Ministry Team Letters July – December 2004
Dear Friends
'October 1st is Judgement Day' proclaims a poster on the London Underground. But for whom? And in connection with what? Reading the smaller print tells us that October 1st is the day on which the Disablement Discrimination Act comes into force. And that, with effect from October 1st all employers and those responsible for public buildings must ensure that steps have been or are being taken to provide necessary facilities for disabled people.
This means that all churches in the land are required to check their provision for people with disabilities. This is, of course, not that easy when you happen to be the custodian of a beautiful medieval building which - in our case - continues to function as a parish church: a living place of worship to a 21st century congregation. It's often easy to see what ought to be done - but less easy to do it - given the restrictions put upon us because of our historic listed building status.
Some things have already been done to ensure accessibility for people who live with disability. Earlier this year, we renewed the induction loop in church. This means that all users of hearing aids can - by switching their aids to 'T' - hear the spoken word clearly. We have for some time made large print hymn books available; we have recently introduced large print weekly newsletters and large print orders of service are now being prepared.
For some years now, we have a ramp at the South Door for wheelchair users. The Act, though, demands not only a ramp but one of a specific gradient. Ours is too steep. To comply with the requirements of the Act would be extremely complicated - someone once calculated that a ramp starting at the South Door would have to run as far as the back of the centre Aisle! So that we can improve access for wheelchair users, we shall be opening the North Door, as soon as we are able to complete the necessary work to provide a pathway linking the door with the existing churchyard path.
There is still further to go. As a public building, we need to provide disabled toilet facilities: something that is not available at present either in church or in the hall. This is a major project and will doubtless involve us in considerable upheaval and expense - but it is a crucial piece of work that will have to be completed.
It all seems a lot of work simply to comply with an Act of Parliament, you might think. But what matters is not the Act itself, but what the Act stands for. The spirit of the Act is to make public buildings accessible to all, regardless of whether people happen live with one or more disabilities. As a parish church which aims to be a place of Christian worship and witness available to all comers, we have a Christian duty to be fully inclusive. One of the key notes of Jesus' teaching was his criticism of the religious establishment of his day for being exclusive: for creating a religion which, for a whole host of reasons, shut people out. Jesus' preaching stressed that the Kingdom of God is about inclusion. It's not often that an Act of Parliament actively promotes the Kingdom of God in our midst - but, despite the red tape, this one does. We should rejoice at that and continue to work towards a truly inclusive church.
Yours in Christ,
Peter Moger
September is the month in which this church celebrates its patronal festival. There are at least five feasts associated with St Mary the Virgin scattered through the Church calendar, but I think that there are some good reasons for choosing to remember our patron at this time of year.
It’s the beginning of a new school year, and even for those who don’t organise their year by school terms, the return from summer holidays is a natural time for us to turn our minds and hearts to what we are hoping to be and do over the next 12 months. We may have all sorts of plans and hopes, or we may have fears and anxieties about what the future will bring for us.
Mary probably already had a plan for her life, but God stepped in and asked her to accept his plan instead. It was to be a new chapter in her own life, and a new chapter in the life of the world. As we too turn another page in our life-story (as individuals and as a church), it is worth asking, as Mary did, what God wants us to do with this new, fresh chapter.
God’s call to Mary turned everything upside down, not only in her own life, but in the life of the world, as we hear in the challenging words of the Magnificat: ‘he has put down the mighty from their seat, and exalted the humble and meek’. When things are turned upside down, it often makes us question whether they were the right way up in the first place. So it is worth spending some time asking ourselves the question: what is topsy-turvy in the world, in the Church, in this community, and in our own lives? And how can we learn to share God’s desire to turn things back the right way up?
And I believe that Mary calls us to live lives that point not to ourselves, nor even to the Church, but to Christ. Have you ever seen icons of the virgin and child in which Mary is gesturing towards Jesus as if to say, ‘Don’t look at me, look at him’? Even as we celebrate Mary as the greatest of the saints, we know that we are not celebrating something that she achieved in herself, but rather the fact that God chose her to be part of his plan for the world. The same is true for us – in accepting God’s call for us, we’re not seeking our own glory, but to point to Christ. So it is worth asking ourselves the question: in all our endeavours over the coming year (as individuals, and as a church), what will glorify God, what will bring others to know him?
Mary brought Christ to birth in the world through saying ‘yes’ to God. And we each bring God to birth within ourselves when we say ‘yes’ to him. If Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is about God’s plan to turn the world upside down, then it’s a plan that God wants us to be involved in too. As the Church sings Mary’s song, we take on Mary’s vocation – the task of bringing Christ to birth in and for the world. It is our vocation too.
Over the last few months of my own pregnancy I’ve grown to value Mary more and more as an example and an inspiration, and my prayer is that we may all be inspired in our different ways by the example of our patron saint. May we have the courage to ask God what he wants from us this year, and to say, with Mary, a joyful ‘yes’ to what he has in store in the next chapter of our lives.
Yours in Christ,
Ally Barrett
Dear Friends
As August draws near, the holiday season is well upon us. With the schools now broken up for the summer, our roads and our airports are once again jammed with holidaymakers seeking 'time out' of the busy schedule of normal life. But there will also be those who will visit Godmanchester as part of their holidays. 'Not exactly a resort' you might say, but nonetheless an attractive place - and what better on a summer afternoon than a visit to a fine medieval parish church.
Keeping the church open for local people and visitors is something we would love to be able to do all the time. However, the dangers of vandalism and insurers' warnings mean that if the church is to be open, it must be staffed. Once again this summer we are aiming to do this each weekday afternoon from 1.00 to 3.00, and also on Fridays from 6.00 to 8.00. We are indebted to the small band of volunteers committed to keeping the church open at these times.
Visitors to the church this year will be able to take advantage of an excellent new guide book. This has been written by our Curate, the Revd Ally Barrett, with illustrations both by Ally and by Tony Sursham. The guide makes the link between the parish church as a building of historic interest, and a place of spiritual relevance. Visitors are encouraged to become pilgrims rather than tourists: to discover what the building says about the God who loves us, and to use it as a sacred spiritual space.
There is clear evidence that far more people pray than attend church. Yet many people (worshippers and non-worshippers alike) are stuck for words when it comes to praying. There is now the opportunity to light a candle in church as a way of offering a prayer. Prayer is far too important to be confined to words alone; the symbolic act of lighting a candle is one that is often helpful. If you wish, you may also leave a written prayer, or the name of someone you would like others to pray for. These prayers will be offered each weekday at Morning Prayer (7.45am) for a week after they have been left.
Please make use of our Parish Church as a place of sanctuary and of renewal and refreshment and encourage others to do the same. It has stood for nearly 800 years as a sign of the God who is always with us and committed to us: the God who in Jesus Christ came to bring us life in all its fullness.
Yours in Christ,
Peter Moger
A prayer for the lighting of a candle
Lord, this candle I have lit…..
May it be LIGHT from you to lighten my way through difficulties and decisions
May it be FIRE from you to burn up all that is impure within me
May it be FLAME from you to warm my heart and teach me love.
Lord, I cannot stay long in your house.
This candle is a little bit of myself that I offer to you. Help me continue my prayer in all that I do this day.
As I write, the strains of the Swiss national anthem are in the background: it’s just before kick-off in England’s group match against Switzerland in Euro 2004, and I have to admit I’m a little nervous. Following defeat by France (through two cruel goals in extra time) England’s chances of progressing beyond the group stage of the tournament depend on a victory this afternoon.
So I write this in the shadow of a very specific uncertainty (one which will be resolved by the time this magazine goes to press)!
But in fact, we all live with a high degree of uncertainty, all the time. It is part of being human (and not being God) that we exist in time, and that our lives unfold day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. However much we try and control our future, we know that in real life there are too many variables for us to really be sure what next week, let alone next year, will hold for us.
Whether it’s insurance, pensions, savings, or whatever, there are many things about today’s lifestyle that seem to want to take the element of uncertainty away from us. These are not bad things in themselves – it is prudent, and good stewardship to think about the future. But I sometimes wonder whether too much is invested in such things (emotionally and spiritually, I mean). They can give us some peace of mind, but they do not guarantee a risk-free future, and perhaps they can even sometimes stop us enjoying the present moment.
To survive uncertainty requires a certain willingness to surrender control, and that can be very hard indeed. As one of life’s list-makers (I’m just as bad as the vicar in this) I certainly find this difficult. For Sam and me the next few months are likely to bring the kind of upheaval that we’ve never had to deal with before. We don’t know exactly how a new baby will affect our lives, so this is a major element of uncertainty in our future!
So I would like to share with you the two things that I find most comforting in all the uncertainty of life, in the hope that you, too, will find comfort in them.
The first is that Jesus said, ‘Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’ (Matthew 6:34). Our future is in God’s hands, and the fact that we are time-bounded is a gift as well as a challenge.
The second is that when Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples and ascend back into heaven (Matthew 28:16-20), he not only left them with the daunting commission to ‘go out and make disciples of all nations’. He also promised them that no matter what, he would always continue to be with them ‘to the end of the age’.
It is when we face the toughest challenges and the most frightening changes in our life’s journey that we most need to remember that our future is in God’s hands, and that we are not alone. To take the next step in the path that lies ahead of us can sometimes feel like treading on air. But with Christ as the rock beneath our feet, the light upon our path, our guide and our companion, we will find the courage to take that step.
We can neither stand still, nor fast-forward to the end of our journey – so may God give us the grace to enjoy the unfolding of time as a his gift, and to know the presence of Christ alongside us on our journey.
Yours in Christ,
Ally Barrett