Deep gratitude for the time off you have given me and the family. And as wonderful as it has been, I wonder if like me, you too feel that this new year does not feel like
the fresh start we are used to? Rather it seems more like the endlessness of COVID numbers and ongoing concern for our selves and loved ones. Yet, I also believe that it is an opportunity for each one of us to deepen in our relationship with God. Needing to take more personal initiative for our faith journey may just be an invitation to experience God more present in the ordinary and everyday.
We remain in the Season of Epiphany, where as a body of believers we are called to reflect on the love of God revealed in the gift of Jesus the Christ. Through my own prayers over this Season it is my discernment that the theme to guide our community of faith this year is LIVING IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S LOVE. This requires each of us to connect deeply to how God is seeking to show us His love, particularly in times of adversity, anxiety, sadness, or disappointment. Yes even in times of loss and bereavement. And so I offer this theme to each of you as a way to anchor each day, enabling us to seek God’s love in whatever we experience, and reveal that love to others.
As a ministry team we will be offering from Monday a reflection question to use with the Morning & Evening readings. We do this as a way to encourage each of you to find a way to anchor your day in these two hours of prayer and contemplation. Trusting that as you consistently seek to be in the presence of our Saviour, He will use this time to draw close and reveal His great love and concern for you. Our readings set for today offer us the wonderful response of the boy Samuel when being addressed by God—”Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”. May we enter this week with a listening heart. A sincere desire to hear God speak our name. And as the early disciples, to invite others to “come and see” what the Lord is doing in our lives and the lives of those around us.

I am praying for you, please continue to pray for me.
With love and light always.

Reverend Anastasia Huntley