STEPHEN’S LETTER

Dear People of St Cuthbert’s,

Most of the visits I make to your homes these days are concluded with the words, ‘this will be my last visit’. Frances and I are in the process of beginning to let go of the contacts and friendships that we have made over the past seven years. It has been a good period for us both personally and professionally. You have supported us through times of sadness and bereavement as well as the joys of a wedding and grandparenthood. In the same way I have been privileged to be with many of you at moments of sadness as well as happiness. These moments of tragedy as well as joy are part of what all of us have to go through. The contribution of our Christian faith is to give them all some sort of context and perspective.

Right at the heart of the Christian faith is this readiness to embrace both joy and sorrow. There is nothing in the story of Jesus that suggests that he was anything other than realistic about the sufferings that all of us have to endure. There is no sense of his ever running away or taking avoiding action when something difficult had to be faced. There is also every indication that Jesus was able to celebrate when the occasion called for it such as his attendance at a wedding and other occasions when he enjoyed hospitality. The juxtaposition of joy and sorrow is very much presented in the Easter story. From the depths of sorrow it was only two days until the disciples knew the height and depth of joy in the Easter proclamation.

Part of our task as Christians is to encourage one another to face and to cope with life in all its complexity. We are called in St Cuthbert’s not only to worship God but also to ‘weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice’. None of us is expected to suffer or rejoice alone but to make that side of our life something we share with those who travel along the same pilgrimage path as we do. May St Cuthbert’s always be a place where the sorrowing may find comfort and the joyful may find an increased capacity for celebration and thanksgiving. Perhaps in this particular way our congregation may be fulfilling an important part of what it means to be church.

Stephen