Thought for the Week with Rev Martin Russell: Rushbearing Festival
Recently my local church at Warley hosted a service for the Rushbearing Festival. This festival goes back to the time when rushes were brought to local churches to cover the church floor.
It was amazing to see so many people with the rushcart together with morris dancers and others dressed in colourful costumes.
There was dancing outside the church and then I welcomed the Mayor and others to our church for a service at which rushes were presented and blessed.
It was a great occasion of church and community coming together.
In these days when religion can be seen as something private and personal it was so good to experience church and community together.
For Christians, faith is expressed in life through love for God and our neighbour.
We seek to commend our faith following the example of Jesus whose ministry was very public in caring for the sick, the suffering and those on the margins of society.
Jesus said his followers were to be "salt of the earth" meaning they would bring seasoning to wider society and also to preserve all that is good.
They also were to be "light in the world" bringing God's kindness and generosity to a needy world.
Our faith is there to serve the community and the wider world.
Rev Martin Russell