Dear Scargill Friends,
As always, this comes with much love and prayers to you all especially as the days become shorter and the weather becomes more inhospitable. We long to receive warmth and companionship and our prayer is that this newsletter provides something of that.
So, what’s coming up?
We are still livestreaming our Thursday Evening Prayers. On Sunday 20th December we will be livestreaming our Carol Service – watch out for details of this. Our Facebook Live Tuesday Tea Parties at 3:30pm continue. You are very welcome to join us for some silliness. Talking about silliness, watch out for our Scargill Pantomime which is being filmed this week.
If you wish to join our online programme – please click here. It is not too late yet to join Di and I on ‘Picturing the Gospel’ which starts this coming Tuesday. Mike, our Chaplain, is leading a retreat next weekend (Free). Our last online event for this year will be with Bridget and Adrian Plass,’Laughter in No Man’s Land’ (Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th December).
For our younger Scargillians, there will be a virtual Scargill Christmas Party with the Youth Team on Saturday 19th December at 4pm – do book in here.
I am very pleased that Di is also going to record some Christmas stories which you will be able to listen to over the Christmas period.
And speaking of Di, here is her latest reflection on clouds and rainbows. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
This week in morning prayers, in answer to the question ‘How can we be kind to others?’, one of Alison’s 5yr old, past pupils thought for a while, then offered this as their reply, ‘Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud’. Wish I’d thought of that. But I did start thinking, were there such things as rainbow clouds? Well, yes there are! And in a nutshell iridescent clouds, or rainbow clouds, are caused by the diffraction of sunlight caused by tiny ice crystals or drops of water suspended in the atmosphere. They are rare, often appearing on hot and humid days and accompanying storms. Of course most of you knew this already but, just in case, here are two photos for those who didn’t showing Circumhorizontal arcs (Fire Rainbow) from Nepal, Himalayas and Everett, America.
My thoughts soon moved on to the symbolic presence of rainbows. What do we think when we see one? Which took me to Noah and the NHS, well they both begin with N!
In Genesis 9:12-15, “God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.’” This does not imply that God “needs” reminding; it is simply a way of saying that God will faithfully keep His covenant, that He is ever mindful of His promise.
The rainbow reassured Noah and his family that a flood on the same scale will never take place again. This was an everlasting covenant with Noah, his family, their descendants, and all the living creatures. The rainbow was and continues to be a reminder of God’s commitment to the earth. It is not simply part of an ancient story or merely a symbol of hope, it is a living example of God’s faithfulness. It is an assurance that God has not forgotten us and that he continues to work in this world.
And this world has during this pandemic desperately needed hope. Many of us were taken by surprise, shocked at what was happening as the first lock down was put in place and we began to put our hope in the NHS and Key workers. Rainbows became the sign of our hope, our thanks and our wishes. So much so that ‘Rainbows for the NHS’ a giant interactive ‘mosaic of hope’, made up of thousands of pictures and stories, was created. One photo was of Suzy ‘s son, she writes “I’m sadly in the ‘extremely vulnerable’ group as I’ve suffered a Stroke. I was saved by my 6-year-old son who called an Ambulance, followed by 3 heart surgeries. My son has been shielding with me for 11 weeks. He is my rainbow and sunshine”.
For many just seeing a rainbow cheers them up and is a sign of hope. Advent also invites us to hope. To hope in our God of yesterday, today and forever who has promised his people ‘Shalom’, a peace that includes “wholeness, and well-being”. Advent is not only a time of looking forward and preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ it is the time for us to be bringers of hope to others. The lyrics from Desolation Row by Bob Dylan, ‘And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah’s great rainbow, She spends her time peeking into Desolation Row’ reminds me that many are now living on the edge of ‘Desolation Road’ hoping, hoping perhaps for a rainbow. So how can we this Advent ‘… be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud’? To be honest I don’t really know? It will be different for all of us. A listening ear, a helping hand, the giving of a treat, a smile or a joke. A prayer, a phone call, a shoulder to cry on, a ……… Have a think I’m sure you know what your rainbow needs to be.
With love and prayers