We have this last Sunday just begun a new season of the Church’s year and it is by far the longest season. The Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter seasons are followed by the Trinity season, which lasts until the end of October when the Kingdom season begins. All the other seasons have obvious themes but the Trinity season is otherwise known as Ordinary time, which is why the altar frontal and the vestments are green, the symbol of quiet growth. So in what way might we consider such growth in relation to the Trinity?
Thinking the Trinity is an impossibly difficult thing to do, as impossible as picturing God. Perhaps the best we can do is to follow the lead of the Creed and believe in God in three ways. So what might be these three ways of believing in God?
The first concerns God as creator, as the source of all that is, as the creative power without which the universe could not be sustained from one moment to the next. We are created, and as we are made in the image of God we are created in order to be creative. We are co-creators with God, but our creativity is dependent on his and without that acknowledgement of dependence on God our creativity all too easily becomes destructive.
The second aspect of believing in God in three ways involves the loving communication of a life – the life story of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s way of speaking to us. And as Christians we are called to respond to God’s word. The life and teaching and way of being that is revealed in Christ is to shape our lives. God communicates with us through Jesus and calls us, through what we say and do, to communicate the life of Jesus to others. And the third aspect of believing in God in three ways involves connectedness. The Spirit connects our believing in God with the world and with one another. The Spirit is there to connect what we say in the Creed with the way we lead our lives. The Spirit lies at the heart of all loving relationships of giving and receiving.
And so believing in God as one in three and three in one, we believe in God creating, communicating and connecting. And though we may think of these as three separate actions yet each action implies the other two. There is a mutuality between creating, communicating and connecting. Communication establishes a connection and so creates a new situation. An artist creates in order to communicate and thus a connection is established with whoever witnesses what he has created.
During the next few months the PCC is pondering the production of a new Mission Action Plan for the parish to guide our development over the next five years. It might therefore be appropriate for us to link this process with these three ways of believing in God.
What are we trying to create here at Hampstead Parish Church?
How do we communicate this to one another and to the wider community?
How do we connect with God, with one another and with that wider community?
Creativity has to do with a way of life and being, so what kind of community do we want to be, how do we want to influence its members for good, what do we regard as the best kind of nourishment the church can provide both to its members and to the wider community?
There are so many organs of communication in today’s world; through the written word (this magazine and our notice sheets and notice boards) through the spoken word (through sermons and study groups) through electronic communication (the website and emails). How can we ensure that these means all reflect what we truly want to say which will be both creative and establish good connections?
We connect with God and with one another through worship, through good communications, through hospitality, through one to one caring and support, through charitable giving and major church festivals and events. How do we ensure that these connections are truly creative?
There is much to be done but as long as all our doing is rooted in a sense of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we will find the energy and inspiration to do it.
Note
As most of you will I hope know by now, Emma Smith will take up her post as Associate Vicar at St Luke’s and Christ Church, Chelsea in July. Her last service as our curate will be on Sunday June 23rd. We will mark the occasion with a parish lunch when we will make a presentation in recognition of her hard work, enthusiasm and fellowship during the time she has been with us. If you would like to contribute to her present, please put your donation in a Special Collection envelope available in church and give it to a sidesman or one of the churchwardens at one of our services, or send it to the Vestry.