Arthur Fery had a stunning run at Wimbledon this year.  He was a wild card entry, yet managed to reach the semi-finals.  He played with panache, and gave post-match interviews that endeared him to thousands.  The quotation (from Kipling’s poem If – ) that is on display in the Wimbledon Club House is appropriate to Fery as much as to us all:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;  

Fery might have felt on top of the world because of his triumphs – but what truly shone through was his character.  And then, after defeat in the semi-final, he might have been feeling abysmally low – but so many felt proud to have seen him in action.  Yes, triumph and disaster can blind us to deeper truths, as they swamp other more sensitive, and more important, emotions.  By all means, let’s at times get carried away with stirring emotions – provided we also have the wisdom, as the crowds disperse and the applause diminishes, to recall what is resiliently true: both God’s love for us, and our immeasurable worth.

I am writing this before we know whether the England football team will meet with triumph or disaster in their semi-final.  Quite intentionally, I wanted to put pen to paper before the result is known.  For we have already seen fine examples of sportsmanship, courage and respect from our nation’s team.  That lasts beyond any fleeting glory.

There are some lines of Kipling’s poem that I find hard to take.  But I have always valued this:

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

As I look back over 40 years of ministry as a priest in the Church of England, there are quite a few things that seem to have degenerated, rather than improved.  I wonder if you feel something similar, as you contemplate the direction our nation has taken over the last generation.  And yet ….. faithful people do not rely on improvement always happening.  We know that sometimes we have to enter into dismal seasons of breaking down, loss and frustration.  Does that stop us hoping?  No!  I am very encouraged to hear the Archbishop of Canterbury, on more than one occasion, use phrases like this: “we have to rebuild trust so that hope may grow”.  She is clearly a woman of faith, confident that what is broken can be mended, and that flowers will bloom once again.  All this will happen, relying on God’s good grace, in God’s appointed time.

Revd Bob.

Services this Sunday 19^th July

10:00am – Sung Holy Communion with Baptism – St Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

7:15pm – Generations – Vicarage Garden

The Week Ahead

Mon 20th July

9:30am – Fishponds School Y6 Rehearsal

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 21st July

10:00am – Fishponds School Y6 Final service

Wed 22th July

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thu 23rd July

9:15am –3.15pm Holiday Bible Club

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

Fri 24th July

9:15am –3.15pm Holiday Bible Club

Sat 25th July

12:00am-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St Mary’s

Sun 26th July

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

10:30am – Cafe Church, All Saints