APCM 2026 Acts of the Apostles 17.22-31, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14.15-21
St. Francis’ Prayer for the Day Let us pray:
Help us to live this day quietly, gently. To lean upon your great strength trustfully, respectfully. To wait for the unfolding of your will patiently, serenely. To meet others peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow confidently, courageously. Amen.
As we gather today for our Parish Communion, and then for our APCM, we do so, not only as custodians of this parish, but as stewards of God’s creation and one another – as is echoed through the hymns we will sing today and in the word’s sung in the performance of ‘Saints Alive’ here last night: ‘we’re brothers and sisters, in Jesus our Lord’. This week, the world has celebrated the remarkable life of Sir David Attenborough on the occasion of his 100th year – a century spent helping humanity to see the wonder, fragility and interconnectedness of life onEarth. Through his voice, generations have learned to look more closely, to listen more carefully and to cherish more deeply the beauty of creation.
For me, what has made his witness so powerful is not simply knowledge, but reverence: reverence for the natural world, for truth, for patience, for good humor – and for hope. Reminding me, reminding us, that small acts of care matter, that every living thing has value, and that we belong, not apart from creation, but within it.
As people of faith, we will recognise in the vision an echo of the Gospel, the Good News that we seek to live by, and to share with all – a call to gratitude, responsibility, humility and wonder. We are invited to be good and faithful caretakes of what has been entrusted to us: this church, this parish community, this earth, for now and for the generations yet to come.
In the run up to today, listening to many of you since my return following surgery earlier in the year, it has been good to listen, and hear afresh to what you, to what the spirit is saying. With mixed feelings from many about today’s APCM meeting – there has been much soul-searching and prayer, that image of wrestling with God’s promises and reassurances, alongside the living reality on the ground, has come to heart and mind. As we look back over the past year, many of us can name the challenges: illness, uncertainty, bereavement, fatigue, change we did not choose, burdens we did not expect. And yet, here we are. Still loving, still serving,
That in itself is no small testimony – great is God’s faithfulness, morning by morning, new mercies we have seen, it is God who has raised us up, who has taken us by the hand and kept us, throughout it all.
God has not been absent from our story. Even through the unknowns, the challenges, the hardships, the difficult times, the strain, God has been closer than we may have realized, for ‘for in him, we live, we move, we have our being’. Our resilience is not simply about our own achievements; it is the grace of God at work in and through us that we give thanks for today, first and foremost – for great is God’s faithfulness.
In Peter’s letter read this morning, he speaks into the hardship with clarity – “Do not fear what they fear … but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord”. The early Christians were not shielded from suffering, but they were anchored in hope, learning that faith is not proven in the easiest of times, but it is refined in challenging ones.
In Acts, Paul stands in Athens, speaking to people who do not yet fully know God. He does not begin with condemnation, but with recognition – “I see how religious you are in every way”. He honors where they are, before gently leading them forward into deeper truth. There is wisdom for me here.
After nearly 5years here as your Vicar, being alongside you, I have come to know you better. I understand that these are not small lessons to learn, nor do they come easily without cost or sacrifice – but as we hear afresh Jesus’ promise in John’s Gospel “I will not leave you orphaned” this morning, we are reminded that we are not abandoned, we are not forgotten, we are not left alone to manage. The Advocate – the Spirit of truth – remains with us – breaking and melting, molding and shaping us – drawing us together, here in this place, here at this time, this present moment is where God meets us: in friend and stranger, in sorrow and in joy, in bread and in wine, in life, and in death - here Christ is with us - drawing us together in unity and love.
So today may we rejoice and give thanks – not because everything is right with the world, nor in our lives, nor even in our life together - not because everything is perfect, but because God is with us, God is present. As we worship this morning, with our APCM meeting at heart, we have opportunity to give thanks for every act of goodness and loving service, every seen and unseen task completed, every financial contribution given and fundraised for, every spoken and silent prayer that has sustained this parish. St. Paul reminds us that God is not far from each one of us. St. Peter reminds us to hold fast to hope. Our Lord Jesus reminds us we are never alone.
Today, may we renew our own calling, inspired even further, by others like Sir David Attenborough; to notice more deeply, to serve more generously, to protect more courageously, and to leave this world kinder, wiser and more hopeful than we found it.
By the grace of God, we go forward as a people shaped by what we have lived through; I pray that we may be strengthened by what we have learned, grateful for what we share, and hopeful for what God will yet do amongst us.
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.