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- Hayes
- Bromley
- KENT
- BR2 7HU
Minister's Letter
Dear Friends,
When you read this, it will be June and we shall soon be halfway through 2026!
Our lives are marked by milestones and constant change.
I am reminded of when I lived in Denmark many years ago. I was told that the Danes celebrated “St Hans’ Eve” by burning effigies of witches on bonfires to send them packing, back to the Harz Mountains in Germany. I had never heard of a saint called Hans, but found out that Hans is a short form of Johannes and referred to John the Baptist, whose feast day is 24 June (Midsummer Day). I never found out where the witches came in, but midsummer is often associated with midsummer madness, magic, and the supernatural, as we know from Shakespeare.
And why John the Baptist? The Bible tells us that John was six months older than Jesus. I don’t think anyone knows exactly when either Jesus or John was born, but they are commemorated at the two solstices – dates that mark changes in the length of days and nights. John marked the end of the old era and pointed on to Jesus, who marked the new era of forgiveness and grace rather than law and strictness. John himself said of Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease” 
(John 3.30).
As we look back on our lives, we often see changes of direction (at least I do). In our churches too, we often have to adapt to changes. “For everything there is a season…. And a time to keep and a time to cast away” (Ecclesiastes 3). God is there to guide us in our changing world.
David Stoner