Parish of Llandudno North Wales, Rector's letter June 2008

January 2009

At the beginning of a New Year we are naturally more aware than usual of the passing of time. We reflect on the past year and what it has brought to us and we wonder what lies before us in the year ahead, we tend to see our lives in the broader context of years rather
than the more normal one of days, weeks or maybe months.

For me each year seems to pass more and more speedily and I can hardly believe that in only a year’s time we will be ten years into the new century and millennium! With each year that passes the pace of life seems to get faster and faster and everything seems to be in a constant state of change so that, for example, when you buy a new computer or TV or some other piece of electronic equipment you know that it is more or less obsolete before you have even started to use it!

This January many folk will be particularly fearful of possible changes that 2009 may bring to their lives due to the economic situation in the world. They fear the possibility of redundancy, loss of their business or even home, or that they will simply not be able to make ends meet. How sad that people find themselves in this position through no fault of their own.

We live in a very uncertain world, a world of flux and change in which it is easy to fear for
the future. It’s more than ever necessary to remind ourselves that beneath all this change and turbulence are the eternal truths of our faith which tell us that ultimately God is in control.

Each New Year begins with the Feast of the Naming of Jesus which speaks to us of how the infant Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the world. The great Feast of Epiphany and the celebration of the Baptism of Our Lord which follows it, show us how the glory of this Christ was made known to the world and how we can participate in his glory through our own baptism. In a time of change, uncertainty and fear let us carry these abiding truths into 2009 trusting in that Christ to be with us through it all.

I wish you all every blessing for 2009,

Fr John

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