Your Secret Life

It's the season for church Annual Meetings. We got off to a great start at Bridekirk last Tuesday, with a number of things to 'celebrate' from the past year. These included

• a new all-age service monthly
• increase in numbers of children and young families - the school connection
• a large crib service at Christmas
• growing confidence of young people
• the 'Conversations', led by our curate, John
• revival of bell ringing
• the Explorers Club in school
• the start of Youth Alpha
• the hospitality of Bridekirk for a number of Team events, such as Worship4Today, marriage preparation, AgeUk lunch club and baby club

I have a sense of St Bridget's recovering its birthright as a monastic foundation - only in the modern sense - with prayer, learning and hospitality to the fore. We have two more annual meetings tomorrow (Sunday) and another on Tuesday. Then the 'big one' - for the whole parish - at a local hotel at the end of April.

Meanwhile, we move on with the formation of our new Mission Community. We have a number of building blocks now in place, and an open meeting on 30th to share these with the wider churches. There is a real sense of growth in the air, thanks be to God.

Tomorrow, Matthew 6.1-18 - part 3 of the Sermon on the Mount. Last week's passage ended with the exhortation to 'be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.' On reflection, I think this has the sense of becoming perfect, since it is the result of our growing, deepening relationship with our heavenly Father. It's as if Jesus now says, 'and here's how' - by naming 3 practices by which we grow towards perfection. These are giving, praying and fasting, the result of which, respectively is our growing in generosity, forgiveness, and joyfulness.

If we want to change the world, says Jesus, don't start with some programme or religious practices to impress. Start in the secret place: we have to be the change before we can see the change.