Jesus says something quite remarkable about prayer in Sunday’s Gospel passage, ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’ Perhaps we might question that, from the experience of asking God for certain things in prayer and them not being granted. Perhaps the point is that it is by being faithful and persistent in prayer we discover how our lives can contribute to Christ working out his will for his world. What we do believe in faith, however, is that Christ remains faithful to us through all the different circumstances of life and even in times when his faithfulness seems questionable to us. The important thing is to continue to abide in him.

As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in this Easter Season, we hear on Sunday another of the ‘I am’ sayings from St John’s Gospel. The significance of these sayings is that Jesus is claiming to be God.

From the book of Exodus ‘I am’ is what God reveals his own name to be. Last Sunday we reflected on Jesus saying, ‘I am the good shepherd.’ This week we hear him saying ‘I am the true vine…’

Thanks to the letters of St Paul we often think of the Church as the body of Christ. This is a good image which reminds us that as faithful and baptised Christians we are members of that body, all different with different parts to play and different contributions to make – and all of equal significance.

With the image of the vine we are likened to branches and reminded that if we do not remain well connected to the vine then we are unable to bear fruit, ‘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.’ It is both encouraging and humbling to be assured that by being faithful to Christ we can bear much fruit. At the same time so much does depend upon His grace and our willingness to remain faithful to him.

Our worship and prayer are obvious ways in which we can ensure that we continue to abide in Him.

One of the great causes for celebration as we mark the 10th anniversary of the diocese and reflect on the life of the Church across this region is the remarkable extent to which individuals and communities do abide in Christ and as a result, are transformed for the better. Great stories were shared at the service with the Archbishop of York in Bradford Cathedral last Saturday. Yet more will be heard from the rural communities of the diocese in a wonderful service that will take place at Ripon Cathedral on Sunday May 12 at 3.30pm. You are warmly invited to join us for that and to be encouraged by it.

Earlier this week, I made the announcement that our Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Anderson, has taken the difficult decision to step away from work to attend to family needs in Northern Ireland. Amanda has been doing a brilliant job for us since arriving last summer and we are very sorry that she will be leaving us in July. The Chapter and I pray for Amanda and her family.

The process of finding a new Chief Operating Officer is now beginning.

With my best wishes

Dean John