August 2008

Bishop Alastair recently asked me to become the Spiritual Director of Derby Anglican Cursillo. It was an honour to be asked, and I gladly accepted: any role that shepherds God’s people is special, just as his people are. This doesn’t mean that I will be leaving you however! Derby Anglican Cursillo is an organisation that you have perhaps not heard about, so I would like to tell you more about it.

What is Cursillo? And what does the name mean? Well, the first thing to say that it is an international organisation with its roots in Spain, hence the Spanish name. Cursillo (pronounced Kur-See-Yo) means ‘short course’. Essentially it is a short course in being a Christian, designed to encourage and equip ordinary Christians to live their lives as Christians with more understanding and with a fresh vitality.

Is it different to going to church? The Cursillo group can only exist in a Diocese with the blessing and support of the Bishop, and is not an alternative to church – it is a movement within the church that supports and encourages people within their own parishes and organisations… so you will find that members of Cursillo are often also members of the Mothers Union, or bible study groups, or friends of the Churchyard groups! It embraces the insights and good teachings of all the traditions of the Anglican Church.

Who is it for? People like you! People who want to find out more, who are curious, looking for refreshing or wanting to celebrate their faith.

So what happens on the course? It lasts for three days, and involves talks by fellow Christians about subjects like: prayer; study; grace; obstacles to grace; action; sacraments; the value of the Christian Community – nothing new or shocking, just the solid time-honoured good news for all people. The talks lead into lively discussions and practical applications… the group becomes a learning, living, praying, sharing, singing, laughing, crying, celebrating Christian Community discovering afresh what it means to say “we are the body of Christ”.

And is that it? Well, yes and no. The weekend course is designed to be a catalyst for the rest of your life – and the ‘fourth day’ is where members of Cursillo – also called pilgrims - continue the journey together. Members are encouraged to meet together for prayer and encouragement, and there are regular gatherings of members (called Ultreyas – another Spanish word!) where a Eucharist is celebrated and sharing and encouragement takes place. The next one is here in New Mills, and you are warmly invited – it is for all, whether members or not, and is a chance to find out more without committing yourself to anything!

It will take place at St George’s Church on Saturday 2nd August, and will be followed by a barbeque at the Vicarage. Both are free, but you’ll have to bring your own meat for the barbeque! If you want to find out more, either speak to me or ring the Parish Office on 01663 749323

Fr John

July 2008

From Our Reader Martyn

A friend at work was telling me the other day, how much she enjoyed the summer months. At this time of year, she was able to spend so many more hours in her garden.

Last weekend, she found herself pottering around the garden; and a description of her activities might go something like this. First she moved to one plant, which she noticed needed some dead flowers removing. She carefully and purposefully removed the wilting blooms so that it encouraged more flowers to come, as well as making the plants so much more beautiful. Then she might wander slowly along the borders, or sit and watch each plant, one by one. She spent time admiring the growth of each of her garden plants. When she spotted something of interest, she would move closer. Perhaps a weed needed lifting up, or perhaps a leaf needed removing, or an area of soil needed raking through. All of these she did slowly and surely. Each time, as soon as she had a handful of waste, she wandered off to the compost heap and back again, but not necessarily to the same plant, as something else had caught her attention on the way. Tending each plant might therefore take several visits, and a considerable journey via the compost heap and around other parts of her garden.

Over the garden fence, her neighbour challenged her on what she had been doing. He had watched her actions and was bold enough to suggest that her gardening was very inefficient. Why not concentrate on one area at a time. “Take a bucket with you”, he suggest, “so that you are not wandering back and forth to the compost heap with only a handful of material. If you methodically worked on each area at a time, you would not waste so much time and effort.”

My friend was politeness itself, listening but not arguing with her neighbour. However, as she told me, her neighbour’s ideas of gardening were far removed from her own. She simply did not want to be efficient in her garden. Here was something, which she enjoyed. Revelling in each plant, as the mood took her. Looking after her garden was not to be seen as a chore, which required the maximum of efficiency and minimum of work. Indeed, being in the garden was its own reward, whilst each small task became a thrill and a pleasure.

In many ways, this seems to me to be like our journey of faith, and our actions of worship. Surely as we try to live out our faith, it is not to be measured by how quickly or efficiently we do this. These are measures for this world.

Instead, it is our attention to small tasks, to detail, to individuals that matter. Spending time to take care of the tiny attentions that each individual needs is the most important aspect of our care for one another. Being distracted by events, turning one individual to another often happens. But we make sure we return to each individual relationship, until we are satisfied that all is well. Sometimes, that takes the whole summer, a whole lifetime!

The same is true for our worship of God, for here too we cannot possibly measure our actions by the speed and efficiency of a service. Surely, the most important thing is the desire just to be there – to spend enough time so that we engage with God, and enjoy being with Him.

So, may each of us find, in our worship and our journey with God, that pleasure of simple being there with Him. May we not judge by human standards the efficiency of what we do, or think of our time spent as a chore, but instead feel that being in the ‘garden with God’ is its own reward, with each small task and act of worship becoming a thrill and a pleasure in itself.

Enjoy your ‘Garden’ this summer.

After John Hawksford and his colleague undertook an ecological survey of the churchyard and the field, and mentioned to me how the blossom is often cut off in its prime, I thought it would be interesting to leave the field for a while and see what other wild-flowers might be lurking, waiting to come into blossom if given the chance. (Click Here to be taken to the Ecological Survey)

The field will be cut a couple of times a year, and it will be tidied up so that it presents a good image – but all of the comments I’ve received about the ‘meadow’ so far have been very positive! The Borough Council will also be playing their part with the churchyard, and by the time you read this letter the cutting will have commenced – again, I have asked them to leave some parts so that the wild-flowers will have a chance, but this is in the Victorian parts of the churchyard that are seldom visited. Did you know we have some interesting plants here, and indeed a very rare plant?

I must also say a big T H A N K   Y O U for all the presents I received for my 40^th birthday. Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted, I asked for something for the wildlife of the churchyard – and several people (mainly from the lunch club) have sponsored bat- and bird-boxes which are now safely installed by John Lord (who also made them – thank you!), and I have been given lots of bird food, and with the money given to me I’ve bought some wild-life friendly plants, such as buddleias and lavenders for my garden.

As you wander through the church-yard and the field, spend a moment to see the beauty of God’s creation, and reflect that you are the crown of that creation – and if God can clothe even the humblest flower in great beauty, how much more can he supply your needs. He loves you, and holds you precious, even if sometimes you feel like a weed in the wrong place!

God Bless,

Fr John

I’ve just returned from Evensong at St George’s Church, where the first lesson was from the Book of Ezra, chapter 3 verses 1-13. If you’ve got a bible handy, get it out now and have a look at the passage – it is full of meaning, especially for us in our parish.

The Children of Israel have been released from captivity, and they are returning to the Promised Land. They are frightened of the people around them who have moved into the land in the intervening years. I might have expected them to devote all their energy and money to building fortresses or walls, yet one of their burning actions is to build an Altar to God.

It seems odd yet in reality it was a profound statement to the people around. It said, “God is important, and he is worth worshipping. We will build this site where we can make sacrifices worthy of our God.” When that had been accomplished, they began actually worshipping. And it was only when that worship was underway that they began thinking about building foundations and a structure.

Last month we heard that English Heritage would not be able to support us financially with our roof and steeple repairs this year. It’s an odd state of affairs, in as much as we have passed their stringent criteria and we are eligible for assistance – but there is a lack of funds in the English Heritage purse, which means they can’t help everyone who needs it.

It would be easy to be despondent, but what you and I need to do is to seek God. We have a place to worship and a structure: a visible statement that says, “God is important and worthy of worship” so let’s live that out – let’s worship him together and re-commit ourselves and our structures to him. 

What we don’t have is a museum, so it is important for you and me that we present our faith as a living, vital and active faith. That is what the world around us is seeking: a God worth worshipping. All of us are called to be statements that say, “God is important.” 

So where does that leave us now in New Mills? We need to continue declaring that God is good, that his message of love and forgiveness is for all the people of our town, worshipping him and praying. 

We’ve also got to continue trying to raise funds – and that is going to mean a lot of work for lots of people, especially our PCC members. Besides the fund raising events, we are also applying for funds from all manner of Grant Making bodies. One the many ways you can help is by completing one of the ‘Members and Activities Survey’ forms: it will help us to work out where our priorities should lie.

I’m not pretending that it will be easy though: remember the end of the passage from Ezra? Mingling with the shouts of joy were cries of anguish. There were some people amongst them who remembered the old Temple, and who were distressed at the idea of rebuilding it. They have conjured up a picture in their minds over the years of the perfection of the ‘good old days’. Will the new meet their expectations of the old? Should they even be doing this? Should it be exactly like the old one, or might they take the opportunity to bring in some new innovations – and would that be a good or a bad thing?

Please, if you feel any anguish about the future of our parish, or about St George’s, the Parish Hall or St James’, speak to me or one of the PCC. Similarly, if you have any ideas, let one of us know. And please hold the PCC in your prayers as they meet for a day of prayerful planning on 13^th May.

Remember, this parish, this church, you and I are precious to God, and hand-in-hand with God we are capable of great things.

With love and prayers

We’re going to consider some questions from the Bible, four questions asked by God, which it may help us to contemplate as we consider the Parish of St George with St James today, tomorrow and long into the future. 

“Where are you?”

God asks this of Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3.9). Adam and Eve have just eaten of the forbidden fruit. They’ve heard God walking in the garden, and they’ve hidden themselves because they are ashamed. God knows full well where they are; yet he still asks the question. If God asked that today of you and me, or of us as a church, what would we answer? Where are we? Not where were you ten years ago, or where do you think you are, or even where you hope to be. Where are you? You and I need to be honest before God. It is the basis of growth – for ourselves and our church.

“What is that in your hand?” 

God asks this of Moses (Exodus 4.2) when he has given him the task of leading the children of Israel out of slavery into the Promised Land. Moses is scared of approaching Pharaoh and God asks him “what is that in your hand?” Moses has a staff – a walking stick – and God uses it to become a snake (which eventually eats up the snakes of Pharaoh’s advisors). What he was really asking was, “what resources do you have at your disposal?” How would you and I answer if God asked us that? What resources do we have? 

We’re the Parish Church – we have a unique position in this town. We have an image and an identity – is it everything it could be? We have a committed group of people who get stuck in to all sorts of activities.   We have buildings and resources, a base from which to reach out. We’ve got a Parish Magazine that reaches into around 300 homes in this parish. We’ve got a new Website – that has the potential to reach into countless homes around the world! Our new office is beginning to get established – a base for our administration, and part-time administrator. We’re in the process of setting up a Friends of the Churchyard group – which might draw in people who want to help in practical ways. How can you and I start to recognise what we’ve got and start to use it more and more for God? How can we start to lead the people around us out of slavery – slavery to sin, to consumerism, to selfishness – into the Promised Land of God’s love and forgiveness? “What is that in your hand?” Moses had a lowly walking stick. What mundane thing do you have that God can transform?

“What are you doing here?” 

God asks this of Elijah (1 Kings 19.9) when Elijah is hiding in a cave. He’s just defeated (with God’s help!) all the prophets of Baal, and he is fleeing for his life. He’s had a great success in many ways – but all he seems to see is failure, and he’s terrified that after killing so many prophets, he’ll be next. “What are you doing here” is an important question for you and me. 

Elijah was frightened because he wasn’t looking through God’s eyes: he didn’t see the great plan that he was a part of. You and I need to try and look through God’s eyes and see ourselves and our church as he sees us. You and I are precious to him, and this parish is a holy thing in his sight. We need to keep that in focus, and remember that you and I are part of God’s great plan for this town.

“Can these dry bones live?” 

(Ezekiel 37.3) In his vision, Ezekiel saw dry bones – but God saw a host capable of living and breathing. There is so much that can be drawn out of this passage, but the thing I want you to consider is this: what happened after the question was asked? Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the bones – and it was only as he uttered the word of the prophecy that things started to happen. He had to speak out and give words to his vision. 

As the people of God in this place, we are called to answer all these questions we have been asked by God – we are called to speak out and make real: to back up our words with actions. Together, you and I are called to bring about the Kingdom of God in this place, to live it out daily. When we are asked, “Can these dry bones live?” what will our answer be?

Fr John