I hope that you enjoyed celebrating generosity, human and divine, last Sunday. You may have dwelt on a particular aspect of our living generously as followers of Christ: being generous with our time.
It seems to me that this can be hard in our culture today. Many of us live lives where it may feel that every hour – if not every minute – has to be strictly accounted for: so much for work (paid or voluntary), so much for household tasks, so much for family and friends, so much for ‘me’ time, and so much for church activities.
As in other areas of life, generosity with time means thinking about how we share regularly with others what we have received from God, knowing this can be life-giving for us as well as them, as we walk the way of Christ together. But as in other areas of life too, it also means being open to spontaneity, being ready to make time for self-giving that every so often cuts across the careful budgeting of our hours, week by week.
And it means giving time to God. Not just time for being busy with church things, but time for giving God our full attention: listening to him, telling him what is on our heart, seeking his face, discerning his will for our lives.
We have a wonderful opportunity to do that this Saturday morning (23 September 2023), with Lyndall Bywater, Prayer Network Coordinator for our diocese. I’ve known Lyndall for many years, and she is a skilled communicator whose understanding of prayer runs very deep, as too does her infectious joy. She will come with plenty of ideas about what we can do with our time at Kingsnorth Church, but above all she will want to be listening to God to guide us in the ways of prayer that can be most fruitful for us.
If you’re planning to join us – great. I look forward to seeing you! If you’ve seen the notice about it and thought ‘not for me’, could I encourage you just to come along and try it, and be generous in giving up a Saturday morning to be with God in prayer?
The Revd Dr Jeremy Worthen
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