From the Regional Team
Revd Paul Kerley
SEBA Regional Minister
“October, the month when even the church boiler needs prayer.”
As October settles across SEBA - from the Kent villages to the Sussex coast, through Surrey’s towns and into North East Hampshire - creation itself becomes a quiet preacher. Without words, it offers one of those sermons we didn’t ask for but probably need: a reminder that God’s work is often slow, steady, unseen and faithful rather than dramatic. The leaves turn, the pace softens and the Spirit continues shaping our churches, other ministries and our own hearts - even when many in our congregations or workplaces are already talking about Christmas!
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16 “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” Here Paul encourages us not to lose heart. What a gift it is that this renewal does not depend on whether the photocopier behaves, the church boiler survives its annual awakening and service or the Deacons’ Meeting finishes before someone says, “Just one more thing…”. God’s renewing work is quieter, deeper and far more constant than the pressures that tug at us.
Across SEBA in our churches and other places of Christian ministry, much of God’s kingdom work unfolds in the ordinary:
• patient leadership offered in love
• shared discernment that listens for the Spirit’s whisper
• cups of tea that become moments of grace
• safeguarding reviews that remind us of God’s care for the vulnerable
• sermons that somehow connect, stick and actually change people
So, this October, may you notice the small signs of grace that God places along your path. May you rest in the confidence that the Spirit is quietly at work among the people God has given to you. And may you know, in all you carry, the deep sustaining kindness and love of God.
And may the kingdom keep growing - even on the Sundays when the heating misbehaves, the livestream freezes, the younger Sunday School class leaves glue and glitter everywhere and someone asks if you’ve “got a minute” just as you’re heading home for Sunday lunch. For even there, in the interruptions and imperfections, Christ is present and His grace is enough.
In His service.
Revd. Paul Kerley.
SEBA Regional Minister