All our churches will be celebrating the Eucharist at normal times this Sunday. Note that Albir will be at the new regular time of 09.30.

In all our churches we are committed to abide by the regulations; sanitation, social distancing, mask wearing and personal sanitising on entry. We continue to keep a record of attendees for track and trace purposes if needed.

For everyone unready, or unable to attend a service Fr. Rodney and Fr. Robin will be broadcasting their now regular communion service on Fr. Rodney’s Facebook page. It will be “streamed” live on Sunday at 10am Spanish time (9am GMT) and then available all day from 11am, to join at your leisure. As always both the live broadcast and the recording will be available on the following page – https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940.

Do, please continue to take care and respect the rules. The outbreaks that still happen are almost all the result of “pushing the boundaries” and stretching the rules. Keep safe.

Thursday Offering from Fr Marcus 11^th March 2021

My Dear Friends,
We are close to half way through Lent, and on part 7 of our path to Inner Peace, and I wonder if anything is happening in your heart and mind and soul. Is your Inner Peace any closer?

We have said constantly that this is a process, and it will take time and energy and effort, but for some it may feel as if nothing is happening.

When that is the case for me, I use the trick that St Augustine taught about the way that we read the scriptures.
Put simply, we read the passage out loud, and reflect on it. Then we read it again imagining that we are part of the story – actively involved. Then after more reflection, we read it again, and say to yourself ‘What am I going to do about this piece of divinely inspired scripture that has been given to me?’ What affect has this had on me, and if it has had no affect, then why not?

It just so happens that this week, which is of course Mothering Sunday, our reading is as follows:

Colossians 3.12-17
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

This is such a powerful piece, and it becomes so personal when we change the fourth word from ones to one!
God is speaking directly to you as his chosen one, and you are holey and loved. (There is a beautiful song I play on the radio by Rhodes. I had the pleasure of conducting his wedding a couple of years ago, and it is called HOLY, standing for ‘High on love for you’ It makes me think that God is excited by his love for us)

Then you are reminded to clothe yourself with a list of those beautiful attributes. Often our choice of clothes is part of the expression of our inner self, particularly if we have taken time to decide what to wear. Compassion, kindness, humility meekness and patience. Do these reflect something of your inner nature? 

If we are struggling with this, it sometimes helps to receive them as a gift, or allow them to blossom as a fruit rather than to strive too hard to achieve them. They are inside, and you know that. It is only your ego that stops them flourishing.

Then we are called to bear with one another, which I love. We gain most when we put up with people’s differences, and learn from them.
I just love this concept of forgiveness, that immediately it is mutual. ‘Forgive each other’. You might be holy and beloved, but that does not mean you don’t need to forgive and be forgiven.
We come back to the clothing imagery, and you are called to clothe yourself with love – this is the very heart of the Gospel, and if we are to find Inner Peace, then we have to take this calling seriously. It is harder to continue to be angry with our friend who we think has wronged us than it is to forgive them and love them. It goes against our Christian nature. Remember last time we were exploring what we need to let go of.

This passage gets better and better. You are called to let the peace of Christ rule your heart. To allow the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to guide you and to gift you that peace which has been so elusive. Let it reign within you. Let it flow. Love is lovely let it grow. (A line from Eric Clapton’s ‘Let it grow.’)

If that is not enough, we are called in our fellowship to be one body, and the question is ‘Are you doing anything to fragment that body, or are you using your God given gifts to build it up? That is a very real question, and it is directly asked of you.

Sometimes we are called to reflect on the unintended consequences of our conduct. Can what I have done be misconstrued in any way? Is my attitude or behaviour possibly seen as a stumbling  block for others? Do I always get it right? Am I always Right? Do I need to change? Do I need to apologise – unconditionally, without any justifying or ‘buts’’?

Our passage leads us then to be Thankful. We have received the gifts and presence and love of God. We have put on those beautiful virtues which become our second nature, and our response is to recognise that we are in tune with the will of God, and our response to that is Thanksgiving! It is Bliss. It is Inner Peace. And it will lead us to burst onto song. So much so that you wake up happy, with a song in your heart.

The final sentence is the most powerful. Whatever you do – that includes all of your thoughts, attitudes and actions – everything – is to be done in the name of the Lord. 
If we are endeavouring to walk the path towards Inner Peace this will come. But if we are hanging on to hurt or bitterness or anger or are seeking or wishing for revenge, then we will finds this hard. But help is at hand, we take a step back, read our passage again and think to ourselves what is it saying to me about my life now?

We go on to more thanksgiving.

This passage is some of the most powerful teaching in Holy Scripture. It will lead us to a state of Grace and Bliss if we allow it, and where necessary it will change our lives if we let it.

The choice is yours.

I wish you Peace. I wish you Joy. I wish you Grace, and I wish you Bliss.
They are all freely given to you by the God who loves you, and calls you by your name.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you,
As Ever

Fr Marcus

Click the link to view the latest video from Fr. Marcus – https://youtu.be/H5yzGMRETYI

Tuesday Offering from Fr Marcus 9^th March 2021

Good Morning My Friends,

How are you feeling?
Did you wake up grumpy, or did you let them sleep?

I woke up with a song in my head, and it just happens to fit our theme:

One more step along the world I go,
one more step along the world I go.
From the old things to the new
keep me travelling along with you.

And it’s from the old
I travel to the new,
keep me travelling
along with you.

It is to do with our theme as it is about the journey being taken step by step, but not alone.

Instant Inner Peace is never going to happen, neither is instant reconciliation. There is always a process, a journey, and by the very nature of what we are discussing, things need to change.

I wonder if you have managed to reflect a little on the process you are going through to find that peace, and / or to either seek reconciliation, or move towards being ready for it.
As I have said a few times, this is not an easy process, and we will each go at our own pace.

Part of the reason why it is sometimes difficult to seek reconciliation is that we want to hang on to the feelings we have experienced in our sub conscience. Without thinking, we may feel as if we have a certain status in being the wronged party. Feeling hurt is possibly better than feeling nothing. We have some significance, and there is an inbuilt desire within us to seek justice. Whatever that is. If justice is not forthcoming, then our ego can hang on to the feeling that not only have we been hurt, but we still need some recompense. These feelings can expand and solidify, so much that we may find it hard to either process them, or move on from them. If left alone these feelings can grow out of all proportion and they can begin to define our personality. This in turn will be a stumbling block in our path towards Inner Peace or Reconciliation.

But our lovely hymn reminds us that we don’t need to deal with this alone.
‘keep me travelling along with you.’

I remember a particular service we held at Shoreham Beach as part of a course in Spiritual Growth we were doing. People arrived at church, and were given a beautiful red rose. As they entered, a life sized cross had been erected in the centre of the church, and the seats arranged around it.
The priest leading the service spoke about the need to let go of the things that got in the way of our relationship with God, and went on to describe The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Our church was The Good Shepherd.

He went on to say that our roses represented our sins. We keep repeating the same sins because deep down we like them, otherwise we would easily give them up.
He unpacked something of the issues to do with selfishness, greed, prejudice and being closed minded.
He then suggested that we reflect for a while, and when ready go and place our sins (roses) at the foot of the cross, handing them over to Jesus.
There was silence for quite a long time, and then one by one people got up and approached the cross. People did very different things. Some seemed very reluctant to let go of their roses, others placed them very reverently, some threw them down aggressively and one person screwed up the flower, tore it to pieces and flung it at the foot of the cross.
The whole thing was really powerful, and it indicated how hard it is to let go of things we know we should let go of. In reality, everyone found it incredibly liberating, naming silently to themselves those things they wanted to release from themselves.

So, maybe we have come to the time on our journey where we need to be honest about what we need to let go of. And to hand them over to Jesus because he will take them freely, and in exchange welcome us closer so that we can receive his gift of peace.

Again this can be hard, for the things we hang on to are a bit like our treasure, and remember the story of the rich young ruler.

I want to close with s Camino story.

Two pilgrims were walking along the path, and saw a young lady in her early 20s paused where the steam crossed the path. The stream and surrounding area was very muddy, and on enquiring the young lady said she didn’t want to get wet or muddy.

The older of the two pilgrims said he would carry her across. He took off his shoes and socks, put his rucksack on his front, so he could put her on his back, and he started to carry her across. She shouted at him that it was uncomfortable, that she was being splashed, that he should be more careful, that he was taking too long and that it was undignified.
When they reached the other side, he bent lower to put her down, and his water bottle fell out of his side pocket on his rucksack, and as she got down she trod on it, breaking it and losing his clean water. But rather than thank him or apologise she just stormed off in a huff, leaving him with muddy feet and no clean water to wash them.

So, he managed to somehow clean them up and put his boots back on, all the while his companion was saying how much he couldn’t believe the attitude of the young lady.
They carried on along the path, and our pilgrim’s companion kept bringing up his anger towards the young lady.

After what seems like a very long time our pilgrim said to his companion,

‘Listen my friend, I have no ability to control the actions of others, I can only control my own. I gave that lady a lift two hours ago, then I put her down. Why are you still carrying her?’

Maybe it is time for us to
 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt 11

One day, one step at a time.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you,

As ever,

Fr Marcus

Diana Pringle, Chaplaincy Warden, has just received the following, covering the Denia Hospital district. It is sure that the same applies elsewhere in the Valencia Community –

With the partial lifting of Covid restrictions all our churches will be celebrating the Eucharist at normal times this Sunday. Note that Albir will be at the new regular time of 09.30.

In all our churches we are committed to abide by the regulations; sanitation, social distancing, mask wearing and personal sanitising on entry. We continue to keep a record of attendees for track and trace purposes if needed.

For everyone unready, or unable to attend a service Fr. Rodney and Fr. Robin will be broadcasting their now regular communion service on Fr. Rodney’s Facebook page. It will be “streamed” live on Saturday (today) at 7pm Spanish time (6pm GMT) and then available all day on Sunday, to join at your leisure. As always both the live broadcast and the recording will be available on the following page – https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940.

Do, please continue to take care and respect the rules. The outbreaks that still happen are almost all the result of “pushing the boundaries” and stretching the rules. Keep safe.

Here is the link for the video recording of today’s special service for World Day of Prayer –

You may also find the following update on the situation for long-stay non-residents here in Spain a helpful read –

“Following on from the Gibraltar Open Forum this morning I felt it important to write to you to highlight a particular issue that is arising for some of our people, those who would probably understand themselves as ‘swallows’. By this I mean those who perhaps have a holiday home in this part of Europe and come out here for any length of time on what is seen as a temporary basis.

In the Open Forum we were told of people who perhaps have been here for some time, since before the New Year at least, maybe because of travel restrictions due to CV19 or for more immediately personal reasons. It seems that if they have been here continuously since the beginning of 2021, the 31^st March represents the 90 day limit that is now permitted given that any of us may be UK citizens. This will apply to people who are not in possession of a residence card or equivalent.

There is the risk that after the 31^st March a €3,000 fine can be applied to a person who overstays. In addition, when such a person does then leave, their passport will be marked with a stamp saying that they are an ‘over-stayer’ and that may mean that they are then refused entry again for the following five years.

The speaker at the Open Forum was from a Spanish Chaplaincy.

You may wish to advise anyone in this sort of situation.”

Thursday Offering from Fr Marcus 4th March 2021

Mt Dear Friends,

As we continue on our path to Inner Peace we now approach the really tough stuff. 
What do we do when we are hurting because of the words or actions of others? Particularly when we feel as if their attitude has not changed, and we continue to be hurt by their actions.

This really is tough, and I really don’t want to trivialise it, so let me begin by saying these experiences are real, the consequences are important and can be extremely hurtful, and can cause untold distress, anxiety, pain, loss of confidence and indeed the breakup of relationships.
So dealing with them is never going to be simple – but it is possible to still find an Inner Peace.
So we need to talk about reconciliation, which by its nature is never going to be easy.
Some people are not ready for it, some don’t want to revisit the hurt, some don’t believe it is possible, some don’t trust those who are involved, some are very defensive, and all are in pain. There is so much going on, that the more we think about it, the further away from Inner Peace we feel. And yet, Jesus constantly offers us the gift of peace. 
John 14:27 
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

So, what do we do?

Let me give you a scenario which could happen anywhere, and frequently does.
A group of friends spend a long time getting on, and all is well. Then some external event happens (Political, social, to do with health, religion, sport, family, money – it could be anything) and different people within the group respond in different ways. Before you know it there are divisions, factions, arguments, people taking sides, hurtful comments and untold pain being caused. (Just look at the issues within church circles that caused so much pain when the talk was of Women Priests, or Marriage of divorcees, or Same sex relationships and marriage to name but a few. And don’t get me started on Brexit or Freedom of movement.)
So, in our scenario, friends have fallen out, are not really speaking and are all feeling hurt. What should they do?

Firstly, it is not easy, and sometimes the best starting point is to take a step back and create a little space. In that space take time to reflect on Healing and Reconciliation rather than digging in, and consolidation ones anger.
Reflect on the following quotes until you are ready to at least contemplate reconciliation. It may take a while – indeed it may take ages.

2 Corinthians 5:19 
That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Ephesians 4:32 
Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Matthew 5:24 
Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Perhaps we need to spend some time discerning what Reconciliation is, and what it is not.
Most importantly it is not about winning, it is not about the strongest or most powerful getting their way, it is not about everyone having the same opinions, it is not about bullying people into submission, or wearing them down.
It is about the ability to accept that we are all made in the image of God in that like God we are unique.
God loves those who are different from us as much as he loves us.
Probably nothing is Black and White, and different opinions are valid and valued.
Indeed Paul in Romans 4 states  ^‘However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 
Reconciliation is about getting on and learning to trust. It is about recognising diversity, peace and good will.
Mainly it is about having real conversation, which means speaking from the heart, but not trying to win.
When Jesus told his parables, he did so to make a point, and allowed his hearers to discern how they were going to respond to this new wisdom. Jesus didn’t argue his case, in fact when questioned he was always gracious and calm.
Whose head is this on the coin? Render unto Caesar that which is Cease’s, and unto God that which is God’s.
And again, He who is without sin cast the first stone.
This ability to have a good conversation in which no one is trying to win takes a good deal of spiritual maturity.

It is with all this in mind that we take time to reflect, and wonder if we are ready for reconciliation.
This is of course best if all parties are involved in the process, and again sometimes this is really difficult to manage. Maybe even impossible. But nothing is impossible with God.

Once we are at a place when we can at least contemplate reconciliation, it is good to talk. But the conversation is not so much about making your case as expressing your feelings.
I felt hurt when you didn’t listen to me.
I found it hard when you excluded me from the discussion.
I feel as if you don’t trust me any more.

These statements are not discussion points, and are not about setting a scene that folk have to defend. They are expressions of how we feel / felt.

This really is not a game of ‘He said vs She said’ and some sort of point scoring, but rather a shared recognition of the hurt that particular actions has caused. 
It is about being heard, and it is about listening, and it is not about being defensive or judging. 

One of the worst things that human beings are capable of is lumping ‘Others’ into a group, and blaming them for all our woes. We know where that leads.

In a similar way, it is hard when we are not able to see that some of the issues that we are dealing with may be a reflection of ourselves as well.
Jesus had this to say.

Matthew 7:1-5

 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

So, our conversation that leads to reconciliation is really a sharing of our feelings full stop.
We express what it is like to be us at the moment, and we hear what it is like to be our brother or sister, and we then again take time to reflect.

The ideal scenario is that this leads to a genuine desire to be at peace with one another, to forgive one another and to completely leave the pain behind.
‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ said Jesus as they were nailing him to the cross. Surely we can find it within ourselves to forgive and be forgiven.

Next week we continue with this process. In the meantime please join me in praying for Peace and Reconciliation wherever it is needed.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you,

Fr Marcus

Here is the link for the new video from Fr. Marcus – https://youtu.be/K5r7YQVzdJg

Tuesday Offering from Fr Marcus 2^nd March 2021

My Dear Friends,

We have been exploring the path to Inner Peace and have looked at what it may be, and the things that might get in the way.
Today we start the very difficult process of thinking about what we are going to do about it, and possibly changing our attitude.

For many of us, our default feeling is that external events have a significant bearing on how we feel.
When things are tough it gets to us, and we feel down.

I have certainly come across many people recently who are finding it really hard to cope with the consequences of this pandemic. They have very real feelings of sadness and depression because things beyond their control mean that they are separated from loved ones, and they have no idea when things will get back to any stage of normality.

These feelings are very real, and please don’t think I am trying to suggest that they are trivial. But I do think there are ways for us to feel at peace even when all sorts of things conspire against us.

Let me give you an example from Acts 16. 22…

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Paul and Silas had been physically beaten severely, arrested and put in the stocks in prison. All things out of their control and they had little hope of any sense of a fair trial or justice. So what did they do? They prayed and sang hymns!
How brilliant is that! I would have been panicking and worrying and crying and complaining, but they were able to hold on to their composure and to see beyond their immediate predicament.
I am always amazed when I read this story, and it reminds me of how much I fall short.
But it also reminds me that ‘Outside factors’ do not have to have control over my innermost feelings.
The truth is that it is not the responsibility of others to generate our joy. And it is not the fault of others every time we feel glum.

Let me give you an example and a few scenarios.

I remember very clearly when my mother died. It was in Holy Week in 1979, and of course I was devastated. She was only 62, and in my opinion she was the Best Mum in the world!
I just knew that I would never be happy again. How could I?

I can’t remember how much time passed, but it was after the funeral, but I caught myself whistling. I thought ‘I can’t do that, I can’t be happy, my mum is dead’. So I stopped.
But soon enough I was whistling again, and I had to think about how I felt.
Me being sufficiently OK to whistle didn’t mean I loved her any less, or that I didn’t miss her. I didn’t need constantly be sad to prove to myself or anyone else how much she meant to me. 
In fact the opposite was the case. She wouldn’t want me constantly to be sad.
On reflection here is what I learned. I don’t need to have only one particular state of mind in order to do justice to all the things going on in my life.
I can be really sad because I can’t see my family because of Covid. But I don’t love them any less if I can find moments of joy.
I can be really anxious about those who are struggling with depression, but I don’t love them any less if I find moments of peace.
I can be really concerned for my loved one’s finances, but I don’t love them any less if I enjoy my dinner.
Sometimes we fall in to a trap of thinking we have to feel ‘down’ because people around us are ‘down’ and they need to know that we care.
But that, I think misses the point of some of the Gospel teaching.

Our Joy is not dependent on external factors. We can see beyond the immediate. We have hope and trust. Our peace and happiness comes not from what we get, but from what we offer to others.

Let me give you three simple scenarios to think about, and see if in each case you think it is OK to be at peace.

Throughout your conscience is as clear as it can be, and you have not done anything to purposefully hurt anyone.

Scenario 1. Somebody you do not know has passed a remark knocking something that you hold dear. They obviously have a different opinion from you, and you find their comments hurtful. Can you still find an Inner Peace?

Scenario 2. Somebody you know disagrees with a particular course of action you have taken, and tells other people that you are wrong. Can you still find an Inner Peace?

Scenario 3. Somebody close to you, who you have shared love and history with seems to be causing trouble for you and sabotaging the good that you are trying to do. Can you still find an Inner Peace?

The clue in all of these was that your conscience is clear. That being the case, and in particular if you are happy with the actions you have taken, then of course you can find an Inner Peace. 
You may feel hurt. You may feel that you have been treated badly. But you also know that to get defensive or aggressive or to try and ‘Get your own back’, or seek revenge will not give you peace.

The spiritual truth that allows this to make sense is when we stop seeking to enhance self and self centred desires and needs, and when we start to put others first, then we will find peace.

Put simply to say ‘Your words and attitudes bring me pain’ is not going to lead to Inner Peace.
But ‘I am working on my words and attitudes’ will lead me to Inner Peace.

From Matthew 5

 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,  and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.

Fr Macus