Minister’s Letter – Dec 2016

Dear friends,

As difficult as it is to believe, it has been over a month since I took up post as minister of Clincarthill Parish Church! I have to say that, from my perspective, the last month has flown by: it almost feels like I haven’t had a moment to catch my breath. My main priority at the moment is to get to know you all. I am also spending time getting to know the local area; since we are a parish church, it is also important we know the community we serve. As it will take me a while to get round to seeing everyone, I appreciate your patience and your understanding. This is made a little more challenging because of the time of year: Advent has begun, and Christmas is just weeks away!!

This time of year presents us with an amazing opportunity to share our faith with others. Although Christmas has been somewhat high-jacked by commercialism, I have found people soften a little to the Christian message. I want to encourage you, therefore, to think about any friends or family you may have who don’t follow Jesus, and consider sharing a little about your faith with them. You may also want to invite them along to one of the many services or events we are holding in our church building over the advent season!

If we are serious about following God and seeing His Kingdom built, then we need to be thinking about how to engage people with the Christian faith. Thankfully, we are not alone in this, as Advent reminds us. We are celebrating the fact that God came down to us: Jesus is Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us”. Isn’t that amazing?

It is my sincere hope and prayer that, over the next few weeks of Advent and Christmas, you will truly know that God is with you.

Wishing you a very blessed Christmas,

Rev. Stuart Love