As our famous little frog says in the Muppet show ‘It isn’t easy being green!’ and it isn’t. but we do need to think about ‘green issues. We are aware that at present the whole news thing is full of doom and gloom. We know that there are many weather conditions that are frightening – we are seeing and hearing about massive floods; a year’s rain falling in just one day; massive hurricanes bringing down buildings as if they were matchsticks; wars that seem to take on serious consequences; famines where polio is rearing its ugly head again because of a lack of availability of medication and treatment. The list could go on It is as if what we see today is just what Jesus was telling to his disciples. But this reading is not about the end but about a new beginning – ‘The phrase that sticks out to me is ‘These are the beginning of birth pains.’ For those of us fortunate enough to have gone through those pains we know that there were long periods of pain and distress but having given birth to our wonderful child/children the pain is left behind and the new life is there in front of us. And that is what this is all about – a new life; a new way of living; a different mindset. We as mothers no longer think of just us but of a wider future. And we would like to take you on that journey that we have taken going for a new way of thinking; a new mindset of our future.

• This is a journey which is not just starting now, but started a few years ago
• A lot of effort went into obtaining Bronze and Silver as well, but Gold is a whole new level, having to achieve a certain standard across ALL 5 sections
• Way back in 2016 we were down in the bottom third of the chart. I know that I would go on at every opportunity about how we should look after our ‘beautiful blue planet.’ Nowadays it is recognised that we are doing damage to our environment and we have to change if we want to avoid serious damage. And we are; we are in this very church; we are, all the times that you try to improve what you feel about the environment. Remember the kings we made from recycled sweet wrappers and how Clara reared the butterflies and let them go in our ‘Wild area.’ We have come a long way. We are into the Gold bracket, a lot has been done to achieve that, not that easy when it’s a beautiful, but old building like this church.
• We have installed a glass door to save on heating costs, light sensors in the toilet and corridor, water butt just installed outside

I do hope that you see that we have moved on; we are starting a new way of thinking; people are considering a new way of thinking and living – At least that is what I hope and believe.