Our Minister Writes

Here is Revd Neil Thorogood's Aug-Sept 2026 message to us.

Dear Friends,

The sun is shining as I write. It is hot. Hotter than many can bear. We’re deep into the third major heatwave of 2026 with every prospect that this isn’t going to be the last. We’ve had to help some of those who hire our buildings understand that there are limits to what we can do to keep them cool. We’re not going to go down the road of major air conditioning plants to keep the Bradbury Hall pleasant for working out and working up a sweat. To do so, for these occasional periods of great heat, would be an unreasonable use of money and an ongoing drain on our resources as we maintained and ran them.

We are doing what we can by way of ensuring windows reflect as much heat as possible and other passive measures to help provide what cooling shade we can. Better for groups to cancel when the temperatures get too high and we’ll just accept we can’t charge them for those times. Many organisations are having to make similar decisions. Jenny’s work in the hospice shop gets adapted around the reality that the one she works in can’t be cooled and simply has to shut when temperatures soar.

We’re living into the climate crisis. You can see on the Homepage the plans we have, in collaboration with our friends at St. Peter’s, to show the film about the climate emergency in our building on Sunday 20th September. The showing that recently happened sold out quickly and we will run it again for both our churches and the wider public. You’ll have read Lee’s reflections on it in the previous newsletter and I saw it at Thornbury. Do come along and invite anyone you can. It is a powerful call to the urgency of now.

The emergencies facing humanity and the wider natural world are very real. The impacts humanity is having can continue to be debated of course. But the stark realities of change and pressure are written large as we look around us. Octopus and jelly fish arrive on our coasts in vast numbers as oceans warm, changing ecosystems we’ve got used to fishing. Corals in the Cook Islands of my childhood are suffering because they aren’t evolved for the sorts of waters starting to dominate planet Earth. The red lists of species on the brink of extinction catalogue loss after loss. Recent reports begin to quantify the extra numbers of people dying across Europe due to excessive heat. Farmers fear for future harvests even as some things thrive.

On it goes; this endlessly unfolding chapter. We wait to see how leaders and governments respond, and whether or not there will be the courage to lead the world into better ways. Thus far, the record is mixed at best, appalling at worst.

Which brings us to our faith and to our knees in prayer. Despair is in the air as much as heat. Let that not define us. The scale of the challenges we face, and that we are handing on to our children and grandchildren cannot and must not be denied. But surely that is all the more reason why people of faith need to dig deep into the riches of God’s word and ways. From the moment God sets stars ablaze in Genesis 1, we are shown a creator delighting in creation and seeing its goodness. We know our place in the great panorama of God’s cosmos. We are here as part of creation, not as its rulers. Humanity is to be like a gardener and not like a tyrant. Our recent Eco Church bronze award bears witness to our dedication and commitment to playing whatever positive part we can in shifting the direction of the world towards God’s good intention. Showing this film and getting stuck into the public and political debates about the climate and ecosystems is as fundamental a Christian calling as worship and evangelism. The bit I might do may be tiny – filling the kettle only enough to boil just that one cup for tea, recycling what I can, learning more, encouraging others – but in God’s cosmos nothing is tiny and everything matters.

We also need to keep listening to good news because the world is rich in people who are as committed as we are and things are shifting all the time. Across the world people are doing glorious things to care better for creation. I used to make sure every week included one such story in Companions. I hope we’ll find plenty of other ways to keep telling these stories. If you want, go to www.happyeconews.com and sign up to get their stream of positive stories right into your email inbox. Every Monday you’ll receive their top 5 stories. Why not read them alongside the URC’s Daily Devotions for a brilliant daily devotional time; feed your faith and your prayers on hope!

Some of you may have watched the service at which I was inducted as General Assembly Moderator. My dear friend, Doug Gay, delivered a fabulous sermon on John 21. As you know, I love John’s gospel and I love that particular resurrection encounter. Here’s one bit worth noticing. The risen Jesus helps his friends do what they need to do not just as disciples, but also as fishermen: “[Jesus] said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some [fish].’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish… Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” (John 21: 6, 10, 11).

The resurrection begins in a garden. Death is overcome by life as a new creation dawns. Now the fishermen find more fish than they could ever imagine. Jesus’ resurrection signals creation being reborn. We are part of this in the care and concern we have for God’s world. Easter signals that despair need not win. Together, we are embarked upon God’s great adventure to let goodness grow.

Yours in Christ,

Neil