A message from the Rev’d Stephen Sutcliffe

Posted by Admin on 13 September 2020, 4:10 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

I do hope that this edition of the Newsletter finds you all faring well and surviving all that this pandemic can throw at us.
.
It is during times like this that we might feel drained. Especially when we look to the future and we’re not quite sure how the future will look. Will we have the Christmas that we want? When will it be possible to truly interact with one another without fear of passing on this hidden virus? When will I be able to go out with a great number of people rather than limiting the number to only a few? I could go on and on…
.
As human beings I believe we all appreciate that buzz that comes when we do things that we really enjoy. And that’s one of the reasons that this current pandemic is proving hard to manage. For many people, socialising, entertaining, going out to the cinema amongst many other things, enable people to switch off from the more mundane tasks of life. And many of these activities are currently severely restricted.
.
As the autumnal evenings draw in and the temperature begins to drop, a night in watching the telly becomes more and more attractive doesn’t it? The opportunity to watch a good film, light a few candles around the place and maybe have a sherry or something… suddenly everything seems different. A calmer place perhaps from the busyness of the day.
.
Creating the right atmosphere in which to relax and enjoy yourself can be tricky but it doesn’t have to be. I often think when we truly enjoy ourselves, when we get that buzz that we need in order to live life to the full, we need the thrill to last as long as possible.
.
I was talking to a friend the other day about how we get that buzz and how when we do, how can we sustain it so it leaves a lasting impression upon us. And the conversation turned from the buzz of life to a more spiritual buzz. A spiritual uplift that can offer you a more heightened sense of peace and well-being.
.
One of my favourite films is called ‘Meet Joe Black’ and within it, the great Anthony Hopkins talks about those moments when ‘you forget your head and you listen to your heart…’
.
He talks about ‘the whisper of a thrill…of getting swept away…of singing with rapture…’ All of these things describe to me what I would call a spiritual buzz. A spiritual uplift. An uplift that can offer us a different place in which to dwell spiritually.
.
I wonder what senses and feelings can take you to that place?
.
Yes, I know that hurtling along a rollercoaster ride can offer you that sense of buzz, well maybe when I was younger anyway! But the experience is relatively short-lived and then it’s all over and you’re looking for the next ride to take you to that place again. No I’m talking about a long term, a heightened and fulfilling sense of buzz. The kind you get when you connect spiritually with something.
.
It was some time ago that I spoke of cycling along the road towards Yarmouth near Porchfield, the sun was ahead of me, the breeze behind me (which is always a joy for any cyclist believe me!) and to my left were hundreds of trees coming into the lovely crisp green that we see in Spring. It was then that I felt the spiritual buzz that took me to a heightened sense of peace and serenity. And clearly I appreciated it more than I imagined, because I am still talking about it!
.
Discovering things about yourself, ways that you can connect to a more content, more peaceful place, enables us to sense the spiritual in our lives and then gives us that much-needed boost that we need in order to function.
.
For some people being able to sing at our church services gives them that same feeling of elation and I know many of us, myself included, can’t wait until we can sing again. Being able to undertake a wedding ceremony and witnessing the love two people have for each other also gives me that spiritual blessing and buzz. Being able to comfort someone when a loved one has died, or when someone is struggling with life, enables me to draw upon that well of serenity and peace that has been built up over time.
.
So as I draw to a close, please allow me to encourage you to find those things that give you a spiritual buzz, a spiritual blessing. That will then enable you to be better sustained in this difficult time in our history.
.
.
With much love
.
Rev’d Steve xx