A message from the Rev’d Stephen Sutcliffe

Posted by Admin on 22 August 2020, 1:56 pm

The Rev’d Stephen Sutcliffe

Assistant Curate

2 St Faiths Rd

Cowes

PO31 7HH

Tel: 01983 652506

Email: steve.alan.sutcliffe@icloud.com

Hello friends

Goodness me it’s been a while since I was able to speak to you directly via the Newsletter. I really do hope that this Newsletter finds you in good spirits as we begin to look around from the closed door of lockdown. These past months have certainly been a very difficult time for us and we are far from back to normal just yet.
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Over these past months, I have once again been moved at how our communities have pulled together to help one another out. The milk of human kindness stretches a long way when we are faced with such deeply troubling times. And as I see and hear of situations where neighbours and friends have gone to such great lengths to ensure those who are more vulnerable are cared for, my heart is filled with a degree of happiness.
I say a degree of happiness because I wish the difficult time had not been there in the first place. But life has a habit of throwing us in these situations from time to time, doesn’t it?
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The way we rally around and help one another shows me how God created us as inherently good at our birth. Sadly, for some people, life experiences can lead them down a path that can end up bringing more difficulties and challenges than the average person. But that does not alter my view that at the heart of all individuals, caring for others in time of need is something we all try to do.
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And then when I attend church, it is this thought that lies at the front of my mind. And it’s at those times that I give thanks to God for all that is good in the world. Starting with the kindness of individuals who are often strangers to one another, but who wish to make life that little bit easier for others. When I see these attributes in people, it leads me to have a deeper sense of God in my day to day life. Seeing the best in people, seeing how we come together in times of difficulty and try to help one another brings me that sense of wholeness and peace that I feel we all need in life.
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In recent weeks I have been talking a lot about our sense of the spiritual at church. How we find that sense of what can make us feel at peace and bring us closer to that feeling of wholeness in our lives. People, nature, music amongst many other positive things lead me to that sense of the spiritual and when I feel at my most peaceful. I’ve often said that God is in everything that is holy, good and peaceful. The only thing that can limit our awareness of God is our imagination. And then when we gather together, normally on a Sunday, we can share those moments with one another and strengthen our sense of the spiritual and the bond that exists between us all. I feel this is when our sense of God can be at its strongest. But the very nature of all that is spiritual is when it is personal to us. Because each one of us will have a unique sense of what makes us find that peace and wholeness in our life.
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So as I write this brief piece for us today, let me ask you, what is it that brings you to that place of wholeness and peace? That special place that you can go to when you feel under stress and are in need of a little spiritual refreshment. Because I do sincerely believe that we all need to have this in our lives.
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For some of us finding quiet in the midst of a busy, chaotic life can bring us a degree of calm whereas some of us have too much quiet in our lives and long for more human contact. Finding peace and that sense of wholeness is more about finding ourselves and seeking that path that brings us closer to finding our identity in life. And when we do we can often gain that sense of the spiritual in our lives.
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So as I look back over these past months I reflect upon all that has tested our resolve, that has tested our strength of character and that has created a stronger sense of community and has brought us closer together. I offer thanks to God for all those opportunities that have given us a stronger sense of the good that is within us all and has often created a stronger sense of identity within each of us. And as we journey on through life, my prayer for us all is that through that mutual support we will become stronger still and we will rediscover all that connects us with our sense of the spiritual, our sense of God. And we will find that degree of peace and wholeness that we need in our life.

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With all my love
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Rev’d Steve x