Rev James Hanson, Vicar, Burpham Church

I have always loved being in different places – but seldom loved the journey to get there. More recently in life, I am appreciating the notion of life as a journey.

Having grown up around farmland before spending twenty years in cities, I knew full-well the rules of the countryside. Always close the gate – because you would be responsible for keeping livestock inside the pen that they lived in, or keeping them out of the pen they longed to live in. When walking through countryside now, every gate I open, cross or pass by shows me the way as a key marker on the journey. It means I am entering in something new – perhaps even discovering something very exciting or challenging. It is a marker that usually tells me I am on the right path. But a gate sometimes marks a closed path in life to us. Sometimes we get a ‘no’ answer when we long to enter in, or perhaps we find it impassable owing to what life throws up at us.

In life, whenever you see a gate standing before us, it is a significant image. I will often be drawn to the image of a gate (like the picture above) – especially one where the gate has lost its purpose – seemingly erected there doing nothing because it won’t keep anything out or in. Perhaps you see the church like that – a closed gate, a pointless gate, a gate that has lost its purpose a path to nowhere – or just a shortcut to and from the primary school. We long to show you that it is far from that. Jesus described himself in John 10:7-9: “Very truly I tell you. I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture.”

In September, we are going to host our first Love St Luke’s week – beginning Monday 9th September. As you pass by the gates at either side of the churchyard, you will find people there – longing to say hello, to welcome, to show round, to listen and, where valued, to pray – to signpost to this pasture on the journey. We will hold a gazebo up near the Burpham Lane end – come and say “hi” during the day, stop for a chat. We would love to hear your thoughts – have your say especially on what the space around can do for you – as a garden / trail / prayer space.

We are open to prayer – perhaps on the journey of life you would value talking through challenges and might consider receiving prayer from trained ministers. This could be for healing, wholeness, reconciliation, anxiety or other. We are there as a group of non-judgemental listeners to share stories, listen deeply and welcome widely. The church at St Luke’s will be open for tours, services of morning and evening prayer and talks on the history of the church in the community. We would also love to partner with the community to invest in the space – both from a horticulture point of view and ecological stand point too.

The gate is fully open – everyone welcome.

Blessings, Rev James.