New Beginnings

September 14, 2023| Past Issues, Burpham Church, Editorial

Jane Agg, Churchwarden

At the start of September approximately 1,200 children* living in Burpham will return to, or start at, school, college or preschool. Over the summer they will have cleared last year’s books and projects from their school bags and been kitted out with new school uniforms.

In school the premises team will have been busy with maintenance and the teachers will have put a new set of names on the coat pegs and refreshed their classrooms, ready for a new school year and new classes. September is a time of new beginnings.

Here at Burpham Church we too had a clear up and refresh over the summer. The biggest project was when our church car park was resurfaced, to be ready we had to clear away items that had been put there temporarily and overstayed their welcome. It can be very satisfying to have a clear out especially when someone else wants exactly the item you no longer need. We’ve learnt that it is always worth putting items on Freecycle, our junk is another person’s treasure! Even our stack of pallets were wanted by someone else.

This clearing out of the past and starting afresh can apply to more than just the physical clutter in our lives. We all have things that we regret, things that we said or did, or didn’t say or didn’t do. Remembering these can be like a weight on us, but if we take these regrets to God he will lift them from us. God’s promise in the Bible is an encouragement that we can leave the past behind and have a new start. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Isaiah 43:18 & 19. Maybe this September could be your time to clear out the regrets of the past as well as the physical clutter of the past year. Time for that new beginning.

As the children go back to school we invite you to come back to church, or join us for the first time. You will have a warm welcome. We have services at Church of the Holy Spirit, New Inn Lane every Sunday. Our regular pattern of services resumes on 10th September.