Let-the-Light-In

Ruin-to-Restoration

My-Father-Revised

Hope-Refreshed

November-is-for-Remembering

By Heather Ford Lark
For me, September is like the start of a new year, with the school holidays ending, students of all ages back at school, colleagues back from their holidays, new routines, and a definite fresh feeling in the air.

A little late summer warmth lingers on, especially in the afternoons this past week, but the early mornings and evenings are cooler and bring with them a different rhythm. When I go out to the car in the morning, there are often several spider webs spun across the wing mirrors, as the spiders seek a warmer nook. They are especially active at this time of year.

September has neither the extreme heat of summer nor the frosty cold of winter, but is a like a gentle in-between time.

There are still a few tomato plants ripening on my plants, and the surprise that a green pepper growing slowly on my plant for many weeks has now turned a beautiful shade of red. There are still several runner beans hiding between the leaves, even a few late bean flowers emerging, and windfall apples for crumbles.

At the same time, I am enjoying seeing beautiful shiny conkers on the ground, some still in their prickly green cases, and no two exactly alike; scattered acorns, the ones not already hidden away by squirrels for the winter. I notice the gentle changes in the colours of the leaves, both on the trees and a few rustling underfoot. Many trees are full of berries, a different beauty from the flowers borne on those same trees earlier in the year. All these remind me of the Creator and his wonderful generosity towards us and to all his creation.

A season of transition from summer to autumn, September is also a chance to reflect on God’s faithfulness through the rhythms of the seasons, through the changing phases of life. We are reminded that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). September demonstrates that change need not to be faced with apprehension, but rather embraced as part of God’s design, with a beauty of its own.

September can bring with it a renewal of energy after languid summer days– I think there’s something about this month that encourages – at least for me- planning and starting new projects.

I am partway through painting one of the bedrooms at home, giving the room a fresh look, and I’m planning with a good neighbour what I can plant in October to provide us with some veg and fruit in the spring. Part of the joy is the anticipation of green shoots eventually emerging from the soil and growing to maturity.

And yesterday I started my ordination training near Oxford, along with 15 other new ordinands. A fresh start this month. Whilst I will still be contributing in the ways I normally do at church, what a joy it is to be starting a new course, meeting new people, learning new things about God, myself and others, and seeing Him at work. And having an expectation of what He wants to do!

It is a fitting time to recommit to prayer, to the Bible, and to our community, letting the quieter pace draw us closer to Christ, so the joys of September can become for us a season of spiritual harvest too.

BLOG-Remain-His-Child-August-2025

By Heather Ford Lark

It seems that there’s a special day for almost everything – a celebration day or an awareness day, to increase our knowledge or interest in something considered important.

This month, among others, we have the King’s official Birthday and Father’s Day, and I read that there’s a national chocolate macaroon day in the USA this week, and an international ‘Women in Engineering’ day later this month.

There’s also a day this week to remember St Petroc of Padstow, Cornwall. He was someone who committed his life to sharing God’s love with people around him. He developed an originally modest church into a large monastery with a school, infirmary, library, a farm over a period of 30 years in Padstow, Cornwall.

And one extremely important awareness day for Christians is ‘Pentecost’ this coming Sunday, to be extra aware of the Holy Spirit, specially remembered each year seven weeks after Easter Day; because the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples happened seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection.

So, this Sunday we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating a yearly festival, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Nowadays in some churches, sometimes Christians will dress in red or decorate churches with red to symbolize the Holy Spirit resting on the apostles as “tongues of fire”.

It’s a day to be especially aware and reminded of the significance of Pentecost and of the Holy Spirit. It was a truly momentous day at the time.

Can you imagine yourself as one of the disciples gathered quietly together to worship God, in the way you do every week, and then, without warning, there is a sound like a mighty roaring windstorm filling the whole place? No one could possibly miss it! Whatever has happened? Are the walls still intact? Yes, they seem to be, so what is happening?

You look around and everyone has a flame hovering over them, definitely looking like fire, yet not burning them. And those around you say there is a flame hovering over your head too! Not only that, but each of you suddenly has the wonderful experience of being filled up with God’s presence, and you start speaking, praising God in a language you have not learned.

This is amazing! But for what purpose?! This must be the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus and foretold by the prophet Joel in the Scriptures you all know so well.

Then you realize: there are people from every nation living in Jerusalem, and hearing of the drama, the wind, the commotion it has caused, they gather to see for themselves what is happening! Are you and the others drunk? No! It’s only 9 o clock in the morning and anyway that would be completely out of character for you and the other disciples at any time!

Something miraculous is happening! The words being spoken and not incomprehensible, but are the languages of all the nationalities represented that day in Jerusalem, and everyone is hearing about God and His love and power in their own language. Quite extraordinary!

You listen to Peter, the once cowardly Peter, preaching boldly, and are amazed that around 3,000 people respond that day to what they hear about Jesus and His love for them, and are baptized and started to follow Jesus for themselves. What’s more, these people take the good news back to their home countries and regions with them….

The Good News is that this is not just an event in History but God’s Holy Spirit is with us today, just as much as He was then.

We read in the Bible: “The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls”… Acts 2v 39

Very much an ‘Awareness day’ at the time, but actually no less so today. The Holy Spirit is at work throughout the world and in the lives of all who follow Him. The Holy Spirit encourages us, comforts us, gives us courage, nudges us to do the right thing. God will give, to all who ask, the gift of the Holy Spirit be our constant companion.

A final thought:

The Spirit came and Your Church was born,

in wind and fire and words of power.

The Spirit came blowing fear aside,

and in its place weak hearts were stronger.

The Spirit came as your word foretold,

with dreams and signs, visions and wonders.

The Spirit came and is here today,

to feed the hearts of a world that hungers.

(faithandworship.com)

Why not come and hear more on Sunday?

By Heather Ford Lark

Hope against hope?

We all need hope, that feeling and attitude of expectation, optimism, sometimes wishful thinking, perhaps expecting good outcomes.

But many times our hope can be disappointed when people and things let us down.

Many of us who live in Stokenchurch are saddened by the state of the hotel that once graced the neighbourhood. But last week I was walking by, and within the ashes, I noticed a flower growing – and that was a sign of hope for the future to me. Even when things look very bad, new life and purpose is possible.

As we are still in the Easter season, I’ve been reflecting on how the followers of Jesus felt after he
died, and before they knew he had risen again. They felt pretty hopeless – whatever was going to
happen next? Would they too be killed? Were those years spent with him worthwhile, if Jesus’ death was to be the end of it?

How bewildering it was when they came to the tomb early on that Easter morning and found only his grave clothes and that he himself was gone! Had his body been stolen, quietly removed? Where was he? What did this mean?

Then we read of two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus later that day, very dejected, wondering what would become of them all now.

And then Jesus appeared, and their lives were transformed by hope. A hope rooted in the certainty that Jesus had fulfilled His promise to rise again from the dead, that everything he had said was really true.

Christian hope is a bit different from hoping for the best, hoping against hope, crossing our fingers that something will happen – or will not happen.

It is a confidence that what God’s promises he will fulfil. Rather than depending on external circumstances, Christian hope can be steady because it is anchored in God’s unchanging nature and His Word, the Bible.

I like the metaphor of an anchor – I remember a sailing weekend I was part of several years ago. Although we started out in calm waters, the winds quite quickly rose, tossing us around and meaning all hands were needed on deck to keep the sails flattened and adjusted in the right direction. When we stopped for the night, it was the anchor, firmly embedded in the seabed that kept us from drifting off course. We bobbed around a lot, but we stayed firmly enough where we needed to be.

As Hebrews 6:19 puts it, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” This anchor keeps Christians steady amid life’s storms, offering a perspective beyond the present moment. Hope is about trusting in God’s ultimate plan, even when life’s circumstances are challenging and even when we can’t see what lies ahead.

The late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had hope. His hope for racial equality and justice was deeply rooted in his faith. He once said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” His Christian hope fuelled his courage and determination in the face of oppression and his declaration can encourage us to acknowledge and accept setbacks while maintaining faith in a brighter future, especially one where we choose to have God within it.

The following is the “Hope Poem” by James Keller which can also encourage and inspire us:

Hope looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst
Hope opens doors when despair closes them
Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot
Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness of humankind
Hope “lights a candle” instead of cursing the darkness
Hope regards problems, small or large, as opportunities
Hope pushes ahead where it would be easy to quit
Hope puts up with modest gains, realising “the longest journey starts with just one step”
Hope accepts misunderstanding as the price for serving the greater good of others
Hope is a good looser because it has the driving assurance of final victory.

Let’s not lose hope, whatever is happening in our lives.

By Heather Ford Lark

Already we are nearing the halfway point of Lent, a time to reflect on our journey with God, and renew our resolve to follow Him more closely. Even if we haven’t yet managed to keep to any of the practices we intended, it’s never too late to deepen our connection with God.

So whatever our experience so far, this is a great opportunity to pause, assess, and recommit to our goals for Lent. We needn’t get discouraged by challenges and hitches along the way, but we can use them for opportunities for growth. I certainly say that to myself!

Did you set specific goals for Lent? How are you doing? Are you making progress, or do you need to adjust your plans?

I set myself the project of reading all four of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, not one book after the other, but chronologically, with the accounts all put together in the sequence in which they most likely happened. I think I am a little behind with my target, but there’s plenty of time to catch up with my reading, and I am finding that I’m noticing things I haven’t really let sink in before.

I am really enjoying seeing how the accounts of what Jesus did and said vary a little with the perspective of each different author – Matthew being a tax collector, Mark a follower of Peter, Luke a physician, and John a fisherman. All eye-witness accounts, but all ever so slightly different; all accurate but reflecting their distinct personalities and backgrounds.

Simply doing this, I feel a little bit closer to God with a deeper understanding of Jesus this Lent.
And we can remember that Lent is a journey, not a race, and missing one’s goal sometimes happens. We can use this midpoint as a fresh start to rekindle our resolve, and let God’s mercy and kindness wash over us as we remind ourselves that this is part of a much longer journey in our walk with God, or towards God.

Lent is a time to be honest with ourselves and with God and we needn’t be afraid to acknowledge our weaknesses and ask for His help.

Whilst Lent is about preparing for the joy of Easter, it’s also about growing closer to God along the way, not only for Lent but for the months ahead and for the long term.

Here’s a reminder of a few suggestions that may help us to draw nearer to God, to keep our focus on Him, and find we are strengthened as we go.

Get a Bible (or look up the Bible on your phone) and read God’s words. Try the book of Mark or John first.

Talk to God once a day.

Read or listen to books or articles that inspire reflection and personal growth.

Consider giving up a particular food or habit to practice self-discipline and focus on spiritual growth.

Think about a habit that has kept you from being whom God is calling you to be. Consciously give up that habit for Lent.

Pray for somebody. As you’re walking along, driving the car, or waiting for a meeting to start, pick out a person who appears to be in need and pray for that person.

You’ll be surprised at the positive difference in you! 🙂