Hi folks, we are meeting on Sunday night at the Tavern and Galley at 7.30, It would be great to see you if you are able.
Enclosed is the program for the summer… and the image that goes with our theme this week.
This week we’re thinking about what it really means to change. Not in a heavy or guilt-filled way, but as something more natural and life-giving. We’ll explore repentance as a kind of returning, a gentle reorientation back toward the Divine, toward others, and toward the life we’re made for. Using images from nature, we’ll reflect on what helps us grow, what holds us back, and how we might reconnect with what truly sustains us.
John 15:1-8 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[a] to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[c] my disciples.
When Jesus talks about change, he doesn’t begin with pressure or performance. He begins with a garden. “I am the vine; you are the branches… remain in me.”
It’s a quiet image. You can almost feel it, the slow growth, the steady connection between vine and branch, life moving unseen but constant. There’s no urgency here. No sense of “try harder”…Just: stay connected.
In this picture, the branch isn’t described as bad or useless. The issue is simply whether it’s still connected to the vine. When it’s cut off, it withers, not as punishment, but because it’s no longer receiving what gives it life.
I wonder then if that is where repentance begins to shift meaning, not as shame,
not as a dramatic turning point, but as a return. or a re-connection.
In reality, most of us don’t wake up and choose to walk away from what is good. We drift. Life gets busy. Habits form. We pick up ways of living that slowly pull us out of alignment, with God, with others, with creation, even with ourselves. And often, we only notice when something feels off.
It seems to me that Jesus doesn’t respond to that drift with pressure, but rather he invites us back… with these words… “Remain in me.”
It’s a word that suggests staying, dwelling, making a home. Repentance, then, could be less like a sudden U-turn and more like stepping back into the current after drifting to the edges. It’s choosing, again and again, to stay rooted in what gives life.
Then there’s the image of pruning… ugh!
At first, it sounds uncomfortable. Cutting back, removing growth. But pruning isn’t about harming the plant. It’s about helping it flourish. It clears space. It directs energy. It allows something healthier to grow. And that’s often where repentance becomes real.
It might mean letting go of habits that once felt necessary but no longer bring life. Patterns of consumption. Ways of relating. Ways of coping. Even ways of thinking about ourselves. It’s not always easy.
But the goal is never loss for its own sake… The goal is life!
And this reaches beyond just personal change.
If we look at the world around us, repentance takes on a wider shape. It becomes about how we live within creation. Turning away from patterns that harm the earth. Turning toward ways of living that sustain and restore. Choosing connection over convenience. Care over consumption.
Repentance could and maybe should become a way of life.
A steady returning.
A daily re-rooting.
A quiet choosing of life.
In a culture that often pushes us toward more, faster, bigger, Jesus offers something different. Growth that comes from staying connected. Change that comes from abiding.
So maybe the question shifts. Not, “How do I fix everything?” But, “Where do I need to reconnect?” Because the vine is still there. The life is still flowing. And the invitation is still open.
Some questions…
- If your life were a plant right now, what would it be, thriving houseplant, slightly struggling herb, dramatic orchid, or something else? And what season are you in?
- Where in your life do you feel most connected right now, and what helps that connection stay strong?
- When you hear the word “repentance,” what comes to mind, and how does this image of the vine change that?
- What does “drifting” look like in your everyday life, and how do you usually notice it?
- What’s something small you could cut back on that might make life feel healthier or calmer?
- How does the idea of “remaining” challenge the way our culture thinks about success, growth, or productivity?
- What might it look like to “turn toward life” in how we treat the environment or use resources?
- What is one small way you could reconnect this week, with God, with others, or with creation?
Peace, Rob
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.