Vicar's View

2025 - will it be a good year?   

2025 is a year of Jubilee in the Roman Catholic Church, a year that takes place every 25 years. It’s a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. This acts as a challenge for all of us: 

How can we spend more time talking and listening to God through reading the Bible and prayer? 

How can we grow our love for our family and friends? 

How can we make more impact at work, by demonstrating an attractive faith to colleagues? 

When Joshua led God’s people to the banks of the Jordan, ready to cross over into the Promised Land, he said: ‘you have never been this way before’(Joshua 3:4). At the beginning of a New Year, when we don’t know what the future holds, how can we grow in our relationship with God?

Keep our focus on God: The people were told to follow the Ark, symbolising God’s presence, as they crossed the river. Let’s keep our focus on God and His Word throughout this year and keep in step with where He is leading us. 

Consecrate ourselves: Joshua said, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ (3:5). God has exciting opportunities ahead for us in this coming year! Let us dedicate our lives afresh to Him, as we let go of known sin and keep our eyes open on seeing God at work in all of our lives. 

Will 2025 be a good year for us? ‘In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years. ’Abraham Lincoln 

Canon Paul Hardingham