I arrived back from a trip to France just over a week ago. For various complicated reasons, my wife and I were largely responsible for our nephew aged 10 and niece aged 7. We don’t have children ourselves and, while we were helped by other members of the family who were in France with us, we both felt that we were the main carers for the final few days.

The problem with looking after other people’s children is judging how best to care for them and what they can and cannot do. So, for example, is it okay for them to swim alone in the shallows of the lake which is supervised by a lifeguard? How many sweets and fizzy drinks can they have? Should they be allowed to spend much time on their tablets in the holiday down time?

By the time we passed them back to their father at a motorway service station on our return, I hugged them with a mixture of relief and sadness – I was going to miss them. Those few days were a bit of an eye opener to the sheer exhausting, funny, trying and exhilarating aspects of being a parent. It is absolutely unrelenting.

We have chosen to God call Father. We do so to say something about the nature of the relationship he has with us: we are his children and we are every bit as exhausting, fun, trying and exhilarating and so much more as every other kid.

We are unrelenting. And yet, God, with inexhaustible patience (sadly, a quality I learned I do not have), pursues us with love and mercy, wanting (not insisting) the best for us. And like every good parent, he lets us make mistakes but is still there when it falls apart and we have no where to go and no where to turn. It is God who is truly unrelenting in his generosity, faithfulness and steadfastness for all his children.

- Revd Didier

Parish vacancy – the advert is up!

Please do keep sharing our vacancy advert. You can see it on our website here.

What's on this week?

Friday 26 August

12-2pm - Holiday lunch club, St Laurence Room

Sunday 28 August

9.30am - Parish Eucharist, St Laurence

11am - Parish Eucharist, St James'

6pm - Reflective Eucharist, St Laurence

Monday 29 August

9am-5pm - Winslow Show, Sheep Street - come and visit our stall!

7.30pm - Bell practice, St Laurence Bell Tower

Tues 30 August & Thurs 1 September

9am - Zoom Inn prayer with a chat - email for details 

PLEASE NOTE

There are no midweek communions through August. These will resume on Wednesday 7 September.