Thank you for those who prayed for my journey to Tanzania.  I have returned safely after a very fruitful trip.  I was able to travel      extensively around and learn a lot about the ‘Water for Life’ project.  It was also very encouraging to worship with Christians there.  Prayer is a very important part of peoples lives.  There is prayer before a meal and on arrival after a safe journey.  There is a hunger to know God and learn more about Him, especially among the young people.  This      vibrancy is encouraging and challenging.

June is when we celebrate Fathers’ day and this year it falls on June 16th.  At St Peter’s our morning service at 10am will be a special Fathers’ Day Family and Parade service with the uniformed organisations: you would be very welcome to join us.  Of course, as a father I can take this opportunity to remind everyone who can, to do something special to show their appreciation for their fathers!

The experience of being a father is a very profound one with great potential for being a positive influence in the family.  Whilst most father’s bring blessings to their homes, some bring the opposite. Fathers’ day is about celebrating the positive experiences we have had.

When Jesus was helping us to understand our relationship with God, he told us to call Him father or dad.  It is helpful when we can use our positive experiences of family life to understand our Father God’s love for us.  Our church family seeks to model this and is much more than just a father’s love. It is encouraging to hear people’s stories of how they have felt welcomed and accepted.  When we say ‘our’ father, we are reminded that we are not an ‘only’ child.  We have a great number of brothers and sisters all around the world.  Our friends in Tanzania are praying for us and we can pray for them.

Do come and join the church family on 16th June or at any other time, and be part of the world wide community that seeks to support each other in our daily life and in our worship.
Rev Bill Henderson