Dear friends,

            I often hear the phrase, ‘Nothing lasts as it used to’. Or have I heard myself saying it!? Of course there is some truth in it, and with technology moving so fast it may be that it makes more sense to resist our instinct to repair and buy new. Our economy is built precisely on the premise that we must all continue to buy. As soon as Christmas is over the January sales start - an incentive to save money by spending money! Perhaps I should rephrase that – the January sales start well before Christmas, every year! Is there a time when there is not a sale? From a retailer’s point of view, there is always the attraction to get people to part with their money and the pressures are relentless in a competitive market. Any season of the year, any celebration or anniversary, any saint that can be sold - we can be assured that it will!

            Valentine's Day on 14th February is just the opportunity to send that card and declare the love you have for someone else. Valentine is in fact quite an obscure saint, not much is known about him. There were two Valentines, one a bishop and the other a priest, both of whom were martyred in the early centuries of Christianity. The link with courting couples is, according to Chaucer, when the birds are supposed to pair on February 14th. I shall look very closely! Cards, balloons and flowers will bring in the money. No church in this country is dedicated to St Valentine - if it were, it would probably have to have specially shaped pews for courting couples like the seats in the older cinemas. Now there’s an idea for a property committee with nothing else to do!

            For us the theme of love - real love, costly love - is central to our faith. Paul writes in Corinthians,

'Love is patient and kind;

love is not jealous or envious;

it is not arrogant or proud.

Love does not demand its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

As for the things of this world, they will pass away.

As for our understanding of life, it is like looking into a darkened mirror,

we find it hard to express what we see.

However, beyond all things, faith, hope and love endure.

And it is love, above all else, which is the greatest.'

                                                                                                            1 Corinthians 13.

            These words stand the test of time and challenge us to see beyond 'the things of this world', to something more enduring, indeed the very heart of God. The quality of love captured by these words is hard to reproduce on any card. Telling someone that we love them is a real challenge to our imagination – but do it and even the simple words you use will, I promise you, make all the difference - being assured that we are loved and knowing it deep down is crucial for our well-being. It was an old Beatles song that says ‘money can’t buy me love’. Of course, love occupies a different dimension to what can be bought and sold. Through the Spring and as we move into Lent we glimpse again the ministry and life of Jesus which show us tangible ways of love shared with the clear results of lives transformed. It’s a story that hasn’t worn out yet! And it’s a story beyond price!

            Love and prayers,

            DAVID.