As this issue of the Parish Newsletter appears we will have commenced British Summer Time (coming into effect at 1:00am on 29th April and ending at 2:00am on 25th October) – which is effectively Greenwich Mean Time plus 1 hour. This means that we will have brighter evenings and thus many of our parish evening indoor activities will come to the end for another season. Instead, many will find outdoor pursuits more attractive, from gardening to walking to tennis to golf and so on.
This year the time change coincides with Palm Sunday, the sixth and final Sunday in Lent and thus the beginning of Holy Week. This is a very special time in the Christian calendar as we once again reflect on and remember the events of Christ’s passion during that first Holy Week. We see how the mob instinct changed from a noisy triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to an even noisier rejection with cries of ‘Crucify him’ on Good Friday. We consider the utter desolation and guilt of his followers as they deserted and denied Jesus after his arrest and subsequently heard of his death and burial. But the Christian story does not end there. As the old adage goes, ‘the darkest hour is just before the dawn’ and so the resurrection of Easter Sunday is that dazzling dawn. It is that dawn that gave birth to the Christian Church and in turn gives birth to our Christian hope. As Saint Paul wrote to the Romans, ‘For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his’ Romans 6:5.
We are fortunate that not alone do we have the promise of hope but we also have visual manifestations of it all around us. With Easter coinciding with the season of spring we can see new growth and regenerations all around us. Trees and shrubs are once again putting forth buds and leaves after their winter ‘slumber’. The yellow of gorse and daffodils together with fresh grass growth helps to transform a ‘monochrome’ landscape into a ‘Technicolor’ wonder.
This time last year the world was shocked by the loss Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which is presumed crashed and lost somewhere in the Southern Indian Ocean. Unfortunately this year another air crash mystery is making the headlines. Germanwings flight 4U9525 travelling from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps with the loss of all 150 lives on board. However, this time the crash site has been located and although it is difficult terrain and deteriorating weather conditions are forecast, flight recorders and bodies should all be recovered. Hopefully the cause of this latest tragedy will be quickly discovered and all steps taken to ensure a similar incident will be avoided in the future. Let it be our prayer that all those who lost loved ones in this accident may find consolation, peace and comfort in their loss. As many make their holiday plans at this time of year, they should be reminded that despite the scale of these incidents it must be stressed that air travel is still one of the safest modes of transport in the world.
With every blessing, John.
Rev’d. John L. Tanner, Rector.
Tel: 289 3154 / 086 302 1376
