Hurry up and wait patiently!

My Dear Friends,

We are wondering about the Fruits of the Spirit, and we have experienced Love, Shared the Joy and embraced the Peace. Today we stampede full ahead to Patience, and it is wonderful!

To grasp the Fruit which is Patience, I feel it is necessary to understand what we are called to be patient about, and what we do while we are being Patient.

Some things are urgent, and require immediate action and a quick response, even a reckless one at times. If someone is drowning, we don’t wait patiently for the tide to turn to wash them back to the shore, we may dive in and pull them to safety, putting our own life at risk as we do so.

Some things we are passionate about, and the effects of waiting may make them worse, for example Climate Change or Social injustice. I believe we are called to act with a sense of urgency.

But much of life is improved when we allow the fruit of Patience to blossom. So what are we called to be patient about?

Well, it is worth understanding what we are looking forward to. Big things like the second coming of Jesus, or us finding ourselves in heaven. Not quite such big things, like that sense of peace we were talking about last week, or that feeling of being forgiven, and then the medium sized things like being able to worship together, or finding out what it is that God is calling us to do.

The thing that unites all of these emotions and thoughts is the sense of Christian hope, and that is a powerful force. Christian hope is not some simple wish like ‘I hope it doesn’t rain later, I was planning to go on the bike’ but rather an acceptance that God’s will is going to be done, and his will is just right, and when it comes to pass it will be the best thing we could have imagined.
Christian hope is that belief that it will happen in God’s good time, not that it may happen.

So when we hope for a place in the Kingdom of heaven, when we hope that we will be forgiven, when we hope that God’s will may come to fruition, in our hearts and souls we know these things will take place, and we long for them.

The fruit of the Spirit which is Patience is accepting that God’s will for us will unfold, and we will discern it, and enact it when it is right for us to do so. We need not strive or stress, but allow the opportunities to present themselves.

Once again, our Ego can be the disrupting force, and can trick us into thinking that we know best, and want such and such a thing to happen right now! Understandable as that may be, and as convincing as it may feel, that is not the fruit of the Spirit.

Rather, we listen to God, through words of scripture, the counsel of wise folk and the answers to our prayers, and we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, and let go of the ‘stuff’ that gets in the way, and we discover a beautiful sense of patience knowing all shall be well.

Bless you,

As ever,

Fr Marcus

You can view today’s communion service, led by Fr. Rodney with Fr. Robin.

Good Afternoon Folks,
Hope you are having a great day.
Here is the link to Meaning of the Eucharist part 2.
Blessings Abound,
As ever, Fr. Marcus

Peace be with you.
And also with you.
My Dear Friends,
I hope all is well in with you today, and you are feeling lovely.
We are slowly working our way through the Fruits of the Spirit, and today we will embrace Peace.
I grew up with the formative years of my adult life having a passion for the whole concept of peace. Heavily involved in the CND movement (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and related groups and organisations, and very importantly growing my hair for peace while on Shoreham Beach. (The photos are dreadful, I have no idea how I got away with that!)
Those demonstrations, Sit ins, prayer groups, and Non Violent Direct Action had a big impact on the development of my theology, and it certainly took my thinking way beyond the personal, and individual. My concern was always about community and beyond, and in particular the vulnerable and voiceless.
But the Peace we are embracing which is the Fruit of the Spirit is something quite different from the absence of war, and the indiscriminate threat of vast numbers of people through weapons of mass destruction. It is something much more personal, and is found within rather than externally.
When we open our souls to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and when we allow ourselves to be driven by the principles of Loving our neighbour as ourselves we discover that Peace flows within us.
Do you remember that wonderful phrase from Saint Augustine ‘Our hearts are restless until they find they rest in You (God). Well it is that sense of restlessness that deprives us of our inner peace.
There are many things that cause our inner struggles. The big ones are a sense of judging others, and desire to compare and compete, a love of worldly things, and a need to be right, or at least approved of. Searching for these will not bring Joy as we mentioned on Tuesday, and will certainly not give us an inner peace. When we strive for these things, there will never be enough, and we will never be content or happy in our own skin. This has much to do with the false ego within us lying to us by saying these things are more important than our spiritual wellbeing. It (our ego) will convince us that once we have met the needs it demands, then we can sort our spiritual lives out. And time and again we fall for that.
But deep inside you and I know that real inner and spiritual peace comes when we accept the gift of faith, and allow that to put things in to perspective.
Jesus teaches us to put others before ourselves, to forgive, to not judge, to not strive after worldly treasure, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
He teaches us that all human lives are valued and loved, and he knows what we need even before we ask.
So, here is a beautiful little Spiritual exercise that may help us find a little more inner peace. It takes a while, but is certainly worth it. Like all things the more you put in to it, the more you will find it helps.
There are three steps, and give as long as you can to each one. Say 5 minutes the first time you try it, but anything above that is even better.
Sit comfortably, with no distractions, and with your eyes closed.
Step one, imagine your toes are removable like the cap on a toothpaste tube. Imagine you have unscrewed them all, and put them carefully to one side. Now allow the things that are causing you to be restless to drain from your body. Don’t try and answer the issues you have, just let them slowly flow away. Take time starting from the top of your head to be aware of the feeling of space inside as they feelings of inner conflict, confusion or anxiety just flow away. Remember you are not trying to solve all your problems, at the moment you are just letting them go.
Issues you have with other people. Judgements you have about the behaviour you have witnessed. Worries about what people think of you. Concerns about your status in whatever groups you belong to. Worries about the future. Just let them drain away. and as you do so, feel your body slowly emptying so that it can become completely receptive.

Step two. Once you are completely empty, screw your imaginary toecaps back on, and then just think about the beautiful teachings of Jesus. It doesn’t matter necessarily which ones you think of, and this is not an exam, but rather an opportunity to rest in the stories you know well. You don’t need to get them right, or in order, but rather just accept the words that come to you. They may include Christian teaching from the Gospels or other parts of scripture, or from things you have heard or read.
Here are just a few, but there are so many more. I am just using parables as an example.
The Good Samaritan
The lilies of the field
The Pharisee and the tax collector
The two debtors
Treasure in heaven
The list goes on, and you can think of anything which will just instill within you a sense of the Christian teaching you know to be true.
Step three is a little more specific. You are now in a place where you are ready to allow God to fill you.
Read the following prayer slowly

The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
fill my heart and mind
with the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
fill me and remain with me always.

Allow yourself to be filled. Feel that knowledge and love of God pouring in, and replacing all that you allowed to flow away. Accept his presence, and rest in that peace, knowing that we cannot fathom its depth, but we can receive it.
Just stay with it for a while, and try and register what it feels like.
Once you are content and comfortable, finish by just accepting these words.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid.

Bless you with the spirit of his peace,
As ever,
Fr Marcus

The YouTube link available to join the Zoom live stream will be posted here today from 11.30 Spanish time (11.30 CET/10.30 BST). Click anywhere on this text to visit the appropriate Diocesan page

Apologies

An invitation to come together in a virtual service for prayer, scripture, silence of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, and blessing, in solidarity with BAME communities around the world. This will be a brief service (15 minutes) at 12 noon CET, the hour our Lord hung upon the cross. Please bring a candle to light. This candle can be brought later to our churches which are now open, or in the process of reopening, as a visible commitment to racial justice.

We very much hope you will be able to join us for this brief offering of prayer and deep reflection 

Please join from 11.45 CET onwards so we are ready to start at 12.00.

Order of Service

You can find a short Order of Service at this link.

Zoom live stream on YouTube

We also plan to enable as many people who wish to engage in this act of worship to join the Zoom live stream service via our Diocesan YouTube Channel:

The YouTube link available to join the Zoom live stream

will be posted here at around 11.30 Spanish time today – https://europe.anglican.org/main/latest-news/post/1578-praying-together-across-europe-for-racial-justice

Here is the link to this morning’s Eucharist, led by Fr. Rodney, with Fr. Robin

Good Afternoon Folks,
How you doing?
Here is the link to the Wednesday Video

Fr. Marcus

My Dear Friends,
For those of you who can remember back as far as last week, you will recall that I am doing a little series on the Fruits of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
So, today we will embrace Joy. How lovely is that.
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. Jn 15.11
Sometimes it is easier to say what something is not, rather than what it is. Joy is not necessarily, singing and dancing and paper hats and tinsel. It need not be all waving your hands and everybody smiling with their shiny teeth.
Joy can be very deep and quiet, and meaningful and beautiful. It can be about real happiness and exuberance, and it can be about a feeling of completeness, and a sense of being at one.
For me, Jesus words above in John’s Gospel are some of the best you will ever read.
Imagine the Joy that Jesus feels. He is not confused or distracted by an ego that falsely claims that he needs to be popular. He is able to discern and practice the will of his Father. He feels no guilt or shame, and bases everything on his own understanding of immense love. His joy is complete, and he shares it with us.
The fruit of you and I allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us and inspire us is that the incredible Joy of Christ will dwell within us.
It means that we can be comfortable in our own skin. We are not being judges and compared with others. We are not having to strive to strive for those things that the world tells us are so important. But rather we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and in our humility we know that we are loved more than we will ever imagine, and that we are invited to share eternity with God.
We also know that following the teaching of Jesus is the sure way to experience the most blessed of all feelings, and to recognise him in the words of scripture, in the breaking of the bread, in the lives of our fellow pilgrims, and in the awesomeness of creation – we can’t help but be filled with joy.
Let me give you some clues. When you wake up with your husband of wife the day after your wedding, and look in to their eyes, you feel Joy.
Those who are parents, when they hold their child, or see them laugh and scream with pleasure, you feel joy.
When something on your faith journey clicks, and you just know that God is with you. That is Joy.
When you realise that you are called by God to do a particular thing, and you try and do it – that is Joy.
When you know you are forgiven, and when you forgive – that is Joy.
When you finally understand that your ego is lying to you, and you are beautiful just the way that God made you, that is Joy.
When you trust that all shall be well. That is Joy.
When you feel complete, and are aware that although you know just a little, you have said Yes to God. That is joy.
Joy is a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is about knowing we are in the presence of God, and it accepting this fruit that Jesus , with his Love and Joy long to dwell in our hearts.
I could go on for ever, and so could you, thinking about these things that make us Joyful. There are no limits other than the ones we set ourselves – and sometimes Joy manifests itself with that Singing and dancing and waving of arms after all!
Bless you, Bless you, Bless.
As ever,
Fr Marcus

Now that we are gradually coming out of the Covid crisis, our focus is moving back to our resident UK national population and I wanted to share a few key bits of information that may be of use.

1. Residency

Over the last couple of months many people have asked us when residency appointments would resume. Now that all provinces are now in phase 2 or 3 of the de-escalation plan, we understand that offices are opening up appointments, so we are advising people to keep checking the Spanish Public Administration portal (https://sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es/icpplus/index.html) for appointments in their area – bearing in mind that provinces are lifting restrictions at different rates and will be operating at limited capacity.

We also wanted to offer some reassurance for those people that haven’t yet got their residency document and may be worrying about the time left to get it. While we continue to urge people to get an appointment as soon as they can, as long as they are living in Spain and can prove that they satisfy the legal conditions of residency (ie sufficient income and access to healthcare) by 31 December 2020, your rights are assured even if you are not able to get the physical document before the end of the year.

People have also asked about the TIE – the document that will explicitly say that you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. We understand that this is due to be introduced from July 2020. However, be assured that if you already have the green residency document, this remains a valid document and proof of your legal residence status, even after the end of the transition period.

We will update gov.uk/livinginspain whenever we have further information on residency and other issues of importance to UK nationals living in Spain.

1. Driving licence exchange

As you know, another of our key messages has been for residents to exchange their UK driving licence for a Spanish one as soon as they can, as they will be able to do so until the end of the year without taking a test. But again, appointments have been unavailable during the crisis. Now that all Spanish regions have enter Phase 2 or above these appointments are opening up again.

Regional DGT offices will be running by appointment only, so whether you’re starting the process for the first time or suffered a cancellation, you should book a new appointment online (https://sedeclave.dgt.gob.es/WEB_NCIT_CONSULTA/solicitarCita.faces) or by calling 060. Of course, travel between provinces is not yet permitted, so you can only request an appointment in the province where you live until further notice.

It is crucially important that we communicate effectively what the Withdrawal Agreement means for UK Nationals in Spain and that they understand any actions they need to take during the Transition Period. Therefore, I am really keen to hear from you if there are issues that people in your communities are unclear about, so that we can tailor our communications accordingly.

1. Your work during Covid

We know that many of you have been doing fantastic work to support your communities during the pandemic and we would love to hear about it, so that we can celebrate so much of the great work that voluntary and community groups have been doing at this time. If you would like to share something of your own activity (or that of others), please do reply sending me a short paragraph on what you have been doing. And if you have a photo – even better!

1. Returning to the UK

Whilst we understand that the vast majority of people wishing to return to the UK have now done so, we recognise that some people have chosen to remain in Spain, rather than take an indirect flight option. Please refer anyone looking for advice on returning to the UK, staying safely during coronavirus or information on entry requirements to our travel advice pages, which are frequently updated as the situation evolves: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain

All the Best,