Letter from the Chaplain – April 2009

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 | Letter from the chaplain | No Comments

What a difference the weather can make to one’s spirit! As I write this the sun is shining through the windows, I can hear the birds singing away, and there is definitely a ‘greening up’ evident on the trees and bushes. There is change in the air all around with new life emerging. Our pair of ducks is back in the Hospital grounds taking up its usual place for nesting!

The month of April certainly expresses the sense of resurrection very strongly – and that, of course, is what we as Christians are looking forward to celebrating.

As we come to the end of our Lenten observances and pass through the experiences of the Passion, it should be with uplifted spirits that we welcome Easter with its profound significance – that Christ died on the cross for us but rose from the dead in a glorious Resurrection and with the promise of eternal life. So it should be that as we celebrate the Day of Resurrection we look forward to new beginnings and new opportunities full of hope and joy.

As we welcome the new Master and his family on St George’s Day we will do so with real confidence that our community will be enriched by their ministry and life with us and that we will continue to grow together in faith and love.

Finally may I thank you all for the wonderful support that you have given during this interregnum and say how privileged I feel to be part of such a tremendous ‘ship’s company’.

With every blessing,
Reg Sweet
Chaplain

Tags: Day of Resurrection, Letter from the chaplain, St Cross Church in Winchester, The Passion

Letter from the Chaplain – March 2009

Thursday, March 5th, 2009 | Letter from the chaplain, Uncategorized | No Comments

I receive regular bulletins from a Christian organisation called Barnabas Aid which monitors the treatment of Churches in various parts of the world. They often make sad and painful reading but show just how courageous many Christians are. In some countries outright persecution takes place with Christians being killed, made homeless, imprisoned and ostracised because of their faith. Yet they remain faithful and continue to witness. Barnabas Aid and other societies and organisations offer support by prayer and material aid to many of these Churches, and certainly those of us who live with the freedom we enjoy should, I believe, do all that we can to help. We are indeed fortunate that we can practise our faith without fear.

Yet this freedom which we have enjoyed for so long may well be being challenged in our society today. Recent incidents reported and highlighted by the media seem to indicate an attitude that is becoming apparent amongst some sections of society of hostility to things Christian – a nurse suspended for offering to pray for a patient; a foster carer banned by her local authority because a Muslim girl in her charge became a Christian; a mother banned from her daughter’s school because the seven-year-old spoke to another child about Jesus; and even a move in the House of Commons and elsewhere to abolish opening prayers. Concern has been expressed by various of our Bishops, as well as by representatives of other denominations, that our country is in increasing danger of losing its Christian identity. The complacency which so many churches have shown, coupled with the desire to show tolerance towards those of other faiths or none, is putting our heritage in jeopardy.

So what, if anything, can be done to counter this trend? Surely it can only be by proclaiming the Good News, the Gospel, in a positive way ‘not only with our lips but in our lives’. And what better time and place to begin but here and now? Perhaps as we move through Lent and Passiontide, sharing in Our Lord’s suffering and death, to Easter and His glorious Resurrection we might remind ourselves of what we are called to do and determine to do our utmost to proclaim Him in our daily lives. With every blessing,

Reg Sweet, Chaplain

Tags: Barnabas Aid, Christians being killed

Letter from the Chaplain – November

Thursday, November 20th, 2008 | Letter from the chaplain | No Comments

For me November is not a month that lifts the spirit. The clocks have gone back that hour and the dark is upon us by teatime! Somehow it feels as if it’s a long dreary road until Spring, and that we must endure the cold and damp between now and then – sounds rather depressing doesn’t it!

Yet in reality there is much to look forward to and this season of Advent which is beginning is a period of preparation for that wonderful event of Christmas. Of course we will be swamped with all the secular manifestations of a society which in the main has lost the meaning of Christ’s birth, but for those who are Christians this time of preparation and looking forward can be one that is uplifting and can help us refocus on what we are about and what our mission is.

Advent gives us an opportunity to assess and reflect on our journey both as individuals and as a parish. November 8 is to be a day on which all are invited to attend a meeting at St Faith’s school and, under the guidance of the Reverend Steve Pittis, to explore that journey and to look to the future. I hope that this will help and guide us during the weeks ahead so that we can approach Christmas with a sense of optimism and positiveness.

We at St Cross have so much to be thankful for and, in spite of the woeful worldly situation, should nevertheless look forward with joyful anticipation as we put our trust in God’s promise to us and with Mary, the mother of our Lord, praise him for sending His Son to share in our humanity.

With every blessing,

Reg Sweet
Chaplain

Letter from the Chaplain – November

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | Letter from the chaplain | No Comments

For me November is not a month that lifts the spirit. The clocks have gone back that hour and the dark is upon us by teatime! Somehow it feels as if it’s a long dreary road until Spring, and that we must endure the cold and damp between now and then – sounds rather depressing doesn’t it!

Yet in reality there is much to look forward to and this season of Advent which is beginning is a period of preparation for that wonderful event of Christmas. Of course we will be swamped with all the secular manifestations of a society which in the main has lost the meaning of Christ’s birth, but for those who are Christians this time of preparation and looking forward can be one that is uplifting and can help us refocus on what we are about and what our mission is.

Advent gives us an opportunity to assess and reflect on our journey both as individuals and as a parish. November 8 is to be a day on which all are invited to attend a meeting at St Faith’s school and, under the guidance of the Reverend Steve Pittis, to explore that journey and to look to the future. I hope that this will help and guide us during the weeks ahead so that we can approach Christmas with a sense of optimism and positiveness.

We at St Cross have so much to be thankful for and, in spite of the woeful worldly situation, should nevertheless look forward with joyful anticipation as we put our trust in God’s promise to us and with Mary, the mother of our Lord, praise him for sending His Son to share in our humanity.

With every blessing,

Reg Sweet
Chaplain