Letters from Revd Stephen Buckman
Friday, 17 June 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, Much has happened over the last couple of weeks – events that have kept me from writing my weekly letter to you all. My last letter was written as we were preparing to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, a unique moment in our history. We were also…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 17 June 2022
Friday, 13 May 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, Our readings this Sunday speak to many issues we encounter in our everyday lives. Many of those issues we dismiss as being ‘political correctness gone mad’. We belittle their importance and we carry on along our own self-serving paths from birth to death. Our readings this Sunday…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 13 May 2022
Saturday, 7 May 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, I should begin by apologising that I did not send the regular Letter to Parishioners last week. I’m afraid that benefice, deanery and diocesan commitments mounted up in a way that left me no time to write. Thankfully, this week has not been quite so ‘action-packed’! This…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 7 May 2022
Saturday, 23 April 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, This week the Church will be reflecting upon the post-resurrection story of Jesus appearing to his disciples and then to Thomas, the one whom we remember for his ‘doubt’. As we continue to live through strange and difficult times it is likely that we all feel the…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 23 April 2022
Saturday, 16 April 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, This week there is just one message for us all to ponder … what does Easter mean to us? As I write we are in the middle of the three day service which begins on Maundy Thursday and does not end until the great Easter Acclamation of…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 16 April 2022
Saturday, 9 April 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, What is most occupying your mind at the moment? The war in Ukraine and the military and political tensions that are surrounding that horrific violation of all that we hold dear? The national and international fuel crisis that is forcing many into having to make a choice…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 9 April 2022
Thursday, 31 March 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, On Sunday we enter Passiontide. For many it seems odd that the final days of Jesus’ earthly life should be described in a term we associate with the exact opposite of the injustice and cruelty he endured on Good Friday. We associate the word ‘passion’ with the…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 31 March 2022
Saturday, 26 March 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, We are now midway through our Lenten journey. We have been fasting, praying, serving and paying special attention to reading our bibles since Ash Wednesday, almost a month ago. Some will have slipped in their Lenten disciplines from time to time, while others will have succeeded in…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 26 March 2022
Saturday, 19 March 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, It is now two years since I wrote the first of these weekly Letters to Parishioners. That first letter addressed the closure of our churches by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the need to continue supporting our local Food Banks, and the institution of local initiatives…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 19 March 2022
Saturday, 12 March 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, In recent days several people have asked me the same question: What is the world coming to? The situation in Ukraine has engendered a whole kaleidoscope of emotional responses. Those who experienced the horrors of world war eighty years ago struggle to believe that one man seems…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 12 March 2022
If you would like to donate via cash, card or phone, St John’s Church, Corby Glen, is collecting for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal run by the DEC. Cash donations can be posted through the Rectory letter box (14 Mussons Close, Corby Glen, NG33 4NY). Donations by card or phone can be made via the card…Continue readingDonations to support the victims of conflict in Ukraine
Saturday, 5 March 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, Our journey through Lent has begun. The pancakes have been eaten; the commitments to fasting have been made; the foreheads have been marked with ash. The journey has begun as we witness the horror of mindless violence on the borders of the western world. As Christians throughout…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 5 March 2022
Saturday, 26 February 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, On Wednesday we will begin our Lenten journey. We will enter that season of penitence, prayer and reflection which will lead us towards the crucifixion and then, through death, to the joy and victory of the resurrection. For centuries it has been the custom of faithful Christians…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 26 February 2022
Saturday, 19 February 2022 Dear Friends in Christ, Much of the news over the last week has been dominated by the threat posed by Storms Dudley and Eunice. I have listened to some of the forecasting with an added interest this week as I have also been meditating upon Sunday’s reading from Luke’s gospel: chapter…Continue readingLetter to parishioners, 19 February 2022