Vicars Letter 11th April 2025

Rev Guy Benton

 

Kia ora All Saints

Recently, the kids and I have been using Lectio for Families for our daily rhythm of prayer together, which has been fantastic. It is a compelling way to engage kids in prayer and scripture.

Something that has caught my attention in this new rhythm is the powerful impact of scripture memorization, not only for the kids but for myself;

I think of Joshua 1:8a "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it", and Colossians 3:16 ""Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

We can sometimes fall into a zone of thinking we have moved past memorizing scripture or that that reeks of old school! I have had several conversations this week with others who declared scripture reading/memorization powerful to knowing who God is and who they are in Christ.

This weeks memory verse during daily prayer is James 5:13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
What a beautiful reminder of where we turn in all situations, if we are struggling or in trouble, which from time to time we are all in at differing levels, or if we are happy and celebrating, let us turn to the Lord! a reminder that in all situations the Lord is the place we go.

As we look towards Easter next week, may we walk that road together through the trouble and sadness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and may we gather together on Easter Sunday to celebrate and rejoice the risen Jesus.

A couple of reminders from me,

• There is a light meal before the Maundy Thursday service from 5:45 pm. Our lovely Ginny is preparing and hosting this.
• AED fundraiser, our young adults have encouraged and challenged us to put an external AED machine at All Saints; if you are motivated to give towards this, please feel free to donate via online banking or EFTPOS and reference AED

Much love to you all,