Dear friends,

As I was going up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd stay away.

This little verse, called 'The Psychoed', by Hughes Mearns illustrates something of the dilemma that many people feel today towards God.

One half of us find it difficult to believe in God because of the cynical and sceptical age in which we live, but the other half is intrigued by the
possibility that he really might exist. One half of us seems to be searching for him in real and personal terms, but the other half clings to our prized
independence and has no wish for God to interfere.

At one moment we want to find God, and at the next we are anxious to flee from him. We protest violently that we want to be left alone, and yet the
very thing we most fear is the dreadful possibility of being left alone. Perhaps because of this, despite the fact that our age is marked by increasing
materialism, the craving for more money, the pursuit of more possessions, there is still this strange spiritual hunger in the heart of each one of us.

We live, however, in an age where the popular image of the Church is not marked by vitality or relevance (to say the least), and where the impact of
the media stimulates purely materialistic values here and now. Yet there is still this unquestionable search for some kind of spiritual reality that is
greater than ourselves and that will lift us out of ourselves to what is real and true.

It is our challenge as God’s people to reach out to others in this dilemma - perhaps to step out of our own comfort zone to do so. Certainly to remember
Archbishop Temple's reminder that:
"The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members".

This autumn - What sacrifices are we making to reach out to our friends and neighbours?

      Best wishes,

Duncan

The Revd. Duncan Carter