St Mary's Church, Dymock

Reports

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Our Family Service this month built on last month's theme. In January we recognised that baptism is usually thought of as washing away our sin, so we asked then: why was Jesus was baptised if he had no sin? The answer suggested was that whilst baptism is for the washing away of sin, it's also an initiation into our Christian life, much like you make a promise when you're initiated into the Scouts and Guides. (Return to top)

This month we thought about that initiation. Immediately after he was baptised, Jesus went off into the desert to work out his relationship with God. What was he being called by God to do, and how was he was going to do it? It was whilst he was working that out that he was tempted to use the gifts God had given him to his own advantage, rather than for glory of God. (Return to top)

Applying the same principle to ourselves, we recognised that as baptised Christians we too need to pay attention to our understanding of God and what he's asking us to do. Traditionally we do that in Lent by thinking about our sin, but also by attending a study group to receive some teaching to advance our Christian knowledge. (Return to top)

Jesus used parables to help us understand his teaching about God, comparing what he was saying with things his hearers were familiar with, so our Musical Director (Bob May) helped illustrate the useful of learning by teaching us a short African round song which we then applied to sing the 'Kyrie' (Traditional Latin prayer 'Lord have mercy') as our own parable to illustrate how we can apply what we learn about God oe way to praise him another way. (Return to top)

Although we'll be running a traditional Lent Study Group this year, it was recognised that many today don't like that sort of formality, so perhaps some of us might like to meet in a house with our friends and share thoughts about God as we share an informal meal. (Return to top)