Dear Saints,

Every year in April, we have our Annual General Meeting (AGM) as a chaplaincy to take stock of how we are doing and look ahead to the next year. Every year, there is a feeling of unease and worry, as we are a fragile and ageing community, so what is there to look ahead to?

Paul gives us insight into his life when he shares with the Corinthians Jesus’ response to his request for relief from the ‘thorn in his flesh’, which seemed to constantly disrupt him and make him weak. His struggle in this case makes me stand stronger in trusting God’s presence and power in the structural weaknesses we have as a community of faith here at St Mary’s “in the Forest”.

“Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:8b-10
We are a fragile community for some very obvious reasons; we are English-speaking in a Dutch-speaking country.
· Our English ‘speakingness’ is super diverse. African English in all its diversity, British English in all its diversity, European English, Asian English in all its diversity and so on.

· Our location, not easily accessible, rural, “in the forest”.

· Our community is dispersed within a radius of 50 km. Some even further.

· Core members have joined the great cloud of witnesses who have died.

· Those in power are undermining Christianity in many ways; some feel they are gods and therefore create god in their image, and others use the Church as an institution to justify their abuse of power.

Paul reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient for us, as God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Despite our obvious weaknesses here at St Mary’s, God is at work in our community.

· We are baptising adults and children

· We have a Sunday School ministry

· We prepare children and adults for confirmation

· We bless the marriages of young and more mature couples

· We can grow new and younger leadership for our activities, like the summer teas, the Castle Fair, but also intercessors, readers, the coffee team, etc.

We still feel weak; that is, if our measure of success lies in growth in numbers and a stress-free environment. But I think we are a healthy Christian environment for the following reasons:

· We have a sustained and deepening worship culture where worship is available, and opportunities for needs-based worship are made available

· We are a praying community. We have committed to pray particularly for the war in Ukraine and Russia, and we do so whenever we gather on Sundays

· We have a footprint in the broader Twentse community through the Summer Teas, Castle Fair, Evensong and ecumenical cooperation

· Ecumenically, we are also part of the awareness-raising initiative of the Protestant Church for the plight of the rootless children of asylum seekers whose application process has come to an end.

Yes, like Paul, we pray that our Lord may take away all our weaknesses. We pray to become a vibrant and healthy Christian community here in Twente. Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) reminded us, and underlined once again, that God’s grace is sufficient as we become what we aspire to in this part of God’s vineyard.

May the peace of the Lord be with you.

Yours in Christ as always,

Jacque