Dear Friends

Greetings to you all.

September is a time of the year when quite a few new things begin, often involving opportunities to learn.

I moved to Menston in July but I still feel very new. This is the fourth time I’ve moved since being ordained a deacon in 1991 and you would think that by now I would have got used to a new job, new people, a new place and quite a new life all happening at the same time, but it still rather catches me by surprise! I wonder how you respond to something new?

To change is to live. It’s natural to move on even if it is in ways we expect. By September we begin to notice the heat going out of the sun and the days shortening a little as autumn comes. This is the cycle of nature which is life giving. In our Harvest Festival on Sunday 28th September we are going to celebrate new life by giving water to communities through the building of a well or small dams. In our worship at 10 am on that Sunday we will be thinking about how water gives life and how we can help to bring water to people who lack this basic resource. Jesus offered new life to people. He was concerned for them in mind, body and spirit. This is one way in which we can do the same.

I am looking forward to saying ‘hello’ and getting to know more of you over the months to come, seeing what God is doing amongst us, moving us on in newness of life.

Yours in Christ,

Ruth