Sunday 15^th February 2026

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21 (NIV)

Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson was Bishop of Aston here in Birmingham 2008-2014, and then went on to become  Bishop of Guildford.  This week we received the sad news that he has recently been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, which I find sobering as he’s only a couple of weeks older than I am.  The news is clearly a big shock to him, to his family, and to the diocese.

What is most encouraging, though, is the way he writes about it in a pastoral letter to people across the Diocese of Guildford.  He quotes some words of Eugene Peterson, which in turn he had heard quoted at a meeting of Bishop’s Council:

“Every day I put hope on the line. I don’t know one thing about the future. I don’t know what the next hour will hold. There may be sickness, accident, personal or world catastrophe. Before this day is over I may have to deal with death, pain, loss, rejection … Still, despite my ignorance and surrounded by tinny optimists and cowardly pessimists, I say that God will accomplish his will, and I cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing will separate me from Christ’s love.”

He concludes his letter with these words: “Those with great faith might wish to pray for my complete healing, and that, of course, would be wonderful; but ‘cheerfully persisting’ towards a good death also bears testimony to our living Lord, and St. Paul’s testimony – that ‘for me to live is Christ, to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:21) – is the greatest comfort of them all.”

It is a remarkable thing to be able to hold the things of this world so loosely, and yet to hold Christ so tightly, although the two go together.  It’s as we learn to hold Christ tightly – or rather to see that he holds us – that we learn to relax our grip on this world.  May God grant us such faith.

Yours warmly, in Christ
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)