On Saturday 30th September we hope to hold a Mission Community walk. The walk is an open invitation to visit the churches which are within our Mission Community.
The route starts at Edenfield, takes in St Philip’s, St Paul’s, St Andrew’s, Emmanuel Holcombe, St Mary’s, St Anne’s and finishes at the Emmanuel Church Centre, it is an opportunity to call in and have a look around.
Each of the churches will be open for a set time during the day and it is a wonderful opportunity to visit and explore a church that you may never have been in before.
People are very welcome to complete the route in its entirety or just walk a smaller section that interests them. Indeed, there is no need to walk at all if you are curious about any of the churches and would just like to pop into one or two and have a look around, I am certain you will receive a warm welcome.
The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, is credited with the phrase “life is a journey, not a destination.” These words ring true because in life we are always travelling.
It’s an ongoing adventure. Throughout our lives, we are constantly travelling, maturing in our faith, and growing older.
Thinking of the Christian life as a journey through the world offers us a vivid and helpful way of visualising the life of faith. It reminds us that we are going somewhere.
We are on our way to the New Jerusalem. It encourages us to think ahead and look forward with anticipation to the joy of arrival.
The Bible is full of journeys – Abraham, the Exodus, the Exile and the return to Jerusalem, Paul’s missionary “Journey” focuses on the process of getting there, not the arrival.
Christians are being transformed into Christ’s image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is a process that continues throughout our earthly life. On earth, we never arrive but we continually strive to grow closer to who we were created to be. When we talk about faith as a journey, we are emphasising progress, not perfection.
So hopefully you will feel emboldened to take part in the walk either in full or in a small part, or as I say just to pop into one of the churches along the way and have a look around. I would also encourage everyone to see it as an opportunity to focus our minds on journeying together as a Mission Community in other endeavours.
Every blessing
Richard