Faith Goes Walkabout

Thoughts and reflections

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Lent Course, A Journey to the Holy Land

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On March 16, 2019

In Faith goes walkabout, Lent, pilgrimage, theological

 

As part of our discovery about our own journeys we are looking at parts of the Holy Land; Galilee, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Sacred places, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, 2000 years on in our own time with changes and challenges but still a deep sense of God’s presence.

The Holy Land is the place in which Jesus grew up and carried out his ministry. It is an area about the size of Wales, although it has many different parts.

Physically it is set on the edge, the edge of the Mediterranean and Europe, the edge of The Middle East and Africa.

The valley of the River Jordan is a rift valley and is the deepest valley in the world. It develops from the Sea of Galilee and continues to the Dead Sea. Further south it reaches the Red Sea.

It is featured many time in the Old and New Testament. It continues to this day to be a place of friction and war.

Read more at Lent Course 2019 as the journey evolves over four weeks in Lent

Rev’d Sue Martin

Signs of Hope & Blessings

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On February 17, 2019

In Faith goes walkabout

Bless You – That’s my line!

Blessings, God Bless You, Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who mourn, and those who are hated because of their faith…

What does it mean, blessings, blessed, bless you? Is it really a sign of hope, when hope is needed? Like the first daffodils in Spring, blessings for us all at the end of winter, we hope!

It seems that many people use the term, ‘Bless’, ‘bless you, bless him, and bless her’

I find it hard when people say that as I think what do they mean?

So, when people say to me ‘Oh, bless you,’ I often reply, ‘that’s my line!’

I must admit I deviated quite a bit from my sermon on the Beatitudes today, it seemed that hope was what was needed.

Rev’d Sue Martin

Candlemas

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On February 3, 2019

In theological

This is a turning point for the church year. We now move from Christmas and Epiphany towards Easter and Lent, a turning point from looking behind to looking ahead, symbolic and preparing ourselves for Easter.

I think that Jesus must have grown up learning some of the trade of a carpenter as Joseph, I wonder what he made in wood, I imagine him carving and creating. A favourite picture of mine is taken in Avila, Spain and is of a statue over the entrance to a church. It is of Jesus with a saw in one hand and holding his father’s hand as they are walking.

Candlemas – a time when Jesus is taken as a baby to the temple in Jerusalem.  Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and declares that he is a light to lighten the Gentiles. A light in our own darkness.

A time when we move from Christmas and Epiphany towards Easter.

It is in a way, where the plan for earth and heaven collide, a meeting point. Luke cleverly draws us all in to that story wanting to know more and in a way looking at our own journeys and life’s plans.

Processions or just taking a single candle out in the darkness tonight, all will be a pathway  and alight for our own journeys.

Read more on Sermons 2019.

Rev’d Sue Martin

 

Happy Christmas

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On December 26, 2018

In Christmas, church seasons, community, Faith goes walkabout

And all the bells on earth shall ring

On Christmas Day

On Christmas Day

And all the bells on earth shall ring on Christmas Day

In the Morning

Happy Christmas to All

Rev’d Sue Martin

 

Remembrance 2018 – 100 Years

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On November 16, 2018

In community, Faith goes walkabout, Remebrance

Poppies made by the Girl Guides,Gayton

One hundred years ago the Armistice was signed between the Allies of World War 1 and the German Empire. The cessation of hostilities took effect at 11.00 am on 11th November 1918.

This year marks the centenary and Remembrance Day is commemorated across the UK.

In our Benefice on Norfolk, we held two main services with packed churches and two minutes silence at 11.00am. Even the traffic stopped on the road for us this year. In the evening  two large bonfires were held and again huge numbers of people gathered to watch and the church bells rang out at 6.50pm to join in across the UK.

This was followed by singing the old songs and enjoying a glass of wine and some cakes and listening to stores of people from our village who went to war and never returned.

The first verse of the poem by Rupert Brooke, written in 1914, is a reminder of that time and the young men who gave their lives in the trenches in France and Belgium.

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England’s breathing English air,

Washed by rivers, blest by suns of home.

 

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt if friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke 1914

Rev’d Sue Martin

Thomas the disciple and Paddington the Bear

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On April 9, 2018

In Easter, Sermons

 

 

Some time ago the film Paddington Bear 2 came out. If, like me you are fan of Paddington, you will know the story and the character of Paddington Bear.

Michael Bond was the author of the Paddington Bear stories, apart from Paddington 2 as he died last year.

I was very fortunate to have gone to his Memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral. It was amazing and many famous people spoke of Michael Bond and also of his most loved character, Paddington.

Preaching at St Paul’s, the Precentor of St Paul’s, Canon Michael Hampel suggested that Paddington’s story was a “kind of parable…. The wisdom of the world is turned on its head and a refugee bear who is accident prone and clearly very different from everyone else around him came to exemplify a very different kind of wisdom. It’s one that says being different is ok: that being cast adrift in the world requires the human response of rescue and that accidents happen, because we are all human.”

Some phrases in there…

A kind of parable,

The wisdom of the world is turned on its head

A refugee bear… is clearly very different from everyone else

Exemplifies a different kind of wisdom

Being cast adrift requires a human response

And accidents happen because we are all human (although Paddington was actually a bear!)

Thomas and the disciples were all human, so like us believing without seeing is often hard.

Read more  in Sermons on Faith Goes Walkabout

Rev’d Sue Martin

 

Happy Easter

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On April 3, 2018

In Easter

What is Easter all about? Why do we have so much chocolate?

 CBBC explains the history of Easter, eggs and chocolate. 

 A weekend of wet weather in the UK could certainly turn us all into eating chocolate.

But the real Easter message is about Jesus, risen from the dead, alive and with us, here, now and forever.

The cross that we wear and the cross that he bore gives us the light to walk out into the world and proclaim him Lord, It takes away the power of darkness, it takes away the things that we do wrong and leads us in to an eternal life.

It is a love proclaimed, God who sent his only Son to be with us to show his love for all his people.

We are  lucky indeed

Rev’d Sue Martin

Joy to the World

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On February 17, 2018

In Lent, Papua New Guinea

From Papua New Guinea to England, there is joy in every place. Sometimes we just do not see it!

At a community school, where all the staff are volunteers and life is quite hard, the chair of governors welcomes our pilgrimage from Diocese of Norwich in 2015, with joy and happiness in her smile.

Sometimes we just do not recognise the happiness and joy in our lives. So let’s go out there and spread the joy!

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.

Psalm 24, verse 1

Bishop’s Lent Appeal, Norwich Diocese is to Simbai in Papua New Guinea

Rev’d Sue Martin

Epiphany

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On January 7, 2018

In Epiphany, theological

The Visit of the Magi

To show or to make known, to be made manifest, the meaning of Epiphany.

It is also a revelation or an ‘epiphany’, when all becomes clear.

In church it is marked by the colours of gold and white and is best known for the visit of the three wise men to the stable on the twelfth day of Christmas.

An interesting fact is that, around January 6, the symbol +C+B+M+ with two numbers before and two numbers after (for example, 20+C+B+M+12) is sometimes seen written in chalk above the doorway of Christian homes. The letters are the initials of the traditional names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. These letters also abbreviate the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The beginning and ending numbers are the year, 2012 in the example above. The crosses represent Christ.

Read more in Epiphany,Faith goes Walkabout

 Rev’d Sue Martin

Remembrance November 11th 2017

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On November 12, 2017

In Sermons, Uncategorized

Sunday 11th November St Nicholas Church Gayton

 Remembrance Sunday

Poppy at King’s Cross London

If we do not remember it can happen again

I think myself as lucky for being part of a generation that has not known war close at hand. But I have know the effect on lives of people close to me, through injuries, illness and often very long term effects of all aspects of war.

Many  have experienced war, both in the past and in recent times.

Nowadays we are always reminded about wars in different parts of the world.

Our toll of lives lost across the world goes on, more soldiers and air personnel killed, more people back home  having lost someone very close to them.

But today is about remembering, Remembrance Service, held every November to mark Armistice Day, the marking of the symbolic end of the First World War on November 11th 1918. And special today as we are here on November 11th.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

The armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes in France for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. Although hostilities continued in parts of the Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottaman Empire.

The cruelest of wars which lasted from 1914 – 1918. A war fought in the most abysmal of conditions and with such an enormous waste of life.

If we remember we hope it will not happen again.

If we do not remember it can happen again

More in Sermons 2017

Rev’d Sue Martin

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