April 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As I write, we’ve just restarted our series from the 15th least popular book in the bible: Ezra!
From January to Easter, we discovered that even though the Promised Land was in ruins, God brought them home to a revival. As they rebuilt the temple, almost straight away, they experienced resistance from the people of the land, but in the face of it, their faith was renewed even more. We ended part one of this series on a high point, with celebrations, riches and rewards. These are patterns that many of us have experienced for ourselves. Often it is a crisis that leads us to faith. Likewise, often the revival of our faith provokes some kind of push back from those around us, but with God, these challenges only serve to deepen our faith even more.
Easter was a wonderful interlude, but as we return to Ezra, what I like about this part of the book, is that it gets a lot more personal and addresses the issue of “what if I get it wrong”?
So far, it’s all been about God’s consistent faithfulness to His own; sovereignty over His enemies; and the joy of revival. But the second part of the book explores subjects like doubt, risk-taking, and even relapse.
We’ll round out this series in June before a visit from our bishop and then a new series from the Gospel of John.
Building Plans
We’ve been enjoying the Parish Hall for about six months now. We’ve used it for the Fall Festival, Annual Meeting, and Maundy Thursday Meal. It’s hosted wedding and funeral receptions, and been used every week by our children, and several mid-week groups.
It has been a massive blessing to have a beautiful, flexible function room like this and if it lasts for as long as the old one, the next renovation will be in the year 2100 (which for reference is the year in which the Jetsons was set).
We turn our attention to the Sanctuary now. This Summer we’ll begin renovations to the Balcony, re-grading the pews to make them safer, more comfortable, and to improve the sightlines. We’ll add new lighting, carpet, floorboards, and windows, and repair the ceiling which looks like it might cave in if left unrepaired.
It’s not a massive project, but will keep the ball moving, and leave us with just one last part to complete: the main downstairs of the Sanctuary.
We still need to raise some funds for the last part, but our church has grown, many people have joined since we launched this campaign, and I hope that everyone can see how useful and well done everything has been so far.
The Vestry can’t wait for the communion rail to be accessible to all, the organ to be repaired, the room to be lit, heated, and amplified properly, and for the last part of our building puzzle to be complete.
Service
Finally, I want to give thanks to all of the people who serve here, especially those who worked hard to make the Easter services so special. God calls every believer to serve in the local church and He equips them with His Holy Spirit to do so. I would love to talk with anyone keen to explore their calling, but if you just want an easy way to begin, I warmly commend the Service Team to you. You can take a brochure next time you’re in church.
Love in Christ,
Rev’d Alex
