Facing a new year

A NEW Year and change is in the air – in our country and in our church. Too easily change can paralyse us, making us want to hide under the blankets until it has all passed. That should not be our response. Our God delights to do new things. He is a God who keeps on the move.

We are called, as citizens and Christians, to play our part, for the good of our country and our church. While each should make a personal response, we are also called to do things together. Undergirding it all we should learn to pray, love and trust.

Whatever lies ahead, let’s begin with a personal recommitment to follow Jesus wherever he leads. At the same time we should desire to play our full part in his Church, seeking its renewal through our worship, fellowship and service.

In our worship we welcome the “mixed economy” of both the traditional and contemporary, the familiar set words, and the freedom to find fresh ways to communicate. Every congregation will find their own way of doing things as long as they are not set in stone! However God is ‘The audience of one’ in our worship. We long to find ways to fully express how much God is worth to us, so that the praise is directed Godward. That worship will, however, ring hollow if what we do together when gathered in worship is not reflected in how we live when scattered throughout the week. In our worship we will be taught from God’s word and fed from the sacrament.

In our fellowship (often enhanced by tea and coffee, and meals together) we can rejoice in what we share in together, for we have one faith, one hope and one Lord. We also can learn better to share with one another. There are a remarkable number of times in the New Testament when we are reminded of our duty to ‘one another’. When we gather we are not spectators to what goes on but participants, each having something to contribute. To that end in our fellowship, we should encourage one another to discover the gifts God has given to us, and then help to develop and use these gifts for the good of others. These will include gifts from birth, from training and experience, gifts given by God and also the giftof ourselves. Everybody matters and each has a place and a part.

In our service we remember we are a parish church, called to engage with the communities in which we are placed. That means we take seriously understanding our context, looking carefully and listening intently to what is going on around us. We have much to learn as well as to give. We can applaud and support things that are going well in the parish. We can work in partnership, sharing the gifts of church and community for the common good. We can serve, both in informal ways and in organised projects to make a difference. Throughout it all, we want to serve as Jesus did, including sharing the good news Jesus came to bring and embody. A Church without walls is always looking beyond itself.

Finally, we should not forget we are Presbyterian not congregational. We belong together and we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We should look for ways to encourage one another and support one another. With the advent of the new Growth Fund we are being encouraged to imaginatively and creatively work together. Do all that and we will face whatever this year brings. 

The Rt Rev Colin Sinclair is Moderator of the General Assembly in 2019/20 and is minister at Edinburgh: Palmerston Place.