Hope and Grace in Triumph and Disaster

Dear All Saints and St Mary's

Arthur Fery had a stunning run at Wimbledon this year.  He was a wild card entry, yet managed to reach the semi-finals.  He played with panache, and gave post-match interviews that endeared him to thousands.  The quotation (from Kipling’s poem If - ) that is on display in the Wimbledon Club House is appropriate to Fery as much as to us all:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;  

Fery might have felt on top of the world because of his triumphs – but what truly shone through was his character.  And then, after defeat in the semi-final, he might have been feeling abysmally low – but so many felt proud to have seen him in action.  Yes, triumph and disaster can blind us to deeper truths, as they swamp other more sensitive, and more important, emotions.  By all means, let’s at times get carried away with stirring emotions - provided we also have the wisdom, as the crowds disperse and the applause diminishes, to recall what is resiliently true: both God’s love for us, and our immeasurable worth.

I am writing this before we know whether the England football team will meet with triumph or disaster in their semi-final.  Quite intentionally, I wanted to put pen to paper before the result is known.  For we have already seen fine examples of sportsmanship, courage and respect from our nation’s team.  That lasts beyond any fleeting glory.

There are some lines of Kipling’s poem that I find hard to take.  But I have always valued this:

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

As I look back over 40 years of ministry as a priest in the Church of England, there are quite a few things that seem to have degenerated, rather than improved.  I wonder if you feel something similar, as you contemplate the direction our nation has taken over the last generation.  And yet ….. faithful people do not rely on improvement always happening.  We know that sometimes we have to enter into dismal seasons of breaking down, loss and frustration.  Does that stop us hoping?  No! 

I am very encouraged to hear the Archbishop of Canterbury, on more than one occasion, use phrases like this: “we have to rebuild trust so that hope may grow”.  She is clearly a woman of faith, confident that what is broken can be mended, and that flowers will bloom once again.  All this will happen, relying on God’s good grace, in God’s appointed time.

Rev'd Bob.

10:00am	Holy Communion	St Marys
10:30am	Holy Communion	All Saints
7:15pm	Generations	Vicarage

THE WEEK AHEAD 

Mon 20th	10:30am	Tiny Tots	All Saints
Wed 22nd	9:00am	Celtic Morning Prayer	All Saints
Thu 23rd	9:15am-3:15pm	Holiday Bible Club	All Saints
	10:00am	Holy Communion	St Marys
Fri 24th	9:15am-3:15pm	Holiday Bible Club	All Saints
Sat 25th	12:00noon	Saturday Lunches	St Marys
Sun 26th	8:00am	Holy Communion	All Saints
	10:00am	Holy Communion	St Marys
	10:30am	Cafe Church	All Saints

Please see below the weekly sheets with our blessings and prayers from the All Saints and St Mary's churches.

Notice Sheet 19th July 2026 Email.pdf

Download PDF • 329KB

20260719_WS.docx.pdf

Download PDF • 234KB