Well Barking Riverside, we did it again! We made it through another really uncertain December and have almost come out the other end, as we draw January 2022 to a close. Even with a threat of another lockdown and the revelations of the government’s shenanigans in the past couple of years, we still managed to come together and celebrate Christmas. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have had such beautifully decorated trees across the estate, and if it wasn’t for our brilliant Street Tree Hosts, we wouldn’t have had any engagement at all. A big thank you to everyone who helped organise, decorate and maintain the trees over December! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our Carols, whether you were part of the walking, singing tour, or if you came to your balcony/door to sing along, the sense of community and warmth really rang true.

Through another year of being in ‘unprecedented times’, which in some ways was worst than 2020 because we thought we would have made it out well before now, it has also been another year one full of kindnesses and our community coming together in different ways. What I loved most about the decorations, is how they give a visual picture of our community coming together, even if we’re not all ready for full, in real life, face to face gatherings.

So many decorations by so many different ages (I even enjoyed doing a couple!) and the picture it shows me is of people joining in, having fun and sharing hope for the future. We all know hope is what the whole world needs right now and God give us this in abundance with His promise of brighter days to come. So to be ready for what God has promised, we need to make more room in our lives for Him for Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit so we may be strengthened to get through hard times. From here, our hope, love and kindness can overflow to others around us, making life that little be nicer.

So lets pray for blessings of hope for us all:

May the Lord show you the greatness of His goodness, that you overflow with thanks every day. May the Lord bless you abundantly with rest for the heart, power for virtue, wisdom for life, and patience in suffering. May the Lord bless you with joyful hope, and one day with the inexpressible joys of eternal life. Amen

Here’s to the rest of 2022!

 “’For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.’”

Jeremiah 29:11