Anticipation and new beginnings

  September has always been one of my favourite months because it has always been a month full of anticipation of the new things about to happen.
  The source of this anticipation comes from the memory of going back to school at the start of the new academic year.
  You may remember buying new pens and pencils, erasers and sharpeners in readiness for going into a new 'older' and more ‘grown up’ class at school.  You may even have had to make the journey to the shops with children for those all important 'back to school' items this year.
  September was always a month in which, as a young person, you knew that you were growing up, as you faced the new term with new shoes, new class and maybe even a new school!  Ah!  The anticipation!
  Alongside that anticipation, there was perhaps a little anxiety.  It is the sort of anxiety caused by worry about what the teachers would be like, how difficult the exams might be and so on.
  So I hope that, over the next few weeks, as our children and young people settle down into a new school year - particularly if they are moving school or going away or returning to university - we will remember them in our prayers and encourage them through both their anticipation and anxiety.
  But even for those of us who are well past school and college days, September is an equally exciting time as we contemplate the restart of the church's programme of activities.
  We, too, have much to anticipate as we prepare to enjoy the challenges of a new term through which God will give us opportunities to grow in our love and knowledge of him. Cardinal Newman once said: “Growth is the only evidence of life.”
  September is the month in which we can renew our commitment to the growth in our spiritual lives and our church in faithful anticipation.
  We need to be opening our hearts and sharpening our minds (if not our pencils) as we prepare to experience what God has planned for us.  We need to be ready to learn new things, to be willing to serve in new ways, as we seek to fulfil our vision in which we commit ourselves, as a church, to 'grow together in an ever deepening Christian faith led by the Holy Spirit'
  We have new sermon series, new midweek programmes and a new hymn book - all of which will help us to build on our experience of faith and God's grace even more.  This may be just the time of year to think about how you are going to be involved or respond to these opportunities.
  Through his prophet, Ezekiel, God promised his people that 'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you...' (Ezekiel 36:26a).  That is well worth anticipating.

by Graham Clarke.