Here you can find a link to our June 2026 magazine, paper copies of which are in our two churches from this weekend.
The cover illustration is a Celtic Trinity Knot to mark the start of the very long church season of Trinity (the image can be found on https://wallpaperbat.com/celtic-knot-wallpapers).
The magazine contains a feature about the Trinity (from a musical perspective) as well as news from most of our groups and organisations, plus upcoming events including the Scarecrow Festival at Christ Church.
In addition, the June 2026 magazine has this letter from David…
Any ideas?
Dear Friends. Welcome to this June issue of the magazine.
It is now over three years since I first began to write for this page. I’ve covered a number of topics over several seasons since that time and when I realised my turn was due again, I was having one or two doubts over what I could write this time. ‘Oh, I’ve already done this and I’ve since done that’. I do look back over my previous letters to see what I have written in the past and it is very easy to sit here and think I have run out of ideas.
I suppose we feel a bit like that within our Church life sometimes. We have done things for so long that the feeling of fatigue can settle in and when we want to come up with a new thought for something, it is not always easy to find the idea that we want to put into practice. This could be down to not having enough people or resources to stage an event, or the availability of a room in a building. We can easily feel like keeping quiet and maybe give in.
However, I think it is fair to say that over the last couple of years or so, we have constantly been creating new ideas and suggestions for various activities and events within the life of our Benefice. These range from Campfire Church, a variation on a study group and even something as simple as the way we enjoy tea and coffee after the Sunday service. There will be many others, and please feel free to share them with me when you next see me!
If we have any doubt as to whether we can feel inspired to create new ideas, then perhaps we should recall some of the passages we have been using over the last few weeks. The Sunday Lectionary over the Easter season directed us to a piece of scripture from the Acts of the Apostles. This book tells the story of the early Church and the key figures who spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in those early days.
Vocations
These followers would not have had to worry about the shortage of resource or being able to find a building. Their message was inspired by their faith and coming of the Holy Spirit. These early Christian folk were regularly persecuted and mocked for their faith and belief, and perhaps it is fair to say that we also may feel we will be laughed at or criticised for suggesting an idea, hence why we choose to stay quiet. Yes, it will be likely that some ideas we have are just too unrealistic or difficult to put into practice, but unless we are prepared to share a suggestion and perhaps work with others to demonstrate its value, then we will never know. That one idea you have niggling away at you could prove to be great for the life of our Church.
I have just mentioned the Holy Spirit coming to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, which we have just celebrated as God gave them signs of sound and sight. Perhaps we could use this as the basis for our inspirations as we draw on the sights and sounds of
those around us to listen and maybe hear.
At a recent Deanery Synod meeting, our theme was vocations and we were reminded that a vocation is not just for the clergy or leaders, but indeed everyone who is reading this letter. So, whatever your role in Church life at the moment, I hope you feel inspired to share an idea with us and possibly build on it. By the time I next come to write this letter, hopefully I will still have lots of new ideas and perhaps some amongst you will have come up with new ideas to enhance the life of the Church in this place.
Yours in Christ, David Robinson