Newsletter 19th October: It's nice to be home

On our recent holiday we have been able to indulge our love of history by visiting ancient monuments, castles, cathedrals, palaces, churches and historical pageants. We have certainly seen some spectacular sights and have sat absorbed for over two hours late at night by Le Puy du Fou near Cholet.

Yet I like going into churches for their tranquillity and stillness. Three stick in my mind. The first, in St Marti d’Empuries, Spain, was very old dating back hundreds of years but it was also in superb condition. The bare stone walls were not of dressed stone but they gave a friendly feel to the church. It was very light, because of numerous electric lights, and beautifully cared for. We managed to sneak in just before a wedding and it was stunning.

The second was a Church in Albert in the Somme which was very large and surmounted by a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. This church was only built in the late nineteenth century and before it was twenty five years old it had been largely destroyed. Yet it had been rebuilt and restored with love and care.

The final one was the imposing and highly decorated Cathedral at Amiens. It is an extremely large building with amazing carvings in wood and in stone. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this church. (To modern tastes some of its features are really over the top). Its building was certainly a long term commitment – it took over 300 years to finish.

However, I have to say that it’s nice to be back at St Martin’s. It’s a lovely church with the imposing “A” frame shape and the impressive end wall carving, but what is more important the building is light and friendly on the inside. (The people aren’t bad either.) As we approach St Martin’s half centenary we know we face problems with the building but I’m sure that our congregation is no less committed than the congregations of the other churches I’ve mentioned and that by working together we can succeed to carry out all the work needed and ensure our church lasts as long as these others,

Churches are built to glorify God and if He is with us we can achieve anything.

God bless

John