Dear Friends
As I write this piece on Wednesday, the sun is shining and it is a crisp and wonderful Autumn morning. It is easy to give thanks to God for his creation. It is vital however, that we should not lose sight of our influence on the world and particularly our climate. We have a limited window of opportunity to get this right, I sometimes fear that self-interest and political point scoring, short term vision and pure greed will sentence future generations to a world very different from that which we enjoy today. This morning we celebrated the life of Richard Hooker, some say the founder of Anglicanism, that middle way between Catholicism and Protestantism, some contest this view. However, what cannot be contested is his belief in reason as a principle tool in theological enquiry. It was Hooker who informed many seventeenth century theologians and philosophers by encouraging a methodology of theological enquiry which fused scripture, reason and tradition. Perhaps we should encourage those in Glasgow to spend a little less time using their hearts to influence decisions and a little more time, like Hooker, using their heads.
Simon
Dear Friends
I am very much looking forward to events in our parish this coming weekend. I shall be kept busy!
On Saturday I shall be visiting the Convent’s Christmas Market to support them. When I said Mass there on Tuesday they were busy collecting goodies for their stalls and they have been working very hard to put on a good show and raise much needed funds. Please see later in this bulletin for further details.
On Sunday there will be the Chiswick Flower Market on the High Road. It often surprises people when I tell them that this road forms the northern boundary of our parish. The market has gone from strength to strength since it began and I was delighted to see that some of the profits have been used to plant some wonderful raised flower beds along the High Road. The market now attracts visitors from all over London and brings much welcome business to our local cafes and shops.
On Sunday evening I am looking forward to hearing Suzette speak about the book she has recently had published. Her co-editor Suzanne Packer gave a well-received presentation at the Chiswick Book Festival in September. A number of us from St. Nicks were there and bought copies of her book and I am sure that Suzette will be pleased to sign them for us on Sunday evening.
With every blessing
Mother Eileen