Wow, what a year we have had at Reigate Park! Looking back, it’s been an eventful, joyous and busy year and as we move into December perhaps it’s time to just stop for a moment and look back over our year both at Reigate Park and as individuals.
Here are just a few reminders of what has happened during the year at Reigate Park:
• Joined together with Banstead, Dorking and Redhill URCs as a Four Church Pastorate
• Called and welcomed a new Minister and her family to our Pastorate
• Welcomed new families to Reigate Park
• Welcomed people into Membership
• Baptisms
• A wedding
• Awarded the Children & Youth Friendly Church Award
• Gained the Silver level of the Eco Church Award
• Easter, Harvest and Remembrance Sunday Services
• Reigate Park and Coco’s Trip to South Africa
It’s quite a list, isn’t it, with probably some things missed out - and we haven’t reached the end of the year yet!
As I write this, we have just had our Remembrance Day Services at Reigate Park and South Park War Memorial. I then led a Remembrance Service at Beaumont Nursing Home where I displayed the following items and gave them explanations:
• A Handkerchief – once upon a time people used to tie a knot in their handkerchief to remind them to do something
• An Elephant – the saying, ‘an elephant never forgets’
• A Flower – it’s a forget-me-not and is the logo of Alzheimer’s Society
• A Shopping / To-do list – a reminder of the things you need to buy/do
• A Birthday card – remembering and celebrating someone’s birth
• A Loaf of bread – Jesus commanded us to remember him in the breaking of bread on the night of the Last Supper, when he celebrated the Passover with his disciples.
• A Poppy – reminding and remembering with gratitude all the lives lost in war.
Memory is an important theme in the Bible too. We are called to remember the great things God has done but also to look forward to the things He will do, in and through us in the future.
In the story of the widow in Mark 12: 41-44, Jesus said of the widow, ‘she gave everything that she had’. She gave her all!
As we look to the future, is God calling us to serve him in a particular way and are we ready “to give our all”? We may not know what He is calling us to do but just remember that God’s time is always right, He will let us know what it is He wants of us and will give us the strength to cope with whatever He has in store for us.
So, in the busyness of Christmas preparations, I invite you to find somewhere quiet and make time to reflect on the year that is coming to a close and prepare yourself for the year to come and what lies ahead.
May the light of Christ shine in your darkness
May the love of the Creator, made present in the child of Bethlehem,
bless you with joy, hope and peace, this Christmas and always.
Amen
With every blessing to you and your families and friends this Christmas and New Year
Sue Knight - Local Church Leader
Taken from the December 2024 / January 2025 Edition of The Record.