A message from Revd Lyn McRostie – October 2006

Posted by Admin on 8 October 2006, 12:00 am

It’s been great to meet so many people and to start to get to know you. The warmth of your generosity and hospitality has been lovely and I am starting to feel very settled. I hope that you in turn will feel able to visit me and I would like to invite you to drop in to Northwood Rectory in Chawton Lane anytime between 2pm and 5pm on Sunday 15th October. Tea, coffee and cake will be available in abundance; I’ll even have the barbecue on if you’re needing a late lunch! It would be lovely to see as many of you as would like to come. I look forward to meeting you again and chatting some more about whatever you might like to talk about.

One of the questions I’ve often been asked by people is to name my favourite book of the Bible and then to explain why. It’s a question that I find increasingly difficult to answer – the more I read and think over things the more it seems to me that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the greatest love story ever told.

But if you press me then I have to admit that I do have a soft spot for the Acts of the Apostles. It’s such an energetic book – people travelling around the Mediterranean, encountering all sorts of new experiences, joys and dangers; discovering what it means to be part of a growing church, trying to work out the meaning of what they’re learning, extending and developing their faith and bringing that faith to others.

For some reason – maybe it’s the smell of the sea air on a summer’s morning and the sight of all the boats – but I was reminded of that book as I drove along Cowes seafront, thinking about baptisms. Journeying is such a strong theme in the Christian life. We begin our formal Christian journeys with our baptism and our life of faith can take us into places we never expected to be, doing the most surprising things! I never ever thought, growing up in Adelaide, South Australia, that one day I would be living on the Isle of Wight!

The Apostle Paul discovered that and he also knew how important it was to tell his story because through that telling people came to learn and understand something of the effect of Christ in his life. In my first weeks in the parish I hope to begin to hear some of the story of your own lives, and to learn about your life together as a community. I value the warmth and generosity with which you are incorporating me into your fellowship; I have learned how much there is to celebrate in who we are and what we do – and in what we hope and dream.

Another question that has been put to me is ‘what gifts do I bring to this community?’ I would like to put that another way and ask ‘with the skills that I have, and the knowledge and experience that you possess, what could we achieve together? How can the Holy Spirit use what we have to offer in the service of the Kingdom, to continue that great story and be in our own way people of the book?’ I look forward to exploring the possibilities with you.

Yours in Christ

Lyn

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