Dear friends
Welcome to this most wistful month of the year, when we sense the shift of summer into autumn, notice the mellowing light and take stock before starting again. I do hope there has been plenty of sunshine for you between the showers!
With rhythms fixed in childhood term-times, September is the ‘other’ new year, and always an opportunity for reflection. Yet we could be forgiven for facing this new season feeling more than a little unsettled, for the times are uncertain. Warfare feels close at hand, not only for those who hear the low thump of guns on Salisbury Plain. We think of the Holy Land Jesus knew and loved – and are reminded of the prophet’s cry: ‘the harvest is past, the summer is over, and we are not saved’. Facing the destruction of his land and the exile of its people, Jeremiah asks: ‘is there no balm in Gilead?’ A cry which might be echoed by dispossessed people across the globe.
In spiritual songs, the Lord Jesus has been described as the balm so needed by God’s people – the soothing relief who bears our sorrows, binds our wounds and heals our soul. Those who follow and serve Christ might, therefore, see their own ministry as extending this anointing to those who need it most. To be a balm for the world: what a timely way to make Jesus known in the months ahead. May God bless you as you, in turn, are his blessing to others.
Bishop of Ramsbury, Andrew Rumsey