PASTORAL MESSAGE

Pastoral Message for May
from our Minister - Revd Penny Thorne

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Dear Friends,

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We welcome the month of May in with the news of the death of Pope Francis. In my opinion over the past 2000 years, it has not always been possible to recognise Church leaders as Christians! Many have seemed to be more interested in power and politics than the clear gospel message of God’s love for all. But Pope Francis was different. He was a man of God and a man for the people, which came across in so many of the things he said.

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He challenged the status quo of how the Church functions when he said “I believe in God, not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.” This type of truth speaking must have been a challenge to many in the Catholic Church, but Pope Francis was not shy about speaking out. He didn’t just challenge those within the Catholic Church though. He spoke wisdom into the political status of the day. He said, “For me, it’s clear: we must redesign the economy so that it can offer every person access to a dignified existence while protecting and regenerating the natural world”. What wisdom and courage he had in speaking out in this way.

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Pope Francis will not only be a loss to the Catholic Church, he will be a loss to all people of faith across the world. His understanding of God’s love broke down the barriers between people and reminded us that each person we meet is our brother and sister in humankind. He said, “Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God”.

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As we mourn the death of a man of faith let’s pray for the Catholic Church as they begin the process of choosing a new Pope. We pray that the new Pope will be a man of deep faith who has the wisdom to share God’s love with the world as Pope Francis did.

Every Blessing.

Rev Penny​

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