People on a pilgrimage rather than a journey
On how anniversaries are special occasions
LAST Sunday I led worship at Molleston Baptist Church in Pembrokeshire. It was their church anniversary, celebrating 355 years of Christian worship and witness in this beautiful part of Pembrokeshire.
The chapel is set in its own grounds with a long tree covered drive leading to a beautifully kept cemetery and grounds. The chapel itself was gleaming with every pew polished and not a speck of dust in sight!
I later heard that a ‘team’ of church members had spent time cleaning and ensuring that the chapel and grounds were ‘spick and span’ to welcome the congregation.
The church secretary, Heulwen Nicholas, one of the sprightliest 90-year-olds I have every met, gave me and the congregation a warm welcome.
The hymn singing was roof raising, expressing the joyous gratitude for all the years of worship. I returned with a real sense that we had celebrated something really special – the faithfulness of the people of God for all those years, and the certainty that God would be with his people to every new generation.
Anniversaries are, of course, special occasions. Birthdays and wedding anniversaries should be joyous and happy occasions especially when milestones are celebrated. From paper to pearl, with silver and diamond along the way wedding anniversaries are more than ever times to celebrate.
Then again, as we get older birthdays seem to come around with far more regularity – no matter, just be sure that because you were born the world’s a better place – now that’s a real reason for celebration!
The Bible often spoke of God’s people being on a pilgrimage rather than a journey.
Along the way those pilgrim people would take rest and build shrines where others who followed would also find them places of rest and reflection.
Perhaps we too need anniversaries because they can be good opportunities to recall the past and to be encouraged to the future. Of course, not all anniversaries are times of celebration – when the day of the loss of a loved ones comes around again it can be painful as memories come flooding back.
However, one thing’s for sure, whatever life has held for us we too can look back with gratitude and face each new day in the confidence that God’s faithful love is leading us each and every step of the way.