Covid-19 

Dear Friends
Times seems to be passing quickly and again a week has passed and it is time for the next Newsletter. The UK situation with Coronavirus continues to improve and this week; Wales and Scotland are able to further ease some restrictions. In England we have seen children return to school which is a positive sign of the roadmap to recovery. The vaccination programme is moving at a fast pace and is recognised by other Countries as an excellent model helping to protect people and our community. We must remember to make changes gradually as we return to a new normal to ensure we keep the virus under control and to ensure we maintain the national guidance of Hands, Face, Space in order to stay safe.
I am sorry to advise this week of the sudden death of Joyce Mack from Sandford Hill. Many of you will know Joyce through her work with Methodist Women in Britain, Easter Offering or as part of the Methodist Choir. Joyce had a long and dedicated association with Sandford Hill and has many friends in the Circuit. We thank God for her fellowship, faith and friendship and hold her husband Robert and daughter Jocelyn in our thoughts and prayers. She will be walking closely with her Saviour and friend in her promotion to his glory.
Following the recent death of Val, Kevin and family wish to send their thanks for the kindness, cards, love and prayers they have received. Special thanks to the Church friends who attended the recent funeral or paid their respects outside the Church.
This week our reading is taken from the Gospel of John Chapter 3 v 14-21 and this contains one of the most well-known verses in the Bible John 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life” The message is so important as it proclaims Gods love for humanity and the world but often the context of the message is lost. The message of love is important and this week of Mothering Sunday we think of the love by and for Mothers but remember for some the pain of bereavement and for some the pain of not knowing the love of a Mother.
The reading this week links three related subjects, the lifting up of the Son of Man, Gods love for the World and the judgment of those who do not believe in the Son. Often the focus in on Verse 16 as this is positive and reassuring but verses 14 and 15 link Jesus’s death to a odd Old Testament Story and verses 17-21 speak of judgment and condemnation. The reading comes early in Chapter 3 as Jesus begins his encounter with Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a leader of the religious establishment. He comes to Jesus by night and clearly has some sympathy for Jesus and recognises his authority. He addresses Jesus as Rabbi but in keeping with other conversations in John’s Gospel Jesus makes some ambiguous responses that could be open to interpretation. The context is interesting in that Nicodemus arrives in the night but it is not clear when he leaves. Later in the passage Jesus speaks of those who love darkness more than light and this could have been challenging for Nicodemus if indeed he had to leave Jesus to walk back into the darkness of the night.
It is clear that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in state of confusion and spiritual blindness and he struggles to understand what Jesus is trying to teach him. He could be stubborn or misguided but he is unware and perhaps in the dark when it comes to comprehending the works of God. Nicodemus has clearly been a follower of Jesus and has watched him at work. The conversation between the two focuses on new birth, of being born both of flesh and of spirit. After Jesus speaks to Nicodemus he speaks to us in the second person and in pleural terms. His message is for us all and he sets this in context “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” The reading continues as Jesus refers to the “judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God”
Throughout the Gospel of John we find a contrast between light and dark and in this reading some describe the words of Jesus as harsh. Here we are looking Jesus in the eye and his message is clear, when our deeds are held up to the light, have they been “done for God” The message if full of love- Jesus describes the way in which God loves us – not how much, but how. God loves us by lifting up his Son, by sending his Son to give us eternal life. He loves us by saving us from Sin and by shining the light of Christ into the dark places of our lives. He loves us by drawing us into the light. The message is clear - God is love.
Nicodemus appears again twice in the Gospel, once where he defends Jesus to the other Pharisees and Priests and asking that they give Jesus a fair trial . Secondly at the end of the Gospel where he assists with Jesus’ burial. Whilst earlier he may have turned back into the darkness, now having seen Jesus lifted up he is walking in the light. For Nicodemus this may not have been a struck by lightning experience and his love for God may well have taken a while to grow and develop.  In many ways we have the same choice, we can look to the light of Christ glorified on the cross and recognise this as the ultimate symbol of God’s love or we can live in fear of the light and focus on the darkness of the world or at times our own lives. As we journey in Lent towards the pain of Holy Week and draw nearer to the cross, may the light and love of God shine in our hearts and help us experience first-hand the fullness of his love.
 
You can join with friends from the Church and Circuit by joining the weekly Zoom Service at 11.30am each Sunday morning (by either computer or telephone) using the links below.
Topic: Sunday Service 11.30 am – Our Service this week will be led by Rev Helen Kirk – Chair of the District
Time: This is a recurring meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4775422768
or just click here.
Meeting ID: 477 542 2768 (No password is required)
Dial by your location
0203 481 5237
0203 481 5240
0203 901 7895
0131 460 1196
0203 051 2874
Meeting ID: 477 542 2768
We also have a telephone service each week using WhyPay at 10.00am on Sunday morning.
If you wish to join this the number is 0333 0110 946 and the Room Number is 47927697# and the Pin is 1145#
Please do continue if you are able to pray at 6.00pm each evening and join with others from our Church so that we can unite in the power of prayer. Please also pray for those on our prayer list: 
Ashley, Debbie and family
Stuart and Sylvia
Frank
Ralph
Pat
Kevin and family
Roy, Thelma and family
Beryl
Karen
Ken and Pat
Chris and Dianne
Malcolm, Anne and family
Arthur
Eileen and Carl
Rev Alex
Don
Margaret B
Alan
Doreen
Jean
Beaulah
Alan and Heather
Linda and family
Carol, Dave and Logan
Janet, Steve and family
Les, Olga and family
Charles
 
 You can find reflections and biblical stories on our Circuit YouTube channel including new material added weekly from Rev Linda, Rev Jeff and others at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBhbVptj0forVkUfmmsvd_w
or just click here.
Please continue to stay safe and know that you are surrounded by the love and prayers of your Church family.
With every blessing
Ian