I love to walk - mountains, streets, canal paths, beaches - it doesn’t matter where it is, I love to walk, to feel the ground beneath my feet and to be connected to the place around me.
Places matter. The communities in which we are born and raised, the playgrounds we have played in as children, the homes of friends and family we have visited, the schools and churches we have attended and the places we have worked. All are places with significance in our lives and mark important moments and times.
Places carry our memories and churches can often carry the remembrance of our relationship with God. We may have attended Sunday School, church on a Sunday, the christening, wedding or funeral of a family member or friend or have just dropped in to have a quiet moment in the middle of a busy day. We don’t need to be in a church building to talk with God or to hear from him, but often these buildings are ‘thin places’ where we can feel especially close to heaven, experiencing the peace and presence of God. Our churches are a visible symbol that the place we are in has a spiritual element to its life, identity and community, they are the beating heart of the spiritual life of the country as they have been for centuries.
For me, church buildings play an important part in our worshipping lives as Christians, but the impact and importance of a church building extends far beyond the gathering of a congregation. Our buildings allow us to share hospitality, to offer a place of sanctuary and calm or simply a place to keep warm and dry, to sit in silence, light a candle or have a cup of tea, a biscuit and a chat. They also host play groups, exercise classes, food banks, youth groups, choirs and all manner of community life. They tell at least a part of our story and our history, as places to remember loved ones, commemorate events and gather together. They are a place for everyone and all are welcome in God’s house.
At this Easter time, as you enjoy your Easter chocolate and hopefully some rest and relaxation, can I encourage you to take the opportunity to connect or reconnect with your local church, to take a moment to sit in quiet, to remember God’s never ending love for you, shown to us in the life, death and rising to new life of his son, Jesus and to look forward to new beginnings and new hope.
May you know the transforming love of God for you this Easter.
+ Sarah Shrewsbury