3rd May 2026
A Sense of Place 2
As promised, last Saturday afternoon, in glorious April sunshine, I did beat the bounds of the parish (though drew short of attempting a land grab from our neighbours!). In a perimeter walk of just over 5 miles, I was struck, as I always am, by the sheer diversity of the parish. The figures tell us that we are in the top 25% of the Church of England's deprivation index, but the over 13000 inhabitants of the parish live in social housing, large, expensive detached houses, and pretty much everything in between. In addition to this, I walked through two industrial estates, one on each side of the railway line, and four parks. I passed all six of our schools and quite a few shops, cafes and restaurants. As I walked, I prayed that the presence of the risen Jesus would bring blessing to all who live and work in our parish over the coming months.
One thing I have noticed as I've dwelt in the resurrection narratives over the past few weeks is how the risen Jesus has a habit of simply turning up in a familiar place and changing the narrative. From astounding the disciples by appearing through locked doors in the upper room, to joining Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus, to standing on the shoreline of Lake Galilee, in each story it is the presence of Jesus that makes the difference - long before the disciples' brains catch up and they recognise him. In the upper room, in Luke 24, Jesus' presence changes the emotions of the disciples, from sadness and fear to joy and amazement. On the road to Emmaus, dashed hopes and disappointment turns to new purpose and excitement. By Lake Galilee, a night of fishing and catching nothing turns to an abundance. And, later, in conversation with Jesus, Peter finds himself forgiven, rehabilitated and restored - from the one who denied Jesus, to the one called to lead the nascent church.
To serve a parish as large, vibrant and diverse as ours is a huge responsibility - but, like the disciples before us, we can trust that this responsibility is not ours alone. We can trust that the risen Jesus, by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on those first disciples, is already present in our parish as he was in the upper room, on the road to Emmaus, at the lakeside. We can trust that he is already working to change the narrative, turning sadness and fear to joy and amazement, disappointment and ruined hopes to new purpose, lack to abundance, guilt and shame to forgiveness and restoration. Our task, as "witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48) is to notice, to recognise the presence and work of our risen Lord, and to join in with that work. As we approach our APCM in the light of the Resurrection, we give thanks for the presence of our risen Lord among us over this past year, and we look for where and how he is calling us to join in over the next.
