Jenny’s letter 15th June
Dear friends,
By the time this reaches you, the Summer Fair will be done. The café will be still, the hall cleared, the grass at the back a little flattened and the BVCA, I hope, resting following one of the busiest days in their calendar. What a joy it was to share our space again for the Bromborough Summer Fair.
Every year, this event reminds us of the life that exists all around us — neighbours meeting, teams working hard and the sound of laughter in the air. This year, there was even maypole dancing sharing space with the battle re-enactment group. Sadly, we let things down a bit as St Barnabas Church didn’t run its usual stalls. However, we are already planning to make sure that next year our contribution is even better than before.
We’re grateful, as ever, to the BVCA, who lead this event so brilliantly. It is their energy, vision, and hard work that gather us each year. As a church, we are proud to share our land and be part of the welcome. And we’re grateful to all those who knitted away at the church door to celebrate ‘World Wide Knit in Public Day ‘— proving that joy comes in all forms, especially wool.
But now we turn from celebration to contemplation — because this Sunday is Trinity Sunday, one of the most profound days in the Church year. It’s the day we proclaim a mystery: that God is One, and God is Three — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three gods. Not one with three masks. But something deeper: relationship itself woven into the very nature of God.
It’s easy to think of the Trinity as abstract, theological, even confusing. But perhaps it’s best understood not with diagrams, but with life. When we gather in community — when we give and receive, listen and encourage, share space and purpose — we begin to live in a way that reflects the divine. In fact, we could say that Bromborough in full swing on a Saturday is not a bad picture of the Trinity: distinct, diverse, dynamic — and still one.
This Sunday is also our patronal festival — the day we celebrate St Barnabas, whose name means “son of encouragement.” Barnabas didn’t command attention; he gave it. He didn’t push himself forward; he lifted others up. He believed in people — including Paul and Mark — before others did, and through selling some land, funded some of the work of the very early church with his money. (This is actually significant because land gave people identity and power. Without it, they had none.) Without him, the early church might have lost its greatest voices.
And perhaps that’s our calling now too. Not to be impressive, but to be encouraging. Not to do everything, but to be present. Not to build empires, but to build one another up. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11. And, as Maya Angelou so wisely put it: “Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”
Thank you for being part of this community — in fair weather and in faith. May the God who is relationship, encouragement, and love go with us into whatever comes next.
With every blessing,
