a word which provokes a range of thoughts and emotions \nwithin different people, often depending on the context. Change can be \nexciting and energising but it can also be daunting, exhausting and even\n frightening.

\nThese last few months have certainly seen a lot of change which we could\n not have envisaged this time last year. It is not simply the radical \nchange brought by lockdown and the trauma of a viral pandemic, it is \nalso the continual phases of change we are now beginning to face and \nplan as we emerge from lockdown and enter seasons which will not look \nlike life as we once knew it. And in all of that there have been the \nexpected and unexpected changes in people\u2019s lives which happen \nregardless of a viral pandemic.

\nIt is also evident that across our country and our world there is a \nrenewed desire for change rooted in justice and equality and it is being\n expressed in both inspiring and ugly ways as we have seen in all that \nhas been sparked by the horrific murder of George Floyd. We are people \nwho are both beautiful and broken, capable of forging life-giving change\n or change which diminishes people.

\nIn these days when there is tiredness and endless messages about change \nwhether it be about shops, household bubbles or our church buildings, we\n need to be watching, praying, talking and listening regarding what God \nis doing. What is it in your local context that needs to continue or be \nreturned to, and what are we being called to courageously change in how \nwe are being Church?

\nWe need to be making space now to reflect on change and the processes we\n need to put in place to enable us to live it well, yet this is also the\n time when many people are weary. People\u2019s inner resources for \ncreativity as we first went into lockdown, much of which were fuelled by\n adrenaline, may now be depleted and it is important to acknowledge \nthat. I am also aware how time-consuming it is to be planning ahead for \nthe different phases which will emerge with government guidance \nregarding the use of our church buildings. It would be very easy to keep\n our eyes so focused on the detail that we fail to look up at the \nsignificant decisions and discussions we need to be having about the \nvalues and principles God is calling us to embody as we return.

\nThis is no easy path particularly as our own thoughts and emotions will \nbe changing amid the ups and downs of each present moment. Care and \nprayer for one another is important, as is significant time for rest.

\nIn all of this my constant prayer is thankfulness for our God who is \nunchanging and yet is always in the business of change and \ntransformation. Perhaps, we will see with fresh eyes the transformation \nto which God is calling us as we say yes to discovering and sharing the \ntransforming gospel of Jesus Christ so that we and all people may know \nlife in all its fullness.

\nWith my thanks and prayers as ever,

+Rachel<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I listen to the Cathedral clock chiming the hour as it always does, I am grateful for that constancy which speaks to me of God\u2019s unchanging love and faithfulness, even amid so much disorienting change. At present I often find I have to pause to remember what day it is and which hour the … <\/p>\n

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