In my life, I have attended many churches. Growing up, I attended my local parish church, St James the Great, Manston in Leeds. When I went to university in Bristol, I attended St Paul’s Clifton, where the Anglican chaplaincy was based. On leaving university and moving to Bishopston, I attended St Michael’s. After we got married and moved to Fishponds, we attended All Saints. During my assignment in the United States, We attended St Stephen’s, Boise. 

Each of these churches had its own character shaped by its tradition, its congregation and its location. Each contributed in its own way to the development of my faith. Each one was, for a time, my spiritual home. 

However, faith is not static, and a time comes to take the next step in the pilgrimage of life.  My wife, Diane has been exploring a role as a community chaplain based at St John’s church on Lodge Causeway. For the past few months, I have been sharing my time between St John’s and All Saints and St Mary’s. From October I will be based At St John’s full time. Over the coming months, I will work out the pattern of my ministry there and in the wider Kingsway Benefice. My last service at All Saints, for the time being at least, will be the Harvest Festival on the 4th of October.

All our earthly homes are temporary. Whether they are our family homes, our workplaces or our church congregations. In the end, our only true home is in Christ. In chapter 15 of the Gospel according to John, Jesus tells the disciples to abide, dwell, make their home in him. He tells them to abide in his love and let his words abide in them. It is this dwelling in Christ that enables us to bear fruit that will last.  Wherever else we may be, we are at home when we abide in Christ. We will be looking at this passage in more detail and at what it says about “home” in Café Church this Sunday at All Saints. 

St Mary’s have their Harvest Festival this Sunday and there is Holy Communion at All Saints at 8.00 am. This gives the following services for this Sunday:

8:00 am	All Saints	Holy Communion (said)
10:00 am	St Mary’s	Harvest Celebration with Holy Communion
10:30 am	All Saints	Café Church

We have our usual pattern of services this week. Next Sunday is a first Sunday of the month, so there is Creative Church at 10:00 am and Evensong at 6:30 pm at St Mary’s. The Service at All Saints is the Harvest Festival. This will be a communion service with Junior Church. This gives the following services for the coming week:

Wednesday 30th September	9:00 am	All Saints	Celtic Morning Prayer
Thursday 1st October	10:00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
Sunday 4th October	10:00 am	St Mary’s	Creative Church
	10:30 am	All Saints	Harvest Holy Communion with Junior Church
	6:30 pm	St Mary’s	Evensong

So let us pray that we may find our home in Christ, using a collect inspired by the words of Augustine of Hippo and the command of Christ to abide in him:

Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
Amen

Yours in Christ

Mark