Pause for thought - August 2025
‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ (Mark 6: 31)
August was heralded in by community events, Gala Week in Gatehouse of Fleet and the Art and Craft Trail in Kirkcudbright. Both of these drew people together in joyful celebration of the vibrancy and diversity of community life. In each place our churches were blessed to be an integral part of the community, each offering their own unique addition to the other events that were happening. And during the hustle and bustle of the festivities, our churches were open giving us the opportunity to step aside and spend a few moments in reflective quietness, in the simple beauty of a sacred space.
Jesus’ disciples had been out and about, ministering to people, teaching them the ways of Christ and when they gathered back together again they told him all that they had done and taught. Jesus said to them “’Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.” (Mark 6: 30-32)
Community is a good and natural thing, but there are times when we just need to step aside and be alone with God, we need to find our own quiet place to sit and just be, particularly if we have been entertaining visitors, or find ourselves actively involved in the life that is going on around us.
Church is about community, the Christian life is one that is not lived alone. Our communities of faith are gathered around a God who lives in community and in perfect unity – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus regularly took time out, to spend time alone with His Father, he needed sometimes to retreat from the crowds in order to be better resourced to minister to the crowds and it is the same for us. In stepping aside, we find that we can re-connect with God in ways that sustain and refresh us ready to step back into the hustle and bustle of community life, of family life, of ordinary life. And as we step back, we find that we haven’t left God behind in that sacred place, but that the whole world is sacred, God is all around us, in ways we perhaps hadn’t noticed before we took that time out to spend a moment with Him.
So do take a moment to sit quietly in church and allow the presence of God to surround you and to minister to you. But also, do join us on a Sunday morning for worship.
August began with community events, and ends with a joint service, hosted by St Mary’s at 10.30am on 31st August. A time when two communities join together in worship, our vision of God’s kingdom is expanded and we share together what it means to be part of a global Christian community, set in a local place.
The early church gathered together to share meals and pray, to support the poor and needy and to address injustices in the world. The modern church does the same, in a different, culturally relevant way. And whenever we gather together, we recognize Christ in our midst, feeding us, praying for us, inspiring us to reach outward, into our local communities and beyond, with His message of love and welcome to all people.
Revd Alison
Priest in Charge