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Vision for Action Prayer
Almighty God and heavenly Father,
open our eyes
to see you at work in our world:
grant us wisdom in using our gifts,
grace to enliven our churches,
and courage to transform our communities.

By your Holy Spirit,
equip us for the challenge ahead,
excite us to follow your vision
and empower us in witness and service.
To you be the glory

 This month's message:
"Jesus wept"  

I sometimes feel that I go to too-many funerals (it is a selfish feeling of course, more concerned with `me' than with the pain and grief of others), - but whether these are funerals of members of my own family friends or services that I take as a minister of the Church of England, I seldom find myself unmoved by the event, and almost always feel enriched somehow - spiritually and emotionally. 

There is a tremendous privilege in getting to know about someone who has conducted - it is what a person died, - through the eyes of those who knew and loved them and quite often I leave the funeral of someone who I didn't know in this life rejoicing in the Christian hope that I may come to know them in the next.

At a recent family funeral, the Dean of the Cathedral conducting the service used the phrase `We live in deeds, not in years' . This has been clear in the remembrances of friends and loved ones in all the funerals I have attended or conducted – it is what a person has done in their life, their relationships and their kindnesses which count and not the number of their years.

John's gospel relates the time when Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus - even though he knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. We cannot know for certain what moved Jesus to tears about the death of Lazarus but perhaps part of it was his awareness of just how short our mortal life can be - and how rare and precious the opportunities we have for deeds of kindness and acts of love.

As a Christian I believe that eternal life is a reality offered to all, - an eternal life in God's kingdom where death and suffering have no place and where we are held in love by the source of all love. Yet if we are to be citizens of God's kingdom, how shall we 'fit-in', how shall we cope with that glorious vision of a healed and happy eternity, if we have not, in this life made the best of all our heaven-sent opportunities for deeds of kindness and acts of love which bring life to others? 

So let us not be afraid to weep with others as Jesus did - or to rejoice as he did also, but let us especially be like Jesus in the sharing of God's love in the world.

Rob Wynford-Harris,

Assistant Curate

Great Saint Mary's Church.

Details of the dates are in the calendar of events ("This Week") here on the website and in Church & Town. If you would like to know more about what is available for children or adults at Great Mary's, then do please contact us. Our contact details are HERE.  

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