Musings On My Green Stole

Thursday 4th July 2019.

I am writing this on the 20th anniversary of my ordination to the Diaconate. The picture shows one of the stoles given to me to mark that occasion. It came from the congregations at Holy Trinity Maisons-Laffitte where I had worked as a Youth and Children’s Worker and Chaplaincy Assistant for two years, and where my vocation was tested.

When Sam saw it recently he noted that the beautiful silk panels (of two icons that the church gave me when I moved to Durham to begin my training) were starting to show some wear and tear and perhaps I should seek some help in restoring them. But tonight I realise that this stole bears the marks and scars and love of those 20 years and in many ways what it means for me and you to exercise the ministry Christ calls us to.

One side of the stole has a stain on it - either a drip of wax ironed off with greaseproof paper as my incumbent taught me, from one of the many candlelit services we seemed to hold in my Curacy parish; but more likely though it is a drip of wine from the very many times I have worn it to take Holy Communion to the sick or housebound - where the parishioner received Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, and I met him in strong brown tea in a chipped mug and bendy biscuit.

The nape of the neck is pretty grubby, sweat stained dare I say, reminding me of the many Eucharist’s I wore it at in my Curacy parish (but sadly less so subsequently), where I had the privilege of serving at the altar, administering the Sacrament, preaching God’s word; but also reminding me of the number of times I lugged chairs around before or after an event, or led an assembly, or sat with a bereaved family and planned the funeral of a loved one, or led a Eucharist in a hospital or nursing or care home, or sat with someone lonely or broken.

There is a thread pulled out slightly on one side of it, leaving it imperfect. This is from where I had to pin it when I wore it as a Deacon. That pull reminds me that, 20 years later, I am still imperfect and blemished. It reminds me of the number of God’s people I should have ministered to differently, of the situations or conversations that with hindsight I realise I could have handled in other ways. But that pull is part of a beautiful whole - God loves despite it all.

In many ways, 20 years later, I can confidently say that being a Deacon has left an indelible mark on the ministry I am called to exercise. In an age of Renewal and Reform in the Church of England, where a ‘growth agenda’ at all costs, and an increasing emphasis on a culture of leadership seems to be the driving force of ministry, this stole calls me and you to be something different.

As Sam readied himself to be ordained a priest recently, I did what I do annually at this time of year, and returned to the Ordinal to be reminded of what the church hopes that these ministries might be as part of the priestly ministry of the whole people of God:

‘... The Church is the Body of Christ, the people of God and the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, the whole Church is summoned to witness to God’s love and to work for the coming of his kingdom.

To serve this royal priesthood, God has given a variety of ministries. Deacons are ordained so that the people of God may be better equipped to make Christ known. Theirs is a life of visible self-giving. Christ is the pattern of their calling and their commission; as he washed the feet of his disciples, so they must wash the feet of others… 

To serve this royal priesthood, God has given particular ministries. Priests are ordained to lead God’s people in the offering of praise and the proclamation of the gospel. They share with the Bishop in the oversight of the Church, delighting in its beauty and rejoicing in its well-being. They are to set the example of the Good Shepherd always before them as the pattern of their calling. With the Bishop and their fellow presbyters, they are to sustain the community of the faithful by the ministry of word and sacrament, that we all may grow into the fullness of Christ and be a living sacrifice acceptable to God…’

The call of God on all of our lives is one of love, to be in a relationship of love with Him, and in turn to call others into that same relationship themselves. We answer that call first at our Baptism and it finds fulfilment in our following of Jesus in our lives, whether as sidesperson, reader of readings, leader of intercessions, maker of a good cuppa, a listening ear, a friend to your lonely neighbour, Deacon, Priest, Bishop or Reader, teacher, bank manager, bus driver, Cub Scout leader and so on. What Jesus calls us all to, is not a glamourous leadership role for which we will be extolled for our courage or skill - rather it is a way of love that cannot be easily quantified or counted and which often goes often unnoticed - but it is there, the Kingdom is revealed.

Some Upcoming Events!

There are some upcoming events, activities and services coming up across the Parish over the next few days, weeks and months to which everyone is welcome!

Please share news of these widely and come and join us!

Reconciliation - A Lenten Discipline.

By the time you read this, we will have entered Passiontide; the formal name for the last two weeks of the Lenten season. It gets its name from Christ’s passion which begins with Jesus determinedly heading to Jerusalem where he will be hailed as Messiah; jeered at and ridiculed; betrayed, condemned and crucified. The drama of this fortnight is visualised as we turn from the purple of Lent to the red of Holy Week and the white of the Easter season.

During Lent, I have been reading Muthuraj Swamy’s book ‘Reconcilliation.’ The book contains 40 Bible studies with stories from across the globe focussed on the theme of reconciliation. It’s a moving read as we turn with Christ towards Jerusalem to accomplish His great work at the cross. The point that the book makes is that reconciling is not just a work of Christ but *the* work of all people who seek to follow His Way.

Christ calls all of us who seek to follow Him to be peacemakers who cross borders and barriers that divide us - radical in our generosity and welcome. It calls us to see others in their full humanity and to persist in seeking their good; all of this rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus *are* the story of God’s reconciliation being told in our world still.

Reconciliation is one of our greatest needs and toughest challenges as human beings. We have seen that unfold powerfully and personally in Northern Ireland and in South Africa. Reconciliation is still much needed in our communities and nation especially as our future relationship with our European neighbours remains unresolved or sections of our community living in fear of gang-led knife crime.

Reconciliation begins with each and every one of us. It begins where we reach out to a near neighbour in conversation; where we put to one side our power and position and seek something new, together. That new thing may lead to community; it opposes the isolation that affects every social demographic of our communities; and enables us as Christian communities to reach out to invite and welcome people amongst whom we live, to encounter the love that God has for all of us in Jesus Christ. You can see how the PCC hopes we might outwork that in real terms in our new Mission Action Plan which you will find published in the laster pages of this magazine.

As we move through Passiontide into Easter and celebrate the reconciliation wrought for us as Christ was raised, I hope you will seek to follow Him as this story unfolds in the life of the Church; but I hope you will seek to follow Him as this story unfolds on our streets and in our neighbourhoods to allow this ministry of reconciliation, as St Paul calls it, to transform our lives and communities.

Jodie, The Colour Purple and the Protection of God

They dyed their hair purple and hung purple ribbons around the area using her favourite colour. Her peers instead of a minute’s silence had a minute of applause. Closer to our home, some built a circle of stones - the traditional tracking symbol for a Scout to know that someone being tracked has gone home, but also the traditional Scouting way of remembering one of their own who has died. All of this done to remember Jodie Chesney, who was stabbed to death in Romford - the fifth teenager to die in the capital this year. How can this be?

Calls to build a wall continue to spout from the office of the president in the White House whilst concerns, ramped up by certain sections of the British press continue to ask popular but unpalatable questions about immigration, crime and employment.

Despite all the political wooing of North Korea in recent months, there seems to be renewed construction underway at a rocket launch site, amid mounting fears of an imminent ICBM test.

All of these questions of safety and security, of national identity, of ethnicity and cultural heritage, are all in the mind of the community that the Psalmist was part of. Midrash tradition says that Psalm 91 was written by Moses on the day that the tabernacle for the ark of the covenant was completed and was recited by him as he made his way up Mount Saini to protect him from angels of destruction. The psalm is said today in the Jewish community before sleep and during the burial of the dead.

It is known as the Soldiers Psalm or Prayer and bandanas or badges with it imprinted are often given to US troops and verses of this psalm are quoted by the devil to Jesus in this morning’s Gospel reading as Jesus deals with temptation.

In the face of personal, national and international fear and uncertainty, in a time when we might want to be lifted out of a situation that it out of our control; when we wish we could escape a scenario that is not of our making or that is not going our way; when we fear for our lives or the lives of those we love; the opening verses of the psalm present us with an image not of a mother hen and with us her chicks nestled beneath her, but of  God as the Almighty, as a fortress or refuge. God like a massive bird of prey, powerful and yet intimate images of protection. God’s angelic wings will be a sure protection in the face of all attack. No evil will affect us or even come close to the places where we dwell but not just us, but all those who dwell with us in our tent. God will protect families and communities.

If these words were said by Moses as he climbed the mountain and recited by the people of Israel as they pilgrimaged through the wilderness, these were words said by a people on the move. So when the devil quotes verses 11 and 12, ‘... For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone…’ to Jesus he was meaning that God will surely protect Jesus if He jumped, but the original context was about avoiding the rocks and stones that littered the desert as the people walked. God has such a close eye on us that He won’t let us stumble on a stone, He will not let us trip and if something blocks our way - he will bear us up, lifting us up over it. The psalmist acknowledges that things will block our way, that our path through life will not always be easy, sometimes the road will be hard and dangerous. It doesn’t say that God will make the road of life smooth for the faithful. Bad and difficult things will come, but we encounter them with His protection. In those situations, if we call to God, He will answer, He will protect, He will deliver.

But, notice that the psalm is not a litmus test of faith. Being able to tread on adders, lions and serpents is not a sign of God’s favour. Sometimes we will step on an adder as it were, a lion will leap out at us unprepared - tragedy and danger will come even to those who love God. But, God is there. Talk of long life is, therefore, is not about avoiding tragic death because of our faith,  rather it is a metaphor for God’s blessing, of his favour, of His presence and love.

God says he will do all of this for those who love Him and for their communities. These words, therefore, are very contemporary and ones of all-encompassing hope to the tense streets of our capital, to communities frightened about their identity because of the presence of others, but also to those of us concerned about what a nationalist politics might bring to the international stage or how we might walk forward when confronted by personal tragedy or illness and to all of us who keep this holy season as a time dedicated to deepening our love of the One who watches over us: keep walking; keep loving and trusting God. He is there.

We've gone purple!

The site's colouring has gone purple as we are now in the season of Advent. Purple is both a royal and a penetential colour reminding of the twin focusses of the season.

Full details of our Christmas services have been added on a tab of there own but here they are together.

Looking ahead to January, our next 'Big Think' is on 13th, when we welcome Gavin Shuker MP to share with us how his faith affects and influences his political decision making. Poster below.

Some upcoming events and services - December

Full details of our Holy Week and Easter worship is available on that tab on the site but details of a couple of other things are listed below.

Our ever-popular Good Friday Families Workshop is happening again this year. Click on the image to download the form to fill in and return to the Parish Office by 14th April.

Also our messy Church Family Fun Day at Maple Cross School on May Bank Holiday Monday.

Do share the information and join us!

Many Opportunities This Autumn!

There are some really exciting things beginning in the Autumn across the parish!  Some of those have already been added to the site.

If you would like to know more about Christianity or seek to grow in faith the Pilgrim Course and The Big Think start in October - see the new tabs on the site for some more details. It would be great to see you!

As we move into the Autumn, we will ready ourselves for Harvest - details of what we are doing and when can be found on the Harvest Thanksgiving tab, but we will be financially supporting the 'Give Peas A Chance' Appeal this year and there are more details there.

Before all of that, marking the start of the academic year we invite school children and their families to come to church with their school bags, pencil cases and indeed brief cases and have them blessed. There are three occasions when we will do this and in so doing, ask God to be with us as we work and study together.

Usually once a quarter the gents of the parish get together for a curry and a beer. If you'd like to join us, please contact the parish office!