THE BENEFICE OF WESTFIELD AND GUESTLING A letter from Rev Joy

It’s now the sixth Sunday since we were able to worship together in church, since the lockdown changed the way we live, the pattern of our days, our perception of time. Many of us may be anxious, fearful of getting infected by the coronavirus, even feeling abandoned and helpless. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Luke’s account of the Road to Emmaus, when Christ said to his disciples that they are foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke, he might as well be directing the same gentle rebuke to us. But if only we open our eyes and hearts, we can see that God, in his tenderness and compassion, continues to accompany us even in the midst of this pandemic. I have taken six funerals since the lockdown began and at each one I have said that it is because of the resurrection on Easter day in that cool early morning garden with the grass still damp with dew and the song of birds filling the air that we can celebrate a life and not just mourn a death. God in his Son has shown us that love is stronger than death. We can trust in this wonderful promise of new life knowing that the whole vast universe is girded with love and God will have the last word. When the disciples recognized Jesus, their hearts burned and they set out to tell the others that Jesus had risen. They understood that death was not the last word in their lives, that they could not be held in its power. On Tuesday night Clem and I watched some shooting stars in the Lyrid meteor shower and wished we lived in Westfield where the darkness is epic. A bat flew past our window this evening. God’s creation is a great comfort at the moment. This comes with my love and prayers for you all, Joy

Third Sunday of Easter April 26th 2020

Collect Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his pres ence with us, that

we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Westfield Sermon Series: Through the Son: Praying in Weakness Romans 8:9-30 Luke 24:13-35

BCP Readings Second Sunday of Easter 1 Peter 2: 19-end John 10:11-16

Guestling Lectionary Readings

Acts 2: 14a & 36 – 41 Luke 24:13-35 Road to Emmaus

Please check the website on Sunday for a Westfield Service and also a Guestling Service.

On the Road to Emmaus: A Prayer We need your presence on the long road, Lord. The road between fear and hope, the road between the place where all is lost and the place of resurrection. Like the disciples walking the road to Emmaus, we are in need of your company!

Amen

Valerie Richardson sent this and I hope, like me, you find it helpful.

Pilgrimage I have been reading a book about pilgrimage and thinking about the life lessons we can learn. Perhaps this time at home is a bit like a pilgrimage; endurance and courage are needed for both. Here are a few of the pilgrimage life lessons I appreciated in the book. Keep a strong network of prayer

Prayer motivates and sustains and keeps us united with those we cannot meet. Embrace beauty. Beauty can lift our spirits as we appreciate the small things. Acknowledge the kindness of strangers. Many volunteers in Westfield are delivering prescriptions and essential supplies. Savour solitude. In waiting, be grateful of the quiet. Let yourself be humbled by weakness. In illness, in difficulties let us be gracious to accept the gift of help from others. Let go. The horizon we see ahead is very different from the one we have left. Gratefully hold what we value with open hands. Live in the Now. We can easily get lost in the past or in the future when things don't go the way we hoped. Living in the now leads us to a stronger union with God as we rest in His presence. The Pilgrim Prayer Guardian of my soul, Guide me on my way this day, Keep me safe from harm. Deepen my relationship with you, Your Earth, and all your family. Strengthen your love within me That I may be a presence of your peace In our world. Amen By Tom Pfeffer and Joyce

These are the words of a Healing Anthem written and composed by Val Gibbs, our Guestling organist and resident composer.

We thank you Lord, for those who bring your healing, To those in pain, loss, anguish or great distress. Your healing touch brings comfort, calm and infinite patience, Bless those who minister with love and gentleness.

We thank you Lord for those who bring your mercy, To those oppressed by tyrants and mis-use of power. Your mercy lifts us up from this worlds' sin and desolation, Bless those who minister with justice, courage, faith.

We praise you God, for the promise of your Kingdom - When love and healing, joy and hope shall be complete. Your great Eternity with Christ our Lord at the centre, Shall bring us at the last to everlasting Peace.

This is Ellie’s Easter Garden Bluebells at St Laurence’s

Juliette wrote: I found this poem amongst my collection of church

papers and thought how appropriate it is for Easter–tide and for today's, tomorrow's and next week's shoppers who are desperately stockpiling - what on earth is happening to all those toilet rolls......?!! Heaven’s Grocery Store I was walking down life’s highway a long time ago. One day I saw a sign that read, “Heaven’s Grocery Store”. As I got a little closer the door came open wide, and when I came to myself I was standing inside. I saw a host of Angels, they were standing everywhere. One handed me a blanket and said, “My Child shop with care”. Everything a Christian needs is in that grocery store, and all you can’t carry, come back the next day for more. First, I got some Patience, Love was in the same row. Further down was Understanding, needed everywhere you go. I got a box or two of Wisdom, a bag or two of Faith, I just couldn’t miss the Holy Ghost, it was all over the place. I stopped to get some Strength and Courage to help me run this race, but then my blanket was getting full, and I remembered I needed Grace. I didn’t forget Salvation, which like the others was free, so I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me. Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill, for I thought I had everything to do my master’s will. As I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer and had to put it in, for I knew when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin. Peace and Joy were plentiful, they were on the last shelf. Song and Praises were hanging near, so I just helped myself. Then I said to the Angel, “How much do I owe”? Again, I politely asked “How much do I really owe?” The Angel smiled again and said, “My Child, Jesus Paid Your Bill A Long Time Ago.

Jim has asked if I can repeat the information about giving to FSW in the present circumstances. So please see below for the information you will

need. This Sunday is the fourth Sunday in April in case you had forgotten. I know I had. I feel a bit like Prunella Scales who I heard say on the canal programme she and her husband do together: “I don’t know if it’s Monday or Lewisham!”

FSW COLLECTIONS: Westfield and Guestling With our churches closed we are recommending that you consider giving a donation of money to FSW instead. Thank you so much to those who have already done so. Please make your cheque payable to CDAFSW and send to FSW’s Central Office, 22 Stanford Avenue, Brighton, BN1 6AA. If you also add a note saying please direct this donation to work in Jude’s area they will make sure that happens. You can also pay online via BACs payment to the following bank

account: Sort Code: 20-12-75 Account Number: 40257133

Barclays Bank Account: Chichester Diocesan Association for Family Support Work.

If you donate this way please email nina@familysupportwork.org.uk and let her know it’s coming and it’s for Jude’s area. Nina says thank

you for thinking of FSW at this time, when our services are needed now more than ever.

Neil writes from his garden in Three Oaks Two robins from different parts of the garden - they are territorial creatures it seems - have been keeping me

company while I dig and are positively bossy about getting me to hurry up and dig the next piece of earth over so they can find worms. And when I lift the tops off the compost bins it is as though Christmas and Harvest time has come to robin-world. ….

Below is the first of Malcolm Guite’s sonnets on the road to Emmaus And do you ask what I am speaking of Although you know the whole tale of my heart; Its longing and its loss, its hopeless love? You walk beside me now and take my part As though a stranger, one who doesn’t know The pit of disappointment, the despair The jolts and shudders of my letting go, My aching for the one who isn’t there.

And yet you know my darkness from within, My cry of dereliction is your own, You bore the isolation of my sin Alone, that I need never be alone. Now you reveal the meaning of my story That I, who burn with shame, might blaze with glory.

A survival Guide for the Disorientated…Pray: Some days, praying might be a real challenge, but be reassured that when we do not know what we ought to pray for... the Holy Spirit intercedes for us Pause: Intentionally taking five minutes to rest and remind yourself that God’s love never changes will calm your body and mind. Ponder: Why not find a favourite scripture that you’ve held on to in previous storms, and put it somewhere you can see it? That way, every time you spot it, you’ll remember that time God came through before, and that his promise still stands. Peace: Let’s give our concerns to the Lord. In this time of uncertainty, we as Christians can lean on him and trust that he has everything in hand. As we hand over our fears and worries to God, we encounter his perfect peace.

Scrummy Recipe ! Open and drain a can of tinned tuna. Put into an oven proof dish, stir in a tin of condensed Mushroom soup (undiluted) & mix thoroughly, season to taste. Sprinkle a large handful of breadcrumbs over the top, then sprinkle a large handful of grated cheese, preferably a strong cheddar and bake for 25 minutes or so until cheese melts & bubbles & the breadcrumbs go crispy. Makes a quick hot, tasty lunch and serve with a bit of salad or anything you like. Scrummy. The gourmet organist!!!!

Sad News for Guestling Folk

Val wrote to me on Friday this week to tell me that the Reverend Len Crowe had died that morning of the Corona Virus in a nursing home in Bexhill. He was Vicar of Fairlight from about 1984 to 1992. He was a lovely man and a true pastor. He was 95, and we remember his wife Olive in our prayers at this sad time for her and the family. Val adds that he had a wicked sense of humour as well as a huge dose of kindness and compassion and practicality. He was a wise and a very Godly man. He had worked for the BBC in his working life, on the technical side and was a very clever man. A lot of folk in Fairlight , Guestling and the surrounding area simply loved him and Olive as well. What more can be said about an outstanding minister and friend? May he rest in peace and rise in Glory.

Please can you add to your prayers the family and friends of the following whose funerals I have taken since my licensing in March. Madeleine Pankhurst (Westfield) Maureen ‘Mo’ MacMurray (Westfield) Denise Sweeney (Westfield) John Pepper (Guestling) Robert (Will) Eldridge (Westfield) Geoffrey Bendle (Westfield) God of love and mercy, embrace all those whose hearts today overflow with grief, unanswered questions and such a sense of loss. Hold them close through the coming days. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

CV19 Homegroup week 6 By now I guess we are all used to our new daily routines and, like us, I expect you sometimes can’t remember which day of the week it is as many days are much the same. That thought

reminded me of the song, This is the day that the Lord has made. How can we live as God wants us to day to day? When it’s difficult to look forward to anything, Jesus gives us some clear guidance about not worrying about the future in this wellknown passage from the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6 v 25-34 I suggest reading through the whole passage; verse 27 being particularly relevant to us at the moment, but also verse 25 might remind us not to worry unduly about getting a supermarket delivery or a haircut! Verse 33 reminds us of Jesus’ priorities for his followers; we are to seek God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. So, what does that mean in our everyday lives? Verse 21 of the next chapter seems to give us a clue; Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. So now we need to know what the will of the Father is for us day by day……… Seeking God’s righteousness Right from the beginning, the bible tells us what God requires of us. Genesis 15 v 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. God had just made Abraham some enormous promises for the future and it was Abraham’s trust in God that was ascribed to him as righteousness. Abraham was a pretty decent man for most of his life, but he was not perfect. Even he could not stand before our utterly holy God and measure up. Even he was found wanting. Yet God found Abraham acceptable because Abraham trusted God. The New Testament makes it clear that we are in the same the same position. We cannot work our way into God’s kingdom. We cannot stand before our utterly holy God and say, ‘Well I did my best so that must be ok.’ If we think we can, then we have, perhaps, not really understood who God is. We have, perhaps, made a god in our own image. So how do we join God’s kingdom? In fact, just like Abraham, we have to trust God’s enormous promises. Jesus, the son of God, stands as our advocate and substitution. He has taken the penalty for our sins and all we have to do is confess our dependence on his grace and mercy. Then we are free to be God’s children even while we are still on earth. We become children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, part of the heavenly family. Furthermore, Jesus promises that we will take on the family likeness; that his holy spirit will live in our hearts from the moment we ask God to forgive us and accept us, and, the holy spirit will begin to change us, to mould us until we become more and more like Jesus.

Becoming part of God’s kingdom means accepting the righteousness imputed to us by Jesus and then following him for the rest of our lives. Every day is a day the Lord has made, a day when we need to talk to God, to confess our weaknesses, to ask for the holy spirit to help us to walk closely with him in every little detail of everyday life. However, restricted our lives are, there is always something to learn from God’s holy spirit, always some little steps to be made that will

The view from the MacMurray bench in Westfield Churchyard as I waited for a cab earlier in the week.

Contact information:Rev Joy Collins, Priest in Charge of Westfield and Guestling

Email: revjoycollins@gmail.com Phone: 07437 797553

By post: 23 Croft Road, Hastings TN34 3HP

PS Love, Cathy