Letter from Jon, March 2021 

 Dear Liberty Family
 
It is coming up for a full year since we first went into lockdown but you don’t need me to remind you of that!  During this last year it has been difficult to plan ahead with any degree of certainty and we have had to change so many plans so many times as restrictions change.  However, over these last months I have spent a lot of time considering what lies ahead for us as the Liberty family, what will Liberty Church look like in years to come, thinking beyond lockdown and with the hope of a new sense of normality where we can again move, meet and reach out to those around us without having to stay two metres apart or wear a mask.
 
Whilst the last year was not what any of us expected and our world has changed in so many ways, I know that none of this has come as a surprise to our Heavenly Father.  He is continuing to move and to work in our lives and in the lives of many who have yet to know him.  As I have been considering what I believe God has planned for us in the years ahead and have been talking it through with the Pastors and Elders I have been growing more and more excited and passionate about what lies beyond lockdown for us.  As we picture what we would like our Church to look like in years to come it provides a reference point for the decisions we need to make today.
 
This, of course, is not only true of Church but true for our lives as well.  Where do you want to be in five or ten years time?  What kind of life do you want to have? What kind of person do you want to be?  What kind of relationships do you want to have?  What will your body and mind look like?  What do you want to have learned and experienced? Now, I know that we cannot guarantee our future; things like a pandemic come along and mess up our plans!  But I do know that if we have a direction, a vision for the future, then we stand a much better chance of realising that vision if the decisions we make today lead us towards, rather than away from that.
 
As we continue to develop a picture of the future for Liberty Church that will guide our decisions today, a picture that looks beyond our current circumstances with hope and expectation, let me urge you to ask the questions of your own life, to bring your future before God and to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you now that you would become all that God has for you in the future.
 
Much love
 
Jon
 
  
Jon Farrimond
Lead Pastor
Liberty Church
SC002865