THIS WEEK:

We are livestreaming service throughout the week - to find details of when the service are and how to access them go here

Each Day this week we will be putting up a Thought for the Day from one of the ministry team:

Monday 6th July

This week in our Bible Study we looked at the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. It’s a book that speaks about the meaninglessness of life. What struck me this week was this idea of meaninglessness and how it is not that life has no meaning but rather that its meaning is never clear, it can be confusing and disorientating. The video describes it as a fog that we are walking through in our lives.

I have found this a useful way of thinking about life in this past week – that as we live under the sun on this broken world, full of messed up people, our way can seem uncertain and murky, like walking through fog. This does not mean that we give up or stop going, but it means that we have to put effort in to see through the fog to see part of real picture slightly more clearly. This follows on well from last week where we looked at hope – the idea of hoping for things that you can see no evidence of and might never come to be in your life time. You do not stop hoping, just as we do not stop living and trying to find our way through the fog.

We know life here on earth now is hard and unfair, and at the moment it can seem like we are surrounded by the fog of illness, lockdown, grief, racism and more. But we can live within the fog and work to find moments of clarity and light where God shines through. For me one moment this week where I have seen that at work was on TV! Chanel 4 has an amazing documentary on catch up called The School That Tried to End Racism (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-school-that-tried-to-end-racism). This documentary for me helped to clear some of the fog around some of the big questions around race in this country (it is well worth a watch). It reminded me of my need to keep learning, thinking and moving forward even when things seem meaningless and I feel that I cannot see a clear way through. Life might never be perfect, and we might never see the clear picture in our lives but we can always see more, and learn more, and that is exciting.

Hannah

Saturday 4th July 

American Independence Day, an occasion to celebrate all that has been achieved since the Boston tea Party. Sadly, it’s taking the British Ambassador to Washington and our armed forces to demonstrate how to make tea properly without using a microwave, pints of milk and half a pound of sugar. 

Whilst there is much that unites our two countries there is also much that divides us. We can laugh about the tea, but we are dismayed by the racism that we have seen and heard about in American cities. But this should make us all think about our own responses to those of another

race or culture or creed.

We know from our own history within the church that missionaries did not always bring only the good news of the Gospel but demanded that those in other lands also accept our culture in all its aspects. There have been books and stage plays, which demonstrate this but how much do we consider our present society and cultural norms?

We have moved on since the times when there were public notices which refused accommodation and jobs to “Black and Irish” people. In 1973 Alfred Marks Employment Agency was still accepting requests for staff which stated that the company would not accept any black person for a position.

We see much less overt racism, but we still see stereotyping. More black teenagers are excluded from school than white students; they are often seen to be aggressive and teachers respond by sending them from the classroom. We need to deal with these issues positively wherever we encounter them. When I was teaching I demanded the same commitment from all my students but I would be the first to acknowledge that it is often difficult and draining especially when students do not feel that the future will be positive for them.

Jesus valued everyone he met for themselves. He never differentiated regardless of their colour or culture; the parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that. We need to cultivate that frame of mind ourselves. It is easy to move from stereotyping to patronising and that is not what is needed either. We must urge our politicians to make good their promises of training and apprenticeships for all our young people, regardless of their background and especially those young people who live in impoverished communities. We need their brains, their creativity, their desire to improve life on the planet and in society so that their grandchildren have a better

future. We need green initiatives and they can make them happen if we encourage and support 

them and their teachers in the months and years ahead.

We know that God charged Adam and Eve to care for the world that He had created, and we know that God continues to create and desires all that is good for all people.

We, as His church, have the responsibility to enable the present and future generations to continue that duty of care for all the earth and everything that lives and moves in the sea and on the land.

Sue

Friday 3rd July

In the early 1990s I worked as a lay assistant in South West London, for a year. It was not far from

Wimbledon, so near I was offered touted tickets for the men’s final on the way to buy my Sunday

paper and was able to respond that I had to take evensong.

The reason my time in Wandsworth has come to mind is not just because of tennis but because as a young ordinand it was the first time I had worked with black clergy in the deanery. Although I had been at college with clergy from Africa, it was an important part of my growth as a Christian and in my training for ordination.

While I was there I went to a deanery training day where I was greatly excited that I was going to go to a voice projection workshop led by the actor who played Davros in Doctor Who (long term

readers will understand that). It was good but it was the next workshop that was really life changing. It was led by a black priest who worked for the diocese who spoke about how he had faced verbal abuse and racial discrimination as a black man and as a clergyman. When we went into groups, I was the only white person in mine and it was soon clear that his experience was shared by the others, not said in a bitter way but in a way that talked of that reality and also of the desire to change things now.

As we came back for our plenary, I was not sure how to fully process what I had heard but the leader said two things that looking back truly changed my life.

“People talk of racial tensions and different races, but there is only one race- the human race and we are all members of it”.

“If being in the image of God means anything- it means that we are equally in the image of God

whatever our ethnicity and equal in the eyes of God”.

Once you hear that, you can never unhear it or understand why anybody doubts it is true.

Mark

Thursday 2nd July 

Feeding500: photo credit Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The other day I wanted to check the precise wording of a Biblical quotation about a miracle of Jesus feeding a vast number of people. So, I reached for a handy Bible and turned to St Matthew’s gospel. No, it was not there, not in the feeding of the 5,000 (Matt 14: 13-21) nor in the feeding of the 4,000 (Matt 15: 32-39). It was not in St Mark’s gospel (Mark 6: 34-44, the 5,000; or Mark 8: 1-9, the 4,000); nor was it in St Luke’s account (Luke 9: 10-17 for the 5,000; the 4,000 miracle is not mentioned). And so, eventually, I found the wording I wanted in St John’s gospel (John 6: 1-14).

As an aside, this exercise reminded me that my knowledge of the Scriptures is not as strong as I hoped – and remember, here I was dealing with one of the most well-known of Jesus’ miracles; this was not a recherché part of Numbers or Lamentations! Also, I had thought that in the various accounts about Jesus’s life up to Holy Week, the only one common to all four gospels was the cleansing of the money changers from the Temple (and even then, the dating differs between the first three gospels and that of St John). Yet here, with the feeding of the 5,000, we have another miracle in all four gospels. More humility and study on my part I think!

An interesting book about miracles was written twenty years ago by Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans; it is called The Meaning in the Miracles. He suggests that the feeding of the 5,000 is a way of showing that Jesus had resonances of Moses and Elijah, the figureheads of the Law and the Prophets; yet, of course, Jesus was greater than both. It chimes with Jesus being the Word of God that can feed us daily. And it has echoes of the Eucharist, where Jesus gives Himself for us and offers us salvation and peace. This is seen especially in the account in St John’s gospel where the miracle is followed by a long section about Jesus being the bread of life (John 6: 24-58).

What where the words I was seeking? In St John’s account, at the very end of the feeding the disciples are told to pick up the leftovers ‘that nothing be lost’. That phrase I find very comforting. At times, we all can feel abandoned, or useless, or sad, or depressed. We can think we are no better than something that has been thrown away, something of no value. Yet we have Jesus’ assurance. He has and will continue to act so ‘that nothing be lost’ – and that includes you and me. Thank God.

LoavesAndFishes: One of a series of 26 mosaic panels illustrating the life of Christ in

Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna – a church older even than St Martin’s! Photo

credit: Holly Hayes / Ed Stock Photo.

Christopher

Wednesday 1st July

For those of us able to get out in recent weeks, the singing of blackbirds has been a real pleasure. It is most noticeable early evenings when a male sits on a rooftop or TV aerial and delights us with its powerful, beautiful song. It is particularly noticeable now because very sadly one rarely hears a song thrush whose numbers have declined dramatically. The male blackbird may be singing to attract a mate, assert its territory, or just for the sheer joy of singing.

But July will be a poor month for singing. The blackbird stops until next spring, together with the cuckoo who flies off to winter in Africa. When I played golf at Canterbury we were enthralled by the range of melodies of a colony of nightingales each spring. But nightingales stop performing in June. And to make things even worse, we are strongly advised to avoid singing when church services resume in July!

Birds feature frequently in the Bible. A raven was the first creature to leave the ark. The Reverend John Stott, former Rector of All Souls church in central London, wrote a lovely book ‘Birds our Teachers: Biblical lessons from a lifelong bird-watcher’. Each chapter has a biblical theme he associates with a particular bird. Inevitably he refers to Jesus’ mention of birds in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Don’t worry about everyday life….Look at the birds, they don’t plant or harvest or put food into barns, for you heavenly Father feeds them’ (Matthew 6:26). Stott says this text can be misunderstood. God does not feed birds directly - they have to forage for what he provides through nature and through human bird feeders.

Similarly with us, we cannot sit back and do nothing, leaving God to do it all. Neither manna nor quail will drop conveniently from the sky. Where would we be without supermarket deliveries in the prolonged lockdown? Jesus warns us about the futility of worrying, not a known characteristic of birds’ behaviour. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the variety, colours and songs of some birds this month and, as Stott says, what they can teach us about some great biblical truths.

Brian

Tuesday 30th June

I’ve joined an adult education online course, ‘The Road Not Travelled’. This takes 5 pivotal events in history including the Battle of Hastings, the assassination of President Kennedy and the end of the Cold War and discusses what would have happened if the outcomes had been different.

I like the idea of this hypothetical history because you can speculate on how lives, circumstances and decisions can affect the course of events. You can also gauge the impact of events which did happen by considering what didn’t.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday recounts Jesus describing the inconsistencies of his generation who were restless and dissatisfied. They criticised John the Baptist as too aloof and Jesus himself for being too sociable (and, horror of horrors, with tax collectors and sinners!). Jesus then makes the very profound statement that ‘wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

We are now investigating serious inconsistencies in the lives of individuals and societies past and present. Seen in hindsight the magnitude of some of these inconsistent attitudes to human life, flourishing and the natural environment, are truly dreadful. The consequences are far reaching in destruction of the environment, misery, injustice and tragedy.

Ways forward will be our own legacy. How will we be assessed? Which decisions in a ‘The Road

Not Travelled’ session fifty years from now will be assessed as the vindication of wisdom? I shall

enjoy discussing the five topics on the course but there are pressing contemporary matters. How do we fill in the ending when Sunday’s Gospel says to US, ‘Look at this generation, ’they are like…’

Rosemary

Monday 29th June

Clare always keeps a diary to record the things that we have done – things have been pretty quiet recently but it is interesting to look back and see what we did in past years. Did we really do that we ask each other or was that really 15 years ago?

Last week the diary reminded us that last year we had gone to the Isle of Wight for a few days. We went primarily to go to Osbourne and to Farringford, home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson but also to visit one of our favourite pubs, The Spyglass Inn, in Ventnor. While in Ventnor we went to Bonchurch just along the coast on a quest.

My parents went to Ventnor for their honeymoon in 1965 and visited a pottery where they bought a dish. Forty years later they went back for their Ruby Wedding and bought a white lion from the pottery. When they died and we cleared the house out, the dish and the lion came to live with us, because of the story behind them. The lion now lives on the window sill in our lounge and looks very splendid.

When we got to Bonchurch we looked for the pottery. It was to our surprise still there – a large shed with one man making pots on a wheel. As we bought two mugs, I told him my story and he told me about how he had been the potter there for over forty years and how his father had been there from the 1950s until the 1970s. It was strange to think of these two stories coming together- of him meeting my parents and his father meeting them in 1965- that he had made the lion and his father the dish in that very spot where we were standing.

As I came away I realised I had made a pilgrimage to a spot which was very special to my parents and now that became part of my own story too. 

In our lives we all carry our own stories, inherited or lived, we all have our places of pilgrimage. It is part of what it is to be human to make these connections, these spiritual links. The lockdown has made more aware as we are cut off from these special places and more understanding of those who will be keen to make pilgrimages as the easing continues, to churches and other sites that have great meaning to them.

I look at the lion, the dish and the mugs and play the story in my mind of three trips Ventnor and of the story of the pottery on path to the sea.

Mark

Friday 26th June

This week in our Zoom Bible study we were looking at the idea of hope. Hope is interesting in the Bible because for so many people that we read about, their hope is something that they do not see the outcome of in their generation, or even in their children’s generation. It is something that helps them to wait and to not fall in to despair when things are hard, but it is not the promise of a quick rescue or a happy ending. Indeed, hope is only possible in hard times or trouble, because it is about looking forward and waiting for something different.

What struck me most in the video above was the difference between optimism and hope. Optimism (or pessimism- which is often my natural state of thinking) is something that is based on possibilities and odds. We are optimistic, or not, based on what we think is likely to happen. Hope, however, is deeper than this and is not based on what we see as possible or probable, but is rather based on God. Hope comes not from circumstances but from the character of God. So whether we are optimistic or pessimistic about the lockdown restrictions and the news we read or see, our hope is based on a loving and faithful God who is always with us. Our hope can stay strong whatever happens in the near future.

Hannah

Thursday 25th June

“Our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end and life is returning to our streets and to our shops” said the Prime Minister on Tuesday. Hurrah! That is certainly good news. But do we want just to resume the old way of life and forget the lessons we have learned during the lock-down – such as the importance of community, the preciousness of life, the need to ‘fill the unforgiving minute’ (to quote Kipling) - for we may not see tomorrrow’s minutes? Certainly, hundreds of thousands have done their best to support neighbours; all the volunteers who signed up for the Royal Voluntary Service alert system are a symbol of widespread community spirit.

Yet we know that millions are in fear of losing their jobs, or their homes, or both. The call on food banks has increased sharply;. and the Black Lives Matter protests show that BAME people feel ignored and undervalued.

There is work to be done. Rather than just going back to the old ways, we have an opportunity to make a fairer society. In the confession of our weekly Eucharist, we quote the prophet Micah (who lived roughly about the same time as Isaiah) when we talk of wanting to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6: 8).

To mash together two quotes attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” and “whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”. So, what can we do both as individuals and as a parish to use our recent experience to bring God’s Kingdom a little bit nearer?

Christopher

The prophet Micah as depicted in Chartres Cathedral. Photo © Dr Stuart Watling, www.medievalart.org.uk.

Wednesday 24th June

As someone pointed out the reopening of churches for private prayer coincided with the reopening of Primark! Excitement for many people! I haven’t missed Primark but I have missed being able to go into a church building to pray.

Of course we do not have to go to church to pray. We can pray anytime, anywhere, and I do. But on Tuesday last week I walked to the Cathedral and was allowed In, to sit quietly and pray.

I love living so close to the Cathedral and in normal times regularly walk through the precincts on my way to St Paul’s. I also used to pop in to the building to wander round, marvel at the beautiful architecture and lovely stained glass windows (there are none in the nave!) and just soak up the atmosphere.

What a different experience it was on Tuesday. No tourists, no wandering round, just the silence of the big empty building. Yet it didn’t feel empty. It was full of the memories of past pilgrims, past events and most of all the spirit of God.

I sat quietly, listening, thinking and praying, thanking God for all his many blessings and remembering all those who need the peace of this place in their lives at this time.

As Jesus prepared his disciples for the time after his death when he would no longer be there for them he said, ”Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Mary

(The Cathedral is open 4.30-8.00 weekdays and 10.00-4.00 Saturday and Sunday, entrance via the Christ Church gate. It is well managed and very safe.)

Tuesday 23rd June

Race, ethnicity, equality and justice have a high profile at the moment. A powerful experiences of teaching secondary history was studying the origins, evolution and practices of apartheid in South Africa. Innovative textbooks on current topics provided comprehensive documentation and photographs, continually challenging perceptions and encouraging the pupils to think for themselves about morality and values in the light of the evidence. 

The class were very angry when they realised that the whole basis of apartheid was discrimination. This was before the end of apartheid and some wrote letters of protest to politicians urging sanctions to end the regime. Preparing lessons, I found the song ‘Freedom is Coming’ which impressed me with its conviction, dignity and hope. The lyrics of the second verse are ‘Jesus is Coming’.

How does Jesus’ life and ministry connect with the freedom in the first verse? How does the coming of Jesus through the life of Christian individuals and communities bring freedom today? Jesus’ words and actions bring freedom from fear, the fear that somehow whatever we see our identity as, it is so insecure that we perceive all the identities around us as threats. Jesus’ words and actions dispel this fear as they display the uniqueness and value of all humanity.

This is liberation, in this equality there are no boundaries or exclusions. This freedom implies building just structures and opportunities for all. Perhaps those history lessons of the eighties will prompt me and the then pupils to connect what we shared with the belief that action, accompanied by conviction, dignity and hope, can transform society today.

Rosemary

Monday 22nd June

A few years ago Clare and I went to Tanzania as part of a visit from Rochester to two link dioceses Kondoa and Mpwapwa. We visited churches, schools and communities over two weeks and during that time Clare was in charge of the Rochester Diocesan Camcorder and told to take lots of film to show people when the group returned to Kent. So Clare recorded our visits and our encounters- including Bethany who we met in Kondoa.

At the end of our trip we stayed in a game reserve where we encountered giraffes, elephants and many other animals. The highlight was seeing a lioness and her cubs resting after eating a zebra, and the group encouraged Clare to capture the scene on film as they felt this would excitement to the story of the visit. So she chose her shot and filmed.

When we got back we played the film and watched the two weeks caught on camera- visits, meetings, services and finally the game reserve. We got to the lions and were amazed at how close the shot was and the expressions caught on the faces of the animals. Then we got a surprise as we looked at the left hand side of the picture. There was a hippopotamus rolling in the mud. When we were there we had been so engrossed in the lions that none of us had seen the hippo but now the camcorder had caught the full picture and now we saw it.

In life our attention is often held by one particular thing to the exclusion of others. We sometimes miss things because we are too close or we don’t get the full picture in a situation. Our current position is like that, we are caught up in the details and we will only be able to reflect fully as we move further from this time – the full picture will emerge of what was right and what was wrong in combatting covid-19.

It is part of our faith that we see God as having the full picture- we see only partially and our minds are drawn to certain details and aspects making us wonder what it all means but we are unable to stand back and make the links. That is what it is to be human to see only in part, as Paul says, but we hold on to that part, knowing that one day in the gift of eternal life we, too, will see the full picture and at last make the links and understand “why”. 

Mark

Friday 19th June

We know that we live in a world that is far from what the Kingdom of God is, but we still have to live here – we live constantly in exile, not just in this period of lockdown. The story of Daniel, who spent most of his life in exile in Babylon, gives us a good example of how we can live in the tension of what is and what should be. It raises questions that are still relevant today – how can we live and honour God’s kingdom while surviving in this kingdom? Where do we draw our lines- where do we decide to take a stand? How do we recognise the true prophetic voices that speak into our exile? How do we live, like Daniel and Jesus did, in a way that is loyal to God while surviving in a culture that seems so far from God’s ideals? None of these are easy questions – but as this is a thought for the day not an answer for the day, I will leave there questions for you to think about as you go about your day, and as we hopefully head back towards a more slightly more ‘normal’ time in the weeks ahead.

Hannah

Thursday 18th June

Winston Churchill with Charles de Gaulle in 1944

We have been through a lot so far this year; and now that the lockdown is starting to ease, the remaining regulations seem even more irritating. Our patience is being stretched after restrictions unparalleled in modern times. So perhaps is a good time to remember two speeches made 80 years ago today on the 18 th June 1940. First, General Charles de Gaulle made an appeal over the BBC radio to French men and women to join with him in carrying on the fight against the Nazi occupation of France; it was the start of the French Resistance. Secondly, Winston Churchill finished a speech in the House of Commons with one of his most ringing and famous perorations:

“What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over... the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions... The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.

But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour".

We are not, thank God, at war. Yet we are involved in a battle that is a marathon rather than a sprint, just as de Gaulle and Churchill knew that they and their countries were involved in a long struggle. The second reading at Morning Prayer this morning is from Luke 12: 32-40. In it, Jesus tells us to stay resilient, to keep working to further God’s kingdom – ‘be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes’ (v 36-37). Yet Jesus also tells us in the same passage to have confidence; ‘it is your

Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom… an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys’ (v 32-33). What a reassurance: what a blessing! With that instruction from Our Lord, let us gather what strength we have and do what we can both to overcome the Covid-19 virus, and to further God’s work of justice, mercy, fairness for all, and love to all our neighbours.

Christopher

The Last Judgment, by Rogier van de Weyden, who died on 18th June 1464. 

It maybe seen in the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune in Burgundy.

Wednesday 17th June

In these dark times for the world the beauty of domestic gardens is a welcome delight. Walking around south Canterbury streets I notice the changes in plants and shrubs as new blooms appear, colours change and lovely scents are evident. This is a good year for roses in their first May-June blooming. Roses are my garden favourites with the different types, variety of colours and wonderful scents. The trick with roses is to deadhead them regularly to ensure a second

and third blooming, while fending off attacks from black and green flies, black spot, mildew etc. With careful pruning some blooms will even last to Christmas.

Caring for roses reminds me of one of the most beautiful and powerful of Christ’s images of his relationship with his Father, and his followers. In John 15:1-8 Jesus invites us to see him as a grape vine, God as the gardener, and the grape bearing vine branches as us his followers. Jesus tells us that for branches to bear fruit they must stay attached to the vine, otherwise they die and are useless. Then the gardener prunes the branches to ensure they produce

abundant grapes.

The implications for Jesus’ followers are pretty clear. Fundamentally, we must stay attached to him through regular prayer, study and obedience to the scriptures; and fellowship with other disciples. Secondly, we need to open to God’s pruning of our lives if we are to be fruitful disciples. This may be painful at times but there is a clear warning of the implications if we are not obedient to God’s pruning.

Time now for daily deadheading of the roses and search for predators and possible disease! It’s never ending but well worth the effort.

Brian 

Tuesday 16th June

Recently, in the Westgate Gardens, I came to the Bingley Island Nature Reserve. The information

boards, text, and pictures show the same scene in the time of the Tannery and WW2, very desolate and polluted until it was donated to the city and reclaimed. Looking at the meadowland and vegetation it is hard to imagine it is the same place.

Reclamation is on our minds at the moment. Reclamation of our lives from the fear of the virus,

reclamation of justice from the inequalities confronting us, reclamation of our buildings for worship, community use and visitors. The question is not whether, but how and when?

The transformation of Bingley Island happened through the generosity of the Tannery owners and those with vision and the practical application to persist. The meadows need continuous managing and constant vigilance to ensure that nature and wildlife thrive. Our reclamation issues need energy and careful thought if they are going to make a lasting difference in our communities.

In Matthew 13 Jesus speaks of the mustard seed which grows from a small seed so that the birds

nest in its branches. This is not an excuse for procrastination, the work of the Kingdom starts from the moment the seed is planted or there will be no habitat to nourish life.

We need to think urgently how our reclamations can be achieved. A description of Bingley Island

explains, ‘it is one of few areas of riverside grassland that has not been treated with weed killers or fertilisers, which means that a wide variety of plant species can thrive.’ Reclamation looks for the creative option. And it is possible.

Rosemary

Monday 15th June

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been going back into St Paul’s for some recording and also live streaming on a Friday. It has felt very bitter sweet. I’ve enjoyed putting my cassock alb and

chasuable on, standing at the altar and knowing how much people have appreciated using the

building. It has been good to know especially with the live streaming that people are watching and our church can be “visited” by people sitting in their armchairs around the world. Yet the building feels very odd without people there and apart from my voice just the sound of

silence. There is no buzz, no expectation and no response- although at least with Facebook you do get instant comments.

People often say what is the church- is it the building or the community? For some it may be one or the other, for most of us it is a combination of the two. Our buildings have a resonance, wherever we are they are special, probably more so in our parish with our historic churches and they are familiar and almost like a friend. Church, too, is about those who journey with us and our shared experience of worshipping God. Stones and living stones if you like.

The current crisis has meant absence from the buildings but the wonders of technology have

allowed many of us to keep in touch and be church without the physical spaces or even meeting

people. We have learned much about each other and much about ourselves, for many people our relationship with God has grown and things will never be the same again. 

One of the important questions being asked at present is how do we keep the new insights that we have discovered? A number of people have followed our daily services who can only access them on-line and they have felt part of the worshipping even though they are normally unable to come to the buildings.

It feels like things are moving forward- we are gaining access to the buildings and in the not too

distant future, the expectation, the buzz and the response will be there as people return to worship. The church buildings occupied by the church community again to worship God- I’m looking forward to that but in recent months we’ve all learned that the church community is a wider group- for some will take a while to return, for others being on-line is the only option- so church is the building, the people in the building and the people outside connecting with us. The three dimensional church which God is nurturing, I discern.

13th June 2020 

A week of expectation, will social distancing be reduced to one metre, will everyone abide by the rule to wear a mask on public transport and in shops; and the fallout from the marches for Black Lives Matter, will there be prosecutions for vandalism?

Social distancing is to remain the same and to a large extent we’ve all got used to the idea of giving those coming towards us sufficient space so no change there. The rule to wear a mask on public transport and in shops is rather more difficult, who will enforce the rule? The bus driver or train driver can hardly be expected to police this and it would be equally difficult for shop assistants to enforce the rule. So, we must trust that common sense will prevail.

The issue of vandalism on the marches is very different, because it implies that one segment of society has the right to determine which statues we should see on our streets. This is not in any way to condone the activities of the slave traders and colonialists who took advantage of whole groups of people; and coerced them into slavery or forms of forced labour to further their own wealth or that of their companies. Jesus often questioned the interpretation of the Law by those in positions of leadership in the Temple and in his society but there is only one occasion when his actions were physical. He overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple and drove them out because their behaviour was a desecration of a sacred space. On every other occasion he took pains to discuss, argue and debate with those in authority, to persuade them with reason to change their current approach, and to engage with the spirit of the Law and its primary intention.

Black Lives Matter and we need to look to our practices and attitudes and how these can inhibit and even deny respect to others. The dialogue needs to be open and we need to be aware when we are being defensive and so failing to hear and empathise with the pain and hurt felt by others. We all stereotype others.

As a child my mother told me not to use the term “cow” in referring to the child of her friend. I protested that ‘aunty Joan often called her daughter a cow’. “That’s because she’s a Londoner” said my mother. Shortly after a new family moved into our street reputedly from London. I engaged all the children to listen carefully near the house. “If she calls her daughter a cow then we’ll know they’re from London” I said with great confidence. The poor mother must have wondered what was going on as for several weeks whenever she ventured out there would be a child loitering nearby listening. We never did establish whether they came from London.

Let us all engage in positive debate over the issue of racism and seek to build a society in which there is mutual respect regardless of colour, ethnicity or creed.

Sue

Friday 12th June

I found it hard to write the thought for today this week. Not because I have no thoughts, but because I have too many and this is meant to be just a short thought! As I have in previous weeks, I have been thinking about our Bible Study from Monday afternoon. This week we were looking at the theme of Justice in the Bible which is a very topical theme at this moment of history as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to protest for justice in the USA and around the world – including here in the UK. I am a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and, if we were not still in lockdown I would have been in London to join in with protests. As it is, we must ask ourselves as a nation, what real justice for all looks like? And as a church we have to ask what it means to live out God’s justice in the world? What does it mean to treat everyone as made in God’s image? This is a conversation that is immediate and real, and that we need to be having now.

 I have been challenged in the past few months by a couple of books that explore the topic of racism in this country – if you are looking to explore this more I can recommend these:

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala and Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Let us be committed to fight for justice in all areas of the church and our lives.

Hannah

Thursday 11th June

The lockdown is slowly being lifted. That should be a reason to be cheerful. However, this week seems much more serious than many recently. Partly, it is the understandable reaction to the monstrous death of George Floyd in the USA, and the violence that has followed both there and in this country, with residual undercurrents of the slave trade and racism. Partly, it comes from what is happening in the Far East, with China seeming to be testing borders with its neighbours and restricting freedoms in Hong Kong. (It is a tiny thing, but I am wondering whether to
move my debts from the First Direct bank, which is owned by HSBC, as a response to HSBC’s Board kowtowing to the Chinese authorities). Partly, it may be that, as the intense pressure from Covid-19 is lifted (at least for a while), we are able to reflect on what has happened and the losses that we have suffered. 

I hope all this may give an opportunity for our society to reflect on its fundamentals and seek for better ways by which we can be a community. There should be more fairness in sharing the national cake, whether that be in opportunities for all school
leavers to reach their potential in jobs, or the resources put into social care for the disadvantaged. Recent articles and debates about the importance of mental health may be part of this. The New Testament often has the word metanoia, eg Matt 3:2 or Mark 1:4; I read on the net that it is used 22 times in all but whether that is accurate I do not know. It means real repentance – not just being sorry for something but a change of heart and mind. And there are similar calls to action in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible: Jer 4: 1-4, Ez 14: 6, Amos 5: 21-24, and Mal 2: 16-19 are examples; and the book of Jonah is all about repentance.

Our church buildings will soon be re-opening. I hope these holy places will provide spaces for us all to reflect on how we may make that change of heart collectively, and how we may seize this chance to create a better society, one based not on greed but on love. The poet Philip Larkin was not always friendly towards religion – in Aubade, he calls it ‘That vast moth-eaten musical brocade’; yet a much earlier poem, Church Going, ends with the lines:

A serious house on serious earth it is
In whose blent air all our compulsions meet
Are recognised and robed as destinies.
And that much never can be obsolete
Since someone will forever be surprising
A hunger in himself to be more serious
And gravitating with it to this ground
Which he once heard was proper to grow wise in 

If only that so many dead lie round.

Even with that breath-taking rhyme (surprising – grow wise in), this is a call for all of us to respond creatively to the serious atmosphere in our society today, and to proclaim the happy news that life, and life more abundantly (John 10: 10), is freely on offer to all.

Christopher

Wednesday 10th June

Father, Son and Holy Spirit: the Trinity.

Much was discussed and written at the time of the early church about the Trinity. Many books have been written about it and many theology students have written essays on it and will know the names Origen, The Church Fathers, Arianism, The Council of Nicea etc.(here is some reading for you if you are bored!) Are the three parts equal? Did one come before the other? Personally
I have no problem understanding the Trinity but I know some people do. As a teacher I have used various examples to try to “explain” it: the shamrock, a triangle, water. I’m sure you can add others. One thing is sure; we as human beings will never totally understand it. But the festival of the Trinity does give us the opportunity to contemplate the nature of God and marvel at it.

In fact Trinity is never mentioned in the Bible although it is alluded to. (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-2. Matthew 28:18-20 , Ephesians 3:14-19).
So what can it say to us today. It is all about relationship. Relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Relationships are much in our minds at the moment where life has changed. Living in such proximity has in some cases put great strain on relationships, in others they have been strengthened. Some find their relationships have broken down because of isolation. But one thing never changes. God has a relationship with us, through the Father who loves us, the Son who died for us and the Holy Spirit who comes in power to live in us. This we can depend on even if everything else seems uncertain.

Mary

Tuesday 9th June

A speaker on the radio recently mentioned a collection of stories by the 14th century Italian Giovanni Boccaccio. Apparently this collection, The Decameron, contains stories told by ten young people who had fled to a villa at Fiesole, outside Florence, to escape an epidemic of 1348.

I haven’t read the translation of the Decameron, although I gather some of the stories are quite lively! but this item on the radio got me thinking about the stories we will share, not while we are avoiding the virus through encounters on screen, our equivalent of the villa in Fiesole, but retrospectively when we are able to get back together.

When we can meet up face to face, it will be a relief to talk together, instead of through the stilted medium of technology. Part of the process of adjusting to life after lockdown will be the need to recount our experiences, all of which will be different and will make up a kind of jigsaw of these extraordinary times. It will be a reassurance to discuss the similarities and particularities of our situations and try and find some meaning in what we have experienced.

The Gospel narratives of Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost have accompanied us through these experiences and helped us to travel with loss and isolation as well as renewed life, hope and inspiration for the future.

I once had a holiday in Florence and visited Fiesole. It would be easy to recount how wonderful that was. Now, post Trinity Sunday, we have to tell our own stories of faith because we are going to be asked, why have faith in the face of events like this dreadful epidemic? What are we going to say in answer to that?

Rosemary

Monday 8th June

The hot sunny weather this spring has reminded me of the long hot summer of 1976, waking up
each day to wall to wall sunshine. I was eight and was just getting into cricket- it was the first
summer that I sat and watched matches on television and I was learning more of the cricketers who were playing.
It was the summer that the West Indies were touring and I marvelled at their skill and their
dominance of the series beating England 3-0 over the five tests. Their greatest player was Viv
Richards who batted gloriously scoring two double centuries with fluent shots and poise.
As I look back I realise that 1976 taught me about cricket but also about humanity. I was growing up in a fairly diverse area with children from different backgrounds but on the television I saw a team of black cricketers, black spectators and black culture with everyone enjoying the cricket from all ethnic backgrounds. It felt vibrant and good to watch.
It was only later that I learned about racism and a society that treated differently those who looked different from me. Throughout my life I’ve never understood why that happens and why people find it hard to accept other human beings for who they are. What is terrible is that it happened and still does today. I learned too that many people were keen to play cricket against the apartheid South Africans without much thought for black cricketers there and in the wider world. How did that fit with the excitement of 1976?
The death of George Floyd is one of those moments when we realise to our shame that people are treated differently because of the colour of their skin. His story has been the catalyst for other stories to be told of racism and rejection in our own country as well as the USA. How does society cope with this- to me it is about our belief that we are all the image of God and all
part of one race- the human race which includes rather exclude. That goes so far but for those like me who love multi cultural cricket and who feel shame and outrage at the footage from America, God may well be saying- so what are you going to do about it?

Mark

Friday 5th June

After the bank holiday at the end of May we managed to commemorate Bede, Augustine and

Lanfranc within a few days. All important figures in the story of Christianity in England –Augustine as the first Archbishop, Bede as the historian of Anglo Saxon and Lanfranc as the reforming figure after Norman Conquest, and all important figures in the story of Canterbury and for us in the parish Augustine and Bede are a particular part of our story.

Story is important and for us as a parish particularly so. Story is about the past about where we

come from but also what we share in the present. As part of the celebration of Lanfranc, the evening service at the Cathedral included contributions from the monasteries at Bec in Normandy where Lanfranc had been Prior moving to Caen and then Canterbury. The joint historical connection is important but the sense of togetherness and the sharing in the present is even more so- the links between the sisters and the brothers in Bec and us in Canterbury is a source of strength ecumenically, spiritually and internationally. A friendship that continues to flourish and a story that has more chapters to write.

The wonders of technology have enabled us to keep in touch in new ways but amidst our anxiety, a yearning that one day we will be able to reach out physically is important, knowing that this stage in our story will one day be in the past. All of us look forward to that day. As I heard the service about Lanfranc and thought about Bec, I said to myself one day we will be there again – a commitment for the future and a yearning to write the next Chapter of the story, whenever that moment will be.

Mark

Thursday 4th June

Since I retired, I have had more time to observe the activities on the bird feeder in the back garden. The sparrows frequently flit to and fro from the nearby hedge, looking twitchy and nervous – and with good cause, as a sparrowhawk literally dropped in for lunch recently. The mid-flight, twisting, catch was worthy of Ben Stokes but I was sorry for the sparrow that was caught. As well as sparrows, I have seen blackbirds, finches, robins, starlings, tits, wagtails, and woodpeckers as well as more aggressive species such as magpies and crows. And then there are the pigeons…

I do not know why I get such pleasure from watching these birds. Certainly, they do not pay for the bird seed or the fat balls, apart from an occasional deposit on the washing. These birds reveal a complex community, what with offspring nudging parents for food, and queues sometimes forming to get access to the perches on the seed feeder (although social distancing has no chance); and there is definitely a pecking order with some groups.

This garden life seems to be a microcosm of our world. There are, of course, thousands of problems each day in the world for people to face; loneliness, tower blocks with dangerous cladding, and worries about money and employment – let alone people suffering from the horrors of war, or hurricanes, or locust invasion (the Indian sub-continent is really going through it at the moment). Yet we have been given so much: free light and energy from the sun each day; a planet packed with rich resources such as minerals and oil; the ability of plants to photosynthesize, grow, and provide us with food; and the amazing power of water to control temperature and be a basis for life. This is all gift; we have not created it. It is not the

Garden of Eden but, to quote the great Louis Armstrong, what a wonderful world! “In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” said Jesus (John 16: 33). And we know also that He also reminded us that each one of us is of more value than many sparrows (Matt 10:31, Luke 12: 7)…

Christopher

Pictured: Louis Armstrong

Wednesday 3rd June

A good friend, the late Rev Pamela Lloyd of this parish, converted their garden shed into a lovely small chapel, a place of peace and quiet enabling her and others to concentrate on listening to God as well as speaking to Him. I baulk at the prospect of clearing our shed but I am using my spiritual mentor Henri Nouwen’s ‘You are the beloved’ to help me to become more of a listener in my personal prayers. 

The prolonged lock down is a positive opportunity for some spiritual 'spring cleaning'.

Trevor, the previous Bishop of Dover, once spoke to our Men's Breakfast group. He outlined a typical day in his working life that started early on with about an hour listening and not speaking to God - petitions came later. I and others felt we were not up to this, managing ten minutes on a good day before wandering thoughts break in.

The Bishop explained you have to work at this listening over time. requiring some discipline. He is right!

Nouwen observes that if we just sit quietly waiting for God to speak to us 'we find ourselves bombarded with conflicting thoughts and ideas'. Too true in my experience. To counter this Nouwen advocates choosing a simple word or phrase that 'repeated frequently can help us to concentrate, to move to the centre of our being, to create an inner stillness, and thus to listen to the voice of God'.

Personally, I find this usually works. Yes, I become so relaxed and centred that I may "drop off" briefly, but emerge with a profound sense I have been in the presence of God. As Nouwen says this practice 'can be like a ladder along which we can descend into the heart and ascend to God'.

Maybe try it if you don't already do so. The lock down can have some real benefits. Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10.

Brian Munday

Tuesday 2nd June

About to mow my front lawn, one of four open plan in front of four houses, I cast a critical eye at the garden next door, a wilderness of long grass, nettles, various wild flowers and weeds. Later I read a newspaper article saying it would benefit the environment if we all stopped mowing our lawns and allowed wildflowers and their habitats to flourish. But somehow tidiness, appearance and control in the front garden seem more important.

This is a minor context, but we do face the huge question of our response to care for the

environment and climate change as we come out of our necessary and all-consuming preoccupation with the pandemic. Will we be able to maintain the urgency, to learn lessons from the different level of pollution which circumstances forced on us? How will we balance global economic and social well-being with the climate change agenda?

Next Sunday focuses on the threefold relationship which we associate with the concept of Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, creation, ministry, and inspiration. This relationship illustrates a positive approach to the environmental issues we face. Care for creation only happens if we are inspired to find active, practical solutions which are inclusive of all global communities.

Trinity is about the interconnected relationship of creation, action and vision which enables the

natural world and all of us to flourish. Next door’s garden has at last been tidied up. The neighbours and I congratulate ourselves on the tidy lawns. There are much vaster implications of climate change, but even in small things, control for our immediate gratification doesn’t seem to figure in the equation we find in the Trinity.

Rosemary

Monday 1st June

Currently Clare and I are having a theatre night each week. The National Theatre have a vast number of recordings made as part their NT live programme which live streamed plays into cinemas. Now in lockdown each Thursday one of those recordings is available on YouTube and like our Sunday morning service you can watch it “live” in this case at 7pm or you can watch it at any time in the following week. We like to sit down at 7pm knowing that others are doing the same. We make a treat of it having an interval ice cream and not doing anything (except clap for the carers at 8pm).

There have been plays that we had meant to see at the theatre and some that we wouldn’t have

gone to London to see- everything from Treasure Island to Antony and Cleopatra. We’ve really

enjoyed them and look forward to our Thursdays, seeing things we thought we would never see.

Some feel like that about church services with all the streaming going on at present. We can watch services from all around the world and all around the world can watch our services. For some people it may be the first service they have attended for a long time and for others they are drawn into experiences they wouldn’t have been able to share like the Lanfranc service at evening prayer last Thursday at the cathedral.

The church, like the theatre, is something living and best experienced live but the responses to

streaming have been very positive and whatever happens next, the idea of recording and

broadcasting will add a new dimension to church life and the way we communicate.

Yesterday was Pentecost when we thought of the disciples filled with the spirit who spoke to as

many people as they could in their own language, today in our own age we are realising again the power of communication and seen how the message of the gospel can be broadcast in diverse ways to diverse people. The spirit at work as we broadcast and as others receive- a different world but one with many possibilities!

Mark

Saturday 30 May

We are being asked to face a “new normal” even as the restrictions imposed by the pandemic are relaxed a little. From next week it will be possible to meet family and friends (not exceeding 6) in our gardens and enjoy a barbeque or picnic. Shops will be opening, and we can buy a new car, or a new dress provided you don’t try them on. (if you test drive a car it will need to decontaminated and sanitised when you return to the show room). I wonder if that is really what any of us want. Already people locally have told me they won’t be going shopping, and no-one has mentioned getting a new car. Our anxiety levels are high and likely to remain so, until we can have confidence in the government assertions that the testing and tracing are really working and that a vaccine is available.

I suspect that the disciples were also extremely anxious the first time they ventured out following the gift of the Holy Spirit. Would it really work? Would people listen when they shared the good news of the risen Lord Jesus. After all it’s one thing to be told that all will be well but its not until it’s been tested that they could be sure. Time and again that is the dilemma that we have all faced. And we are facing it again. For the disciples there was the crowning moment when they faced the crowd of three thousand from all parts of the known world and spoke to them. They must have been thrilled when they realised that everyone of those present heard the good news in their own language, then they knew the Holy Spirit was at work. All their hopes were realised, and their fears disappeared.

It's not quite like that for us but we have the certainty of knowing that Christ is with us. That the Holy Spirit is very present in the current crisis, and we can offer hope to others and the surety that they are known to and loved by God in all that they are going through. We need to continue to greet others, to show care and encouragement to everyone and build the future with that kindness for all as our picture below shows.

Sue

Friday 29 May

This week in our Zoom Bible study we explored what it means for us to be made in the image of God. This present situation has brought out the best in a lot of people but it has also highlighted the human tendency for greed and selfishness. If humans are made in God’s image that means that EVERYONE is made in God’s image. How would the world be if we really saw that? If we saw our neighbour, the person in the shop, the people we see on the news on the other side of the world – what if we saw all of them as God’s image – special, unique and showing us something of God? Would it change the way we acted and spoke? Would it make us more compassionate, more loving, quicker to serve?

A crisis always gives people a chance to show who they really are. What is this crisis showing of the church? Are we following the ultimate example of how what it means to be human  - Jesus – by looking at others and seeing in them the image of God. Are we reacting in humility and compassion – looking at the image of God in others and reacting from love? Or are we veering towards selfishness and greed – protecting ourselves and our own interests above others? This is a challenge for each one of us, and for the church as a whole as we react to our current situation and plan for the future.

Hannah

Thursday 28 May

Epicurus

Last weekend, a chum emailed about where was God in the Covid-19 epidemic? He quoted David Hume, the 18th century philosopher who in turn was quoting Epicurus, a Greek philosopher from the 4th century BCE. 'Is God willing to prevent evil but is unable? Then is he impotent? Is he able but not willing? Then is he malevolent? Is he both willing and able? Whence then is evil?

Trying to answer this is akin to trying to square the circle – so these are just some random views. I think that God has set up the processes of creation - atomic structure, the laws of physics etc; and then He allows His creation to develop in its own way. This is part of the process of Free Will. God does not force us to love or obey Him, nor does He interfere with the rules of the universe to stop tsunamis caused by tectonic plates moving, or families dying from Covid-19. Were it otherwise, we would in fact be slaves, because we would realise that we had no sensible option but to do God’s will. And if God frequently changed the laws of physics at His whim, then we would have no idea about what sort of universe we lived in; it would be a capricious, unknowable nightmare in which we would be trapped without control. That way we would remain children subject to a parent’s whims. God is more generous and allows us to develop and make mistakes; but the downside is that the system also can go wrong, just as growth can sometimes cause cancer. Of course, miracles can occur, but they remain outside the pattern of everyday existence.

That said, Epicurus and Hume make a fair point. But I take comfort in realising that (a) I cannot know everything, (b) somethings are unknowable, and (c) some propositions can be mutually exclusive. The doctrine of the Trinity is an example of the second (there are myriad examples of the first!). Logically, it does not make sense; but as a representation that God is love, it works on an emotional and spiritual level; and sometimes that is more than enough.

Another example comes from when I was trying to study A level Maths many years ago. I was introduced to the idea of i, the square root of -1. I never have been able to understand this; every negative number multiplied by another negative number produces a positive number. Therefore, it is impossible to have a negative square root. However, my daughter Bekki and several others involved with engineering and electronics, have told me that the concept is very useful and produces many practical benefits. So, I have learned to accept that some people can make good use of an idea which makes no sense to me.

We also have St Paul’s blessing for such an approach. In 1 Corinthians, he quotes scripture: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned (1 Cor 1: 18 – 25). Later, in Ch 3: 18 – 21 he says, The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are… This is not to deny the truths of science – I am no creationist! – but certain things cannot be known, just as I understand that quantum theory says that one can know a particle’s speed or location; but not both at the same time.

So, I think that God could be omnipotent but, from His love for us and His creation, he does not choose to be so as the consequences would be more difficult than the problems He would be trying to cure. It is akin to the way that Jesus emptied Himself (Phil 2: 6 – 11) for his earthly mission. It is all done for love of us. That is quite a thought!

And, of course, Epicurus did not have the knowledge of the resurrection to help him square the circle. By the resurrection and the promise of life eternal, God will eventually wipe away every tear. He truly is a deus ex machina. In the words of Moses’ blessing in Deut 33:

27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and that should help us to keep Covid-19 in perspective, for which we can offer grateful thanks to our heavenly Father.

Christopher

PS For those wanting an update on the Python programming, I have since had to download some more programs including Anaconda, Pandas, and Spyder. It is truly a software jungle out there…

David Hume

Wednesday 27 May

This week I have been thinking about how this new way of life has freed up so much more time. For some people it has been difficult, not knowing how to fill the day. I have not found it easy sometimes, but one thing it has done is to give a new dimension to my Bible reading and prayer time. I am ashamed to say that sometimes they were very rushed ; there were places to go, things to do. Now there is none of that and I can sit quietly with no distractions. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago prayer is not all about talking; now I have more time to listen.

One thing I am very passionate about is the ministry of prayer for healing and wholeness. It was very disappointing that out the 5 sessions planned in Lent on that topic we only managed to hear 2 of them due to the lockdown. But this time of reflection has given me the opportunity to think more about this ministry. It is a vast subject and not one to cover in 200 words. Anyone who attended last years’ Lent course will remember me telling how I would not be here but for the prayers of 2 people in this parish over 50 years ago. I do truly believe that God always intervenes if we pray in faith. Maybe not in the way we were expecting, but he never leaves us without comfort and reassurance in some way. There has been a lot of sickness and death in the past few weeks and there must be many people wondering where God is in all this. I don’t pretend to have the answers but I do want to say that God is very present in all that is going on. Maybe we cannot see it right now. The important thing is to keep the faith. God does never leave us and in the times of silences when we listen, he will speak.

Keep listening and praying.

Mary

Tuesday 26 May

Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’ includes a scene where domineering Mrs Pugh finds Mr Pugh reading at table. ‘Persons with manners’, she observes in a wonderful Welsh accent, ‘do not read at table, Mr Pugh. Some people have no more manners than a pig’. ‘Pigs can’t read, dear’, the poor man replies, but of course Mrs Pugh has the last word. ‘I know one that can’.

Now that we access services without being physically present or visible, we can multi-task during the liturgy. Do ‘persons with manners’ allow themselves to eat breakfast, fetch a cup of coffee or flip around screens during the reading or the prayers, or the sermon! Concentration wanders wherever we are but we don’t have to focus in the same way at home with many opportunities for distraction.

Our current circumstances highlight the question what is ‘gathering’, as in the saying from Matthew 18 ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them?’ What is it that makes us feel gathered and focused so that we experience the ‘I am’ in the midst of us? This question applies Irrespective of lockdown or what we used to experience as the ‘normal’ situation of liturgy or meeting together.

Gathering may take different forms, but as we move towards Pentecost, we reach for the experience of what is in the midst of us. Wherever we are and despite our tendencies to distraction we share the individual and communal hope of the Pentecost hymn to be the place ‘wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.’ It is this dwelling, not physical circumstances, which truly gathers us together.

Rosemary

Monday 25 May

One of the great traditions in Manchester is the Whit Walks. Once it happened on Whit Monday the day after Pentecost but now always on Spring Bank Holiday Monday- well until this year.

Twenty five years ago I took part in the Whit Walk. It was an incredible experience as churches from Manchester and Salford walked in to the city centre- many had banners like the TUC banners carried by a dozen people and some had choirs and marching bands- the roads were closed and crowds cheered us on. A lot of the clergy were robed leading their congregations towards Albert Square in the centre of the city where all the different processions met, and every so often at a road junction another church or two would join your procession and walk with you.

Many places have walks of witness on Good Friday where churches gather together but the whit walks are pretty special in having so many people involved prepared to show their allegiance to the church and to the Christian faith to the wider community.

I suspect that the walks are not quite so busy these days and who knows what the consequences of the current situation will be for future years but it does make us think about being identified as Christians and what other people will say. Going to church can be a pretty anonymous business and we tend not to do too much outdoors but the lockdown has put us more in the public eye. Closing the buildings has meant that we Christians are on facebook or youtube in numbers unlike ever before. People from all around the world can watch our services as we identify as being followers of Christ and can hear what we say.

That is a tremendous change and opens us to the world and the world to us in a way few thought possible even a few months ago, but while technology has altered our perceptions, the question remains how does the church or an individual show what it is to be a Christian in their own community. The whit walks were all about Manchester and Salford people in their hometown marching as Christians and showing their faith to others. Post lockdown we need to balance broadcasting to the world with being salt and light in our communities, publicly putting our faith into action.

Mark

Saturday 23 May

We are in times of great uncertainty, there are those who are booking holidays and those who calculate they will never go on holiday again and the great mass of us are somewhere in between. There is anxiety about children returning to school with both parents and teachers uncertain as to the best way forward and, in the midst of all this there is good news. My former parish has appointed a very able new rector, who will work hard with the five parish churches and their congregations following his installation later this summer. There are significant numbers of people following services on Zoom and Facebook and other media and feeling encouraged and supported in so doing. And for all of us there is the assurance that we are not alone, that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit is with each one of us.

I think we need to take time to consider all that we do have. I enjoy my walks with Rolo every day and even more I enjoy being available to other people, to listen to their concerns and to respond, where its appropriate with ideas and suggestions for them. I’m very conscious that whilst I go home to a garden and potter at my leisure this is not available to everyone. I talked with someone who is having to self-isolate and can only view the garden from the window in her flat, but this week she saw a goldfinch and was thrilled.

Rolo will be going for a haircut soon although I have yet to explain to him the precautions that will be necessary. The dog groomer will be in PPE and will bath him before she cuts his hair, he hates baths and always has but he puts up with them. He doesn’t bark or growl but trusts they will swiftly be over. And I think it is trust that we all need to have at the moment, in the decisions that are being taken by those in positions of leadership and in each other. Jesus returned to the Father trusting the disciples to do His will through the Holy Spirit and we must do the same.

The picture this week is of George, my grandson, for him the world is an exciting place and this new toy is such fun.

Sue

Friday 22 May

For anyone nervous about joining the Monday Bible study on zoom because of the word study, it is really more of a meander through Bible topics and ideas. This week we were thinking about the theme of water throughout the Bible. Water is a basic necessity for life and takes on particular importance when it is scarce. The Bible is full of stories of people in the desert or the wilderness where God provides them with the water that keeps them alive.

Our current situation has been compared by some to the times of wondering in the wilderness that we see in the Bible. In this virtual wilderness the water of life is of no less importance. Here it is not literal water (which we are blessed to have in abundance in this country and can access at the turn of a tap) but the Holy Spirit which can fill us with life.  We think about the Spirit as we count down to Pentecost when we remember the Holy Spirit first coming on the disciples. In this time of wilderness and wondering, where we often feel far from the normal and like we are wondering away from all our normal markers of community and life, we must remember that we have access to this life giving water that is the Holy Spirit. We have not been left alone stranded in the desert but have a counsellor, a friend, the abradant life giving water, with us always. Let us drink in the Spirit and be refreshed and revived.

Hannah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgmAkM39Zt4&t=217s

Thursday 21 May

In the last two or three weeks, I have been trying to learn a computer programming language called Python; yes, it’s named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus and often seems just as crazy. The original reason for this was to try to help me extract information from multiple spreadsheets - although what mechanically would have taken less than 10 minutes to do has now taken three weeks study (I know; I am a deeply sad individual) and I still have not run my first successful program. As with any new language, there is a strange vocab to try to master, and funny rules of grammar to learn; most of the time it makes no sense and I do not know sufficient even to try to hunt for the faults – I just hammer the desk in frustration when I get an error message yet again.

Fortunately, Bekki (my elder daughter) is paid hard cash for knowing about Python and she has been giving me some signposts - although they are usually somewhat elliptical. Do you know what an ‘environmental variable’ is? I did not until the other day; and it is not what you might guess… All this programming is a new situation for me, and I find it hard even to have a vocabulary to describe what it is about.

Today is Ascension Day, when we commemorate Our Lord’s departure from this earthly realm. The gospel writers struggled to explain what had happened. So too have artists. We know about birth and death; but resurrection and ascension are outside of our experience and so we struggle to explain them. And thus the picture below of the medieval stained glass window in the Chapel of Modern Saints and Martyrs in the Cathedral shows Jesus’ feet hanging below a cloud, as though He had been fired up in heaven like a rocket! Note that this image of Jesus is surrounded by other inexplicable events, such as the fiery chariot taking Elijah to heaven (2 Kings 2: 1-18) or the sun moving backwards as a sign to King Hezekiah that he would recover his health (2 Kings 20: 1 – 11).

I could have asked daughter Bekki to run me up the program I needed but I am learning more by trying to do it myself and getting enigmatic hints from her when in a fix. I think the upshot of the Ascension is similar. Jesus’ life and death were God’s way of showing how we should live. The resurrection was God’s seal of approval of Jesus’ life. Now we have the chance to grow and live as God wishes. And just as a gardener removes a stake from a plant which is strong enough to stand by itself, so Jesus’ absence shows we can be strong enough to grow into the people that God intends us to be – provided we get support from the Holy Spirit. The plant may still be battered by the wind but it will not be uprooted; and that can be true of our lives as well. So, let us keep working to reveal the source code for our life in Christ, and let us strengthen the roots of our growth in God’s garden, where we trust He is happy to walk (Gen 3:8).

Christopher

Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Wednesday 20 May

Apologises to anyone who has read this on the BRF website, but I thought it was interesting and wanted to share it.

We are well passed the 40 days of coronavirus lockdown. Jesus spent 40 days alone in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11-2) and Noah endured 40 days of rain in the ark (Genesis 7:12).

Yet for Noah and his family it did not suddenly end on the 41st day. Noah’s easing out of lockdown was gradual as the waters receded. In fact the flood actually carried on for another 150 days, 5 whole months (Genesis 7:24)

They needed not only faith and hope, but patience. Birds were sent out but only returned empty-beaked, until eventually one did not return (Genesis 8:6-12) It was not until the 7th month that the ark actually “landed” on Mount Ararat. (Genesis 8:4)

The analogy is poignant given some of the projections we are hearing. The initial spike of infections, hospitalisations and deaths may have peaked but there is still a long way to go.

God made a new promise of a new relationship with Noah and gave a rainbow as a sign. The rainbow is still a symbol of thanksgiving and hope.

We can learn patience from the story of Noah. We can also have faith and hope knowing that God never abandons his people. Although there may be trials and tribulation, love always wins through.

Keep the rainbow in your window and God’s love in your heart.

Mary

Tuesday 19 May

Asked to read the mysterious Ascension story from Luke for our Ascension service, I wondered how to go about this. I decided that what was needed was a background with a lot of sky. Moving the laptop camera around the garden to capture the tops of bushes and the sky, with the sun in the right place, proved tricky. Eventually I landed on just the right combination and began to record, accompanied by an enthusiastic sparrow perched on the TV aerial.

The first recording was interrupted by a siren from the man road, the second by someone moving bins around outside. The third one was disrupted when a car roared into the garage area and the fourth by a motorbike charging down the street. I gave up the idea on the fifth attempt when the neighbours over the fence, rebelling against hearing it yet again, began noisily gardening.

But then the importance of Jesus’ words ‘Stay here in the city’ came to me. Cities are messy, they have dustbins, ambulance sirens, traffic and all kinds of human activity. The message of turning lives around, showing people that actions which separate them from their potential for good and flourishing, which we are to be witnesses to, isn’t going to happen by staring into a comforting beyond.

In the end I settled for an Icon to convey the mystery. Jesus is absent in the painting. Only he isn’t, the confused onlookers, staring at his departure, have to work out how to be witnesses and make him present in their contemporary reality. Here is the excitement of Ascension Day.

Rosemary

Monday 18 May

Clergy often say that they wish that they had more time to talk about the things that matter, more time to say their prayers and greater contact with their parishioners, rather than spending the time in meetings and worrying about things that seem more ephemeral. The current situation has had deep challenges in not being able to visit especially those who are unwell but these three wishes have been largely met in the lockdown. I’m leading and attending more services each week than I have done in my ministry. I’m e-mailing and phoning people each week and catching up with them to a deeper level than a handshake on a Sunday morning. I’ve also been reflecting with others and on my own on topics like Where is God in co-vid? What does it mean to be church?- amongst many others. At present we have to face up to these questions because we can’t hide behind the ephemeral

This has been thought provoking and often challenging, many of the questions query my own beliefs and practices. Taking away our church buildings especially two such interesting as ours has been a challenge. I’ve come to see that worship in my study is as valid as in the building and as a technophobe, been surprised at the benefits of the technical especially in our Sunday morning services. I love our buildings and hope that next month I’ll be able to record and possibly do some mid-week streaming, and that in the fullness of time we’ll be back in church with social distancing and new guidelines. Yet I know that the streaming and the increased pastoral contact mean that the church is in practice more than the buildings and that although it has been painful, we have coped with this unique situation.

I’ve also been reflecting on the Eucharist and what it means. For 23 years I have been celebrating communion and often receiving a number of times each week- I’ve never taken it for granted and each service has been special but it has been part of the priestly routine. When we suspended the chalice at services I was saddened and it is even more saddening not to celebrate or receive. For many of us we will never have had such a break. There has been the option for me to celebrate and receive at home and potentially now in church but as I have reflected the challenge has been if the people cannot receive, can I? In lockdown, I’ve missed being gathered around the table with the people and sharing communion- to me it has shown how my theology of communion is participatory and shared, about the people of God and celebrating together while the priest presides. I’ve struggled with the thought of recording a Eucharist or of live streaming on my own, as being contrary to that understanding, which is continually developing in the current situation.

Since Easter I have talked to others and reflected about this a great deal- hearing other views and having my own challenged. I would have wanted to abstain until the day when I stand at the altar in our churches, when others are present and can receive however long that took. However as I have listened to the spirit I’m now convinced that there is a place for potentially live streaming a midweek communion next month - one which recognises the words of Jesus “Do this in remembrance of me” but also recognises the pain of not being able to share the physical elements as the one streaming and the pain of those watching not able to fully participate.

None of us would have thought we would be so challenged over fundamental assumptions of what church and our most important religious practices really mean. Yet in the midst of this terrible pandemic, I’m grateful to have been so pushed over what it means to be church and what it means to be a priest, to have faced questions that I’m normally too “busy” to acknowledge let alone to face up to.

Mark

Saturday 16 May

It seems that for many of us the waiting will continue but there are indications that a new normality is slowly emerging. It seems very strange to greet friends with a wave rather than a hug or handshake, but we will all get used to it. The continental kiss on both cheeks is unlikely ever to emerge again and future generations will no doubt recoil in horror at the thought that such a greeting was widely accepted. But the most difficult part of this new “aseptic technique” is the loss of touch. As a student nurse I was taught to dress wounds using such an approach, with forceps rather than fingers wielding the swabs to clean the skin. But at the end of the procedure I could thank the patient and gently stroke a hand or arm as I settled them back into bed.
Throughout His ministry we are told time and again that Jesus touched the person he was with. We can imagine the gentle touch on the lepers’ skin, the hand, held out to lift the woman who had bled for so many years, the kindly touch on the shoulder of the man afflicted by demons. Time and again there was that physical contact which was so freely and openly given, regardless of who the person was, their status in society or their illness. That is no longer freely available to us and it will become even more important that we devise other ways of comforting, supporting, and encouraging others.
I think we shall need to become really good at listening to people, to hearing the nuances in their speech which may be telling us the opposite of what their words mean. We’ll need to be ready to devote time and effort to this. All too often we have become used to the quick exchange before getting on with the business in hand. In future we will need to give time to the opening exchanges. Jesus listened carefully before he responded, and we must ask for His grace to enable us to do the same.
The pictures below show Rolo waiting in hope that the friendly neighbour will appear with a treat. (Sadly, he didn’t.)
And the result of my wait.

Friday 15 May

This week in our Zoom Bible Study we thought about the Gospel of the Kingdom. Gospel means good news – so we were thinking about what is the good news about the kingdom of God? I have been thinking about this, and for me the good news of the Kingdom is message of Jesus – of a God who understands suffering, of a God who is alongside us and with us, of an upside-down God  who sees beauty in brokenness and elevates the weak and powerless.

In this time when hardship, uncertainty and bleakness has come so close to home for so many of us, it can make us ask how we can talk about ‘good’ news when so much seems bad. But the good news is still there, God has not deserted us and God’s kingdom is not all about power and wealth and success as the world measures it, but it is about love, and peace and generosity and kindness – things we can see around us in abundance.

Hannah

Ps. As you reflect on where your good news is at the moment - I leave you with a poem written by Paul Wilton that he sent me this week:

THE GOOD NEWS

(with thanks to Canon Max Kramer

for the ideas)

The Good News

Is that the bad news

Is not the only news. *

The bad news says:

Take all you can,

As much and as cheap,

Cutting costs is the way to survive;

Never mind those who fall behind.

The Good News says:

Take what you need;

Let everyone share;

Leave enough so the world will be stronger

And no one will fall behind.

The bad news says:

The old way’s the only way.

The Good News says: That’s blinkered.

This virus shows us the old way’s short sighted;

To survive we must change for the better!

* A Christian expression.

Paul Wilton, 10 May, 2020

Thursday 14 May

· 1796 - Edward Jenner first used cowpox to inoculate a boy against smallpox; this treatment quickly spread and saved many hundreds of thousands from dying from smallpox.

· 1771 – the birth of Robert Owen, who popularised a more humane factory system and was a pioneer of the co-operative shop movement.

· 1881 – the death of Mary Seacole, who worked as a nurse in epidemics and at the battlefields of the Crimean War.

· 1919 – the death of Henry J Heinz, who established the eponymous business which provides healthy food to millions as well as taking care of its employees.

Looking at the historical events of any day in the calendar can reveal examples of great human achievement. These successes can instil both awe - and a sense of inferiority. I for one have not created a multi-national company, nor travelled across countries to help those in need, nor discovered a great medical technique. However, God is not calling us to be someone else; He is calling us to be ourselves. The parables of the sower (Matt 13: 4 – 23) and of the talents (Matt 25: 14 – 30) show that we are not expected to produce equally; but we are expected to do what we can.

One thing which we all can do is to join in today with the day of prayer, fasting, and works of charity that has been proclaimed by Pope Francis and endorsed by Archbishop Justin. Today, let us plead with our heavenly Father for an end to the Corona virus and for the discovery of an effective vaccine. Let us take time to read and immerse ourselves in the scriptures. Let us abstain from some food or drink so that we can feel sympathy with our brothers and sisters who lack food and water – and perhaps we may pass on the money saved to a charity. And let us support to our neighbours, as taught by Jesus (Matt 6: 1-4, 16: 24 -28, 19: 16 – 26, 22: 34 – 40, 25: 31 – 46; NB other gospels are available).

Even if these prayers and fasts and good works do not change the virus’s effects, they should certainly change us for the better and bring us nearer to the throne of grace; and that is something else for which to be thankful.

PS Today is also the feast of St Corona. As I said last Sunday, God has a sense of humour…

Christopher

st Corona

Wednesday 13 May

In this time when the pace of life has slowed right down it may be a good opportunity to spend more time in prayer.

You will have heard the story of the man who was asked what he did as he sat for a long time unmoving in a church pew. “Oh,” he said, “I just looks at Him and He just looks at me.”

Prayer is not all about talking to God, it is about being with God. If we are not talking, then what are we doing? Listening?

You will know the story of the boy Samuel who heard God’s voice, but didn’t realise who it was. Do we expect to hear God’s voice and if we do what will it sound like? And then how will we know that what we have heard comes from God? Maybe something will come into our minds, our subconscious, which we will need to reflect on. God rarely speaks with direct commands (though that is not unheard of!)

Maybe we feel that we haven’t heard anything at all, yet afterwards our attitude to those around us, a problem or a task is subtly different.

“How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.” Prayer is not something we have done ourselves. It is as if by being with God we have absorbed something of his love. And in absorbing that love that we are activated in body, mind and spirit.

Quakers, more than any other group, stress the need to enter into the listening silence, and the impact they have had in social reform has been out of all proportion to their numbers.

Prayer is never easy, listening is not easy either, but try it.

Mary

Tuesday 12 May

Having actually managed to secure a slot for groceries to be delivered, I settled down to wait for the delivery. A while later the phone rang. It was the delivery man to tell me that he was in the road near me but my groceries hadn’t been put in the van and would arrive later. I was irritated and asked rather crossly how much longer it would be.

Afterwards I felt ashamed of my impatience. I’m not going anywhere and have no appointments to go to, does time matter? Here is someone who is working to provide essentials and I get annoyed because my personal expectations in a very trivial context haven’t been met. During current restrictions, shut up with our own company, small things can take on an inflated significance, our own priorities get magnified. In unguarded moments the extent of our self-preoccupation comes out in our words and reactions. Unlike a text, you can’t amend a spontaneous reaction over the phone before you respond!

In Matthew Chapter 15 Jesus teaches that it is what comes out of us in a variety of ways, not just speech, that reveals our true state of mind, and what it is that mars our capacity for generosity of spirit and resources. Lockdown gives us the time to reflect on this shrewd assessment of individual human psychology.

Especially in Christian Aid Week, on a wider and ultimately long-term basis, we have the time to question where we will place priorities and response to need during and after lockdown in supporting those working at home and elsewhere who are living out this year’s Christian Aid slogan, ‘Love Unites Us All.’

You can donate to Christian Aid from the main Christian Aid website or directly at https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week

Rosemary

Monday 11 May

One of the benefits of the lockdown has been the need for daily exercise and walking around the area- Clare has discovered the further reaches of the parish and we’ve both found the bluebell wood. Walking up the New Dover Road has also given me the chance to rediscover a childhood memory. When I was a child my parents were keen to move from the Medway towns to Canterbury. My dad was wondering about a job transfer and we were hoping to be near the cricket.

I remember us having a brochure about a new development in the city and coming down for a viewing of the show home. My parents were particularly impressed with the show home and we all began to think about a new life in Canterbury. Unfortunately my father couldn’t get a transfer to Canterbury and was then moved to London- the house move to East Kent never happened.

With our exercise we’ve walked past that house a number of times and I’ve wondered what would have happened had my dad’s move come off and we had lived there. You may be one step ahead of me and realised that the house is on the corner of Lichfield Avenue and New Dover Road, and the new development the cathedrals’ roads in our own parish. A life that would have probably involved St Paul’s Church and growing up in the parish.

It is strange that I finally ended up a short distance from the house on the corner – it would have made my parents smile because my mum especially saw the hand of God at work in life. She had a great belief that things happened for a reason and that disappointments and sadnesses often looked different in hindsight. She would have said if we had moved when you were a teenager, you would never have become the rector of the parish, you just needed to trust in God even if it seemed a missed opportunity at the same time.

Seeing God at work can sometimes be difficult especially in the immediate- where, someone will ask, is God present in Covid 19- we would answer about God being alongside those dying, often otherwise alone, comforting the sick and supporting the frontline workers but we may seek another answer as well about the nature and authority of God in difficult times. That answer may be one that we can only see in the fullness of time as we look back on the pandemic and the lockdown and see what has changed, what has come out of this difficult time and what God is saying.

At present it may be too soon although there are some very thoughtful writers reflecting on God and the coronavirus. We may need to stand back and wait as we can never predict things or see the full picture when we are in the midst of events but one day we will understand, we will see where God was and what new things emerged from these difficult days. To keep faith alive when hard questions are asked.

That simple but profound belief sustained my mother through difficult times in her own life, as she navigated her way trusting God, even if she didn’t yet have all the answers.

Mark

Saturday 9 May

I am writing this on the day the country celebrated the end of war in Europe, VE day. Mary Berry described it as a most exciting day, and there was cake for afternoon tea.

People were joyful but many were grieving, and I think that will be much the situation when we can finally declare that Covid 19 has been eliminated. We will face similar problems trying to get the economy going again, and at the same time recognising the impact this has had on the most vulnerable in our society. Will that change the way in which we live our lives? Will we continue to be looking out for our neighbours, offering help with shopping, collecting medicines, phoning to enquire if all is well; in fact, being the neighbours Jesus has asked us to be.

I don’t know, I hope so but how will I change from what was normal pre the pandemic to the new normal post lockdown. I will struggle because I’ve never been good at following rules to the letter, if something can be tweaked then I’m right there tweaking. I understand the principles for all of us over 70’s but I chafe at continuing restrictions and need constantly to remind myself that I need to “render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and render to God that which is His.”

In the meantime, Rolo and I will continue to walk, enjoy the gardens we pass and the random chats we have with those we meet on the way. Well he has a lay down whilst I chat unless there is a dog with whom he can swop smells.

The video below says it all

Sue

Friday 8 May

In our Zoom Bible study this week we explored the theme of Sabbath rest, a very important theme, an idea woven into the very fabric of creation. For me sabbath is about a chance to step back and step out of the everyday. It is an acknowledgement that the world still turns without me – that I am not the centre of it all. There is an element of trust that goes into true sabbath. It is saying to God that I trust you to look after me and provide for me and my loved ones. An acknowledgement that God is control not me.

And there is also an element of resistance in the idea of sabbath. In our commercial driven consumerist world, to take that time to step back and be, to not try and get, get, get, all the time. This is a sign of resistance and can be a beacon to others who are caught up in the race to endlessly do, buy and consume.

The story of the exodus in the Old Testament when the Israelites were in the wilderness for so many years is a good story to think of in these wilderness times of uncertainty. But even in the wilderness the Israelites had a sabbath rest, a day when they did not have to work to collect but rather could live on what had already been collected.

So how do we find sabbath at the moment. A time of refreshment, of stepping back, of saying to God and showing others that we have trust that God is in control? It will look different for all of us but it is something we must endeavour to do, even in the wilderness.

Hannah

To explore more on the subject yourself look here:

Thursday 7 May

According to The Times last Tuesday, Winston Churchill wanted today, 7th May, to be VE Day. This was because the Allies’ military leaders had received the German surrender at 2.41 am French time on the 7th May, and word quickly spread. Churchill, President Truman, and Marshal Stalin had previously agreed for the announcement about the end of the European war to be made on the 8th May; but, on the 7th May 1945, Churchill telegrammed the other two leaders, saying that it was “hopeless” to try to keep the news secret. “Otherwise”, he said “it will seem that it is only the governments who do not know”. For whatever reason, Stalin would not agree, and Churchill had to wait.

Waiting is something many of us find difficult. We pray that X or Y may (or may not) happen. Sometimes our prayers are answered and sometimes they are not; and I for one can feel resentful and let down when prayers appear not to be answered. It is part of the mystery of our faith – just as we think that God is outside of time, yet He is someone who acts in human history, most notably in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and through the action of the Holy Spirit. Scientists think that the universe is perhaps 13.8 billion years old. The earth may about 4.5 billion years old, with early microbes emerging perhaps 3.5 - 3.7 billion years ago – and the early animals perhaps 700 – 800 million years ago; yet God is concerned with each one of us individually. Clearly, God is someone who works on a different timescale to us and must have incredible patience! With these types of timescales, waiting a bit for an answer to prayer is nothing.

That our world and universe is weirder that I can possibly imagine came home the other day while reading an obituary of John Conway, who was a professor of maths at Cambridge and then Princeton. It is well worth finding an article about him as he loved games yet contributed to many branches of mathematics. To quote from The Economist’s obituary: “In 1966 he took on the challenge of finding the exquisite symmetry which was presumed to belong to the Leech lattice, a dense packing of spheres in 24 dimensions with the lattice formed by joining their central points. He deduced that the lattice contained 8, 315, 553, 613, 086, 720, 000 symmetries, a group which was given his name and made his reputation”. I do not know what this means but am happy to take it on trust as being correct, just as I trust the complete change in the life and witness of the apostles after the resurrection as a sign that they believed the resurrection to be true.

So, if you are feeling anxious because it seems that a prayer has not been answered, try to have faith that God has heard it but sees things in a different way. Jesus said that if we have faith and do not doubt, then impossible things can happen (Matt 21: 21). And so, when some prayers do not seem to be answered, we can think we are to blame, we do not have sufficient faith, that we have failed. However, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11: 1). So, let us try to be faithful – to be full of faith in God. Our prayers will be answered: in God’s own time.

Christopher

Wednesday 6 May

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

I was watching a programme last week showing lambs being born and new ones in the fields with their mothers. It made me think of this psalm and Sunday’s Gospel. The shepherd in Jesus’ day worked differently. He spent much of his life with his flock. His own sheep knew and responded to his voice. He led (not drove) them to fresh grazing and guarded them from wild animals by lying across the entrance to the sheepfold at night as the “gate”.

Then I started thinking about the gate. A gate is the way in and out. At the moment many of us are shut in and we long to be out. There is a dichotomy here. Being “in” we feel safe, yet we also feel stifled by being within the same four walls. Being “out” we are anxious and yet free!

Jesus said “I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture……I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

This phrase sums up so much: the close personal relationship between himself and his followers, the absolute security they have in him; his leadership and guidance; his constant company and his unfailing care.

Read through Psalm 23 and see what is on offer.

Mary

Tuesday 5 May

Churches in Germany are re-opening but I was interested to hear that one of the restrictions is no singing. As someone who has sung in church choirs from a teenager onwards, I find it hard to envisage regular worship with no singing or music. It was very good to hear our virtual choir singing and our organist playing a voluntary on this week’s Sunday morning streamed service, a vital part of feeling that we are together.

The lockdown meant we missed out on some beautiful Passiontide and Easter anthems and hymns. One of the hymns was ‘My Song is Love Unknown’, written by Samuel Crossman in 1664, just a year before the Great Plague. The music was apparently composed over lunch by John Ireland in 1918. Crossman’s words came before and Ireland’s music during, times of great mortality and distress.

The phrase ‘love unknown’ is very appropriate at the moment when so much of the care being given in hospitals, care homes and in the community is may be unknown to us personally. Music, whether singing or listening, is one of the ways in which the mystery of ‘love unknown’ can be expressed. Music can be analysed technically but its power goes beyond the rational. The great tradition of church music enables participation by singer or listener in an essentially unknowable dimension which we reach for in times of joy and in times of distress.

The last verse of the hymn begins, ‘Here might I stay and sing,/ No story so divine;’

Hopefully, before too long, we can join together in our churches and do just that.

Rosemary

Monday 4 may

A friend, who is now an Archdeacon, and I share a love of Doctor Who. He blames me as I was the one who re-kindled his enthusiasm in our days at college but he was the one who invited me around to watch the latest Doctor Who video as soon as it came out and who took me (and his wife) to see the Doctor Who exhibition at Longleat. He was also the one who had a light activated speaking Dalek, a fact he temporarily forgot when he sent a nervous curate into his study to collect a chair and only remembered when the curate shouted as the Dalek uttered a high pitched Exterminate, exterminate.

I tell you this because if you have been watching the live streaming from my study, you will notice that there is a grey blob on the floor beneath prayer bear- it is my knitted K9 –the robot dog from 1970s Doctor Who, in case you wondered.

The current situation has meant that we have been admitted into many people’s studies, living rooms and kitchens, in a way that we had never expected. For some there is probably an artful rearranging of items to present us as we might wish to be seen but for most people there is a take us as we are and an accepting of people seeing what makes us tick.

There has been a lot of self-disclosure, opening up ourselves to others. As I talk on the phone or exchange e-mails, I’ve found that we are all happier to talk about ourselves, how we are and what we are thinking and feeling.

Times of stress or threat have a way of helping us lower the drawbridge and allowing others to see us as we are. Such times have that effect on our prayer lives, as we are more open to God, more willing to take time to pray and to be honest in our fears and in our concerns.

All of us are talking more to each other and, more significantly, finding more time to talk to God. In a stripped back life, it is the most important things that remain and whatever happens in any easing of the lockdown, I hope we never forget that talking to God and talking to each other was what saw us through. As Jesus said the great commandment was to love God and to love our neighbour as ourselves- which we’ve learned afresh in the spring of 2020.

Mark

Saturday 2 May

It’s been an on and off week. On with the coat, off with the coat, towels at the ready for Rolo when we return from our walk. Today Rolo reflected how many of us are feeling. He really enjoys being in the garden with me and there we were this afternoon. He watches and supervises whilst I weed and plant and has a word with any squirrel foolish enough to run along the back fence. It was bright and sunny and then suddenly there was thunder and lightning. Rolo shot into the house and when I arrived, he was anxious and panting, trying to find a place to hide that was preferably as close to me as possible. I couldn’t explain to him that there was no need to worry, that we were safe and that the lightning and thunder could not come into the house.

But you can’t communicate that to a dog and in the same way many people are now extremely anxious about the consequences and the impact of the Corona virus pandemic. There are many who have said they will not allow their children to return to school, that they will not use public transport and will no longer go to the shops apart from food shopping. We have been told that football matches will take place without the fans in the stadium, and that social distancing will be in place for many, many months.

So “normal life” will not be the former life we knew, it will be very different. In many ways that was what it must have been like for the disciples following Jesus resurrection. They were still fearful of the consequences of being known as disciples. In those weeks, before the gift of the Holy Spirit, they no doubt were “social distancing” and experiencing all the doubts and fears that we feel in our situation. Their lives subsequently bore no relation to their previous lives, they were no longer fishermen or artisans, but apostles reaching out to others in ways they had not considered in the past.

I suspect that our lives will be changed, and we shall need to reach out to others in new ways and re-think how we can enjoy being with others. Rosemary and Hannah have set up Zoom groups and I am sure there will be other ways we can stay in touch and share our lives together.

I share below with you a short video because we all know hope for the future in the Risen Lord Jesus.

Sue

Friday 1 May

This week on Monday we had our first Zoom Bible study and since then I have been thinking about what we discussed. We looked at the theme of generosity and how Jesus was able to live a life of generosity even while he lived in a time of hardship. Our mindset is important in this I think- do we have a mindset of scarcity and worry about what we do not have, or do we have a mindset of abundance and thankfulness for what we do have?
I want to live in a mindset of abundance and generosity and one way I have found to this is to get outside each day. We read in Luke 12:22-34 about how we can learn from creation about how God provides, and I have found myself thinning of this as I look around outside and see the birds and the flowers and trees during my daily exercise.
I think our attitudes can often be contagious and if we as the church can live lives from the attitude of Gods generosity, thankful for what we have been given, and trusting in God’s provision, I believe that it will encourage people around us to look at the world that way too. So let us try this week to spread an attitude of generosity among all we speak with.

Hannah

If you want to look at this theme more check out the Bible Study that we followed:

https://bibleproject.com/church-at-home/week1-generosity/ and if you want to join in next week let Hannah know (curate@martinpaul.org)

Thursday 30 April

In this time of lockdown, we have been thrown onto our own individual resources more than usual. The old casual meet and greet of ordinary life has gone for the time being, and our parish life has been transformed into something more remote and discrete (as opposed to discreet; I hope we have always been discreet!).

It may be for this reason that I am finding the psalms at this time particularly helpful. There is a huge range of emotions and feelings in the psalms: anger, despair, pleas for help, trust in God, thanksgiving, and praise to name just some. It is no surprise that the psalms are often quoted in the New Testament, nor that the Desert Fathers and the Rule of St Benedict had them as a mainstay of worship. There is a directness and a self-centredness in the psalms that suits these times of self-isolating.

The psalms: 150 poems reflecting our needs and our need of God. How the whole book of psalms came to be arranged in its order is unknown, although Susan Gillingham in her book The Poems and Psalms of the Hebrew Bible discusses several theories. What seems apt is that the last few of the series are psalms of thanks. As the great theologian and preacher Austin Farrer said “For if the day of judgement, or the waters of Noah, had engulfed the Samaritan leper while he made his thanksgiving to Christ, and that had been the last use of his breath, he could scarcely have made a better” (Lenten Duty, a sermon preached in Keble College Chapel, reprinted in The Brink of Mystery, (SPCK, 1976), page 79).

Today is the last day of April, and in the Book of Common Prayer’s psalter, the psalms for Evensong are psalms 147-150. The final psalm, No 150, says we should praise God with music and dancing; and the last word of psalmetry for the whole month (apart from the Gloria Patri) is ‘Let every thing that hath breath: praise the Lord’. To end with praise to God is, surely, appropriate.

The pictures accompanying this ramble are of part of a singing gallery, carved by Luca Della Robbia in the 1430s for the cathedral in Florence, which was nearing completion after nearly 150 years work. Della Robbia took psalm 150 as his theme - another example of ending a piece of labour with thanks to God. There is more about the carvings, if you are interested, at https://www.italianways.com/luca-della-robbias-cantorial-pulpits-a-dance-of-praise .

Despite all the privations of the lockdown, which are all too real, is there something today for which to give thanks to God?

Christopher

Cantoria_di_luca_della_robbia_11, to https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sailko.

Wednesday 29 April

Cleopas and his friend were walking home from Jerusalem, about 7 miles. They were dejected, they’d lost their friend and things were never going to be the same again.

As I was out for my daily walk on Sunday I thought of them. I hadn’t lost a friend, though many people have, but I knew that life would never be the same again. I looked up at the beautiful clear blue sky, listened to the birds in the trees, and marvelled at the catkins blown down in the recent winds. The latter reminded me of walks with my grandmother when we would come home with some sprigs of pussy willow to put in a vase. Then I thought of the family of ducklings I had seen on the river the day before. Last year we spent a lot of time up and down the river watching the broods of ducklings but this year I shall not be venturing along the river path as it is quite narrow. Perhaps next year will be different.

However isolated we feel, walking on our own, going back to an empty house or flat, we know that we are never alone. Just as Jesus caught up with Cleopas and his friend and walked along beside them, so he walks along beside us. They didn’t realise who he was, and often we don’t realise his presence, but be assured, he is always there. We are on a rough journey at the moment but the risen Lord will always be our companion on the way.

Jesus promised, “And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Mary

Tuesday 28 April

Informal Zoom chats are a bit peculiar because they are booked in. They lose the spontaneity of chats over coffee or meals or meeting someone in the street. You have to chat NOW, for the next 40 minutes. Sometimes no-one knows quite what to say. At a recent more focused Faith chat initiated by Hannah, we discussed the difficulties of communicating Jesus’ message today because he lived in such an entirely different culture.

Sometimes Jesus taught formally to his disciples or the crowd, as a Rabbi would, but the Gospels also record more spontaneous occasions when someone asked him a question. ‘What must I do…?’ Jesus might well answer with a parable such as the Good Samaritan. Parables are not meant to be dissected so that each situation and event is symbolic of a fixed interpretation. Parables should challenge us and make us reflect on the possibility of ‘it as if…’ in our own lives.

This is a clue to communicating Jesus’ message of individual dignity and worth to our own culture. When this lockdown is over and we have spontaneous conversations in and out of church contexts we may want to explain the Gospel message of good news to the poor, sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed, by telling stories of courage, insight, and goodness shown to or known by us during the crisis. Then we can effectively illustrate the point we want to make about a particular element of Jesus’ teaching by starting off ‘it is as if in the lockdown…’

Rosemary

Monday 27 April

When the Faith in the City report was written, it was recommended that those training for ordained ministry should spend some time immersed in the life of an inner city parish. Twenty five years ago I spent three months living in Manchester and working in Salford before the regeneration of the docks began and things changed.

I learnt a lot about the life of Salford and its history, discovering the traditions and the problems it faced. They were proud of the past especially the artist LS Lowry and were planning the Lowry Centre, now a huge arts venue and gallery of his work, which neighbours the BBC and ITV studios. In those days there were people who still remembered Lowry the rent collector and his grumpy demeanour.

Lowry featured in many stories mostly as a dry wit with a blunt manner. My favourite was of the time a diner in a restaurant saw Lowry at another table. The man rushed over with a napkin and asked the artist to draw on it, which Lowry surprisingly did and handed it back. The man‘s face quickly fell when he saw the napkin. It was signed Fred Lowry. He said to him “Why have you signed it Fred, not LS?” To which the reply came “Many people have an LS Lowry, you are in the only person in the world with a Fred Lowry.”

Lowry was always true to himself, remaining in Salford and living the same way, even though he was a celebrated artist. The current lockdown has brought us all face to face with our own selves, as we spend time indoors and with our own thoughts. Often in life we wear a mask or put on another persona as we meet people and go about our daily business. We don’t need to pretend at present, which is in many ways liberating, although perhaps a little uncomfortable as we see the person made in the image of God and know that we are called to be true to that image.

Twenty five years ago I learnt that lesson when as someone from a very different background to the inner city I was working in, I discovered that all people wanted was to know I was sincere and genuine. Twenty five years later, for the first time in my life in a world of live streaming I am able to listen to my voice and watch myself on playback. I am who God made me to be and I am called to rejoice in that as much as I rejoice in those around me. In a difficult time, a little shaft of light.

Mark

Saturday 25 April

In it’s own way this has been a busy week both news wise and personally. The statistics on Covid 19 have been daunting and have caused grief for many families and friends. It has raised all the questions with which we are familiar, why him/her, they always cared for others and never thought of themselves. Where is God in all this? Well God is right in the middle of it all, He is there with the patients and medical staff, with the cleaners and ancillary staff, with the delivery drivers and those working in retail, with the police and the dust bin men and he is with us. There are times when it is difficult for us to see Christ in all that is happening around us but for each one of us there are also the signs of hope for the future.

The picture of my grandson, now aged four months, sat in his chair in the garden dozing with a muslin protecting his bald head. The bluebells in the wood, a wonderful, glorious, sea of blue stretching into the distance. The chat with friends (two metres away), the cheery “thank you’s” from strangers as we avoid each other. The natural world, created by God is thriving, and we are asked to take the joy of Easter Day out into our world because God loves us and in all that is happening, He will always be with us.

We need to start thinking seriously about the future, what are we, each one of us, going to do to care for the world, its plants, its animals, and humanity. We have reduced our use of cars, planes, and other forms of transport and there are many parts of the world where people are seeing the night sky and distant mountains for the first time in decades. Let us not lose such precious sightings in the future. In Genesis we are told that God blessed Adam and Eve and asked them to rule over the creatures of land and sea and the plants. To rule over is to protect and care for that for which one has responsibility.

God also gave us the ability to be creative and I share with you a stone beside my local post box. I hope you will share your smile with everyone you meet this coming week.

Sue

Friday 24 Arpil

What do we take with us on the journey?
This is a question I have been pondering for the past few days.
I have an small fluffy elephant with really crazy hair that I take with me on long journeys these days. It was given to me by a friend and it accompanies me on my travels. It has become an essential. It has been a surprising blessing as it has made me stop and look at things in a different way to normal as I work out how I can get a good picture with the elephant in it.
I have been reflecting on what I have brought into this lockdown, what is still with me now and what I want to take out of the other side. What has been holding me down and hindering me and what has been freeing me and allowing me to see things from a new viewpoint? What has been exciting and energising and what has brought me down? what has led to surprising blessings and what have been surprisingly distracting?
For me the essentials of my journey will always be God and my faith - but what else do I need to take and what can I leave behind? These are questions for us all that this time I think as we journey into the unknown and uncertain future.
Hannah

Thursday 23 April

Eric Blair needed a pseudonym when he started writing; and eventually used the surname Orwell (after the river in Suffolk), with a first name of George because he wanted a “good, round, English name” – George Orwell was on the road. However, on St George’s Day, we can ask whether St George is that English. Many other countries claim him for their own and we know very few facts about him. He probably lived in the Middle East in the late third century and may have been martyred under Diocletian. He became popular in England only with the crusades and then especially in the reign of Edward III in the 14th century. As far back as 494, Pope Gelasius I said that George was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God”. It reminds me of those many epitaphs of 20th century soldiers killed on active service in two World Wars and lacking identification; in Kipling’s phrase, they are Known unto God.

With so many countries claiming St George as their patron, he cannot be the focus of a narrow patriotism; and certainly the days when allegedly we thought that God is an Englishman (if they ever existed) are long past and rightly so. However, St George’s bravery, his endurance in a time of trial, his willingness to stand up for his belief in the Christian faith when such a belief was still illegal, are still admirable qualities and ones that we would do well to imitate. A life of service to God, of loving Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength has the approval of Our Lord (Matt 22: 37-38). Who knows, if you and I can do so faithfully, perhaps we shall be remembered by Christians in the 40th century?

Christopher

Wednesday 22 April

The disciples were in lock down after that first Easter Day. We are in lock down. Both for our own safety, the disciples by choice; we have had ours imposed on us.

They no doubt went out to get food and when things got too tense, for a bit of fresh air. On this particular day Thomas had gone out, we don’t know why. Suddenly Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room and said to them “Peace be with you!” and when Thomas came back and they told him he didn’t believe them. I guess he was annoyed that he hadn’t been there! He made this bold statement, “Unless I see the marks in his hands and touch the wound in his side I won’t believe.”

Well a few days later he had the chance. Jesus appeared again and Thomas was there and he was invited to see and touch. Thomas uttered the words, “My Lord and my God.!”

We are all missing seeing other people and touching. A handshake, a hug, just the gentle touch on the shoulder are all important means of communication. But just as the disciples finally came out of lock down and overcame their fears and faced the world again, so it will end for us. But in the meantime we rejoice in the glorious resurrection and Jesus promise , “Peace be with you.”

Mary

Tuesday 21 April

When I was teaching History, we used a TV series ‘How We Used to Live’. Pupils were often surprised by the differences in their lives from the lives of young people in various periods of twentieth century history not so long ago. Watching TV programmes made before the present crisis seems like ‘how we used to live’. Did we really socialise, just go out to meet people, go to supermarkets and venues, without distancing?

We’ve all changed our perspective on ‘normality’. As people who hear the Gospel, a change in perspective isn’t an unfamiliar experience. The disciples assumed the crucifixion ended the way they had lived since following Jesus. The person in whom they put their trust, their hope that a kingdom of justice, mercy and compassion would be the norm, appeared to be consigned to history.

The Easter narratives in the garden and on the road to Emmaus provide a radical reassessment of what is ‘normal’. The disciples adjusted to the quite extraordinary idea that it was possible to go on putting their trust in Jesus’ life, teaching and ministry and believed they could get beyond the events which seemed so irreversible.

We don’t know how we are going to get beyond our present circumstances, what the new ‘normal’ will be or how we are going to live. The disciples set out beyond Easter, transforming the lives of individuals and society. How we used to live will be replaced by how we are going to live, the same transformation will need to be at the heart of this.

Rosemary

Monday 20 April

Being in lockdown has meant that amidst the live streaming and the phoning, I have had the opportunity to read some of the books that have laid on my shelf for a while. Last week I finished the authorised biography of David Sheppard, cricketer and bishop, published late last year.

As it covered both cricket and the church, it was clearly up my street but what came across consistently was his heart for the inner city throughout his ministry but most strongly in his time as Bishop of Liverpool, and his great belief in ecumenism, most famously in his close friendships with his Roman Catholic counterpart Archbishop Derek Warlock and the URC moderator, John Newton.

In the years since Sheppard’s death many have wondered whether the Church of England has somewhat retreated from both the inner city and ecumenism. When I trained in the early 1990s much of my training was done with other denominations and all students were required to spend a term in an inner city parish in Manchester. It was a formative time in my ministry.

Over the last few weeks since the lockdown begun each Thursday we have had an online forum for ministers in Canterbury across the denominations where we have come together to support one another in difficult times. Clergy are also finding themselves even in lockdown helping those on the margins who have found their lives badly affected by choronavirus.

Sheppard would have been pleased, if he were alive, that we are reaching out to our brothers and sisters in others denominations and amongst the most vulnerable in these unprecedented times. He would be even more pleased if one of the outcomes from the terrible times we live in, were that our common witness and our concern for the marginalised were to remain central to the life of Christians in the future, when finally things return to some form of normality whenever that might be.

Mark

Saturday 18 April

I’ve just started re-reading Watership Down. You no doubt recall the story where one small rabbit (Fiver) with prophetic gifts, tries to persuade the Chief Rabbit that they all need to leave the warren because something dreadful is going to happen. He can’t explain precisely what will happen only that it will be terrible. His brother (Hazel) is prepared to listen to him and with a few other young bucks they leave having been joined by one of the Chief Rabbit’s bodyguards who also believes what Fiver is saying. Their journey to Watership Down is not without its dramas but they arrive safely because they stay together and support each other. They hear from two other rabbits from the warren the terrible fate which befell the majority, they escaped as the others died.

The story has parallels with Moses and the Israelites, Moses was told by God what he needed to do but he needed his brother Aaron to achieve the task. We can be sure that not all the Israelites left that Passover night, some (we don’t know how many) stayed behind. Those that came had worries and misgivings especially when they ran short of food and water, but they continued. They saw the Egyptians drown having safely crossed the sea themselves. They fretted, they questioned Moses and they doubted he knew what he was doing.

In the present Covid 19 crisis there are those who question the actions of the government. There are those who spread malicious and unhelpful stories and those who disregard the request to avoid socialising. But, the majority of people have done all that they have been asked to do and those on the frontline have done so much more.

We have to trust, to prayerfully ask for guidance for those in positions of leadership and to support and encourage everyone with whom we have any contact. We can smile across the street, raise a hand in cheery greeting, stand two metres away and talk whilst Rolo inspects their dog and their shoes and continue to write, email, phone whenever we can.

Sue

Friday 17 April

I’ve been thinking about perspective this week - how we see things, how things are. As someone who likes to travel and likes taking pictures I’ve had some fun over the years playing with perspective. making things seem smaller or bigger than they are.

              
How far away we are, what angle we are at. These things can change how we see things.
This week I’ve been wondering about what perspective we are putting onto the current situation. I found a quote the other day in an old notebook that said “Don’t tell God how big your storm is, tell the storm how big your God is.” I have no idea who originally said it but it has made me think about how I look at things. Am I looking through the perspective of trusting God or from a perspective of fear? Am I focusing on God or only on the news reports?
I turned then to the book of Job. Specifically to the end chapters where God speaks to Job. His words make Job say this: “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.I should never have opened my mouth! I’ve talked too much, way too much! I’m ready to shut up and listen.” It is a challenge to us all I think sometimes, to be quiet, to sit and listen to God, to focus on who God is and not on the situation we find ourselves in. But that I think is where I find myself this week. Ready to change my perspective, ready to shut up and listen to who God is.

Hannah

Thursday 16 April

What did Jesus look like after His resurrection? Undoubtedly different: Mary Magdalene on Easter morning thought at first He was a gardener (John 20: 11-18). Likewise, the people walking to Emmaus that first Easter Sunday did not recognise Jesus until He broke bread (Luke 24: 13-35). This is not surprising. Some years ago in Holy Week, I read a fascinating article in the Church Times by an A&E consultant, which described the trauma caused to Jesus’ body by the process of crucifixion. It was a harrowing account but two things were clear. First, by the end of Good Friday, Jesus was dead; the Romans were too efficient at executions to be deceived about whether someone was faking death. Secondly, for Jesus to be resurrected, His body had to be alive in ways that we do not understand; and the post resurrection accounts in the Gospels and St Paul’s letters display that confusion. However, as (according to NASA) we do not know about the 95% of the universe which comprises dark matter and dark energy, we can be relieved that we do not understand much about our world, including the resurrection!

To my mind, the image of Jesus after the resurrection can best be seen in the change in the behaviour of the disciples. Before the crucifixion, they were muddle-headed, hesitant, and often afraid. How many of the disciples stood by the cross on Good Friday? (Spoiler alert! possibly only one (John 19: 25-27). Matthew (Matt 27: 55-56) and Mark (Mark 15: 40-41) mention that only some women followers were brave enough to be witnesses, while Luke (Luke 23: 49) says that Jesus’ friends ‘stood at a distance’).

After the resurrection, by contrast, the disciples were full of energy - ready to challenge the Jewish authorities and also willing in the end to die horrific deaths as a witness to their risen Lord. This huge change in their lives is, to me, one face of the risen Jesus.

Artists over the centuries have picked this up, for they often depicted Jesus in the dress and environment of their own day. (I know this was partly a lack of historicity but I think it also reflects a deeper understanding of Jesus’ universality).

So, the challenge for us is how to show the risen Jesus in our lives so that others may see something of His risen body. Likewise, we should be alert for signs of Jesus in others.

This is all a bit dry so, to end, here is an image of Jesus on etched glass, made in the mid 1970s. It was a prototype for some secondary glazing at the Cathedral which didn’t happen, but I love the movement and the vibrancy of Jesus’ blessing. I can imagine Him saying “In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world” (John 16: 33). Happy Easter

Christopher

Wednesday 15 April

Thought for the Day

Mary Magdalene met Jesus on that first Easter morning. Initially she thought he was the gardener. How wrong she was! And yet how right too. Wasn’t Jesus the gardener of the new creation on that first Easter morning? A neglected garden had become overgrown with weeds of all kinds, weeds of oppression and injustice. What God had done on that happy morning was to start again. “In the beginning God created…..” (Genesis 1) “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1) Here was the new Adam in the New garden. Creation was beginning again.

Easter this year had a very different feel to it. I hope you found some good services on line or on TV, but whatever you did, we could all share in that resurrection promise of new life.

At this difficult time we await the new creation when this deadly virus has been conquered. What will this new creation look like? Things will never go back to being what they were. People will have changed, priorities will have changed.

We look forward with anticipation to that day when all things will be new. It will come and we can rejoice together again.

“If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

That seems like a promise to write in our hearts.

Mar

Tuesday 14 April

The online Holy Week and Easter liturgies from the Cathedral and Bishop Rose were set in some beautiful gardens in spring. Immediately striking is the birdsong. Would such ‘interference’ be allowed in a studio or would an irate producer edit it out? The birdsong was very moving and somehow inspiring as an accompaniment to the personal reflections and the words of the liturgies.

The final verse of Edward Thomas’s poem ‘Adlestrop’ recalling a June train journey through that station in the Cotswolds in 1914, recreates the stillness and natural harmonies of the countryside as the train pulled in.

And for that minute a blackbird sang

Close by, and round him, mistier,

Farther and farther, all the birds

Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

WW1 was to break into this stillness for Thomas personally as for the world around him. The Poetry Foundation* speaks of his achievement in understanding the ‘disconnection, alienation, and unsettledness’ of the world as it was becoming.

The liturgies and reflections in the gardens provided for me a break from the ‘disconnections, alienation and unsettledness’ of the situation we find ourselves in. The power of liturgy and reflection to express human aspiration and some comfort in times of trouble in a natural setting helps hope to spread ‘further and further’. Like the birdsong, some sense of stillness, and even the possibility of joy, returns.

 * https://www.poetryfoundation.org

 Rosemary

Monday 13 April

Normally on Easter Sunday clergy lock the door of the church, tackle an Easter egg and go off for a few days rest and relaxation. Clare and I had planned to go up to Malvern for a few days before returning for the APCM and during that time we were going to have a short excursion to Buxton, to visit my favourite cheap bookshop and more importantly to see the Derek Jarman exhibition in Manchester (which we had already seen in Dublin).

Now we know that we will be in Canterbury on Easter Monday- normally the break comes at the just the right moment when the busyness is over and the Lenten discipline transformed by Easter Day, the baton can be laid down. This year is such an extraordinary time, excluded from the church on Easter Day and unable to be away is sad but for me the sadness is tempered by the different rhythms that I’ve discovered. Prayer is not a prologue to the day but at its core, the little things that were raced over are now savoured and daily life is about timings and regularity. In the midst of the lockdown I’m living a fairly monastic life and finding unexpected joy within it, a glimpse of what makes the religious life tick.

One day the restrictions will be lifted and we will all back to a degree of normality- yet each of us will have had new insights and seen things differently in these difficult times. We will have found the blessings and will be challenged to see what these blessings might look like as we return to previous patterns and routines.

Mark 

Saturday 11 April

The whole country has been exhorted to stay home, not to go out unless it is absolutely necessary, and the police have been instructed to strongly advise those who do, to return home as soon as possible.

That’s how it must have been for the disciples that Saturday, they must have been experiencing all the emotions we feel when grieving for those we love who have died. They were as angry, confused, depressed and sad as the 30,000 families worldwide whose loved ones have died and that is only the ones we know about. No doubt there are countless others who have not made the “official statistics”.

We know what tomorrow will bring, the joy of hope fulfilled at the resurrection, but for many there will be only the aching loneliness of regret without hope for the future. And that is where being church comes into its own. We can offer comfort and support to all those we know who are feeling lost, bereft and alone at this time.

Now is the time to send that letter or email, to make that phone call or text. Easter Saturday is a time of reflection and thanksgiving, for all we have received and enjoy, so let’s share it wherever and however we can. 

Sue

Friday 10 April

Yesterday we watched with Jesus. It might have seem dark and scary but we knew Jesus was with us. Today we watch as Jesus is killed. And suddenly the watching yesterday seems safe. Now we are bereft of the anchor of Jesus. Swept away in the sea of uncertainty and despair.

But we call this day good. We call it good because we are always looking forward. And this Easter we are following the movement of society as well - as the picture below which i saw on my walk yesterday says #betterdaysarecoming.

We are looking forward to Sunday, we are looking forward to new life, we are looking forward to hope and new beginnings.

Yes it is scary and it seems overwhelming and sad. But Sunday is coming...

Hannah

Thursday 9 April

“Lights! Camera! Action!” is the proverbial director’s cry when starting to film some drama. Maundy Thursday is full of drama and action; or, at least, most normal Maundy Thursdays are. Usually, all the diocesan clergy, and many Lay Readers, would take part in a Eucharist service in the Cathedral with their bishop. Up and down the country, there would have been living sermons demonstrating humility, such as foot washing or shoe cleaning: ‘the greatest among you must be your servant’ said Jesus (Matt 23: 11). Her Majesty the Queen would have distributed Maundy Money (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Maundy) to 93 men and 93 women – one of the very few times when she goes to recipients (for, normally, people go to Buckingham Palace or another Royal residence to receive an honour), so she would have been active. And, indeed, on the very first Maundy Thursday, Jesus Himself was active, not just in washing the disciples’ feet (John 13: 1-16) but also instituting the act of Holy Communion by which He is still recognised today.

This day also marks the 75th anniversary of the brutal murder of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer) by the Nazis on the personal order of Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was a true martyr – the original meaning of the word in Greek was a witness – someone whose whole life and actions embodied his belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and who recognised the demands that the resurrection place on all of us.

Today, because of the coronavirus and the restrictions that it has caused, there is little action that we can take. However, we can prepare for when times revert to normal. I must use this time to reflect on what future actions I will take to show God’s love; I must prepare for my walk-on part in God’s drama. Will you be ready for when He says to you “Lights! Camera! Action!”?

Christopher

Wednesday 8 April 

Patience is a virtue,

Virtue is a grace,

Grace was a little girl

Who wouldn’t wash her face.

Do you remember this rhyme?

It’s not easy to be patient. And all of us have had our patience tested these past couple of weeks. All the things we had planned, all the things we want to do, are all on hold. Some of us can’t go out except for a short walk and those of us who can have nowhere to go! And we still have some weeks to go before we get back to any semblance of normality.

Let’s look at some of the words that can be substituted for patience: resolution, perseverance, long suffering. Patience in the biblical sense, is not concerned with the pace of your life but the determination you bring to life. It’s all about stickability: your willingness to keep going: your readiness to take the long view in a society which looks for a quick return in exchange for minimum effort: your refusal to give in or give up. That’s patience, and don’t we need to pray for that gift just now?

I wrote this before I heard the Dean of Hereford Cathedral speak on Palm Sunday. If you can listen to the Sunday Worship service on I player or catchup you can hear what he has to say about patience.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12.

Mary

Tuesday 7 April

Before the lock-down I bought Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light, her account of Thomas Cromwell. I read a portion at the end of each day. So why is it such a treat when I know the outcome?

It’s the same with the Passion story from Matthew’s Gospel in the morning service on Palm Sunday. We know where the narrative is going and look forward to the culmination of Easter Day. But do we know the outcome? The outcome of the possibilities of new life and of hope overcoming despair and grief have to become individual, local, national and international realities.

We think we know the outcome of Cromwell’s story. Perhaps the vision which he shared with Cranmer of a society with resources directed to common welfare, the common weal, (albeit in the context of his time), is one which goes beyond his own death and the principles of which we need to return to urgently today.

We are seeing this in all those committing themselves to hope through their various working lives at the moment. This is the living out of Easter through the times of tension and darkness we read of in Holy Week. Will we have both the vision and courage to work for the common weal when we come out at the other end ?

Rosemary

Monday 6 April

Back in the 1980s we went as a family to the Orchard Theatre in Dartford to see a matinee performance of Hamlet. It was a hot day, we were sitting in the front row and the play was long. As it progressed my mother started to feel sleepy and her head started to move forward, eventually unable to fight it she fell asleep. Then after a while she woke to find Hamlet looking into her eyes and saying to her “To be or not to be that is the question.” She never saw the actor on television again without a guilty feeling and I suspect that he was none too impressed with a woman falling asleep as he gave his all on a hot sticky afternoon.

Much of holy week is about human frailty in the face of Jesus determination. The disciples fall asleep at Gethsemane as Jesus faces his greatest challenge and others have already gone from Judas to the palm wavers.

Sometimes we can feel anger and annoyance with the disciples and the fickle crowds but I guess we know that we would have done nothing different, knowing our own frailty as much as theirs. We too would fallen asleep or sidled away.

That is why we have our eyes on Jesus but identify with the disciples as we move through Holy Week. For me that moment of identification comes on Thursday as I read Peter’s denial- he walked away but I would have done too, yet knowing that Jesus chose not to walk away but to walk on because humans are frail and need salvation.

Mark

Saturday 4 April

We are now at the end of our second week in social isolation and for a pair of raging extroverts, Rolo and I are finding it hard. As we go out for our daily exercise, I make every effort to avoid others (as instructed) but he finds this very difficult and will cross the road to commiserate with a canine friend. But, in the midst of all this, I reflected today on the reality of our situation. I can phone friends, send them quips and jokes and receive them. The internet is proving to be a boon for many because we are using it in the way it was intended, sharing, giving and receiving and keeping in touch with those from whom we are separated.

It’s the giving and receiving that’s the most important. The Pharisees were quick to condemn Jesus because he “ate with sinners”. But that was the whole point, the “so called” sinners gave Jesus hospitality, a warm welcome and took pleasure in his company and Jesus received it. In return he gave them respect and accepted them as the people they were, and he cared for every one of them. At the moment we can’t eat together but we can continue to give and receive from each other through our phone calls, chats and smiles across the road, and above all our prayers.

Sue 

and Rollo:

Friday 3 April

Staying fit. This has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks as we have all adjusted to the new way of living. One of the benefits I have found from living outside of the parish has been the journey to and from the churches each day. These have not only helped to keep me physically fit, as I have walked or cycled to church, but they have also helped to keep me mentally and spiritually fit as well. I use these journeys to listen to podcasts, worship music or just to reflect in silence. Now, like everyone else my rhythm of life has changed and I find myself having to work out new ways of staying fit in this crazy new world. My new keep fit rhythm is evolving - Physically I have been doing PE with Joe on Youtube each week day with the kids at home, mentally and spiritually I am finding times in the day to pray, to meditate and to read. It is important for all of us to find a rhythm that works for us in this new season of life for however long it lasts. If you are reading this then hopefully these short reflections are a part of your new rhythm. I encourage you all to find what works for you physically, mentally and spiritually, so that we can stay strong in these hard times.

Hannah

Thursday 2 April

I have a soft spot for Samuel Pepys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys) because I feel an affinity with him. Partly because his diary (https://www.pepysdiary.com/) gives such an interesting insight into life in London during the 1660s - and I was born and raised for eight years in the City of London; partly because I was lucky to spend a couple of years at Magdalene College Cambridge (https://www.magd.cam.ac.uk/) and had the chance one evening to look at the original diaries, which are housed in the college with all the books that Pepys collected; and partly because Pepys himself was such a warts and all person. For example, he regularly complained about preachers giving ‘most sorry’ sermons, and noted that he slept during several of them. In August 1667, he even used the sermon during one Evensong to try to pick up a young lady (despite being married…) and only gave up when he saw her taking out pins from her pocket to stab him if he tried again. I am sure this never happens at St Martin’s or St Paul’s!

Pepys’s diary for 1665 is very topical currently, as that year London suffered from the Great Plague (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plague_of_London). He mentions houses being boarded up, “a red cross on their doors and ‘Lord have mercy upon us’ writ there”. Even then, people were self-isolating, and fleeing infection if they could, and trying all sorts of remedies. We today are much luckier. Although we do not have a cure, we are better informed about the spread of the Covid-19 and the likely symptoms, and that is a comfort. Dedicated staff are busy in hospitals and surgeries to help the sick. People are still working in shops supplying our food and other necessities. We should be very grateful to all of them for their courage and service. And although we may not be able to meet face to face, we can still socialise using telephones and computers.

One thing which has not changed over the centuries is God’s promise to us, seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God does not promise that life will be trouble free, nor that it will be easy. He has not abolished the death of the body. But He does offer life beyond death, and life more abundantly (John 10: 10).

These days of enforced self-isolating give us a chance to reflect in stillness on the mystery of God’s love for us and how best we should respond to that love. Whether it is turning to the Psalms (with all their anguish being triumphed eventually by God’s power and love), or reading one or more gospels, or reflecting on one of the epistles, this is a splendid chance to “Be still, and know that I am God!”(Psalm 46: 10). Seize the day: let us pray…

Christopher

Wednesday 1 April

How often do we say “Don’t worry!” But does it work? Worry is a very wearying emotion and uses a lot of nervous energy that could be put to better use, such as finding a solution to the problem. Worry alone doesn’t achieve anything.
We are all worried at the moment about the situation in the world, about our health and the health of those around us.
Jesus had some significant comments to make about worry, which he condemns as a futile activity. Surprisingly he does say “Do not worry.” (Matthew 6:25) BUT he doesn’t leave it there. “Don’t worry,” says Jesus. “Invite God into the situation that disturbs you and ask him to deal with it.”
Of course we can’t just say that and then get on with life as it was. Everything has changed and we need to adapt and play our part in keeping ourselves and everyone else safe. But we can invite God into the situation. There is little we can do, but God can and will. We can ask him to give us strength and comfort and a quiet mind at this most difficult time. Then trust in the loving God whom we worship.
Mary

Tuesday 31 March

Perversely, just as stay at home kicked in, my internet connection started failing. Initial panic, I don’t do internet on my mobile! This made me think about connectivity! How do we normally connect, how much we take it for granted? Speech, words, eyes, gestures, text, all are problematic and dependent in our present situation on technology for those who live alone and for those self-isolating at home. The Christian community connects in that intensely moving moment when bread and wine are shared and this is impossible at the moment.

So perhaps we have to look for a deeper connection to sustain us as those who take the responsibility are working to combat this disease. There must be something in the Christian narrative to ‘speak’ in this situation I thought. Into my head came the words of the Father speaking to the resentful son in the parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15. ‘You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.’ The story ends in hope and with a party. We must wait for the party, but for now, back to the books. Alan Bennett sounds the thing, ‘Keeping On Keeping On’.

Rosemary

Monday 30 March:

What is a church? It has been a question that been on my mind over this last week. As the guidance from the Church of England has evolved as we have sought to cope with the coronavirus, so our perceptions of church have been forced to change.

Once public worship was suspended, the church building was still there for private prayer and for live streaming but clergy are subject to the same conditions as their congregations, the same separation.

I love our two church buildings, their history and their witness. I’ve felt the bereavement of the last week no longer being able to prayer in them as I had planned as new realities of the current situation emerge. I’ve discovered that my study is a good place to be and I’ve learned how to live stream.

Yet as I live stream from home, I know others are watching-more than our normal congregation engaging with the daily office. As I stay at home, I ring people up and talk to them, sharing thoughts and concerns – I often find their lines are engaged and people are talking to each other.

One day we’ll be back in our buildings and back together as congregations but until then I rejoice in our online services(I never thought I would say that) and our care for each other- knowing that is where church is for now. When we return may we never take things for granted again and may this experience draw us closer to each other and to God.

Mark

Monday - Friday live streaming daily: Morning Prayer at 9.15 and Evening Prayer at 16.00 

Night prayer at 8pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Sunday live streaming: 10.30 service (non eucharist)

4pm Evensong

the live streaming can be found here:

 https://www.facebook.com/martinpaulchurches

you do not have to have a facebook account to watch.

The newsletter for this week, including the reading for Sunday can be found here

If you are looking for resources to help you pray during this time have a look at the church of England resources here

Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen. 

(taken from the Church of England Website)

 Following Government and Church guidance, Fisher Folk, Cheeky Monkeys and all other church events are suspended until further notice.