Minister’s Letter
August 2010
Dear Friends,
According to a new study by the Royal Society of the Arts, Britain has the worst anti-social behaviour problem in Europe. What is more, we are least likely to take action to stop it when we see it; unlike, for example, the Germans. The report suggests that people, especially those on the front line of public service like park wardens and postmen, should be trained in basic community safety skills.
The man I saw in a Brighton street the other day was being pretty anti-social. He was lying in a shop doorway and vomiting onto the pavement. Because there weren’t any park wardens or postmen around to help, I kept on walking. I felt a bit guilty, but I convinced myself that the man was both homeless and drunk and that there was nothing I could really do even if I did stop to help. As far as I could see, my response was echoed by every other person in the street.
In church the following day we listened to the famous parable of the Good Samaritan which was, because of the day before, a rather uncomfortable experience. You probably know the story. Beside the road a man lies bleeding and beaten up. Possibly he’s a foolish man for walking such a way alone; possibly this is a trap with robbers lying in wait for any kindly soul naive enough to come to the man’s aid. At best the man lying by the roadside is a nuisance and an inconvenience. Yet the Samaritan, an unwelcome foreigner, gets it right. He stops, helps, and goes the extra mile and, in doing so at such personal cost and risk, demonstrates the heart of God, who stoops to love and save. The Samaritan also demonstrates that love isn’t general, a benign and vague good will towards all and sundry, but that love is always particular, tied to a person and a place.
At the end of the parable Jesus gives us a simple command, “Go and do likewise.” The Samaritan could have, and probably did, come up with all sorts of ‘good’ reasons to keep on walking: fears for his own safety, too busy, more important priorities, leave it to better-qualified people (like park wardens and postmen) — just as I did, in fact. But, when all is said and done, he stopped and I didn’t. Why?
With best wishes.
Lindsay Hammond
July 2010
Summer is here! Or at least we hope it is as we are now well and truly in the second half of June. Although the weather at the time of writing has been typical of that of a British summer (sunshine and showers), it is nonetheless good to see the benefits of sun and the warmth that it brings, all around us, particularly in the light of the long winter we had to endure.
The sun is essential for life. Without it the planet cannot function, nothing would grow and we would perish, for we need its light and warmth. Of course, too much sun can be bad in certain circumstances. It can lead to skin cancers, and we are still to learn the full effects of the increase in global temperatures. Of course, this is not the sun‘s doing. It is the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, illustrative of how interconnected all of life is.
‘The Sun’ is used many times to illustrate aspects of our relationship with God. In Psalm 108, the Psalmist is so certain of his confidence in God; of how reliable God is, that he desires that his worship will ‘wake up the sun’, such is his joy at God’s work in his life.
In Psalm 121, one of my favourite psalms, the psalmist records the words of God to us his people; that whilst God cannot prevent difficult and challenging moments coming along in our lives, he will nonetheless protect and defend us. God does not sleep, so He is never ‘off-duty’ in His care of his[us? Tim]. He does not doze off, but instead defends us on every side. In a reference to the sun and moon, God is our shade from the worst of the sun, protecting us from the worst of its effects.
This then is the meaning of that wonderful Psalm; that God defends us from the worst of when things go wrong. How does he do this? The answer lies in the mystery of how ‘faith’, ‘trust’ and ‘hope’ interlock. God raised Jesus from the dead, so that faith is not a blind faith, but one based on solid evidence. God calls us therefore to trust Him and to live our lives in the light of that truth, that Jesus is alive. This then leads us to hope, for a life of trust is one that sees and hears God all around, for God so loves His people.
With warmest best wishes to you, from all of us at the Vicarage, for a lovely summer, whatever the weather:-)!
Richard (King)
June 2010
Dear Readers,
The great Festivals of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity have all come and gone. The Christian calendar now concentrates on consolidating the teaching of Jesus as we read various passages from the Bible each week (or day?).
One of the first subjects the Alpha Course (ever been on one? — the next one is due to start in September) reflects upon is: “Who is Jesus?”
Perhaps John’s Gospel helps to answer this question: “In the beginning was The Word the Word was with God the Word was God” (cf. John 1:1).
What is John saying?
Let’s step back. The Christian world began in Judaism, the first members were Jews. Jesus by human descent was a Jew who rarely went outside of Palestine. So the Christian writers were at first writing to the Jews in Jewish ways of thought. But within 30 years of Jesus’ death — Christianity was spreading outside of Palestine as far as Rome. By AD 60 there were probably 100,000 Greeks to every 1 Jewish Christian, and the problem was — the Greek thought process was not like that of the Jews. The Greeks had never heard of the concept of a Messiah. Whereas this was central to the Jewish religion. So how could the Christian truth: “That God so loved the world that He sent His Son” (cf. John 3:16), be shared with the Greeks? Did the Greek way of thought need to be changed to be in accordance with the Jews? Or was there another way? Yes! John, the author of the 4th Gospel, saw in his own faith a solution. The WORD!!
The Word of God which brought into existence the world.
The Word which expresses the very idea of the action of God.
The Word which was the illuming power of God.
The Greeks back in 560BC in Ephesus had come to the conclusion that there was the LOGOS. The word of God who ordered creation out of chaos and the reason of God. Later their thoughts went even further in that LOGOS came to mean the mind of God. So John came to the Greeks and said that for centuries you have been thinking and writing about The Logos; I say to you that Jesus IS that LOGOS.
The Word became flesh, or in another way, The mind of God became a person. John writes his Gospel to tell the Greeks and Jews that men no longer need to guess or grope. All they had to do was look at Jesus to see the MIND of GOD. He starts his Gospel by telling us Jesus is God’s creative — lifegiving — light giving WORD, who came to earth in human and bodily form.
He says the Word was here at the very beginning. Jesus is not one of the created things but was here before creation. Part of eternity.
The Word was always with God. So who better to tell us what God is Like?
The Word was God. In the Greek Jesus was perfectly LIKE God in every way, so we can hear again Jesus saying if you’ve seen Me you have seen The Father (John 14:9)
Are we still struggling with who Jesus really is? Or do we accept JESUS — The WORD — The LOGOS; as The SON of GOD; the SAVIOUR of the world.
WHO WAS THERE BEFORE ; AND IS NOW ; AND WILL ALWAYS BE?
Our Churches will be endeavouring to help us with this struggle as we worship God week by week this summer.
God Bless you
Rev Richard Webb
May 2010
As I write this, a battle is about to begin. The announcement has been made and the date has been set. Parliament has been dissolved and the final ‘Prime Minister’s Question Time’ has taken place amidst a lot of shouting and jeering with several personal attacks. The General Election is coming and this is only the beginning!
This month is the feast of Pentecost. The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit on the disciples, which, the Bible tells us, came upon them; like flames of fire in a sudden violent, rushing wind which filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Looking up the readings for Pentecost I was surprised to see the ancient story of the tower of Babel as one of the alternative readings (Genesis.11.1-9). In this story (or metaphor), a deep human puzzle is explored. Why is it, that whenever we let our skills and gifts divert us into pride and ambition, we end up bickering and losing our capacity for mutual co-operation? It’s a story that provides a useful foil to the events of Pentecost. For here we have God’s answer which turns the Babel story on its head. Asking God’s Holy Spirit to live in us, opens the possibility for living as God intended — in harmony with our creator and one another.
At Pentecost, the disciples, having taken Jesus’ promise to heart, were expectantly and prayerfully watching and waiting for his promise to be fulfilled.
In all the hectic busyness of life, we’re not always aware that God may be calling us to be attentive to something. We don’t always hear his voice because we’re not expecting to hear it. But, like Jesus’ disciples, we too, only have to set ourselves faithfully and expectantly to ask for the outpouring of God’s Spirit in our hearts, and God will honour our longing, and makes his presence known to us.
Sally
April 2010
As I write this, there’s a hint of spring in the air. The snowdrops and crocuses are in full bloom on the bank outside Westwell Church and the sky is bright and sunny. Easter is still four weeks away, but by the time you read this letter, it will be just around the corner.
At Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection, the bringing together of everything anticipated of Jesus Christ. It is the turning point, the difference. Here is the specific moment when an answer to a centuries-old question about the meaning of life is offered. The events of Good Friday only made sense to Jesus’ disciples after the resurrection had happened.
The key to grasping this reality is, of course, faith; faith that there is a God and that Easter marks the moment of true resurrection. That death, rather than being the end of the story of the mystery of creation, is but the beginning.
The ability, or not, to grasp such faith remains the heart of the matter. The fact of Christ’s resurrection could be known apart from faith. The question for many is how to get hold of such a faith.
Is there really life after death? It is a question I can understand people asking as they say goodbye to a loved one in the church or the crematorium. The question of faith is a constant refrain in many people’s lives.
Life is not without doubt. It comes to all of us at times. Life is a profound and fascinating journey offering many insights along the way and it certainly isn’t easy. But for the Christian, waiting today for the new light of Easter at dawn tomorrow, there is real expectation and real hope in the air.
A firm belief in the resurrection is often the culmination of a lifetime of serious and challenging episodes, pointing to a faith which transfigures, changes beyond recognition, all that fear.
A very happy Easter to you all.
Lindsay Hammond
March 2010
The gift of one another
One of the greatest gifts God gives us in this life is one another. Together we walk through the years learning to give and accept, to encourage and forgive, to protect and let go; learning the responsibility of helping those dependent on us, and sometimes having reluctantly to accept the dependence of others. While we are here, given one another to care for, we can learn the lessons of mutual love and support and shared suffering.
The fourth Sunday in Lent (March 14th) is ‘Mothering Sunday’; The Bible readings for that day tell us about Moses and Samuel and the love their mothers have for them; love that extends to the letting go, but is in no way abandoning or cutting-off. And in the life of Jesus we see another side of motherhood, just as real and recognisable. It is the path of shared suffering which all parents will relate to. However old we and they get, our mothers still suffer our hurts with us. Pain that hurts us hurts them too. In Jesus’ life we glimpse that tender reversal of roles that happens to many of us as we age, and find that, instead of caring for our children, they have started to take care of us. Jesus shows such loving care as, hanging on the cross, he gives Mary his mother and John his disciple one another to love and look after.
Through all the joy and pain of life, God gives the companionship and the joy of humans loving one another. There is a place for mothering in all relationships, including, of course, God’s relationship with us.
Sally Womersley
February 2010
Dear Friends,
Just before Christmas I took a primary school assembly and asked the children when it is that we give and receive presents. After the expected ‘Christmas’ and ‘Birthdays’, one lad called out “Valentine’s Day” which caused quite a lot of giggling and looking around. A sensible answer, of course, but sadly St Valentine or rather, Saints Valentine had nothing to do with lovers, doves or courtship. Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome were two priests martyred in the third and seventh centuries respectively on the orders of Roman emperors. Both were later commemorated by churches built on the Flaminian Way, a route connecting Terni and Rome and this may explain how two martyrs became one saint in the Christian Calendar.
How did the date become 14th February and the festival linked with love and the giving and receiving of gifts? No-one knows for sure but a strong possibility is the poetry of John Donne, a seventeenth century Dean of St Paul’s and a metaphysical poet. Donne wrote a marriage song for Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I who married Frederick V Elector Palantine on St Valentine’s Day 1632. This song merged the religious commemoration of Valentine with fertility symbolism including the spring mating rituals of doves. Donne was well-known for writing poems about secular love as well as our love for God and His for us. In this, he reminds us that Jesus commanded us to love God and our neighbour.
Valentine’s Day is traditionally one for sweethearts with cards, gifts and, perhaps, candle-lit dinners with pink champagne but this festival is also a reminder of the power of love in our lives and in our world. It is a paradox that advertisers and song writers overuse and misuse the word love and devalue it to the point of banality whereas, in reality, our world is starved of love as daily news bulletins make all too clear. So let’s spare a thought and a prayer on February 14th for that higher kind of love — God’s love for us, ours for God and His and ours for our fellow human beings.
May love indeed conquer all!
Kindest good wishes,
Philip
January 2010
Christmas! Its here again and again I am left wondering – where has the year gone? Time passing by so quickly, and increasingly so as our number of years increase, is a universal truth for us all. Our busy lives feed the rapid passing of time. We do so much, and so often on Christmas Day many of us sit down exhausted, wondering why we spend so much money and effort for just one day. When we reach this point, it’s legitimate to ask what Christmas is all about!
There are seasons of our lives, as there are seasons of the year. One of the most well-known passages of the Bible is in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. Here are just the first two verses.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted”
Christmas is an important moment, or ‘season’ of the year. During Christmas we have the opportunity to spend time thinking and reflecting upon something important — that we are all dearly loved by God, as shown to us through his sending of His Son, Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.
The words of the Angels to the Shepherds apply equally to us today and I think they are among the most wonderful words ever spoken
‘Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’
Jesus is God’s great gift to us. But in our busyness, as we proceed at pace through ‘time’ the danger we face is that we fail to see the wonder of all that God has given us and continues to do so. This means that a Christmas without ‘Christ’ in it, is a Christmas that has lost so much of its meaning. Without Jesus, it’s just another busy day, albeit of course with special times with family and friends, which are to be treasured. But with Jesus it’s a true celebration of life, love and hope. May we all have the time to see afresh the glory of Christmas.
With warmest best wishes to you, from all of us at the Vicarage, for a very Happy Christmas
Richard (King)
December 2009
A friend of mine has just become a father for the first time. I don’t know what he and his wife will call their baby daughter but, because he is British and she is Zambian (and they live in Zambia), they will have names of both nationalities to choose from!
One of the really exciting things about expecting a new baby is choosing a name, though it can be very difficult to decide which name is the right one. I expect my friend and his wife, like most parents, will disagree and change their minds several times before they make their final choice. It is, after all, an important choice. Most names have meanings, and they may choose a name, not just because they like the sound of it, but because of its meaning.
In the Christmas story, names are also really important. There are two. The name ‘Emmanuel’, which means ‘God is with us’, tells us that God, rather than being ‘up there’, miles away, has come down to us, that he is a flesh and blood God who shared our life to break through to us. And the name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God is salvation’ because, says St Matthew, ‘he will save his people from their sins.’
The Old Testament book, Genesis, is a profound story of how we as human beings disobeyed God and so lost the abundant life he wanted for all of us. That’s why we needed a Saviour, to bring us forgiveness and to restore our friendship with God.
And we know that Jesus really did that, by coming among us and dying on a cross, and bearing in his body our sin and the sin of the whole world, so that we might know God’s great love and goodness and forgiveness and life and joy.
So, this Christmas, what are we going to call this baby? We could call him, ‘Couldn't care less’. We could call him, ‘Just a religious teacher’. We could call him, ‘Nothing to do with us’.
Or we could call him Emmanuel — God is with us , or Jesus — God is salvation, because he saves us from our sins. And if we call him those names then, says St John, he will give us a name: ‘He will give us the right to become children of God’.
We will be called ‘the beloved children of God’.
And you know, that’s what’s really exciting about Christmas — Jesus is born in us, his love fills us and we shine with his light.
So what do you call this new baby?
Wishing you a blessed and peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Lindsay
November 2009
How good is your memory? We know that its condition is affected by what we eat and how much sleep we have. We know it deteriorates with age. There are days when it just doesn’t seem to work at all. We become particularly aware of this when, for example, we walk from downstairs back to our bedroom… and upon arrival cannot remember why we did that.
To compensate for this we come up with all kinds of memory aids, which work to varying degrees. The important thing is that we come up with something; that we commit to ensure we remember what really matters.
This weakness of memory is recognized in the Bible. In Psalm 103 we see the Psalmist determined to remember the grace of God in his life: “Praise the Lord O my soul, and forget not how kind he is”. He then goes on to list the kindnesses of God. “He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love and mercy”.
Remembrance Sunday therefore is exactly what the title suggests — we remember. We have set aside a day when we ensure we focus again on the sacrifices that the Armed Forces, and their families, have made and continue to make, on our behalf. We set aside a day, for we know that if we do not, we shall not remember in the way that we should; in a way that honours them.
So whatever you are doing on Remembrance Sunday or on 11th November itself, be it in church, some other event or wherever you are, take a moment to recall…
‘We shall remember them’.
With warmest best wishes
Richard (King)
October 2009
The last Sunday of Trinity this year (the 20th week of what is known in the liturgical calendar as ‘Ordinary Time’) falls on the 25th October, which also happens to be ‘Bible Sunday’, a commemoration and thanksgiving for the Holy Scriptures.
It’s probably no accident that Bible Sunday falls in October, as this month we commemorate the lives of the reformation martyrs, including William Tyndale (6th October) translator of the scriptures.
Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire in 1494 and studied first at Oxford and then at Cambridge. He became determined to translate the scriptures from the original Greek into contemporary English but was thwarted in this by the bishop of London. So William settled in Hamburg and never returned to England. When the first copies of his translation arrived in England in 1526 it was bitterly attacked as subversive by the ecclesiastical authorities. His life’s work proved good enough to be the basic working text for those who, at the beginning of the following century, were to produce what became known as the Authorized Version of the Bible. He was eventually arrested in 1535 and imprisoned in Brussels on charges of heresy and executed at the stake in 1536.
Whilst the particularly gruesome and inhumane persecution of both Catholic and Protestants of the Reformation took place 400 years ago, if we thought this kind of retribution was a thing of the past we’d be wrong. We only have to cast our minds back to last August to be reminded of the heinous crimes perpetrated against the Christian community of Gojra in Pakistan. Indeed there are many countries in the world where people of faith, and particularly Christians, live in fear of violence. And yet very often, it is because they are not free to expound the Gospel in ways that we take for granted, that make them even more determined to do so.
In recent times we are reminded of those Christians who opposed their persecutors and were martyred for their faith; Dietrich Bonheoffer, Max Kolbe, Edith Stein, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador and Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda, to name just a few.
Today, the work of the Bible Society is still active in many places in the world where most of us would think twice about travelling to. Missionaries and Evangelists work tirelessly in countries such as Pakistan, Sudan and Nigeria to bring Bibles to those who have not yet heard the ‘Good News’ of the Gospel.
So on Bible Sunday, let’s remember and give thanks to all those Christians past and present, whose fearless work has brought the Gospel of Christ to the world.
Sally Womersley
Links: www.biblesociety.org.uk www.barnabasfund.org
August 2009
I write this as Federer and Roddick are battling away in their attempt to win the Wimbledon final. It’s now 14 games all in the 5th set. How long is this going to go on for?!?!?
But my mind is not on the tennis. My thoughts go back to a service held in Westwell church this morning. At 10am, Stephen Venner, the Bishop of Dover, began a service in which Sally, our curate was ordained Priest.
It was simply fantastic! Other adjectives that come to mind as I sit here are ‘profound’, ‘moving’ and ‘humbling’. Why are those adjectives appropriate? At that service Sally committed herself to serve God and all of us who live in our community of parishes. It is quite a commitment, and as the Bishop reminded her and all of us who were there that she, and indeed no-one, could bear the weight of the responsibility alone, but only with the grace and power of God.
So it was profound for it reminded us all that God calls us to love and serve one another, and that there is a cost to this. It was moving, for it reminds us that there is something beyond our own needs, namely the needs of those around us; family, friends and neighbours. It was humbling because we witnessed today someone who was prepared to make that sort of commitment, and to do so publically in front of us all.
We are not all called to be priests in the church, yet all of us have to work out our lives as best we can, seeking to love and serve those in our lives as we do so. Regardless of our circumstances, the grace and power of God is available to us all. In fact, we all need His help to be all He has created us to be.
And here’s the even more humbling news — the same grace and power God gives to Sally is available to every single one of us as we seek to love and serve.
May God bless you richly with a fresh blessing of His grace and power.
With warmest best wishes
Richard (King)
July 2009
Canterbury diocese Petertide ordinations will take place the weekend of the 4th & 5th ofJuly. Traditionally ordinations take place the weekend closest to the feast day of the Apostle’s, Saints’ Peter and Paul (29th June); St Peter (the ‘Rock’) on whom Jesus charged with building his church, and St Paul; missioner, evangelist and preacher extraordinaire!
Although at this time we traditionally remember and pray for those responding to God’s call to ordained ministry, firstly as Deacons and then as priests (although some people are ordained as permanent deacons and don’t feel their calling is to the priesthood), St Paul reminds us (several times) that as Christians each one of us is called by God to exercise our own individual gifts and talents as part of the body of Christ and thereby contributing to the ‘ministry’ of Christ’s church (Romans12.4-8). Every gift and talent is of equal value, and we are to encourage and enable each other in recognising those gifts.
In June the G7 parishes held an open evening for those who feel God may be calling them to a particular ministry, and wanted to explore, with the help of others the possibility of taking that further. In the church, ‘ministry’ isn’t the sole prerogative of the clergy, far from it! ‘Ministry’ can mean anything; visiting your neighbour, welcoming people into church, giving a helping hand, reading the lesson, helping with refreshments, flower arranging, leading worship, writing intercessions. In fact anything that builds up the corporate ‘body of Christ’ which we call the ‘Church’.
On Sunday 5th July at 10 am. I will be ordained priest at St Mary’s, Westwell by Bishop Stephen (to which everyone is warmly invited to attend), and as I come to the end of my diaconate year here in the G7, I’m continually amazed at how many loving and supportive people are here among us in our communities. It’s not difficult to recognise when we come across people’s gifts and talents. If you think you, or someone you know is being called to a particular ‘ministry’ sometimes all it takes is for that person to hear a word of encouragement for them to realise that maybe it’s God who is really speaking to them. Let’s work together in recognising each others gifts and talents, building up our common life together in Christ.
Finally; thank you all for your continued support this last year. Please pray for me as I prepare for my priesting and continue to share in your lives as assistant curate of G7 parishes over the next 2/3 years.
Sally Womersley
June 2009
Dear Friends,
At the end of May, Christians all over the world celebrated the festival of Pentecost. Pentecost was always known as Whitsun (White Sunday) and as such was the only Sunday to be named after a colour? It was the Sunday when altars and clergy put on their best whites or gold to celebrate the coming of God’s Holy Spirit. Today the colour associated with Pentecost is red: red for fire, red for heat, red for the flames hanging over the apostles’ heads. Red because the coming of God’s Holy Spirit is a dramatic, extraordinary irruption into life.
But Pentecost, standing as it does where the Easter season meets ‘ordinary’ time, is as much to do with a God of the everyday as it is with extraordinary manifestations of divine power. It’s as blue as it is red, as cool as it is hot. What we must do is to listen for the voice of the Spirit in our ordinary days, enlightening the enterprise of science and discovery, inspiring creativity, art and culture, guiding us towards reconciliation and peacemaking, making us holy, wise and good, leading us into the truth of God. These are the marks of God’s activity in our world. These are the safe paths we should walk in: faith, hope, love, what St Paul calls ‘the more excellent way’.
In the Old Testament, Pentecost was a harvest festival. That’s definitely green. In the harvest of the Promised Land, slaves, orphans, strangers and widows were expressly given a share. Whatever colour we paint in, it is no Pentecost that God recognises unless there is room in it for the voiceless, the outsider, the victim. St Paul speaks about the fruit of the Spirit, growing in us the harvest of love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness — the qualities that alone can change the world. Pentecost is nothing unless it is about a world being renewed. This is why we must proclaim and live out the word and works of God in all the rainbow’s colours.
With every good wish
Lindsay Hammond
May 2009
Dear Readers
If you find Monday mornings depressing, as the working week looms ahead, then May is the month for you, being the only one with two Bank Holidays. It’s interesting to note that, unlike holidays at Easter and Christmas, these two Bank Holidays are secular and neither commemorate their original purpose.
4 May is transferred from 1 May, or Labour Day, was first celebrated in the USSR in honour of workers. Perhaps political sensitivity has now relabelled it in this country as the anodyne ‘Early Spring Bank Holiday’.
25 May, now called ‘Spring Bank Holiday’, was formerly Whit Monday and was not a fixed date as it followed Sunday or Pentecost. This festival, fifty days after Easter, commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the early Christians, inspiring them to share their faith with others in the Eastern Mediterranean. Because the Book of Acts records that at the first Pentecost 3,000 people became Christians, Whit Sunday was the day on which new converts, dressed in white, were admitted to the Church after professing their faith. So we have two holidays, neither expressing their original significance.
With global warming, May could become summer and, in the current financial climate, we may no longer wish to refer to ‘Bank’ Holidays so that all trace of the original meanings could be lost. This would be a pity as I feel these days have something important in common to celebrate; the idea of commitment — to doing a good job of work and to giving your life in the service of Christ.
I believe both are powerful ways of changing our society for the better and I suggest we might reflect on them as we relax (hopefully!) on these days.
Philip
April 2009
Isn’t it great that Spring seems to be here! It has been a long winter, and the sun seems to have been conspicuous by its absence. Although I find snow great fun, it is always renewing to see the buds and flowers emerge from their winter’s hibernation.
Along with that sense of renewal, Spring coincides with Lent. Whether you give up chocolate, ‘Top Gear’ or something else, it’s a time of reflection and self-denial. Some find that Lent courses are of value. Others find that the Bible opens up to them new ways of thinking and living. For others, prayer is a cornerstone to personal growth (and as an advance notice, we shall be having a ‘Week of Guided Prayer’ in June, from the 6th - 12th, but more of that in future editions).
But these practices can only be of any value if we combine them with the asking of ourselves of certain questions, such as ‘what have I learnt in the past year?’ ‘Do I know myself any better than a year ago? Do I know God, any better than a year ago?’
I find that it is easier to ask these kinds of questions of ourselves if we understand ourselves from God’s perspective. We are dearly loved by Him. With Easter only a few weeks away, it is good to remember too that God considers us worth the life of Jesus, who died for us all.
So, as people dearly loved, we invest energy in our development for we know we are loved. Our existence matters, and once we realize that we become a benefit to others.
With warmest best wishes
Richard (King)
March 2009
Dear Friends,
There was once a Yorkshire widower who asked for a biblical epitaph on his late wife’s headstone. Distressed by the result — “Lord, she was thin” he told the mason he had missed out an “e”. Returning to check the result of his complaint, he was further distressed to read: “Ee Lord, she was thin”
The wrong words certainly cause distress. In recent weeks, Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross, Carol Thatcher and Jeremy Clarkson have used what most people believe were the wrong words and caused upset and offence. Their misdemeanours are so well known that I don’t need to recount them here. The four celebrities have paid a sufficient price — or not, depending on your point of view — for what they said in the public arena. Most of us are not exposed to the same level of media scrutiny, and so the things we say are less likely to cause that sort of level of outrage. But perhaps Jonathan Ross et al remind us all that, if we don’t choose our words carefully, we can cause enormous hurt by what we say.
One of the titles applied to Jesus is ‘the Word of God’. That is, Jesus is the one who communicates to us who God is and what God is like. Through what he says and does, Jesus shows us that God is concerned with, among other things, love and truth. Truth demands that, sometimes, hard words need to be spoken. We can’t avoid it if, for example, wrongs are to be put right. Nevertheless, we should always strive to speak in a way that gives respect to other people and takes into account their feelings. The trouble with the media is that the desire to ‘push boundaries’ and to be ‘cutting edge’ can sometimes be the overriding concern, to the exclusion of all other considerations.
A few days ago President Barack Obama also spoke some words that rather surprised me. He said that he had made a mistake; that he had ‘screwed up’ over the appointment of a member of his government. We so rarely hear any politician, never mind a president, say that they have made a mistake, that it comes as a bit of a shock.
By the time you read this, the events above will have receded from public interest and we shall be into the season of Lent. Lent is a time when we Christians focus with particular intensity upon God and remember that we make all–too many mistakes in life. Too often our thoughts and actions, and yes, our words, too, fail to reflect the love of Jesus the Word. In Lent we seek, both in action and word, to become the bearer of good and not evil, and seek to live not just for ourselves but in love for others. For love, you see, is the meaning of Lent.
With every good wish.
Lindsay Hammond
February 2009
Dear readers,
It’s five weeks since Christmas. I wonder, now that the decorations are put away; the bills paid (?) and the washing up and cleaning done – what do you reflect upon from all our celebrations of that great event – just five weeks ago?
Perhaps it was that the first announcement of the Birth of the Baby Jesus was to the Shepherds.
Shepherds were despised by the orthodox ‘good’ people of the day because the nature of their job was such that they couldn’t keep the details of the ceremonial law. They could not observe the meticulous hand washings and many other rules and regulations. Their flocks made far too constant demands on them. There’s was a 24/7 job!
How wonderful that the message from God about His Son’s birth should first come to such ordinary people.
In the Temple, morning and evening, unblemished lambs were offered as sacrifices to God.
How wonderful that the keepers of such special animals were the first to see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
As we reflect once again on the events of the Birth of our Saviour we cannot but be amazed at the rough simplicity of the coming of God into the world in human form. Born of a teenage virgin with no proper home. In very humble surroundings. With the birth announcement to the humblest of men and growing up in a very ordinary working class family.
Surely we would expect the Son of God, if He was to come as a human, to be born in a palace
But we can’t emphasise too often the simplicity of the events.
And the simplicity of the life that Jesus led as He grew up. In a carpenters shop helping to look after the family. There is a story of European Monarch, who often worried his court by disappearing and walking incognito amongst his people. When asked not to do this; He replied – I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live.
It is a great truth of our faith, that we have a God who knows the life we live, because He too lived it and claimed no special advantage over common men.
Commencing that human life in the most primitive of circumstance. Growing up in the poorest of families. Ministering whilst not knowing where He would sleep at night.
All, so He could die and offer us the support and comfort of having been there and finally a place in Heaven with Him.
No wonder we party and celebrate that simple Birth…
A Birth that changed the world, because on that night, so many years ago, God sent His Son that whoever believes might have Hope for the future.
As the partying and extravagances of the Christmas celebrations fade, do not let us lose sight of the real meaning and all that the next two months brings us. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (25th February) and then in April, Easter.
May God Bless you
Rev Richard Webb
January 2009
In the Christian year, January sees the beginning of the short season of Epiphany (which comes from Greek, meaning ‘to reveal’).
In the western church, Epiphany begins on January 6th with the arrival of the visiting wise men bringing gifts for the child Jesus and revealing him as the incarnate Christ. It ends on the fourth Sunday with ‘The Presentation of Christ in the Temple’ (or candlemas as it is also known), and Simeon’s prophetic blessing that the child would be a ‘light for revelation to the Gentiles’ (Luke2:32).
Traditionally, Epiphany is observed as a time for focussing on the mission of the church in reaching out to others and therefore has a particular significance for us at the moment as we begin our G7 2009 Roadshow, looking at ways of spreading the Good News to those in our communities and further afield, reaching out to people in need and those who are spiritually searching, welcoming the stranger and those who may feel like the outsider among us.
In entering into the spirit of Epiphany, Simeon’s blessing reminds us that Jesus; ‘The light of the world’ is for everyone; all nations, cultures and ages. God has no outsiders and no person or group is excluded from his love. Indeed, it was God’s delight to reveal his baby Son to the searching pagan foreigners who were welcomed, given hospitality and whose gifts were graciously accepted. As we hear once again the story of these three Gentile outsiders travelling hundreds of miles over difficult terrain in order to find for themselves the world’s enlightenment, we could do well to bear in mind all those in our own time who are spiritually awake and searching, many travelling over difficult terrain, and make sure that we light the lamps ready to welcome them.
I wish you a very happy and peaceful New Year.
Sally Womersley
December 2008
Dear Friends,
Our daughter Rebecca started her first job a few weeks ago. She’s now waiting nervously to see if she can hang on to it. Rebecca is not alone, of course. A lot of people will be praying that they will still be in work come Christmas and beyond.
The reason, of course, is the economic crisis.
It’s almost official as I write this letter. We’re now in a recession. Companies are battening down the hatches and people are talking about ‘cutting back’ and ‘tightening belts’. Over the past few months, countless experts have explained why we’re in this mess, but I’m none the wiser, really. For me, economics still remains a total mystery.
In this respect, economics shares something with theology. We’re now in December, the time of year when parish priests try and ‘explain’ Christmas. The trouble with a mystery, however (whether it’s economics or theology), is that the more we try to explain it, the more of a mystery it becomes.
As someone once said, the mystery of Christmas isn’t in the ‘facts’ of the story, but in its very nature. Just as there is clearly much more to economics than figures and statistics – we’ve been bombarded with a bewildering lexicon of economic jargon recently – so there’s much more to the Christmas story than its details. Once we’ve established the cast (Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, angels and wise men) and the location (Bethlehem) we’ve only begun to touch the fringe of the mystery.
The Christmas story is so pervasive, so close to the heart of what it means to be human, that it will surely never be forgotten. Because it is a mystery – the most profound of all, touching humanity with the divine – I’m not sure that we’re meant to understand it. Rather we are meant to absorb it and live by it.
‘You will find the baby lying in a manger’. It’s hard to think of a more unlikely setting. God comes to us, as the poet Evelyn Underhill put it, ‘in the little things’, in unexpected ways, in lowliness and humility, in the ultimate fragility and weakness of a new born baby. Thus, in the poet’s words again, God passes ‘the low lintel of the human heart’, becomes one with us in our fragility and weakness. Every time this story is told, its mystery speaks with fresh relevance in a world where might is still right, and the weak so often still go to the wall.
May I wish you a joyful and peaceful Christmas.
Lindsay Hammond
November 2008
As you know from previous letters I find it personally very helpful to understand that life is ‘a journey’. I find it to be a reasonable, indeed logical, illustration of life. Journeys always have a beginning and an end. We observe and learn as we travel. All of that is also true of life itself.
In my life I spend a great deal of time travelling around in a car. Both of my posts (Parish priest for Charing & G7 team member, plus Diocesan Missioner), combined with family and friends living around the country, mean I do thousands of miles per year. As I have gotten older, I have learnt the wisdom of the advice to stop and have a break and to not ‘drive while tired’.
When I do stop at a garage or motorway service station, I like to have a nice coffee. I used to have a pastry of some kind too, but alas, raised cholesterol levels have put a stop to that. As I sit there and drink my latte, with skimmed milk of course, I usually find myself pondering a little something of the journey so far, the route still to travel and what is going to happen after I have arrived. I sometimes remember journeys past; particularly if my route is taking me along roads that I have not travelled for some time.
It seems to me then to be equally logically that life requires us to pause occasionally and reflect on our journey; on where we have been, what we have learnt and where we are going. We are not very good at this for we all live such busy lives. We are not very good at being ‘still’ and ‘quiet’. ‘Silence’ is something that is rare enough, and I am still learning to be comfortable with it.
Over the course of the coming month there are a couple of events that are good moments to pause and reflect. One is a series of services on 2nd November, linked with All Saints Day, in which we particularly remember our beloved family and friends who have died. It’s good to remember the love we received from them, their impact on our lives and to reflect upon our own mortality. The following weekend is Remembrance Sunday and is the 2nd event in which we can reflect, and give thanks for those who gave up everything to preserve human dignity and freedom.
Don’t get stuck on your journey. Learning to stop and reflect is an essential part of moving on.
With warmest best wishes
Richard King
September 2008
Dear Friends,
Hopefully you will read this before Tuesday 2nd September, when Robin Gill, Professor of Modern Theology at the University of Kent, will give a talk in Charing Barn about the clash between science and religion. I suspect there will be lots of people who will be amazed that there is any debate to be had: after all, they would say, the battle between science and religion was fought long ago, in which religion was roundly defeated.
So has science made faith (especially Christianity) redundant? Of course, it has.
Take, for example, the earth. I have a King James Version of the Bible at home that firmly places the creation of the earth — recounted in the Book of Genesis — in 4004BC. I would say that science has shown this belief to be redundant, although we can still find people who believe that the earth is very young, and support their belief by bits of the Bible. Somewhat ironically it was Christian natural philosophers (as scientists were then called) who, from the late 18th century onwards, helped to establish the great age of the earth. Today, most Christians happily accept that the earth is millions of years old.
So it’s not hard to find religious beliefs which science has made redundant.
But, of course, that’s not the end of the matter because those who believe in God would argue that, whilst clearly there are religious beliefs that are redundant in the light of science, nevertheless there is a core of really important religious beliefs that are certainly not redundant.
Those of us who call ourselves Christian would claim that the scientific story is not the only story that’s worth telling. We would say that the religious story is also worth listening to. Yes, the scientific story is important, but the questions of ultimate purpose and meaning which lie beyond science, and which science is unable to address, are even more important.
Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, has said: “The pre-eminent mystery is why anything exists at all. What breathes life into the equations, and actualised them in a real cosmos? Such questions lie beyond science. They are the province of philosophers and theologians”.
Religion redundant? I don’t think so.
But don’t take my word for it. Pop along to Charing Barn on Tuesday 2nd September and find out what Robin Gill has to say.
With every good wish.
Lindsay Hammond
The New Atheism? The Clash between Science and Religion
A talk by The Reverend Canon Professor Robin Gill,
Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology
Charing Barn
Tuesday 2nd September at 7.30pm.
Coffee from 7pm.
July 2008
Dear All,
The other day, the BBC aired a drama about the ’sixties moral campaigner, Mary Whitehouse, who died in 2001. Forty years ago, Mary Whitehouse fought what she saw as a decline in television’s moral standards. Her targets included Dr Who and Pinky and Perky and so, consequently she became a bit of a joke. I remember buying a rock album in the early ’seventies which contained a rather strongly worded song about her.
Forty years on, many people are asking whether Mary Whitehouse was right after all. There are many excellent programmes on television, for example, but also plenty of programmes that make me wonder why I pay my licence fee. As one commentator put it, Mary Whitehouse ‘smelt the cesspool’ into which it is so easy to stumble thanks to an average week’s television output: the sheer mediocrity, the violence, the coarseness and the crudity of so much broadcasting would make Mary Whitehouse turn in her grave. It’s hard to imagine anyone today trying to do anything about it, and perhaps that’s because we live at a time when everything is allowable; if it feels good, do it.
Back in 1964, Mary Whitehouse said that “If violence is constantly portrayed as normal on the television screen, it will help to create a violent society.” There’s no proof of this, of course, but I wonder if Whitehouse understood that we tend to make our decisions out of who we are and what we have become. Therein lies the warning and the promise.
There are many things that influence us, among them the psychological and the social, and not always for the better. That’s why those of us who call ourselves Christian will heed St Paul’s encouragement to be ‘transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect’ (Romans 12,2). We do that by allowing ourselves to be formed by the Bible and its values, by the traditions of the Christian community, and by the wisdom of Christian friends, so that our consciences are shaped by the Christian story and our decisions come out of a deep history of Christian wisdom. That’s the promise.
Thirty-odd years later, I still possess that album. When I listen to the words of the song and reflect upon the nature of much of today’s society, I wonder whether we should have heeded Mary Whitehouse’s warning rather more than we did.
With every good wish
Lindsay Hammond
June 2008
From Sally Womersley, Diane’s successor, who will be joining us at the end of June…
Dear All,
Lindsay thought it would be a good idea for me to introduce myself to you. At this moment in time, the end of June seems some way off, and yet I know, if my experience at Westcott House is anything to go by, that the time will just fly by!
I first came to the diocese of Canterbury in 1997, where I spent five years as Cathedral virger. In 2002, I took up a newly created post as Community Outreach Worker for the Methodist Church in Colchester and, in 2005, spent a year as Pastoral Assistant at the Parish Church of St Matthew, Westminster whilst exploring my vocation to ordained ministry.
At the moment I am at Westcott studying full-time for a BA in Theology. During the two short academic years here, I have been attached to a rural benefice of four parishes near Newmarket. Last year, I was able to take part in a Holy Week Mission in Somerset and last summer, I took part in a student exchange programme at Yale University Divinity school in New Haven Connecticut, where I spent the Autumn Semester continuing my studies.
I’m particularly interested in mission and outreach (which is one of the reasons I’m really looking forward to joining you all), and last term I went on placement attached to two parishes in Salford city centre, (Manchester). My interests include: theatre and the arts; historic buildings and architecture; rummaging in flea markets, antique and bric a brac stores for (cheap!) furniture, which I then attempt to restore, (not always successfully!); horse riding, cycling, walking and swimming (in the summer!). I especially love socialising and meeting up with friends.
I’m excited about coming to join the G7 group, there’s so much that is happening in the cluster and I’m really looking forward to meeting and getting to know you all.
As I write this, today is Ascension Day; The risen Lord, ‘the pioneer of our faith, his passion accomplished, has opened up for us a way to heaven’.
In these few short weeks, as I approach ordination and my coming to join you, I would ask for your prayers and know that my prayers are for you also.
Sally
May 2008
Dear friends,
Spring time! Has it arrived or is it just around the corner?
Have you got a new outfit ready for the warmer weather?
Back in 1655 - Pastor William Gurnell – published a treatise on just 10 verses from The Bible. In the introduction he said: “It was but a mite and a little present to his parishioners.” It ran to 3 volumes – 261 chapters – 1472 pages. But don’t fret – I’ll précis it for you!
It was all about a “new” outfit – a suit or dress.
It was from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians; and he says; “Put on the all the Armour God supplies.”
It might be just the new suit or dress we need in today’s world.
For Paul is saying we must fight not only the seen enemies like terrorists, but also the unseen enemies of everyday life; The powers of darkness. Remember the devil doesn’t go around dressed in red with little red horns. NO, he is those feelings that tempt us to do wrong, the feelings that say a little doesn’t matter, the feelings that say every one is doing it; so it can’t be too wrong!
So what is this Armour of God?
The first item of the Armour Paul mentions is the Belt of Truth. We need to be prepared for all the devil throws at us. The Roman soldier had to hitch up his robes so he could run into battle. We need to learn more and more about God and His great love for us so that we can fight the spiritual battles going on around us.
Then he talks about the Breast Plate of Righteousness. The soldier needed something to protect him from the arrows of the enemy. It covered him from neck to thigh - front and back! So for us we need to protect our heart - the centre of our desires, our feelings, our emotions, our conscience and our affections. Remember this is God’s Armour we are putting on. We need God’s righteousness.
Another item is the Shoes. In ancient times most warfare was hand to hand. A sure foot was necessary; the soldiers’ sandals were like our football boots with studs. People seek peace in many ways; perhaps drink or other pleasures, to excess. These give only a false peace because there is no lasting result. But peace in God and His forgiveness of our sins is forever.
Then there is the Shield of Faith. The Roman soldier’s shield was large, nearly as big as himself, and some of the arrows aimed at him would have burning tips. I wonder what the flaming arrows are in our lives today? People tempting you? Peer pressure? Criticisms? False encouragements?
And we mustn’t forget the Helmet. The helmet protects the head. Do you ever have doubts about your faith? How we need protecting from such attacks of the devil! We need to be constantly reminded of all that is on offer after the Easter events; Salvation through Jesus!
And last but not least is the Sword. (Note; this is the only part of the armour which is a weapon of attack.) The Word of God; The Bible. The more we read it the more we understand God’s Love for us and all mankind. Then we can protect ourselves from, and attack the works of, the Devil.
So we have the Full Armour of God. Which we should wear at all times. As well as our PJ’s, or our school uniform, or office suit or works overalls. The Armour of Gods needs to be our constant outfit.
And just another challenge – we need to put it on each item them with prayer. Praying for God’s constant support and protection.
Your “Armour” this year might be joining an Alpha Course, or a Bible Study, or coming to Church, or more prayer time, or ?
God Bless you this Spring as you wear a new outfit.
May God Bless you
Rev Richard Webb
(Where did our reading come from? Ephesians; Chapter 6 v 10–20)
April 2008
If you were asked to name what was the greatest speech you have ever heard or read, I wonder what would receive your nomination? The list of potential candidates is immense, and a top ten could well include Winston Churchill (“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”), Martin Luther King (“I have a dream”) and John F. Kennedy (“Ich bin ein Berliner”).
For me, some of the greatest words ever spoken are these words of Jesus: ‘“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die.”’
If these words are true, everything we fear and find so painful about death, bereavement and loss are changed. It means there is more to life than this one, and our life now, if we accept these words on trust, is changed irrevocably for the better. But words can be said by anyone. It is the actions of the people who say these words that authenticates the truth of their words, or not, as the case may be.
Jesus shows himself to be the Resurrection and the Life by rising from the dead. Lord Darling, a former Lord Chief Justice of England wrote this:
“We as Christians, are asked to take a very great deal on trust; the teachings, for example, and the miracles of Jesus. If we had to take all on trust, I, for one, should be sceptical. The crux of the problem of whether Jesus was, or was not, what he proclaimed himself to be, must surely depend upon the truth or otherwise of the resurrection. On that greatest point we are not merely asked to have faith. In its favour as a living truth there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world can fail to bring in the verdict that the resurrection story is true”.
The evidence for the resurrection is good and clear. It is why I, as a very sceptical teenager, put my trust in His words, as I found the only thing that explained the disappearance of the body of Jesus was that it really was true – He had risen.
This is what Easter is about. It is why it is important it continues to be celebrated. It is why it continues to give us hope. Jesus is alive and is risen! Hallelujah!
With warmest best wishes
Richard King