Church News – April 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
William Shakespear As You Like It
Let’s face it, there’s been times when we’ve all acted like fools. But the month of April it is encouraged! The month begins with a celebration of being fools. Whilst it’s true that it also celebrates mischievous deception, it is time when we can be humbled by realising we’ve fallen for a classic April Fool’s joke.
Over the years there’s been some classics that have captured the nation and fooled many including the mass brawl on Grandstand, the BBC reporting on Spaghetti trees, or people being told that Elizabeth Tower was going digital. Pranks are nothing new. in 1698 that people were first tricked into attending the ‘washing of the lions’ at the Tower of London. That makes it one of the oldest-known pranks in the historical record, and it would be repeated multiple times during the 18th and 19th centuries. One time in 1848 a journalist distributed cards inviting the public to the washing of the lions. As an onlooker wrote: ‘I was not prepared for the extraordinary credulity of the British Public. They flocked up in shoals to see the lions washed. The warders were almost at their wits’ end. They had the bits of pasteboard flourished in their faces, with angry gestures and angrier imprecations, by the indignant crowd of sightseers and seekers.’ Not everyone can take a joke!
I always like it when Easter Sunday falls early in the month of April because Easter is a time when God made fools of those who thought their earthly power was all important and that they could quieten the voice of compassion and love that Jesus spread simply by killing Him on a cross. Instead, the spread of that message could not be stopped and their actions only amplified it and inadvertently, their action of hatred caused an event some epic and dramatic it changed both heaven and earth.
The opening quote from Shakespear is spoken by Touchstone and is a musing on the overconfidence of people who think they know everything. The quote reflects a timeless observation about human nature. It aligns with the Socratic paradox, “I know that I know nothing,” emphasizing that wisdom begins with recognizing one’s own ignorance. If we think we know everything then we learn nothing.
Let us humbly acknowledge how little we actually know and understand of the world and of God. It is all a glorious mystery. But keep looking, keep searching and learning not out of a belief one day we will understand everything but out of the knowledge that we know little and can always learn more and deepen our walk with God. Then we won’t be foolish enough to think that anyone can stop the path of God and of God’s plan, whatever that may be.
God bless, James
NEWS
Good news that the Burial Ground – God’s Acre – is one step further to being completed. A digger and driver were hired who did a marvellous job of levelling the ground so that the gravestones can be resited. Ultimately, we intend all stones to be positioned so they are in one area and are all readable. This job has ‘only’ been waiting for 50+ years to be completed. Thank you to the men of this congregation who have willingly tackled this task.
Also many thanks to everyone who donated Easter Eggs for local children. 200 Eggs and gift bags were donated this week.
THE CROSS
The cross is a picture of violence, yet the key to peace;
a picture of suffering, yet the key to healing;
a picture of death, yet the key to life;
a picture of utter weakness, yet the key to power;
a picture of capital punishment, yet the key to mercy and forgiveness;
a picture of vicious hatred, yet the key to love;
a picture of supreme shame, yet the Christian’s supreme boast.
The cross really is the key to everything! Although a horrifying instrument of torture and death, it is also a symbol of God’s love and peace. On the cross Jesus died to deal with the problem of our sin and defeat the powers of death and evil. He identified with our sufferings and set us an example of self-sacrificial love.
Resurrection Prayer
Loving Father,
Thank you for Jesus; for His life and death, but most of all for His resurrection, which makes all things new and possible.
Thank you for the reality that He defeated death by His work on the Cross and offers life forever with Him to all who believe in Him and receive Him into their lives as Lord and Saviour. Thank you for that incomprehensible but very real resurrection peace that we can know
even in our darkest times by the presence of your Holy Spirit in us. In joy and thankfulness, we praise and honour you this Eastertime. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
By Daphne Kitching