Dear Friends,

As you can see, we are back with Comic Sans M T as my ‘font of choice’. The truth is, I never meant to change. These last two weeks I had been sharing with you as a bit of fun an extended metaphor; a way of describing the difficult choices that confront us as a Church consequent upon the impact and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some change has been forced upon us, and we have had to adapt accordingly. Other changes have been made possible by our having to think about what we do in ways we never imagined we would have to. But in the end, if I was looking for a slogan to describe the present and future ministry and mission, life, work & witness of the Church it would be this…

‘Just the Same, only Different’

…Which brings me to this coming Sunday. For us in the Free Church it is our Harvest Thanksgiving Service. The date was fixed in the diary over 12 months ago. Harvest Festival is a vital and an essential aspect of the Church’s year. This year it is ‘Just the Same, only Different’. For one thing, we will not be able to sit down and eat lunch together as the family of the Church. Familiar hymns will have to be listened to as they are sung by others, rather than we sing them ourselves. But it will still be ‘Harvest’. We will still take the opportunity to say thank You to God for all the good things with which we have been blessed during this past year, in spite of everything else that is happening. Indeed, for the Suburb, this year more than ever. Enforced periods of restricted movement have meant even more time to work on one’s allotment. I’m hearing of ‘bumper crops’ all round…

…But its not just about ‘food on the table’, it is also to do with saying ‘thank You’ to God for being ‘God for us’ during all that has happened, is happening, and whatever will happen. Our personal experiences during these last 6 months in particular may well have tested our Faith in God; and we should not be afraid to admit it, or be unwilling to acknowledge it. But Harvest tide gives us an opportunity to realise that God has not lost faith in us, even during those times when we have all but lost faith in God…

…It may be that one of the unexpected consequences of having lived through this time is that our appreciation of what it means to ‘live by faith’ will be different from how it was: ‘Just the same, only Different’…

…But be encouraged by this: The Writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says of Jesus Christ, ‘The same, yesterday, today and forever.’ The God who is revealed in Jesus to be a loving and forgiving God is ‘Just the Same, always the Same’…

…So, this weekend, be thankful for every good gift, and give thanks to God for that ‘Inexpressible Gift’, God’s gift to us in Christ…

Just the Same, only Different