'The Times, They are A-Changing'

26 Sep 2021 • Articles

Do you remember that well-known song from years ago?  Bob Dylan was born during the Second World War, eighty years ago, in 1941.  Perhaps his voice was not the most tuneful, even among pop stars, when he sang 'Blowing in the Wind', but the protest songs he wrote attracted a lot of admiring and enthusiastic fans.

The times of the clocks are changed each spring and autumn, and usually a few people protest on the radio or in the newspapers, but within a few days it is all forgotten again.'Daylight Saving Time' was introduced during the First World War, in 1916, so we have had time to become accustomed to it.Remember it is 'spring forward, fall back' so each October you have been given an extra hour to sleep before coming to church one Sunday morning - no excuses for lateness then!

Did you ever think about Bob Dylan's song about how the times are changing?  It starts, "Gather 'round people wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown".  Listeners can read their own thoughts into most pop songs, so what about the people who have roamed too far, forgetting to gather around the church?  Many mothers and fathers believe in God but have never thought to bring their children to church, sometimes they have not even found time to arrange for their children to be baptised.  Dylan sang, "You'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changing.  "In this changing world, children need the stability, safety and buoyancy which God's Spirit gives.  Think about it, are you and those you love most likely to sink or to swim, and is it is time you stopped roaming?

May our eternal and unchanging Father bless you and be your guide,

Ann