Reflections
Four clergy and lay people from across our Diocesan Regions share their Synod highlights and learnings with anglican focus readers
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“The world knows John Vianney as the ‘Curé d’Ars’. He lived his entire life in a small corner of France and he never saw the sea or visited Paris. But his life was exemplary, and thousands of people visited Ars to see the holy man, to make confession of sin and to seek his counsel,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones OGS, as St John Vianney is marked in our Lectionary on 4 August
“The Ascension points both to an event in history, the last resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples, and to the purpose of Jesus’ victory on the cross, the taking of our humanity to God. However, I think that we need to face up to some problems,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones OGS
“Our prayer is only meaningful if we act with compassion. This is evident in the way that our clergy have maintained close links with people in alternative ways in the COVID-19 environment. Telephone calls, emails, mailed letters, care packages and live streaming of services and events have made a world of difference to people who have felt anxious, isolated or lonely,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones
“In ascending into heaven, Jesus completes creation, and through him all things are returning to him from whom they have taken their origin,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones OGS on Ascension Day, which is marked in our Lectionary on 21 May
“While some clergy may have shifted seamlessly into the digital church model, other clergy may be questioning their relevance and others may be trying to enhance self-worth by frantic activity. Regardless, there are going to be moments and days when clergy struggle more than at other times, and we need your prayerful support,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones
The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones reflects on the Feast Day of ‘Mary, Mother of Our Lord’, which is celebrated on 15 August: “Sometimes our iconography is unhelpful, and we can get the idea that her obedience to God’s will was easy. But I do not think that this was the case, and she who delighted in the baby of Bethlehem stood at the foot of his cross on Calvary”
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