From the Pen of Rev Steve
Recent copies of the minister's letters from Rev Steve.
These are reproduced from the monthly Newsletter.
June 2025: I have always had a penchant for travel genre books.
I have always had a penchant for travel genre books. I read a number before embarking on the Camino De Santiago. Also I greatly enjoyed the book by James K. A. Smith entitled ‘On The Road With Saint Augustine’ using his journeys as a way to understand the character of the man.
Equally a book, the title of which escapes me, and whose premise was a man was commuting to work each day in London on a bike. On a whim he turned left at the lights rather than right and proceeded to travel round the coast of the country. If written well you somehow become immersed in the escapism, wonder and discovery of the journey.
Some of you will be aware that a film adaptation of the Raynor Winn book ‘The Salt Path’ is coming to cinemas at the end of this month. It follows a couple who fall on difficult times. Their home is repossessed by the bailiffs and they receive the news that he has terminal cancer. Perhaps not the most inspiring backdrop to a book or film. However, because they have nothing better to do they follow the Salt Path, or as we know it the South West Coast Path. We follow the couple with the ups and downs (quite literally) of their journey. It looks very promising.
Apparently it was Ralph Waldo Emerson the American philosopher who coined the phrase, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”. That is certainly true in many walks of life, and it is true on the rugged terrain of the south west coast. Whilst we can have a daily destination, if our eyes are blinkered to that alone, we can easily miss the Chough birds with their red bills and legs scampering around the cliff edges, the idyllic sandy cove unspoilt by human footprints, or the ever evolving cloud formation that scuds past the framed vista.
I’m afraid that sometimes, partly due to my workload, I can be so focussed on my next task in the diary, my next “doing” if you like, I forget to “be” and don’t always appreciate the beauty or the need that is desperately trying to speak to me. The opportunity to linger longer, to pause that little bit, is a skill that can take a life time and beyond to master. However holidays may be our saving grace here. They afford us the opportunity to go down a gear or two, to dwell and engage our senses and value all that is.
So wherever you travel over this summer period, whether it be a day trip or abroad, a prayer to bless you on your way:
Dear Heavenly Father, please protect us on the journey we're about to take. Support us with Your strength and grace when we're weary. Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress and guide us to make our time together meaningful and memorable. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
With Every Blessing,
Steve
Equally a book, the title of which escapes me, and whose premise was a man was commuting to work each day in London on a bike. On a whim he turned left at the lights rather than right and proceeded to travel round the coast of the country. If written well you somehow become immersed in the escapism, wonder and discovery of the journey.
Some of you will be aware that a film adaptation of the Raynor Winn book ‘The Salt Path’ is coming to cinemas at the end of this month. It follows a couple who fall on difficult times. Their home is repossessed by the bailiffs and they receive the news that he has terminal cancer. Perhaps not the most inspiring backdrop to a book or film. However, because they have nothing better to do they follow the Salt Path, or as we know it the South West Coast Path. We follow the couple with the ups and downs (quite literally) of their journey. It looks very promising.
Apparently it was Ralph Waldo Emerson the American philosopher who coined the phrase, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”. That is certainly true in many walks of life, and it is true on the rugged terrain of the south west coast. Whilst we can have a daily destination, if our eyes are blinkered to that alone, we can easily miss the Chough birds with their red bills and legs scampering around the cliff edges, the idyllic sandy cove unspoilt by human footprints, or the ever evolving cloud formation that scuds past the framed vista.
I’m afraid that sometimes, partly due to my workload, I can be so focussed on my next task in the diary, my next “doing” if you like, I forget to “be” and don’t always appreciate the beauty or the need that is desperately trying to speak to me. The opportunity to linger longer, to pause that little bit, is a skill that can take a life time and beyond to master. However holidays may be our saving grace here. They afford us the opportunity to go down a gear or two, to dwell and engage our senses and value all that is.
So wherever you travel over this summer period, whether it be a day trip or abroad, a prayer to bless you on your way:
Dear Heavenly Father, please protect us on the journey we're about to take. Support us with Your strength and grace when we're weary. Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress and guide us to make our time together meaningful and memorable. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Steve
From the Pen of Rev Steve
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey