Church letter

September 2023

Click for the church letter from August 2023

The first step is the hardest

So, was August relaxing and restful, or busy and stressful? Are you back from your holiday - and in need of a rest? Did it fly by, or seem to go on for an eternity? August may have been a time for a change of routine for you, and you may have found that liberating, or perhaps you found yourself wishing for the normal routine of life. It’s strange how when we’re in a routine for a while, we long for a change; and when we get the change of routine, we miss the normal!

The end of July saw ‘endings’ for many schoolchildren; some ending pre-school, or primary school, or secondary school; some moving on from toddler groups to big school; some moving on from school to college, or university, an apprenticeship, or work. September is a time of ‘new beginnings’ for many youngsters; and for some adults, who might be starting a new job at a different school/college or taking on a different class or role in their current school. New beginnings are, at one and the same time, exciting and a bit daunting - whatever your age. If you have a new beginning coming up this month, take a deep breath and approach it with courage, hope, resilience and patience (with others and with yourself), with commitment and with kindness (to others and yourself). And enjoy the challenge of something new.

If you made a New Year’s resolution and it involved doing something new, trying something for the first time, joining something, or doing a challenge - that was eight months ago! Have you got around to doing it yet? If not, there are only four months of the year left; we are now two thirds of the way through 2023. If you still want to get involved with that new thing or do something for the first time - and you want to do it this year - time is passing by.

Here’s the challenge: make a start on it this month; this week; today. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ve always wanted to do a bungee jump!”, well, go and do it! Make it happen. Treat September as a new beginning. If your personal challenge hasn’t been a bungee jump, and for most normal people it won’t be, substitute your own challenge or wish in this sentence: “I’ve always wanted to ... ” And make it happen.

That first step is the hardest. Madame du Deffand, a French patron of the arts in the 18th Century, said: “I’ve learned to give myself a nudge or even a push when necessary to get started on that very thing I’m resisting the most. Trust me, the distance won’t matter after you take that first step.” We all probably know the saying, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Give yourself a nudge. Take that first step.

Revd David Commander, Rector and Area Dean