One question, four answers

Louise Franklin
‘They said, the Christians die with a light in their eyes.’

Every day I am nearer to death than I was yesterday. And I am more confident now than I was when I was converted 37 years ago that death is not the end.

I am more confident of the hope we have in Christ, more confident that there is a point to this life and the next. We do grieve and it does­­­ hurt, but it is not the full stop of everything. We can grieve with confidence. That confidence shapes how I live and I hope it will shape how I die…

Louise Franklin is Minister of West Kirby and St David’s Eastham United Reformed Churches in the Mersey Synod. This article is an edited extract from a sermon, printed with permission

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Rachel Jordan-Wolf
‘Jesus rescued the whole world from our greatest enemy, death’

People today are looking for hope. I am just returning from Wales where I have been speaking to church leaders. One was reflecting on the hopelessness of people in his town, another spoke to me about the work she does with hopeless drug addicts…

Rachel Jordan-Wolf is Executive Director of Hope Together. ‘Hope in hard times’ is available from hopetogether.org.uk/shop

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Martha Kate Hunt
‘Transformation can happen, even during painful conflict’

Life feels hard for so many people and communities, and churches are no exception. This is a time of great change and uncertainty for many, something that can often result in conflict and pain. Yet I believe there is an invitation being extended to us in the face of all this pain and uncertainty, an invitation that calls us up and out of the overwhelm and helplessness into the creation of a transformed world that is infused with life and peace…

Martha Kate Hunt is Programme Lead (Training and Reconciliation) for Place for Hope

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Trevor Jamison
‘God works in the Jesus way’

As a minister, I get to be involved in lots of funerals, which truly is a privilege. Frequently, I hear it said that the deceased ‘must be looking down on us’. Interestingly, it’s often those with the least apparent connection with ‘organised religion’ who are saying it. Part of me wants to reply, ‘How can you know that? Is this anything more than wishful thinking?’..

Trevor Jamison is Minister at St Columba’s United Reformed Church in North Shields, and is Clerk to the Northern Synod of the URC. This article is an edited extract from a sermon, printed with permission

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This is an extract from an article published in the October 2024 edition of Reform

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