Global warming has had an effect on every aspect of life, but as I watch the beautiful flowers beginning to emerge I know that spring has sprung forward a month or two. (This is not a good thing which is why here at StC we are dedicated to climate change and reducing our carbon impact to zero by 2030!)
However I digress, but have already spotted blossom on some trees and yesterday I was sent a picture of a Daffodil in full bloom in Sefton park. Spring is in the air!
So, for St Cuthbert's that means work once more on our allotment beds and for those who have taken over them its time to dig that soil and begin to sow some seeds. Or of course if your growing seedlings at home, you can dig over your soil now removing all the weeds and then placing in cardboard over with some bricks on top to stop it all blowing away. This will allow those worms to work the soil for you and warm the soil ready for your seedlings.
Last year we planted over a 1000 bulbs! so knowing that some naturally fail or take a few years to embed (bluebells) I expect we will see over 700 glorious flowers over the coming months which will increase year on year. Here at St Cuthbert's we are further behind Sefton park and our daffodils are growing and peeking out of the soil
Spring is about bringing the life that we cannot see to the fore. With animals, it often means new life, from lambs to birds, to even humans. For Christians everywhere Spring is when we celebrate Lent and Easter. We think of Gods new life within us knowing that Christ died for us to set us free and our baptism reminds us of this, as we go through the water (traditionally would of been full immersion) it is in effect the drowning of the old life and bringing forth the new.
Sometimes in mid January that can be hard to remember when the days are still dark early, and often we have rain and storms. However as we march through the seasons we know light is coming. Christs Love shines bright in us and as Christians we need to remember the great commission to go and make disciples, go and heal, go and bring forth change, go feed the sick and care for those on the edges.
So can you bring one friend with you to Church this week? Can you feed someone this week? bring justice to someone this week? Can you help bring a bigger church for a bigger difference?
As the diocese struggles financially as do all the churches, the diocese as a whole is looking for new ways of tackling the long decline of the Church of England and to make us more relevant, (as well as financially stable). West Derby deanery of which we are part are looking to pilot one of the ventures which is to make bigger parishes with one Pcc etc but to free priests and laity to go forth in a missional way and look how we can do things differently.
So instead of 12 parishes in our deanery there will be just one. There are difficult decisions to be made as some churches will close. Some will stay as worship centres. There is also the hope there will be more worship groups too many of which call be laity led. Each Church will bring a portfolio of skills for us here at St Cuthbert's I imagine it would be ECO church, Disability and of Course under that umbrella Mental health and wellbeing and Children. Other churches such as Good shepherd would bring things such as food bank/food pantry for instance of which we are a drop off point only. These skills would then be shared across the whole deanery. We would have one parish share, of which we would all pay into one PCC One Rector and One Area Dean. So if you want to find out more about Fit for misson2 Then please come along to our public meeting on the 6th February all are invited so that the PCC can hear the views of the parish on this and then make a decision to take to synod in March.
