PARISH OF FARNWORTH & KEARSLEY.

November 2014

Dear friends.

As I write this letter the temperature outside is dropping and although still mild for the time of year it is a timely reminder to put away the sunglasses and sun cream and reach for some warmer clothes. The calendar year moves on and so does our Christian year. By the time you read this we will be preparing for Remembrance Day, Advent and then Christmas. Christmas of course is already here in the local stores, nothing new there!! Remembrance Day will be of particular importance this year as we commemorate those men and women whose lives were taken from them in what seems to have been a war fought over- what? Begun in 1914 and ended on 11th November 1918. Whatever the reasons our commemoration will be sincere and a salutary reminder of the futility of all wars waged on a global scale. On a lighter note it is good to see that our new Parish team is showing signs of coming together in worship and fellowship. I remember that not too long ago when the team in Farnworth was first mooted we were told to either work together or else!! Fortunately we have moved on from those days and adopted a more Christian attitude of tolerance and care for each other. At one time the situation in Farnworth was almost like a war zone with each of the then 4 Churches keeping each other at arm’s length and rarely if ever crossing the threshold of the other Churches. How things change, three churches closed in Farnworth (Perhaps God wanted us to move closer to each other) but the majority of the extant congregations have stayed together and become, thanks to God a viable thriving Christian community. If we can continue to work together, learn from past mistakes and show love and respect for our fellow Christians both those inside and outside of our Churches we may be able to hand on our faith to the generations that follow us secure in the knowledge that we did our best to obey that most difficult of commandments “Love your neighbour as yourself”

 

Phillip

 

Whatever sort of tribulation we suffer, we should always remember that its purpose is to make us spurn the present and reach out to the future.

John Calvin