Macmillan: Tree of Hope

The beginning and the end…

September is, for many of us, a month of change. It marks the end of the holidays, and the beginning of a new school year. It’s the end of summer, and the beginning of autumn. September reminds us that in life, beginnings and endings flow into each other. The poet TS Eliot wrote: “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

Of course, beginnings and endings aren’t limited to September; they are a constant feature of life. In church, we are regularly reminded of that as we celebrate the beginnings that baptism marks, and the endings that funerals commemorate.

In our church of St Mary’s, and indeed in pretty much any church, if you look closely enough you’ll find in a window, on a kneeler, on a candle (pictured), on a hanging or carving, these two characters: AΩ. Alpha and Omega, the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet.

Why are they there? They are a reminder of some words from the book of Revelation (the last book in the Bible): “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” For Christians, the letters AΩ are a reminder that Jesus is the beginning and the end, that he encompasses all our beginnings and endings, that the whole of our existence is lived enfolded in his love. For some of us, September may well be a month of significant change, of beginnings and endings. For others of us, it might be a month in which life runs on an even keel. But whatever befalls us, it may help us and reassure us to remember that all of our beginnings and endings are enfolded in the love of God who is the beginning and end of all things.

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Macmillan Tree of Hope

Midhurst Palliative Care will hold its annual Tree of Hope Service at St Mary’s Church Easebourne on Thursday 1st December at 6.30pm and will also include viewings of the 2021 Book of Love as well as the five previous years. The Tree outside the church will be lit and will be available to view throughout Advent and Christmas.

We invite you to remember a loved one who will not be with you this Christmas by dedicating a light on the permanent Midhurst Palliative Care Tree of Hope kindly donated by Lord and Lady Cowdray which will stand proudly outside St Mary’s Church.

All dedications will be entered in our special 2022 Book of Love and will include all dedications received through to the end of October.

Email: SC-TR.MidhurstMacmillan@nhs.net for a dedication form and donation information. All donations received from this event will help fund the Midhurst Macmillan Service based at the Pearson Unit at the Midhurst Community Hospital, to support their patients and their families living with cancer and other lifelimiting illnesses in Midhurst and the surrounding areas. Lynda Moseley Tree of Hope Coordinator

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