Ministry Team Letters July – December 2005
Dear Friends
December is a busy time of year for most of us — is there anyone who doesn't feel at least a little bit anxious when someone reminds us just how few shopping there are until Christmas? By the time you read this I know I still won't have got around to doing any Christmas shopping; in fact I will be doing well if all the orders of service are ready ...!
It's a time of year for preparing: preparing our homes for guests and parties by cooking, shopping, tidying and decorating; a time for writing to those we won't get to see, and for buying presents for the people we love (and for those who we know will buy something for us!).
The Church is getting ready too. The season of Advent, which began on 27 November, is a time when we get ready to remember the birth of Jesus. The Christmas cards we'll send and receive, and the carols we'll hear and sing over the next few weeks, will remind us of the story of the baby Jesus, announced by angels, born in a stable, and visited by shepherds and wise men all those years ago.
He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall:
With the poor and mean and lowly,
Lived on earth our saviour holy.
But this all happened such a long time ago — why do we still need to prepare each year? Because the baby Jesus was not just a baby; he was, and is, the Son of God, who came into the world to live as one of us so that we could become children of God, and he is still the way that we can come to know God for ourselves. Each Advent, Christians prepare our lives and our hearts to receive the Son of God, not just in memory of his coming as a baby all those hundreds of years ago, but also to look forward to that time when he will come again at the end of time, and gather all his children.
And our eyes at last shall see him
Through his own redeeming love,
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heaven above:
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
So somewhere amidst all the busy-ness of preparing for Christmas, come along to Church, and bring your friends: hear again the story of God's love for the world as we read in the Bible and sing it in those well-loved carols, and open the door of your heart to let the Christ-child in.
Yours in Christ,
Ally Barrett
Dear Friends
I've spent the last week trying to set up a new computer system at home and generally getting in a bad temper. My brand new computer is up-to-the minute and can, no doubt, do a million whizzy things that I shall never discover. But currently I find its ways immensely frustrating. By the time I get to grips with it, it will inevitably have been superseded by something faster and more accomplished — such is the nature of our 24/7 fast-moving culture.
In the late afternoon, when I emerge from another day spent struggling with networks and software, I look out of my study window at my neighbour's tree bathed in autumnal light, and find a more refreshing perspective on life. It's a good moment to reflect a little on the past day as the light fades and the evening draws in.
November is a light-fading sort of month. It is the month for remembering. Not only do we 'remember, remember the fifth of November' with the Community Association Bonfire and Fireworks event, but within the church we have various 'remembering' services, which, like my neighbour's tree, give us pause for thought.
Two services occur on the Sunday nearest to the beginning of November, which this year is the 30th October. At 9.45 am on that day the theme of the All-Age-Eucharist will be 'All Saints'. This is a service in which we remember the men and women through the centuries who have influenced the Christian faith and the life of the Church: the men and women whose lives have inspired others to holiness. In celebrating their lives in our own time, we become aware of the communion between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven — 'the communion of saints' — and we thank God that his glory is proclaimed in every age.
Nearer to home, there are people we have known personally who have influenced our own lives of faith and who are 'saints' for us — loved ones who have died and whose memories we treasure. At 6.30 pm on Sunday 30th October we have a Service of Commemoration for All Souls' Tide in which we especially remember those dear to us who have died. During the service, the names of the departed are read aloud and there is an opportunity to light candles in memory of them. It is a quiet and reflective service to which all are welcome.
Remembrance Sunday falls on 13th November this year and, in the morning, Godmanchester churches join together at the war memorial at 10.50 am for an ecumenical Act of Remembrance, incorporating two minutes of silence. In the evening at 6.30 pm the guest preacher at the Service of Remembrance will be Revd Ivan Weston. During the service the names of those of our parish who lost their lives in the two world wars will be read out.
In the church calendar, the Sundays between All Saints and Advent Sunday are known as the Kingdom Season and alongside these special services of 'remembering' we focus on Jesus' teaching in the gospels on the Kingdom of God. It is a time of recollection and reflection before entering the busy weeks of Advent and our preparation for the coming of Christ.
So if, like me, you are caught up in some of the frustrations of our 24/7 instant culture, take some time out this month to remember — to reflect and ponder on the precious gifts and relationships in our lives which take time to grow and which last.
Yours in Christ,
Pat Saunders
On the first Sunday in October, we celebrate our Harvest Festival. As I write this, a couple of weeks in advance, the weather looks pretty grim; and I hope the farmers will feel satisfied and rewarded for all their hard work. Now, it’s easy to know how to respond to the farmers – with that and, if things work our badly, with sympathy, but what do we say to God?
The point of the Harvest Festival is to give thanks. It’s right to have feelings of gratitude and to express them to God. But, if we attribute our good fortune (if this is what happens) and our comparative wealth to the goodwill of God, what are we to say to God about places where harvests fail and people starve?
If we bless God for what happens here, should we curse him for what happens in Niger? Well, obviously not, but why not? In the ancient world, people ascribed to God (or the gods) all the phenomena they could not explain: God (or the gods) made thunder and lightning, drought and floods, want and plenty. If they had plenty, it was because God smiled upon them; if they were in want, it was because they had offended God. You can find examples in the Old Testament, and even in the New: ‘Who sinned – this man or his parents – that he was born blind?’ Jesus is asked.
I am happy to say that we can no longer think like that. Or most of us don’t. The quite weirdly theologically conservative Anglican Dean of Sydney allegedly said that the Indian Ocean tsunami was down to God warning people of his impending wrath. I’m pleased to say that the Dean of the Roman Catholic Cathedral was reported as taking him to task publicly for his medieval theology. God’s will is that the world follows its natural course, and the tsunami was a natural event, in which, we might think, God shared the suffering of the dead, the homeless and the bereaved.
At Harvest, then, we can thank God for the efforts of farmers and others who, in our part of the world, succeed in providing us with what we need; and we can thank God for those who struggle unsuccessfully in Niger. The starvation in Niger is not their fault, and it is not God’s. So we neither bless God for plenty, nor curse him for want: we bless him that human beings struggle to fill the needs of the world.
That means that what human beings do, matters. Like Harvest failures, hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster: it was not a punishment brought about by God. But it was worse that it need have been. There seems now to be plenty of evidence that funding for the levees (the bulwarks against the floods) was cut off in order to use it for the war in Iraq. There seems now to be plenty of evidence that the White House, for the sake of business profit, had allowed building on the wetlands – the plains that soak up the flood water. Both actions meant that the disaster was worse than it need have been.
We have seen – we might have contributed to – that sort of selfish folly when we were told that there might be petrol shortages. In the year 2000, petrol did run out, not because there was not enough for everyone, but because we all demanded the right to fill up before everyone else. This year, sense apparently prevailed.
If we try hard, and pray hard, maybe sense might prevail about the balance between our plenty, and places like Niger where folk starve. There is actually enough for all of us. The problem is that we in the West think that our plenty maters more than the poverty of the Third World.
Jeremy Craddock
Assistant Priest
Dear Friends
It is now four years since the events of September 11, 2001, but only two months since our own capital city was the victim of a devastating terrorist attack. It seems that there is a huge need in our world for healing -- for healing the divisions between nations, and between races; for healing in families that have been torn apart and broken up; for healing in the hearts, minds and bodies of individuals who are suffering.
Christian healing is something that has from time to time caused confusion and suspicion. It is not just about 'curing' people of ailments -- although this can happen -- but is about an approach to well-being that involves the whole of us, body, mind and spirit, and our relationships within the communities in which we live and work. Prayer for healing goes hand in hand with practical work for peace and justice, and with the medical management of illness; for people with long term health problems, healing can mean gaining the serenity to accept their condition and to discover how to 'live well' again. Healing can be about preparing people to face death, not with fear, but with confidence.
The inspiration for Christian healing is the life and ministry of Jesus, who spent much of his time not only preaching and teaching, but also reaching out to the sick and suffering. He also commissioned his disciples (and the church they would go on to build) to go out and do the same. Jesus often healed by touching those who were sick -- a particularly powerful thing to do for those suffering from leprosy, who were forbidden to touch anyone, for fear that they would pass on the disease. Nowadays the church is still able to offer prayer with what is usually called 'laying on of hands' for healing -- the simple gesture of a hand on a shoulder can be very moving.
As part of the church's ongoing ministry of healing, the 'Grassroots' this month (11 september at 11.30 am) will take the form of a service of prayer for healing and wholeness. During the service we will be invited to pray to God for ourselves, for those who are dear to us, and for the needs of the world. There will also be an opportunity to use symbols and actions to express our prayers, and through which we will ask God to meet us at our point of need. The laying on of hands will be available for those who wish to receive it. There will be no baptisms, and the 'feel' of the service will be predominantly reflective. All are very welcome -- please do feel free to come along even if you do not normally come to the 'Grassroots' service, or even if you rarely come to church at all. If you would like more information, do please contact any member of the ministry team.
In the meantime, may you each find that when you bring your troubles to God, he will meet you at your point of need.
Yours in Christ,
Ally Barrett
Challenge. Jubilation. Shock. Grief. The first week of July shook our nation to the core, and sent us reeling from elation to horror.
It was a week that began, here in Godmanchester, with all the fun and good spirit of Gala Weekend, organised by our dedicated Community Association. Fun was the order of the day, too, at the various Live 8 concerts that weekend. Fun combined with the challenge to Make Poverty History in the poorest countries of our planet. As the music bands played, a quarter of a million people gathered in Edinburgh to form the biggest peaceful demonstration ever seen before a G8 summit. Never before have so many people stood in solidarity with the poor of our world. The decisions made in Edinburgh that week, to increase aid and reduce debt, will give hope and life to millions of the world’s poorest people.
The success of the London bid to host the 2012 Olympic games was another source of hope and celebration that week. Hope for development and employment opportunities in the East End of London; hope for increased sporting facilities for our children; and hope for the potential international co-operation and unity that the Games can provide.
But, within twenty-four hours of that announcement, our nation was in shock following the London bombings. For many of us that day our first thoughts were for friends and family in central London at the time, and for London commuters from our community. Our hearts go out to those directly involved – and especially to the injured, to those whose loved ones are missing, or dead, and to the many involved with rescue and care.
We need to talk about what happened, but equally words seem grossly inadequate. Yet, fortunately, words are not all we have. Our love and concern are communicated through our thoughts and prayers for those caught up in this tragedy. Those thoughts and prayers unite us with them in solidarity and care. Gestures are important too – a hug often says more than words; much is communicated by the holding of a hand. The placing of flowers, the lighting of candles … and silence can speak volumes.
There is the initial silence of shock – the silence that fell upon London on 7 July. But, deeper and more profound, is the silence of heartfelt prayer that comes from the core of our being, and which anchors us to the deepest, most enduring things. This is the place that feeds the roots of our spirits – the place where we find the strength to go forward in justice, mercy, love and hope.
Our parish church is open each weekday between 1 pm and 3 pm, and again on Saturday from 2 pm to 4 pm, until October. It provides an opportunity to sit in a place of quiet – to light a candle, to pray, to be silent – to touch that deep and meaningful source of love and peace. In our busy world it is a chance to be still for a while. All are welcome to come into the church at this time – just for a few minutes or for longer. It’s surprising what five minutes of quietness can do. It’s never wasted. Such a simple action as that makes a difference – both to us and to the world we live in.
Yours in Christ,
Pat Saunders
Dear friends
2005: A year to make history - A year to make poverty history
'Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that generation'. So said Nelson Mandela, speaking in Trafalgar Square on 3 February this year.
Usually the clergy letter in the parish magazine has a local flavour, but this month it seems important to look beyond Godmanchester, and see our opportunities and responsibilities in the wider world.
As the G8 meeting in Edinburgh approaches, and we hear on the national news about plans for the Live Aid concert, about mass demonstrations, and about how groups as diverse and the Boys Brigade and the Mothers Union, CAFOD and Islamic Relief have come together in an unprecedented call for action. It seems that individuals acting together have never had such a good chance of effecting change on a global scale. Certainly, the advent of speedier communications, especially the internet, has enabled large numbers of demonstrators to be mobilized and resourced with information as never before.
But we would be wrong to think that this has only just become possible. We can look back at the end of apartheid, and further back to the suffragette movement, and further back still (in this country at least) to the abolition of slavery, to know that it has always been possible for those who believe in a cause, and have the courage and vision to stand up for it, to make a difference. Increasingly we are recognising the truth in Margaret Mead’s famous and inspiring challenge:
‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.’
The Godmanchester churches recently made house to house collections for Christian Aid, and this year the total was our best yet, a real tribute to the fact that the people of this town want to make a difference, and be part of the movement finally to make poverty a thing of the past.
Never doubt that the million and one little decisions that we each make each day do matter. Ordinary people like ourselves can change the course of history. On a local level it is the people of this town that make it the place it is; in the same way on a global scale we are each part of what can make this world a better place, a place closer to how God intended it to be when he created it and made us its stewards and guardians.
If you want to change the world and find out more about what you can do to get involved in the campaign to end poverty once and for all, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/campaign/index.htm or telephone Christian Aid on 020 7620 4444
Yours in Christ,
Ally Barrett