September for me comes full of hope, new beginnings and opportunities but accompanying that I also carry a dollop of trepidation!

Perhaps this is as a result of my many years as a mother; soothing school nerves and worries as I prepared my children for their first day back at the start of a new term or a new school. Perhaps it also reminds me of my years as a school chaplain when I would need my own nerves soothed!

With new beginnings, with change, there is always an element of anxiety as we step into the unknown – after all we all like to feel in control!

As I look out across our churches and our community I wonder what this new academic year will bring; what changes and challenges we will face. But as I wonder and dream I am filled with a sense of purpose and hope. Whatever is ahead we have a God who goes before us, a God who walks with us and, if we allow it, a God who works within us. I love this amazing picture of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, it reminds me that God has the whole world in his hands, that whatever we are facing, God has got it, he has got us.

So as we embrace September let us remember Jesus’ words,

“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.” Matthew 11:28-30