I do hope that we have been able to enjoy a good Easter and that families have been refreshed by the holiday period. I hope also that we feel generally encouraged.

On a simple level the weather is warmer and brighter. The vaccine roll-out has been excellent and importantly the case numbers, hospital admissions and deaths have declined dramatically. We all have to remain sensible and vigilant but we do seem to have turned a corner. We will all have gone through lots of different emotions during this traumatic last year.

Even now we will all be in different situations but what I want to do is pick out two pairs of contrasting words for you.

My first pair is Hope & Hopelessness. I imagine there have been times in this last year when it has been hard to hold on to hope. Our emotions have been drained not only by the severity of the situation but also by just how long it has gone on. Shut away from family and friends, coping perhaps with illness and grief, nervous about what will happen to our jobs or business, it is no wonder we have felt drained and found it hard to remain positive. I have found my faith in Jesus a help.

We have been through one Christmas and two Easters since this all began. These are major festivals that remind me that God is not absent. He cares and is involved in our sufferings and joys. Most of all Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the hope that this brings is like a strong, concrete base on which I can build my life.

I imagine there have been times in this last year when it has been hard to hold on to hope. Our emotions have been drained not only by the severity of the situation but also by just how long it has gone on.

My second pair of words are these – Confidence & Fear. We have had every right to have felt afraid. We have had to face dark situations and it has been frightening. I hope that just gradually a new confidence will replace these fears. It will take a while to learn again to greet each other and sit next to one another. As a Christian I can have confidence not in myself but in God’s constant love for us. That love has never changed. I hope that you too can share in that confidence, that assurance that comes from knowing that you are surrounded by God’s love and faithfulness.

May these coming months be for us all a much more encouraging time.

If there are ways that you feel the church community can be of help to you then please contact us:

www.emmanuelchurch.co.uk or call 01483 561603 or 560560.

Frank Scammell
Vicar of Emmanuel Stoughton