Hello!

Another month has passed us by, can you believe it is November already?! The nights are drawing ever closer but that means twinkly lights, cosy weather, blankets, fires and preparing for the close of the year. For some, this time of year can be a challenge and for others it’s very welcomed. Wherever you find yourself, the turn of a season is an invitation to slow down, reflect, dream and draw close to God once more.


With lots of love,
Bethanna and the Kids Team x

Seasons

by Tobias Lancaster

“For everything there is a season,  
and a time for every matter under heaven.” 

- Ecclesiastes 3:1 

For reasons not interesting enough to explain, I recently had to venture back on the HTH YouTube channel to find my first ever service at HTH. But I was shocked to discover that I barely recognised the person I saw on the screen. This past-Toby looked so much younger, had fewer grey hairs, and fewer cares. This past-Toby also seemed different, he was a bundle of nerves, naivete, and anticipation at what was the beginning of a new season of life. Hannah and I had just left our beloved Brighton, where we had dated, gotten married, and had children, before stepping into an unknown future in a town, church, and community that we knew very little about. Almost four years later, we now stand again on the brink of an impasse, looking into the depths of another unknown future, a season whose fruit – whether bitter or sweet – we are yet to have tasted. 

There exists a temptation to pine for what’s gone before and attempt to live in the half-remembered haze of yesterday, partly, because we don’t really understand our present until we’ve lost it. In the Church, this is often summed up in a sentimentalised nostalgia for “the early church” (but we’d do well to remember that our forebears in the faith did not have it all together). This desire to recover the “good old days” conjures up in our hearts a longing for an idealized season that no longer exists. Or perhaps we look back in shame, remembering past sins and traumas which ooze into the present like a chronic sickness. As the Christian philosopher James K.A. Smith puts it, “Our pasts do not remain in our pasts because we bring them with us in who we are.” (Smith, How to Inhabit Time, 2023). 

But there also exists the opposite temptation to try and live into the future in the hopes that the grass will be greener; the “good life” is out there waiting for you. In my experience, however, the goalposts that define our vision of “the good life” are ever shifting just out of reach; that new school/job/pay rise/car/slimmer waistline/change in circumstance etc., never quite cuts it. Perhaps the grass isn’t as green as we think. To remedy this, some in the worldwide Church obsess over the ‘end times’, longing for the cataclysmic day of Jesus’ return when they hope to shake off this mortal coil and be whisked off to eternal bliss. But as Smith again cautions, “If we view the present moment as merely the waiting room for eternity, we will struggle to listen for Christ’s call in the now that we’re in.”  

This might all sound like a recipe for despair, but in the light of Jesus, it’s actually incredibly liberating. Because the grace we have each been given in Christ is both proactive – extending into our future – and retroactive – pressing in on our past. In Christ, we participate in a story that is bigger than any of us and greater than time itself. Our story – past, present, and future – is firmly held in His story. Jesus has assured that not only have yesterday’s sins, worries, and desires been taken care of, but tomorrow’s have as well. In Jesus, I am reminded at this pivotal moment, that I need not be drowned by season’s past, nor consumed by seasons to come, but that I am free to live out the gift of life in the season we call here & now.  

Autumnal Gratitude Walk

As a family grab your waterproofs, wellies and warm accessories and head out into the crisp autumn air. There are some incredible local spots where you can run through the leaves and marvel at God’s creation. There is a tree in our local park that I visit regularly and I often find myself in quiet contemplation as I notice the changes through each season. Do you have a favourite spot you could visit together?

Whilst you are out, why not talk about the things you are grateful for, things that have been before and things to come and things you are anticipating from this new season. Might it be to do with home life, school, work or something else? Can you pray together as you walk?

For the little ones - make a bracelet of tape (with the sticky side facing out) and make an autumnal bracelet from fallen leaves and small twigs or flowers or take some card with double sided sticky tape on to create an autumnal scene.

Talking points

• What plants or trees can you see? What colours are the leaves? are they still on the trees or have they already fallen?

• What is something that is on your mind at the moment?

• What are some things we can be grateful for as a family at this time?

• Talk about the different animals that might be benefiting from the change of season? Are there some that come awake at this time or others that go into hibernation? Think about how intricately God has designed the world.

• Is there someone you can pray for as a family that might need some love during this season?

Get to know: The Garlick Family

Hi, We’re the Garlicks.

We moved down to Hastings at the end of 2019 from Birmingham where we were living and working at the time. We have been coming to HTH since January 2020 and it’s felt like home ever since! We now have two children, Isobel (3) and Tobias (1) who love it equally as much and thrive in the kids work every week!

Finlay works for a healthcare company focusing on supporting NHS radiology departments where he leads their commercial team and Fayth as an interior designer, specialising in designing luxury kitchens across the South East. Between the chaos of working and raising a family, we love coming to HTH as it feels like a breath of fresh air every week where we can meet with Jesus and connect with friends in such a great and welcoming community. There’s always something going on and to get involved in and we feel so grateful that we can raise our children in this environment!

We’re excited to see what 2025 brings and what God is going to do in not only our lives but our kids at HTH.

Finlay, Fayth, Isobel & Tobias