As last year’s “Angel Trail” seemed to be quite successful, Hathersage Methodist Church has created another trail with the theme title for this year, #Follow The Star.
The trail will be open 3.30pm – 6.00pm each day from 19th December to Christmas Eve. There will be star torches to help guide you round as you solve the coded clues and follow the stars to reach your destination!
What will you find once you reach your destination? To find out come along and give the trail a go. (It’s free and supported by Christians Together in Hathersage ).
Hopefully it will not only be an enjoyable time for you but also a time of encouragement with what you find at the end of the trail!
We need a touch of encouragement don’t we. I remember very well how I felt when Covid hit us in full force and the government announced that we were likely to be in some form of lockdown for 2 years. Suddenly, my whole way of life was being pulled like a rug from underneath me and it felt like some of my security had just been wiped out as easily as we used to see our teacher’s wiping away chalk on the board (that’s for those of us of a certain age!).
For me certainly it made me look at, in what and where did I place my security. You may have done the same. Most of us, it seems to me, looked at how we operated as community. Some of us looked at what kind of lifestyle we were following and perhaps adapted what we were doing in order to be healthier. We realised that to help us personally beat Covid, being as physically fit as possible was going to help.
We’ve looked at ways as to how we can help our mental health too and perhaps you’ve started following a new regime to help with that.
There’s also a spiritual aspect to our lives that we need to look after and you may have followed different ways to do this. I know I have in the past. There are avenues we could go down which appear to work. Long-term though they won’t be a long-lasting security and that rug will be pulled from under our feet. Christianity teaches us that never happens when following the teaching of Jesus and his offer of eternal life. Following Jesus (another name for him is Star) and drawing on his Holy Spirit will always mean that he will hold us and help us through the tough times of life. So when it felt like that rug was being pulled from underneath me, I knew that all would ultimately be well.
Perhaps as we draw near to the celebration of his birth – God coming to earth in the form of a baby and reliant on his mother – perhaps we could think about where his birth led – to the man Jesus became and the cross that he went to for us. He’s a Star worth following. I share with you some words from a song that state a truth that certainly I know in my heart; other Christians will say the same. Together with them, I pray that all of you reading this may also know this same truth, this Christmas time and Follow the Star. Rev Julie Letts
