Christ Church Moreton Hall

The General Election is over and we now know who won and who didn't. Congratulations to the winners and commiserations with the losers. Well done all of you, it is good that people want to take part in public life in such a way. It is easy to moan and complain, it is much harder to try to find solutions.

However, the thing that dominated the election campaign for me was the volcano, although Steve Davis winning matches at The Crucible was wonderful. The volcano reminded me of a number of things. First, that despite the economic superiority of Britain and Europe over most of the world, forces outside our control can bring us to a standstill. Perhaps this is a lesson for our new political leaders.

The second thing that struck me was how wedded we are to cheap flights. The horrendous stories of returning from the continent, which a number of my friends came back to tell me about, show that any idea that we are going to give up large scale public use of jet aircraft in the future is completely unlikely. The sheer cost in time and money of the alternatives means that jet travel as we know it is with us for the rest of my lifetime and probably my children's as well.

In March we think of many things but I suppose most of us will be aware that as the chocolate eggs are now in the shops, Easter is not far away. As part of the preparation for Easter this year all the churches have come together to put on a special event called Passion for Life. You will see from the posters across the town that there is not one event but a whole series staged in different churches, covering different topics and activities. Jesus said: “I have come that you might have life and life in all its fullness”. So to celebrate the life that Jesus has come to give us, the churches have taken this opportunity to put on a series of interesting meetings to explain what they mean and how this bigger, better, new life can be accessed by us all. Please try to find time to attend and, if you live on the Moreton Hall estate, perhaps you might like to come to the special Wine and Wisdom evening we are holding on Friday 19th March at 7:30PM.

March is also the time we set time aside to say a special thank you to our mothers. Motherhood has become a deeply complex and demanding issue these days, so it is good to say thank you for all those women who give up so much of their lives to be good mothers. We also remember those who would have liked to have children but could not. They need our love and support too. So why not join us on the March 21st in the morning when we give a gift of posies to all those who have given so much to us

Once again we find ourselves in January with Christmas behind us and a whole new year ahead of us. We may be able to look back over 2009 with affection and see real personal triumphs and victories and perhaps even some of our New Year's resolutions kept. We are now fitter, thinner, better read and enjoying many more happy relationships.

Sunday Services taking place as usual
There have been reports about some Churches that are considering cancelling services because of the extreme weather.
At Christ Church, we are happy to report that we will be continuing to offer a full set of services. So for those of you brave enough to venture outside, you can be confident that you will find a nice, warm open Church at the end of your journey!

Keeping an eye on the vulnerable during cold weather
The Community Police are asking that we look out for any people who may be vulnerable because of the extended cold weather we are currently experiencing.

If you are aware of anyone who may be in need of help, please ring the Suffolk Council cold weather hotline.
The phone number is: 08456 037686.

Links: Suffolk Police, Suffolk Council, BBC, East Anglian Daily Times

As we go to press, our minds are full with the stories of the people who have survived the floods at Cumbria. It is very sad that there has been loss of life and the damage to the infra structure of that part of Britain will take years to replace. If that amount of rain had fallen in most other countries of the world, it would have killed many more, washing away entire communities. I would like to think that these last few days have been something of a miracle. We must also pay tribute to the hard work done by local authorities and community builders who have constructed such robust communities of both buildings and people.

The best evidence of a strong community is how they help each other when they are in need. That is why at our Christingle service we will be supporting the Children's Society that looks after desperate youngsters in the UK. We will also be taking part in the Blue Peter appeal for T-Shirts and have set ourselves the target of 150 of these to help those people in India who need them. Finally, we will be collecting money to send to the Cumbria relief fund to support the people there.