The Reverend John Murdoch : Minister of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean
Pentecost : May 2024
Were not our hearts on fire as He talked with us [on the road to Emmaus] and explained the Scriptures to us? St Luke 24 v 32
Dear friends of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean and all connected with our parish,
I write to you on a glorious Saturday, 18th May, the eve of Pentecost, the Birth-Day of the Church, when all that happened on Easter Day, Sunday 31st March, seems but yesterday. Yet much water has flown under many bridges, with much water descending from above! and no doubt many different conversations have been had about so much that is happening in the world, not least the Holy Land. We remember some conversations so well, do we not. I love to think of that conversation which ensued when Jesus walked with two individuals on the road to Emmaus, as the quotation above from St Luke indicates.
It was after the trauma of Good Friday and indeed the incredulity of the Third Day, Easter Day, that two individuals were confronted by the very person who had been at the centre, at the cross-roads in every sense, of those momentous events surrounding Passover: for this ‘stranger’ on the road was the one who had been crucified and buried and then extraordinarily raised from the dead. It was sometime after that that St Luke the author of the Gospel could write about those individuals….. were not our hearts on fire?
The Easter story does not end: it continues to be alive in our hearts and in the ongoing life of the Christian Church, lived out by you and me and all who believe that God still speaks and works; yes, even through us, as his Holy Spirit enables us to use gifts for edification, for nurture, for spiritual growth, strengthening and for transformation of lives.
At Pentecost we remember the beginning, the Birth-Day of the Christian Church as God’s Holy Spirit descended upon the first believers: we too in 2024 must be open to how God’s gifts can be used and shared in the world we inhabit in this Pentecost season or any of the liturgical seasons which follow: Trinity : All Saints: Remembrance : Advent : Christmas : Epiphany : Lent : Holy Week and Easter: the cyclical life of the Christian Church, echoing the life of Jesus Christ from conception to resurrection and beyond, enables us to plant our footsteps in those of Christ and walk by faith, accompanied every step of the way by the ever-present Lord of life Jesus Christ.
Those on the road to Emmaus were physically accompanied by Christ: then they invited Him into their home to abide with them : you and I can also walk with Him in our hearts, in our souls and in our minds as we abide with Him, as we trust Him and as He empowers us to be people of faith, prayer and service; we hold fast to His love and His ever-real message of abiding with us as he abided with those on the road, with whom he later dined and to whom he was then revealed as the Bread of Life when He broke bread: their Lord and, yes, Our Lord.
May it be that for you these early summer darling buds of May days will enable your journey of faith to be an even closer walk with Christ beside you, Christ before you, Christ behind you, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger, wherever you travel.
I send every best wish for all that summer will bring and pray you will be richly blessed.
John
In addition to details of all Services and further information about Church life on the Church website www.colvendchurch.com may I draw your attention to these points below:
There have been repeated discussions with Presbytery: always supported by the community council: there has been good press, radio and television coverage locally and nationally: all of these appeals have been directed to the Church of Scotland via the Presbytery of the South West in order that Southwick Church will not close by September 2027. Nevertheless, the Presbytery Clerk has indicated that Southwick Church will close, unless there is sufficient evidence for missional growth to occur for which Southwick Church building will play a crucial part. This then concentrates the minds and the hearts of all of us: we need much support to enable the Presbytery to realise that there is a need for Southwick Church to exist. Southwick Church and Colvend Church continue to be beacons of hope for all in the Parish of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean. Please continue to support the Parish by your presence, your prayers, your giving, your witness and your involvement in the ongoing life of the Church.
Pentecost : May 2024
Were not our hearts on fire as He talked with us [on the road to Emmaus] and explained the Scriptures to us? St Luke 24 v 32
Dear friends of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean and all connected with our parish,
I write to you on a glorious Saturday, 18th May, the eve of Pentecost, the Birth-Day of the Church, when all that happened on Easter Day, Sunday 31st March, seems but yesterday. Yet much water has flown under many bridges, with much water descending from above! and no doubt many different conversations have been had about so much that is happening in the world, not least the Holy Land. We remember some conversations so well, do we not. I love to think of that conversation which ensued when Jesus walked with two individuals on the road to Emmaus, as the quotation above from St Luke indicates.
It was after the trauma of Good Friday and indeed the incredulity of the Third Day, Easter Day, that two individuals were confronted by the very person who had been at the centre, at the cross-roads in every sense, of those momentous events surrounding Passover: for this ‘stranger’ on the road was the one who had been crucified and buried and then extraordinarily raised from the dead. It was sometime after that that St Luke the author of the Gospel could write about those individuals….. were not our hearts on fire?
The Easter story does not end: it continues to be alive in our hearts and in the ongoing life of the Christian Church, lived out by you and me and all who believe that God still speaks and works; yes, even through us, as his Holy Spirit enables us to use gifts for edification, for nurture, for spiritual growth, strengthening and for transformation of lives.
At Pentecost we remember the beginning, the Birth-Day of the Christian Church as God’s Holy Spirit descended upon the first believers: we too in 2024 must be open to how God’s gifts can be used and shared in the world we inhabit in this Pentecost season or any of the liturgical seasons which follow: Trinity : All Saints: Remembrance : Advent : Christmas : Epiphany : Lent : Holy Week and Easter: the cyclical life of the Christian Church, echoing the life of Jesus Christ from conception to resurrection and beyond, enables us to plant our footsteps in those of Christ and walk by faith, accompanied every step of the way by the ever-present Lord of life Jesus Christ.
Those on the road to Emmaus were physically accompanied by Christ: then they invited Him into their home to abide with them : you and I can also walk with Him in our hearts, in our souls and in our minds as we abide with Him, as we trust Him and as He empowers us to be people of faith, prayer and service; we hold fast to His love and His ever-real message of abiding with us as he abided with those on the road, with whom he later dined and to whom he was then revealed as the Bread of Life when He broke bread: their Lord and, yes, Our Lord.
May it be that for you these early summer darling buds of May days will enable your journey of faith to be an even closer walk with Christ beside you, Christ before you, Christ behind you, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger, wherever you travel.
I send every best wish for all that summer will bring and pray you will be richly blessed.
John
In addition to details of all Services and further information about Church life on the Church website www.colvendchurch.com may I draw your attention to these points below:
- Mid-Summer’s Day 21st June : Holy Communion at Colvend at 11 am
- Sunday 30th June: our annual Beach Service at Rockcliffe at 3 pm:
- Sunday 4th August :a new venture of a Pet Service at 10 am in Southwick Church in a United Service for the Parish: all pets most welcome with well-behaved owners.
- My very sincere gratitude to all who helped with the Christian Aid lunch on 11th May in Colvend Church Hall. The donations for supporting the many projects of Christian Aid were most generous.
- Southwick Church
There have been repeated discussions with Presbytery: always supported by the community council: there has been good press, radio and television coverage locally and nationally: all of these appeals have been directed to the Church of Scotland via the Presbytery of the South West in order that Southwick Church will not close by September 2027. Nevertheless, the Presbytery Clerk has indicated that Southwick Church will close, unless there is sufficient evidence for missional growth to occur for which Southwick Church building will play a crucial part. This then concentrates the minds and the hearts of all of us: we need much support to enable the Presbytery to realise that there is a need for Southwick Church to exist. Southwick Church and Colvend Church continue to be beacons of hope for all in the Parish of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean. Please continue to support the Parish by your presence, your prayers, your giving, your witness and your involvement in the ongoing life of the Church.
- Be encouraged by these words of St Catherine of Siena:
Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean Church is a registered Charity, Scottish Charity Number SCO1353