This Autumn, the Church of England is celebrating

THE SEASON OF GENEROSITY.

A time set aside to give thanks for God’s gifts; to reflect on what it means to live with gratitude for all that we have and all that we are; and to commit ourselves to living generously.

At Holy Spirit we are dedicating three Sundays (from Sunday 28^th September to Sunday 12^th October) to the themes of this season: Generosity, Giving and Gratitude.

This week our final Week Three, 12^th October, when we receive five of our young people into Communion, our theme will be GRATITUDE and how it shapes our lives and transforms our understanding of who we are. 

Today, as our children receive their first communion, our focus is on gratitude.  When Jesus heals ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19, only one gives thanks.  The word used is the same word Jesus uses when he takes bread and wine at the Last Supper. It is the word from which the term Eucharist derives.  God invites all of us to the table, each one of us has a place. Yet to take our place we must stand shoulder to shoulder with all those whom God invites.  This is something which Naaman, in 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15, finds difficult.  He is offended that a man of his wealth and status has been invited to take his place among the general public who come to wash in the Jordan River.  His sense of entitlement very nearly prevents him from receiving the gift God is offering, it seems too humble, too ordinary to be of value.  All of us come to God’s table in need, all of us are hungry for what God has to offer but often our egos and our own sense of what we deserve prevents us from receiving God’s abundant grace.  When we stand shoulder to shoulder with our children around the Lord’s Table, we acknowledge that none of us are more worthy than anyone else, that all we have is a result, not of our efforts, but of God’s generosity and mercy.  Knowing this, we can be truly grateful that we too are included in God’s grace and that we are privileged to invite others to join us at the Lord’s table.

On Sunday 14th September at 6.30pm in church, our monthly choral Evensong service.

During this season - and to coincide with the national church’s Generosity Week - we celebrate God’s generosity and reflect on how we respond to the divine gifts upon which we depend for all that we are and all that we have.