Welcome to St Swithins Church

By The Rev Matt earwicker

Villages - April 2024...

Dear Friends

It’s Easter again. The highest point in the Christian year. Christmas might have the bigger parties, but it is Easter which Christians have always considered the turning point in the history of the world (even if St Bede understandably felt that our years should be counted from the birth of Jesus, not his death). Because Easter marks both the lowest point in human existence—when humanity was willing to kill the creator of all that exists, animate and inanimate—and the starting point of hope for the future. It is the point where God shows how much he is committed to making this work.

That’s a challenging phrase, isn’t it - “make it work”? It reminds us that some important decisions—even though we feel relatively certain we are making the right choice—require effort even after the decision is made. Whether that is a business deal with a new supplier, a tricky family situation, or some other commitment that stretches our resources, we want it to be successful, but that will only happen if we throw ourselves at it. At which point what really matters is the reason or reasons why we made that decision.

When I was a teenager, my school day began with getting up at 5.45 to get to the station to catch a train that took about an hour, and then walk a mile to school. The school day finished at 6.05pm, and I would be home just before 8, ready to eat, do some homework and go to bed. And I imagine that many of you have had similar times in your lives, whether the reason was school, work, family or something else. The point is not that I think I’m amazing for doing it, but rather that it never bothered me because I loved my school time so much (well, most of it, anyway - I never enjoyed cross country running). It wasn’t will power, nor fear of my parents that got me up in the morning, but a desire to make the most of the amazing opportunity I had.

And it’s similar with God. The Bible teaches us that Jesus didn’t die out of a sense of duty, nor an exaggerated desire to prove himself, but because the reason mattered to him so much: his love for all humanity. God didn’t look at his creation and think, “well, it’s a mess, but it’s all I’ve got, so I’d better make the most of it.” Jesus famously says that it was because God loved the world so much that he sent his son to die for us.

Easter is a time of joy as spring returns, hopefully with a little less rain in store for us this year. The lengthening days, the blossoming flowers and the fresh food to eat raise our spirits. But the greatest joy of all is that it is a time when we remember that God truly does love us all and is willing to do whatever it takes to make that relationship work. And that lifts my heart even more than the sunniest day.

“May Christ, who out of defeat brings new hope and a new future, fill you with his new life.”

With every blessing, Matt

By The Reverend Dr Andrew Paul Rumsey ~ BISHOP OF RAMSBURY

Bishops Letter May 2024

Dear Friends

May is exam month for my youngest daughter, who is undergoing her ‘A’ Levels this summer – the last of our three to pass through that ordeal. I still recall (as I’m sure many of you do too) the sense of elation – almost disbelief – when these were over and a new chapter of life could begin. Somewhere in my loft, I still have the ring file I flung into the air when it was all over!

This transition to a new stage of life feels appropriate as Easter turns to Pentecost and the church waits on God to provide all that she needs to serve him in the world. Given the seemingly constant need to find people to help in church life, it is always encouraging to remember how the Lord can take the scraps we offer and make them sufficient. When offput from commencing an apparently huge task, I sometimes say to myself: ‘just do a little’ and, having offered my mite to God, leave the multiplication to him.

In annual meeting season, it may be that you are reviewing your responsibilities and wondering about stopping some and starting others. If so, can I encourage you to consider standing for election to deanery or diocesan synod? Synods are our way of sharing the governance of the church and making sure it attends to the things we truly care about. We’d love your involvement and trust that God will work through us ‘to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think’ (Ephesian 3:20).