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The Rev Heller Gonzalez, Rector of St Augustine’s Episcopal Church
“that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me”. John 17: 21 NRSV, Anglicised
It’s been a winter of records!.
Records are a mixed blessing: they can be received with wonder, exhilaration, and excitement, but they can also be received with fear, irritation and not a little anxiety.
Records cause us to stop, think and ask the question: What does this mean for me, for us? The world has become complicated; we all understand the kind of tiredness that this causes… The Grace of God, though, can still be experienced in a myriad of ways.
I personally feel that one of the most powerful ways of showing that grace in our world is faithful ‘cooperation’ and a willingness to develop a dialogue which transcends our differences, without the loss of the beauty woven into our own traditional liturgies, worship styles, and practices.
Especially now at this time in earth’s human history when there is daily evidence thrust onto our screens and media platforms, proclaiming more division and disunity, injustice and inequality; it is imperative as Christians that we find common ground to work together in unity.
The church, the bride of Christ Jesus speaking in one voice and using the language of God’s love for His creation, is wonderful and powerful. When the people are heard and the language of love which is rooted in Scripture spoken, unity becomes a reality.
It is through His Word that we are called to be united, and to love one another as He has loved us. Now, what can we and our own love of God and humanity do to build the bridges needed to draw us all together so that we may all be one? Diverse but not divided. May God who calls us to be one body, bind us together in love, the perfect bond of unity.
As Heller arrived in Dumbarton during the Autumn of 2020, not many people have had a chance to meet him. So for that reason we are attaching a photo of him as well as the church
