Jenny’s letter 1st March
Dear Friends,
I write this week on Friday. Today, we gather at St Barnabas for a significant funeral. Significant because it is complicated- in a good way. And because among those attending will be a few actors — not the sort that draw crowds or cameras, but friends. It adds a little extra layer of nerves for me, though it shouldn’t. Every funeral is significant and the actor friends are coming not because of celebrity, but because of loyalty, affection and shared history. And that, in the end, is what matters.
At the close of the service, we will hear Matt Monro singing “On Days Like These” — that gentle, wistful song from The Italian Job. It was popular when I was a child, and I have always loved its warmth and sense of sunlight. It captures something of those moments that feel set apart, when life seems to pause and we notice its beauty.
But Christian faith invites us to see even more. Because while some days feel special, every day is held by God. Whether a life has been lived on a stage or quietly in a kitchen, in public or in private, we stand on equal ground before our Creator. Titles, achievements and applause fade. Love endures.
Lent gently reminds us of this truth. Beneath everything else, we are dust — and deeply loved dust at that. There is something freeing about remembering that we do not need to impress God or one another. We are known by heart, not by headline. Scripture reminds us: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”(1 Samuel 16:7)
In the last week, much of my time has been spent on church governance documents, various policies policies and frameworks — important work, that helps us serve well and wisely. Good governance is simply about faithfulness: making sure what we do reflects who we are called to be.
Days like today remind us what lies at the centre of everything. Not status. Not visibility. Not achievement. Love. In fact, the reading we use today is from 1. Corinthians 13. It is the focal point of the service. Though often used at weddings it is applicable to the whole of life and death.
The actors attending today come as friends. That says more than any credit list ever could. In the end, it is not fame that gathers people; it is relationship. It is loyalty. It is love.
As we continue through Lent, perhaps that is our encouragement: to live simply, to love well, to be faithful in small things, and to remember that the God who sees the heart is already at work in us.
And whether a day feels ordinary, or it is — as Matt Monro sang , one of those,”days like these when skies are blue and fields are green”, we entrust ourselves to the same steady grace. Every life precious. Every farewell sacred. Every day held by God.
With every blessing,
