Under His Wings

July 2025

Dear Friends

Take your dog through a field of sheep at this time of year and listen to the noise as lambs are quickly recalled to the safety of their mother’s side!  This desire to protect offspring is seen across the animal world and we feel it too.

When danger comes near, parents instinctively search for their little ones and wrap their arms around them.  When children go missing, or when they begin to treat their parents as ‘the enemy’, the deeply-felt longing is to be able to hug them once again.

God thinks like that too.  He speaks of ‘finding’ his child Israel in the desert and shielding and caring for him like a eagle spreading its wings over its young. (Deuteronomy 32:10-11)

And Jesus was the same.  When he thought about how the people of Jerusalem had distanced themselves from him and his Father he wept for them.   "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34 19:41)

What could draw us back to our Creator when we know we have distanced ourselves from him?  Does this powerful image of our heavenly Father’s grief over his missing children and his longing to gather you up again move you?

And if you’ve never felt that God was a Father to you then take a look at the astonishing Bible account of Ruth.  She was from the people of Moab who were no friends of God’s people.  Tragically widowed as a young woman she decides to count the people of her Israelite mother-in-law as her own.  Boaz, who eventually marries her, declares: “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:12)

It was a homecoming to a home and a Father that she never knew she had!

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

At the Top

June 2025

Dear Friends

What would you say is most needed for a country, or a family, to thrive?  Hard work and enterprise?  Law and order?  Compassion and kindness? 

These are all good in their proper place but we’re wrong to assume that we human beings can fix our problems on our own, without reference to the God who designed us and runs our world.  That would be like assuming that any problems with our car can be fixed from the driving seat without lifting the bonnet.  The problem, and the answer, goes deeper.

If God has more than a little to do with our thriving or not-thriving then I suggest that our most-needed list should be topped by these:

First, Grace.  In the Bible this means not ‘graceful’ but rather the undeserved kindness of God.  He gives or withholds (as he chooses) – rain, crops, business success, family happiness, good government, military strength, health, sanity, and life itself.  Since every breath we take is a gift from God it follows that no person, family or nation can survive or thrive without our Creator’s gracious giving.  No man has ever given to Him but every man receives all he has from Him.

And second, Faith, which is not the ability to believe in unfounded myths but simply means ‘trust’.  Faith is the conviction that God is trustworthy and so we can rely on every word of his Word, the Bible.  We like to think that we live in a scientific age where we have personally proved all facts but in reality nearly everything we know comes from the testimony of those who we trust.

Faith is the natural partner to grace.  God gives; faith is the holding out of our hands to receive.  Faith takes us from grumbling to gratitude, from self-justification to confession of our faults, from self-sufficiency to dependence on God’s provision, from pride to humility, from disobedience to obedience, from worry to trust.

Even if you’ve never done this before why not ask God to give what you need, and to give you the open hands of faith to receive his gift?  Ask for yourself, for your family, for our nation.  Jesus tells us that God his Father loves to give good gifts like the best of fathers.  (Matthew 7:7-11)

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

A Great Boon

 
June 2025

Dear Friends

Later in May we are holding ‘Boon Days’ at both churches to which you are warmly invited.  I had never heard of this term until we moved here 11 years ago.  I knew that a ‘boon’ was something very helpful in life but not that ‘boon day’ meant a day of work without pay, including those days when neighbours got together to help each other out.  Farmers told me that there was a tradition of helping each other with tasks that needed many hands – boon days would be held in turn on different farms and they would all go to help each other.  Those were special days because working together is better than working alone.

So our church boon days are an invitation to come and help look after the village church and, especially, the churchyard.  We ask for help because we know that many value these historic and beautiful spaces in our villages, and because the buildings and churchyards are available to the whole village, for worship and prayer, for weddings and funerals, and for the burial and remembrance of much-loved relatives. 

In England each local church has to provide the funds and manpower to look after its own building and churchyard – that is why a fee is charged for every burial (whether full or of ashes) and for introducing memorial stones or for adding an inscription to an existing stone.  Your payments help us to maintain the churchyards while the rest of the money comes from the gifts of our congregation members and sometimes from generous legacies.  Mowers and their fuel and maintenance are expensive, as are the services of professionals like tree surgeons.  Our churchyards are looked after by a small number of volunteers who work very hard to maintain these large areas with all the challenges of mowing around graves and walls.

Our Boon Days run from 10am – 1pm on 17^th May (Burton) and 24^th May (Holme)   All help is welcome even for a short time.  If you can bring gardening equipment that is helpful but we also have some available.  It is an encouragement to those who usually maintain the buildings and grounds when a good number of us give a few hours to tackle the parts that they cannot reach.  Be a boon!

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

A Good Day?

April 2025

Dear Friends,

“What is wrong with the world?”  If I asked you all this question I would receive a large assortment of answers!  Whatever you think of the Bible, its ancient answer does make sense of the world that we live in:  

We are created to be God’s ambassadors, his agents in his world.  What’s gone wrong is that we don’t want the job.  We would rather serve a different ‘god’, one who doesn’t restrict us or expect us to serve him, a ‘god’ who leaves us free to pursue comfort, wealth, approval, success or self-indulgence.  We might say our family is all that matters to us, or the good of the nation or the planet, or we might be fully committed to an ‘ism’ – they can all be ways of serving the goals we choose.  

Our hymns are ‘I did it my way’ and ‘No-one tells me how to live my life’ but a whole world of people pursuing their own agenda leads to the darkness that we experience – irritation, selfishness and loneliness through to hatred, violence and war.  Darkness with glimpses of light that make our hearts ache with a deep sense that life should be better than this.  ‘Do whatever makes you happy’ does not make us happy.

And the relationship that is most damaged is with our Creator – we want life and all his other gifts but not his authority over us.  How could we complain if swift judgment followed?

How amazing then if our Lord should don our garb and wade in to take our mess on himself.  “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.”  That tree was the cross from which Jesus cried out as he allowed God’s wrath at our sin to fall on him, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”

Thorns – a symbol of creation against us – were made into a crown and pressed into Jesus’ head.  Iron – a gift in the rocks from our Creator – was shaped into nails to kill him.

And that terrible day became known as ‘Good Friday’.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Wise Dominion

March 2025

Dear Friends

Human beings are unique among the creatures of this world because we are made in the image of our Creator.   We are God’s self-portrait in his art gallery (see my February letter).

But what does this mean?  Physically, we have eyes because God sees, and hands because God builds, helps and rescues.  Morally, we understand that not everything that we could do is something we should do – like our Creator we know there is right and wrong.  We are also like God because we are made to rule over his creation, to have dominion over the earth as his representatives.

Some people believe that the world would be better off without mankind: “Leave it to its natural state, don’t disturb nature, reduce the number of people on the planet, make as little impact as you can!”  But that’s not a Bible view; if we are to rule we must make an impact.  We are certainly to rule wisely, with respect and love for all that God has made.  But not timidly.

The world is a hostile environment for men and women (Genesis 3:17-18).  Even with a vigorous and skilful use of the resources of our planet it is not easy for mankind to grow enough food; it is not easy to protect yourself and your family from cold and heat, floods and droughts; it is not easy to avoid disease, disasters and death.  Life for many was, and is, a struggle for survival.  To get beyond that and to have time and money for things like healthcare, sport, music and travel required us to be ‘benevolent lords’. 

When we take charge of our environment in this way we are mirrors reflecting the power and glory of our Creator and obeying his command: ‘God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."’  (Genesis 1:28)

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

The Repair Shop

February 2025

Are you saying I’m an animal?

Well, animals eat, sleep and communicate like us.  We’re classified as mammals and have hearts, lungs, muscles and DNA like theirs.

But we walk on two legs!            

As do gibbons and kangaroos.

We have opposable thumbs.

And so do gorillas and koalas!

What about our brain?  It’s so large!

Yes, but the same size, in proportion to our body, as the brain of a mouse.

OK.  But what about our ability to think in complex ways, and about abstract ideas and morals, and even to wonder why we exist at all?  

Human beings seem to be uniquely able to do all that, but those who can’t, like newborn babies and brain-injured patients are still people, aren’t they?

So is there something that unequivocally distinguishes us from animals?

Yes, but not in our biology.  It’s in something our creator said: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26).  Everything that God has made tells us something about him, but men and women are like mirrors reflecting a clear image of our maker.  All the paintings in the art gallery tell us something about the artist but human beings are this artist’s self-portrait.  That’s why your life matters so much.  And the lives of every other person.

Did God really say that?

Jesus believed that God did, and so did Jesus’ apostles (Matthew 19:4  James 3:9).

We humans do some ugly things. Can we really be made in God’s image?

The likeness is spoilt by our high-handed rebellion against our creator.  We have slashed the painting in the gallery.  Now Jesus alone perfectly shows us what God is like.  His mission is to restore you and me to our intended glory.  He has the power to take off our old warped self and reclothe us once again in the true likeness of God himself.  It’s the greatest Repair Shop in the world. 

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Food for Life

December 2024

Are you eating well?  A lack of time, poor health or anxiety can all interfere with eating but even when we’re taking in plenty of good food Jesus says that we can still be severely under-nourished!  Quoting from the Old Testament he reminds us that “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)  Are you getting plenty of that food?  Meals keep us alive and can bring great pleasure, but they cannot give us the abundant life that Jesus offers.  Only by feeding on God’s Word – that is, the Bible – can we encounter Jesus, who is called ‘The Word’, and receive from him food that endures to eternal life. (John 6:27)

But where do you start with the Bible?  It’s a big book and we can easily get lost in its thickets.  Knowing that many people have found a Bible reading plan to be very helpful in providing manageable portions to be consumed and enjoyed daily, I have written a new plan especially for our villages.  The Westmorland Bible Reading Plan, as it is now known, gives readings for each weekday.  It divides the Bible into four sections and allows you to choose which you will consume first.  Every chapter in the Bible is included so after four years (or sooner if you read more than one section at a time) you will have read every word in the Bible.  Read alone or read with family or a friend.  It will work with any Bible translation, it’s a simple A5 leaflet (large-print also available), it’s free of charge and the plan begins on Advent Sunday, 1 December.

King David discovered that God’s words were sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19)  Why not help yourself to some of this sweet and satisfying food?  You can pick up copies by popping into the church (always open Friday and Saturday 10am – 4pm, and for services) or send me a message with your name and address and we’ll deliver one to your home asap.  Come, let’s feast together!

And we also guarantee you a very warm welcome to any of our Christmas services and events.  Details are on our church website.

Happy Christmas!

Graham Burrows