I first went to church at the age of ten after being chosen to sing in a parish church choir near where I lived as a child. My parents didn’t go to church and my only memory of anything religious is hearing my primary school teacher read the ‘Gospels in Scouse’ at our morning assembly.

One of the many skills a young chorister has to learn is how to chant the Psalms. It was an important skill; we sang at least two or three Psalms every Sunday during morning and evening services. So perhaps it’s not surprising that I learnt to love the Psalms – and able to recite several by heart.

Probably, the best-known is the ‘twenty-third psalm‘, beginning with the words: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul”. The Psalms’ universal theme, of trust in God, has been used in worship since the time of the ancient Hebrews. Indeed some of the psalms are thought to be up to several centuries old. Every minute of every day psalms are still being read, sung, or chanted by Christians and Jews around the world.

I experienced this recently when, at the morning service at St David’s, our second reading was Psalm 26. Then, in the afternoon, I was privileged to be invited to the ‘headstone setting’ by a Jewish friend and the service included psalms being chanted in Hebrew. And, on the following day, I sat in Westminster Abbey in London where the choir also sang psalms as part of evening prayer. These were wonderful opportunities to feel connected to the timeless universality of the Psalms.

Psalms are poetic and easy to read, they are ancient hymns or songs designed for singing, and always meaningful. Although Muslims don’t use the book of psalms they are acknowledged as a holy book in the Qur’an where they are referred to as the Zabur of Dawud (Songs of David).

Jesus was born and raised in the Jewish faith. He would have learnt many of the psalms by heart and recited them even until his own death on the cross. The Gospels quote Jesus, whilst hanging on the Cross, saying: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” the opening words of Psalms 22. And, Jesus’s final words before he died are from Psalm 31 verse 5: “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

Many of the psalms are pure joy – Psalm 98 verse 4: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” If you’ve never heard it sung, listen to Psalm 150 set by composer Stanford – it’s on YouTube multiple times as is William Walton’s Jubilate Deo, a joyous setting of Psalm 100.

If you prefer something in a more contemporary musical style, listen to ‘The Lord’s my shepherd‘ with music by Stuart Townend or ‘Shout to the Lord‘ by Darlene Zschech paraphrasing Psalm 98.

Look up a psalm today and discover something ancient yet modern, timeless, relevant, and richly meaningful. Psalms can be used as prayers of supplication when we are suffering or songs of thankfulness in celebration. It’s difficult to have a favourite but read Psalm 128 – it would be high on my list.

(This article was originally published as part of St David’s Messenger in November 2018)

I love pottering in my garden when the weather permits. I find it quite relaxing, an opportunity to have time and space for myself. Also, as I weed my flower beds I appreciate the beauty and diversity of God’s creation.

We all tend to be so busy that we don’t stop and really look at what is around us. If we did, we would see many magnificent wonders of nature such as the changing colours of the leaves.

The Bible tells us about how God created our world and saw that it was good.

This month we will celebrate harvest in church when we have the opportunity to thank God for our wonderful world and for the food it provides for us.

We probably have a favourite food, but we usually take our food for granted. We might know what it feels like to be hungry as we wait for our next meal. However many people know hunger, and don’t know when or if there will be a next meal.

Unfortunately, there are millions of people in our world who through no fault of their own, know the real meaning of hunger.

Thankfully we can help people in Liverpool by supporting the local food banks. In doing so we are putting into practice Jesus’ command ‘to love each other and care for the needy’.

As we consider the harvest we must ask ourselves how we can look after our world and in doing so help the hungry and the poor.

As Christians we believe God loves everyone whatever their colour, gender, creed or age and we must love them also. One way we can show this love is to be environmentally aware. The Bible describes the world as if it is a garden and we are all gardeners.

If we are to show care for the world we must use only what is really necessary. If people didn’t take more than their fair share we wouldn’t have so many starving. The world produces enough food for everyone.

We must try to conserve the world’s natural resources. No doubt you will have seen the advert on television about saving water. We may laugh now that we have rain, but I recently read that by 2025, yes in 7 years’ time, two thirds of the world won’t have enough water, already 1 billion don’t have clean water to drink.

In the Bible Jesus told many stories about the harvest to help explain how we can spread the good news of his love.

The harvest also gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like when there will be true life in God’s love.

Blessings, Sheila

(This article was originally published as part of St David’s Messenger in October 2018)

“You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this,
You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandments greater than these“.
Mark 12:30-31

I love our God, and I have put my trust in him as he has in me.

Two years ago God called me into reader ministry. I am not some academic person, and I often doubt my abilities, but who was I to argue with God. The path he had chosen for me filled me with dread, but I was not about to go against his wishes.

Mission Impossible or so I thought. I started my reader ministry course not really knowing what to expect, and then I learnt the requirements. Well where to start, there were numerous books to read, assignments to complete and on top of that I had to work with a group of people I had never met before. Everything I had to do was taking me out of my comfort zone, from standing up to deliver presentations or to discuss various topics in large groups. To my surprise I scraped through the assignments and achieved my initial goal.

Two years ago I set out on a journey, a journey which I thought would be impossible and yet here I am looking forward to the 29th September 2018 when I will be licenced as a reader, the impossible task that I thought lay ahead was challenging but totally fulfilling. The people I worked with where in the same position as me and yet we worked together growing as individuals and a group.

Life puts so many challenges in front of us, the small things to you maybe major to someone else. With a little faith and determination we can conquer these challenges and with the help and love of the people around us we can strive to reach our goals.

To love your neighbour as yourself is one of the greatest commandments. I have had so much support from friends and family. People I hardly know have shown encouragement and I have seen the love and goodness within these people. They have all helped me fulfil this calling into this ministry, just as there are people you hardly know waiting to help you.

Just look at yourselves and the people around you and see what they have achieved. Yes lots of it is through hard work and determination, however there is also faith on your side and a God full of love for God loves all his people.

What I am trying to say is no Mission is Impossible if you have people around you sharing in your goals and beliefs. If you just spend a couple of minutes each day praying to God, he will listen and guide you. Let God into your lives, open your hearts so you can see the goodness in people, and help others. There is always a light at the end of a tunnel.

I have always had faith, and over the years that has grown. Although I knew God was guiding me and answering my prayers I never expected him to call me into ministry. Never did I believe that I would be able to stand up in Church and preach a sermon, or that I would be able to help make decisions on the future of our ministry or be able to help other people see their faith develop and shine. We meet all kinds of people in our life and God is waiting for them to open their, hearts, soul and minds.

It doesn’t matter how old or young you are what gender, disability or sexual orientation. Everyone is welcome in to a life with Christ. St David’s is striving to be an Inclusive Church and part of my ministry is to welcome you all into this life. There is so much on offer, and we would love to see you and join in with this beautiful life, a life with Christ.

This Impossible Mission that God called me to do; is not impossible but a life changing experience which is just the beginning of my ministry. Put your trust in God, and you will achieve your ultimate goals with God showing you the way.

When I get licenced in September in the Cathedral I will be with many of my friends who have been on this journey with me. It would be amazing to see lots of new people wanting to join in with our faith, or to join us at St David’s whether that is in one of our services, Friday Café or Messy Church or other events we hold.

Blessings, Wendy

(This article by Wendy was originally published as part of St David’s Messenger in September 2018)