Last night I found myself at Quainton, pulling a ribbon to open the doors through a new screen to open up the base of the tower. The church is large, with some large monuments to match. Two monuments to members of the Dormer family have moved around the church over the years, and their current resting place is in the base of the tower, either side of the bell ropes. They are extraordinary monuments - sentimental, melancholic and bold. They have been admired by both Simon Jenkins and Pevsner !
Much in need of restoration, this small village has taken seriously the need to make the most of their listed building, opening it up more for worshippers and Dormer monument enthusiasts alike. Hence, phase 1 a glass screen between the church and the monuments/ringing chamber allowing easy access to both. Phase 2 will be tackling the damp at the base of the tower, and Phase 3 restoring the two monuments. It was great to be part of this village occasion, where Priest in Charge, architect, church wardens and others were all visibly playing their important part in ensuring the country's heritage is preserved for future generations, and making what goes on inside our churches accessible to all. Prayer, Pilgrimage and Preservation.
I am sure those who appreciate our museums, public buildings and places of interest, do not always realise that the total upkeep of our historic churches (many grade 1 and 2 listed) falls entirely onto our local communities, and very often those few who are regular attenders. It is an amazing feat, even to fill in the grant applications, yet alone fund raise, deploy builders and architects and oversee the work, particularly as our prime call as Christians was not to do any of these things!
I get the privilege of pulling the ribbons on occasions and offer encouragement to these unsung heroes of our nations heritage. The glass screen at Quainton illustrates the work of many, as they create an opening between the past and the present, which all can cross, and between sacred and secular in our lives.
What if many more gave themselves to altruistic work, not for the sake of themselves but for others?
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Friday, 6 December 2013
What if..? Day 6
'For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.' Nelson Mandela
Today the world mourns the death of one extraordinary man, someone whose courage and determination literally changed the face of the world.
Yesterday evening, I sat and watched the news and the tributes pouring in for Nelson Mandela with the Dean of Kimberley, two white people, with a connection to our brothers and sisters in South Africa. As people who have looked on at the struggle of others to gain what we take for granted, growing up while the struggle to end apartheid was going on, thankfully knowing as adults that race should never be a divide.
Bishop John and I never made it to Rabben Island when we first visited South Africa in 2008. We were in Cape Town for the inauguration of the new Archbishop, and had visited the Waterfront where Mandela's statute stands with Desmond Tuto and other heroes of the South African story, sadly though the timing did not work and we missed literally missed the boat. However we did make it to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg another time and were gripped and moved by the story and the stories of courage, self sacrifice and then eventual graciousness and forgiveness.
Amongst the clergy in Kimberley and Kuruman there are many other stories of courage and hope, including some who have shared in Nelson Mandela's own story. Our thoughts today are with the Africa people. South Africa is a complex country and the struggle for equality in many spheres continues to go on. Today we honour a man of deep conviction, who is an example to all of us of graceful determination.
I am reminded this morning of Christ's call to bring release to the prisoners and of all those around the world still enslaved.
What if.... we too all worked to bring others the freedom we so enjoy?
Today the world mourns the death of one extraordinary man, someone whose courage and determination literally changed the face of the world.
Yesterday evening, I sat and watched the news and the tributes pouring in for Nelson Mandela with the Dean of Kimberley, two white people, with a connection to our brothers and sisters in South Africa. As people who have looked on at the struggle of others to gain what we take for granted, growing up while the struggle to end apartheid was going on, thankfully knowing as adults that race should never be a divide.
Bishop John and I never made it to Rabben Island when we first visited South Africa in 2008. We were in Cape Town for the inauguration of the new Archbishop, and had visited the Waterfront where Mandela's statute stands with Desmond Tuto and other heroes of the South African story, sadly though the timing did not work and we missed literally missed the boat. However we did make it to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg another time and were gripped and moved by the story and the stories of courage, self sacrifice and then eventual graciousness and forgiveness.
Amongst the clergy in Kimberley and Kuruman there are many other stories of courage and hope, including some who have shared in Nelson Mandela's own story. Our thoughts today are with the Africa people. South Africa is a complex country and the struggle for equality in many spheres continues to go on. Today we honour a man of deep conviction, who is an example to all of us of graceful determination.
I am reminded this morning of Christ's call to bring release to the prisoners and of all those around the world still enslaved.
What if.... we too all worked to bring others the freedom we so enjoy?
Thursday, 5 December 2013
What if.....? Day 5
One of the things I have done for the last twenty five years is to keep an index of all my sermons. It's probably the only semi-exact organised filing system I have, but each is filed in date order, numbered and cross referenced Biblically on my computer. I did once have a great Bible programme where I could footnote the appropriate numbered sermon, but that was lost a while ago as computers got upgraded. Now I have a list, in Bible book order.
This system does mean that I can look at the readings for Sundays and see whether I have preached on that passage before. Often it works and helps me to get a bit of inspiration, but I am still amazed by the passages I have not preached on - probably because that was the Sunday I took off from parish ministry, say after Easter or Christmas or when the curate preached.
This Sunday's passage is a case in point. I used to use Advent as a time for a short sermon series in the parish, or to preach on the Advent themes. The referenced sermon was Number 5!. That was written well before I was ordained! well before any serious New Testament study had been undertaken, and only because an encouraging Vicar let me loose in the pulpit occasionally.
It made an interesting read. Preached not for Advent, but at an evening baptism service (by immersion) held at our local Baptist Church in Billericay where two of the young people were baptised. That encouraging Vicar must have had faith me in! Well, two things struck me on re-reading that sermon. Firstly how much content there was in it. Not the length, but the depth - there were quotes, and Biblical references and what commentators had said. In those days, there had been plenty of time to prepare - weeks rather than days, and so I had time to do all the reading around a text (almost too much!).
Secondly I was struck by how much heart was in the sermon, it was quite raw and nicely naive in places. Reflecting back I am aware of how context conscious I have become in my preaching style - not really cautious but aware of both audience and preacher in a different way, speaking to a particular group of people in a particular way. The passion is still there, but differently expressed. Maybe more head than heart - and perhaps necessarily so.
I have decided not to use much of my 5th sermon on Sunday, but will have to take a couple of hours on Saturday to write a new one. It will not be so rich, and it will not be so innocently heartfelt. I envy my earlier passion, that almost childlike faith that believed it could move mountains. I still do, but in a different and more rational acceptable 'adult' way.
What if we all allowed our heart to express itself in some way today?
This system does mean that I can look at the readings for Sundays and see whether I have preached on that passage before. Often it works and helps me to get a bit of inspiration, but I am still amazed by the passages I have not preached on - probably because that was the Sunday I took off from parish ministry, say after Easter or Christmas or when the curate preached.
This Sunday's passage is a case in point. I used to use Advent as a time for a short sermon series in the parish, or to preach on the Advent themes. The referenced sermon was Number 5!. That was written well before I was ordained! well before any serious New Testament study had been undertaken, and only because an encouraging Vicar let me loose in the pulpit occasionally.
It made an interesting read. Preached not for Advent, but at an evening baptism service (by immersion) held at our local Baptist Church in Billericay where two of the young people were baptised. That encouraging Vicar must have had faith me in! Well, two things struck me on re-reading that sermon. Firstly how much content there was in it. Not the length, but the depth - there were quotes, and Biblical references and what commentators had said. In those days, there had been plenty of time to prepare - weeks rather than days, and so I had time to do all the reading around a text (almost too much!).
Secondly I was struck by how much heart was in the sermon, it was quite raw and nicely naive in places. Reflecting back I am aware of how context conscious I have become in my preaching style - not really cautious but aware of both audience and preacher in a different way, speaking to a particular group of people in a particular way. The passion is still there, but differently expressed. Maybe more head than heart - and perhaps necessarily so.
I have decided not to use much of my 5th sermon on Sunday, but will have to take a couple of hours on Saturday to write a new one. It will not be so rich, and it will not be so innocently heartfelt. I envy my earlier passion, that almost childlike faith that believed it could move mountains. I still do, but in a different and more rational acceptable 'adult' way.
What if we all allowed our heart to express itself in some way today?
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
What if...? Day 4
For the last six years I have been involved with our diocesan link with the diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in South Africa. I have written extensively about the diocese on my blog in the past, particularly a few years ago when the World Cup was held in that country. It has been a real privilege over the years to form some good friendships and work, particularly with clergy, across two continents and varied cultures.
Regrettably, due to other demands on my time, I shall soon be giving up as Chair of the Link Committee, however today we are meeting with Simon, Dean of Kimberley Cathedral, as he spends some time in the Oxford Diocese. It will be important to look back as well as look forward, there are some exciting developments including the appointment of a Development Officer in K and K, supported by the Oxford Diocese working with parish across a huge geographical area and supporting their outreach work into communities with many needs. Our partnership, as it has developed, has been built on trust and honesty, as well as real relationship. There have been (and still are) many challenges and an equal partnership has taken both determination and humility. We learn from one another and I have benefitted enormously from the privilege of walking with fellow brothers and sisters that path of shared faith in such different contexts.
It is at this time of year also that my parents receive their annual parcel from Germany. After the Second World War, at my mothers school, British schoolchildren were encouraged to have a pen friend in West Germany. A friendship was certainly born and for the last sixty years my parents have kept in touch with Maria and Jochen, and their family. Regular correspondence has been interspersed with visits, and throughout those years world events have been part of a shared friendship, including the fall of the Berlin Wall - never thought possible in those early days - and very important as Jochen escaped with his mother as a children from East Germany. That friendship, now marked by the regular Christmas parcel in both directions, has deepened understanding, far more than I am sure those early teachers ever thought.
Walking as friends in one another's shoes across divides, whether geographical, cultural, gender or race, changes lives and makes for a better world, as differences fade because what is shared is far more precious.
What if....we all tried walking in another person's shoes, even for one day ?
Regrettably, due to other demands on my time, I shall soon be giving up as Chair of the Link Committee, however today we are meeting with Simon, Dean of Kimberley Cathedral, as he spends some time in the Oxford Diocese. It will be important to look back as well as look forward, there are some exciting developments including the appointment of a Development Officer in K and K, supported by the Oxford Diocese working with parish across a huge geographical area and supporting their outreach work into communities with many needs. Our partnership, as it has developed, has been built on trust and honesty, as well as real relationship. There have been (and still are) many challenges and an equal partnership has taken both determination and humility. We learn from one another and I have benefitted enormously from the privilege of walking with fellow brothers and sisters that path of shared faith in such different contexts.
It is at this time of year also that my parents receive their annual parcel from Germany. After the Second World War, at my mothers school, British schoolchildren were encouraged to have a pen friend in West Germany. A friendship was certainly born and for the last sixty years my parents have kept in touch with Maria and Jochen, and their family. Regular correspondence has been interspersed with visits, and throughout those years world events have been part of a shared friendship, including the fall of the Berlin Wall - never thought possible in those early days - and very important as Jochen escaped with his mother as a children from East Germany. That friendship, now marked by the regular Christmas parcel in both directions, has deepened understanding, far more than I am sure those early teachers ever thought.
Walking as friends in one another's shoes across divides, whether geographical, cultural, gender or race, changes lives and makes for a better world, as differences fade because what is shared is far more precious.
What if....we all tried walking in another person's shoes, even for one day ?
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
What if...? Day 3
These past few sunny weeks I have been thrilled by the extraordinary autumn colours. Driving around Bucks there are certain places where the blends of gold, copper and yellow are wonderful. No trips to New England needed here! It is as if the trees are clinging to their leaves for as long as possible, although my lawn tells a different story. It is so easy when racing from one thing to another, to ignore natures picture around us, but just the briefest acknowledgement that colour, texture and form are freely available in God's natural world, puts man-made life into perspective. We don't have to do it all........
What if each of us stopped for a moment today and smiled at the autumn trees?
What if each of us stopped for a moment today and smiled at the autumn trees?
Monday, 2 December 2013
What if....? Day 2
There is much talk in the diocese of Oxford at the moment about Parish Share. We are introducing a new scheme in 2014. I think, after a great deal of hard work, what we have is as transparent and fair as any scheme can be. We are offering a rural subsidy as well as an urban one, to those deaneries who juggle different financial priorities; we are calculating ministry cost (the cost of our clergy) in exact terms - stipend, pension, housing and NI; fee income is being deducted from deanery totals and central costs have been pruned. At this time deaneries have the rather more complex task of agreeing how their share will be divided between parishes, and benefices likewise.
There is no doubt about it, for Oxford, most of the share goes into paying our hard working clergy; therefore it saddens me when churches do not reach their target. I know money is an issue and, as I have mentioned there are many other priorities - the new scheme to build a loo, the costly repairs, the accumulated fabric fund in case the boiler breaks down. However for most of our parishes what is being asked in parish share is being used to give their Vicar (and curate) something to live on and in. I am not sure how other institutions would function, were there not regularly paid employees - the NHS, the police, the local supermarket. There is no doubt that parishes do value their parish priest, so many people speak to me about how concerned they are about how hard the vicar works, and thank you cards often demonstrate the effect of a particular ministry. A fair parish share scheme too should reflect that value, therefore the challenge is whether the true local costs will be paid locally.
As an archdeacon I have the current figures of paid share for 2013. I pray the new scheme gets better results, because if we did not have generous parishes which enables the stipend bills to be paid, we would have a lot of very poor clergy this Christmas. There is a challenge to all of us who attend our local church, even just once a year, or like to have our name on the electoral roll, to contribute toward the well being of the person who willingly marries our children, buries our grandparents, visits our neighbour, brings a smile to our children in school, holds the local community regularly in prayer and is always there for us. That holy person who gives us both security and faith. The person who fills our grade 1 listed building with light and love.
What if all our parish churches considered the shortfall on their share this week, publicised the amount and asked for people to make up the difference, so by Christmas we can celebrate together the value we all have in being a member of the Body of Christ?
There is no doubt about it, for Oxford, most of the share goes into paying our hard working clergy; therefore it saddens me when churches do not reach their target. I know money is an issue and, as I have mentioned there are many other priorities - the new scheme to build a loo, the costly repairs, the accumulated fabric fund in case the boiler breaks down. However for most of our parishes what is being asked in parish share is being used to give their Vicar (and curate) something to live on and in. I am not sure how other institutions would function, were there not regularly paid employees - the NHS, the police, the local supermarket. There is no doubt that parishes do value their parish priest, so many people speak to me about how concerned they are about how hard the vicar works, and thank you cards often demonstrate the effect of a particular ministry. A fair parish share scheme too should reflect that value, therefore the challenge is whether the true local costs will be paid locally.
As an archdeacon I have the current figures of paid share for 2013. I pray the new scheme gets better results, because if we did not have generous parishes which enables the stipend bills to be paid, we would have a lot of very poor clergy this Christmas. There is a challenge to all of us who attend our local church, even just once a year, or like to have our name on the electoral roll, to contribute toward the well being of the person who willingly marries our children, buries our grandparents, visits our neighbour, brings a smile to our children in school, holds the local community regularly in prayer and is always there for us. That holy person who gives us both security and faith. The person who fills our grade 1 listed building with light and love.
What if all our parish churches considered the shortfall on their share this week, publicised the amount and asked for people to make up the difference, so by Christmas we can celebrate together the value we all have in being a member of the Body of Christ?
Sunday, 1 December 2013
What if ...... ?
I have become increasingly concerned about how stuck we as Christians can get, with our own traditions, with our own view of God, with our own interpretation of Scripture. At times this strikes me as arrogant, as if we know everything, or even the mind of Christ.
I have just finished reading Barbara Brown Taylor's book 'Leaving Church'. It charters her own decision to leave full time Christian ministry after 20 years to pursue God outside the institution. For one who has given her life to a similar path it is deeply challenging, particularly as now it is 25 years since I gave up the normal world of work for serving in the church. The challenge is however interspersed with insights which resonate with me, discoveries I too have made - particularly that God cannot be found in a box or Christian experience, at any one time held up as the definitive answer. Life is but a journey of exploration, when we think we have found something that deepens our spirituality in one direction, by keeping looking we find something else somewhere else.
Advent is a time of looking, searching for meaning once again in the incarnation, that profound yet simple story of God coming to us. An intrusion that the religious did not welcome.
So my Advent pondering this year take the form of 'What if....' I will challenge myself as I ponder and pray on these and hope I will challenge others too.
Day 1 - what if there had been room in the inn?
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