Revd Nigel’s Letter ( October 2026)

October Newsletter
What is going on with the weather? Only a few weeks ago
we were living through the hottest summer on record. Normally
we cross our fingers for sunshine for the BBQ, the village fête,
or Wimbledon. This year no one needed to ask, the sun blazed,
day after day, until even the most devoted sunlover found
themselves praying for rain. What began as lovely, quickly
became, if we are honest, far too hot.
And then, just as the flowers seemed to be breathing their last,
the heavens opened. First gentle showers, then torrential
downpours. Around the world came reports of flash floods,
Nepal, the Grand Canyon, communities overwhelmed and lives
tragically lost. It leaves us wondering what on earth is
happening.
Perhaps even the most determined climate sceptics are feeling
uneasy. Perhaps all of us are. Life has a way of shaking us
awake. We drift along, assuming all is well, until something,
weather, illness, conflict, grief, confronts us with reality. These
moments, painful though they are, often become the soil in
which new understanding grows. They make us look again at
how we live, how we treat one another, how we care for God’s
world.
Respect others. Respect creation. Respect yourself. None of
these are new lessons, yet how often we need to relearn them.
We go around in circles, repeating old patterns, hoping for
different results. The spiritual life is, in part, the slow, gracefilled
work of recognising these patterns and allowing God to
reshape them.
As we move into autumn, a steadier season, a gentler rhythm,
perhaps this is a moment to pause. A time to plant, to sow, to
grow. A time to remember that God is present not only in the

sunshine, but also in the storms, inviting us to live more wisely,
more humbly, and more hopefully in His world. Remembering
the words of Julian of Norwich “All shall be well, and all manner
of things shall be well”

Revd Nigel