I hope that you are all aware that this will be my last message as the minister in pastoral charge of Westerhope Methodist Church as I finish in the circuit on 12th April and take up a chaplaincy post within the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS trust which covers the RVI and Freeman Hospitals and various other small specialist sites and the administration offices at Regent Point in Gosforth. This was something that I was considering for September 2027 when this appointment was due to come to an end. Having been on the Bank Staff, using my rest day most weeks, for the last 12 months has given me the experience I needed. Although I was encouraged to apply, I continued doing the things I would have been doing had I not been successful and only a few people knew in case I wasn’t successful. I didn’t want to unsettle people if there was no need to because we don’t always look forward to change and it’s only in hindsight that we realise whether the change has been worth it.

 

As I write this there is a lot of change in the world. With the bombing in Iran following the recent unrest we are all affected by the changes taking place in that region. Some relatives (along with others travelling to that area or whose long-haul flights called at Dubai) had their holiday cancelled just days before they were due to fly as the tensions in that area increased. As a lot of fuel is transported through the Straits of Hormuz prices for oil have rocketed which means that all goods become more expensive to transport so we are all affected.

 

As well as the unrest in the world many of us don’t always adapt to the technology advances that are changing the way things are done. A lot of people make cashless purchases in shops/restaurants/on public transport and not just online these days. Whilst most people may have mobile phones there are many who don’t have ‘smart’ phones with all the technology on them. Unfortunately, a Superintendent that I used to know often said ‘Change is here to stay’ and Carly Simon sang ‘Nothing stays the same.’ Whilst we may be wary of change I’m sure that few of us would want to turn the clock back on everything today to how it used to be.

 

Throughout the Bible we read of people called by God to bring about change many of whom didn’t think they had the right qualities to bring about the change that God was calling them to implement. Throughout his ministry Jesus encouraged the people to radical change – he suggested that the things that they thought would bring them closer to God were actually the things that caused a barrier between them and God. It’s hardly surprising that Peter was horrified that Jesus was going to wash his feet as they prepared for the Passover because that wasn’t a role for a leader but a servant. When Jesus spoke of his death they were afraid because he was their leader and what would become of them if that happened? We know that after Jesus’ death on Good Friday the disciples were afraid of the same happening to them because they were known as his followers. However, after the Sabbath when some of the women went to the tomb they met the risen Christ, some met him as they walked to Emmaus and also on the seashore after a night of fishing and catching nothing.

 

All of them experienced a magnificent change when they met the risen Christ. Change is never easy because it takes us out of our comfort zone, and challenges us to do things differently but whatever the future holds and whatever changes we may face, may we continue ‘to seek the Lord, and he answered and delivered me from all my fears.’ Psalm34 v 4

 

Thank you for the privilege of serving you here at Westerhope Methodist Church.

 

God bless,

 

Lynda