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Posts Tagged ‘#lentowrimo’

Doing the Impossible

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 14 March, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The Joker is teaching Junior Church tomorrow. If we have some kids in… Yes, we have got to that stage of life here – where the teenagers are taking up leadership roles. The Joker and the Engineer and their pal Miss Clean all teach at our Kids’ Club on Wednesday evenings. The group is thriving – recently they’ve had almost twenty kids most weeks. All three of them run games, give short talks and take responsibility for the group in many different ways. It’s a real pleasure to see them maturing into service – and enjoying themselves in the process

And the Joker and Miss Clean also teach the small (but perfectly formed) group that meet on Sundays. It was a bit of a shock for them both when they started. Instead of a good size group of kids that includes every age from 5 to 11, we normally have a couple of small girls, aged 3 and 5. Although sometimes we get others. But we still teach them a proper curriculum. And tomorrow is the final session of a short series in the book of Esther. Which happens to be the Joker’s favourite book of the Bible, ever since he developed a serious crush on the VeggieTales Esther at the age of five.

VeggieTales Esther

I guess she’s pretty for a spring onion

And the theme of tomorrow’s session is how God does the impossible – saving his people from certain death by sending his saviour – for such a time as this, at just the right time. A truth that gives us hope for today and for all the days to come, even when facing uncertainty and global turmoil. For entertainment in the Vicarage this evening, the Joker practised the opening illustration – cutting up an A4 piece of paper so that he can walk through it. Impossible, you say? But look! Ta-daa!

Teenager stood in paper cut up so that you can step through it. In messy living room

The Joker does the impossible

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On Dealing With Too Much News

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 13 March, 2020| Leave a Comment »

This coronavirus crisis feels a bit like election season did – there’s just so much news. Every half an hour something new is cancelled. There are graphs all over the internet giving a fresh perspective and interesting and learned experts giving opinions which help you feel like you might get a grip on what’s happening. It’s a big global event with huge repercussions and it’s also a close to home personal one, with some disruption and changes in view for our family.

I’m staying with my mum at the moment and we’re discussing various planned holidays and family events over the next few months and wondering which ones, if any, will go ahead. The Queen’s university (I know! How can she be that old?!) has suspended face to face lectures, and she thinks the exams next week might be cancelled. (So she rather regrets staying up very late last night to study the genetics of viruses for the biology test. Although, who knows if it might come in handy some time soon?) I get an email from the boys’ schools every day with an update of cancelled events, and I send messages to the family Whatsapp group with handwashing reminders.

The Church of England is updating its guidance to churches frequently – no cup at communion, no full immersion baptisms, standing for communion and other procedures to help us to protect people from infection. Behind the scenes clergy and laity are energetically debating how to serve and guard their flocks and parishes and bring God’s grace into a frequently overwhelming situation. My timelines are awash with random pundits asking what the government or the church are up to and making alternative pronouncements. It’s confusing and stressful, and there’s so little I can do about it all.

So I’ve made some decisions about what to pay attention to, although the drama of the frequent announcements will probably keep distracting me. But I’m going to read some things by proper scientists, and I’m going to keep on washing my hands often and for 20 seconds (whilst praying the Lord’s Prayer, which fits). I’m going to try and read things written by Christians who lived through plagues previously, and say some of their prayers. I’m going to pray about how I can serve those who will be in need because of this crisis, especially in our parish. And I’m going to pray the Church of England’s Collect provided to be prayed In the Time of any Common Plague of Sickness. Pray with me?

In the time of any common Plague of Sickness. O ALMIGHTY God, who in thy wrath didst send a plague upon thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering thy mercy didst save the rest: Have pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; that like as thou didst then accept of an atonement, and didst command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Messy Head Hacks: #4 Looking at Jesus

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , on 12 March, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I was at a meeting today, and it began with a brother reading a couple of Bible passages and sharing a few thoughts about them. He spoke about challenges we were facing and about the need to endure, and how we are able to endure because our God is the God of endurance and encouragement – as we so clearly see when we look at Jesus. As we look at his example, his life, his death, his glorious resurrection.

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:4-6

And that’s the answer for a messy head. You need to look at Jesus. Things are a mess, or we are weary, we are facing trouble and see that things are not going to be resolved any time soon. We’re anxious about things ahead – the uncertainty of not knowing the future. Looking at Jesus is the answer. It might be hard to change where we’re looking. Find a way to look to Jesus. Music, a good bishop, a collect or just doing nothing much.  Running on and looking at Jesus is the answer. It’s always the answer.

Hebrews121and2

 

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Friendship, Marriage and the Local Church

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 11 March, 2020| 1 Comment »

Until Lent began this year, I’d not written on here for a long time. But I had written some things elsewhere. I’m struggling to remember what most of them were, but one of the things was a study guide for the Church of England Evangelical Council on a book they published called Glorify God in Your Body. As I prepared the guide I was particularly struck by this passage from Glorify God in Your Body, talking about how Tim and Kathy Keller describe friendship in their book The Meaning of Marriage.

What does it mean, then, to love one another as friends? The Kellers identify three
characteristics that mark out friendship: constancy, transparency, and common passion.

Friends are always there for each other, they are open and honest, and they share a
common enthusiasm for something or somethings (in the words of C S Lewis ‘even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice’). In the Bible we find that all three of these characteristics apply to the relationships of love that should exist within the life of God’s people.

As I thought about this, I reflected on how these three characteristics are not only a  wonderful description of love between friends, and love between a husband and wife, but they also describe how we should love one another in local churches.

If we show constancy, we’ll have a ministry of turning up – we’ll be there on Sundays and at other things: hall cleaning parties, coffee mornings, prayer meetings and Beetle drives. We’ll be there for each other, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping those who weep.

If we show transparency, we’ll be honest with one another, vulnerable, open. We’ll not shut down conversations by telling one another that things are fine when they aren’t. We’ll not ask people how they are without really wanting to find out.

If we have a common passion, surely it will be a passion for Jesus, for holding out the word of life to our neighbours. It will be a passion that lights up our parish with the joy of knowing sins forgiven and the promise of eternal life.

constancytransparencycommonpassion

So let’s work on those relationships of love in our churches. I’m so thankful for the love of many dear brothers and sisters in our congregation here, shown in many different ways, but we still have much work to do. I’m praying for more of the constancy, transparency and common passion which deepens the love of God in our lives and demonstrates it to our needy world.

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All the Families

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 March, 2020| Leave a Comment »

black and white htwb-01

There’s something very beautiful about studying this passage in a small group with people with Punjabi, Irish, Iranian, Scots and English heritage, all together. And reading it aloud in English and Farsi.

We are blessed in Christ – in forgiveness and in the promise of eternal life. And we are blessed in the families of the earth coming together in the red room in the Vicarage – marvelling that those promises to Abram are fulfilled in us today, so far distant in time and place.

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Messy Head Hacks: #3 Doing Nothing Much with a Collect

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 9 March, 2020| 1 Comment »

What do you do when starting Monday is hard? We had a busy but exhausting weekend here in the Vicarage, including a lovely but random collection of people joining us for Sunday lunch. And then the school week began and I struggled to meet it head on.

My head is still pretty messy in the aftermath of the locust eaten year – and I keep on thinking about things that go round in circles. I compose lines in my head and then don’t write them down or send them. The lines swirl around, taking up space and preventing logical thought.

So I binned a few of my plans for the day (including – shhh – the gym) and awarded myself a slow day. And then I sat down with my laptop and tackled the email inbox, which had been pressing in. I talked to the Vicar and stroked the dog. I noodled about on Twitter and kept going with my crochet project.

It was a gentle day and I got a few things done, so I guess I’m winning. This morning I read from a devotional based on the collects of Thomas Cranmer, and meditated on the Collect for the 2nd Sunday of Lent. Today reminded me how much I lack the power to help myself, and how much I need the Lord’s help with evil thoughts that assault and harm the soul. Praying with Cranmer is always a blessing.

ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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On Having Nothing to Say

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 4 March, 2020| 2 Comments »

It’s later than it should be to start writing a #lentowrimo post. And my brain has been fried by yesterday’s early morning sick dog drama – the Vicarage Hound was indeed as sick as a dog. Let’s just say that it is a great pity that we hired the Rug Doctor a week ago. Although the wool moths that ate our lovely rug would have been feasting for longer, so perhaps it was for the best.

IMG_20200221_191541501

The Vicarage Hound bids a fond farewell to the living room rug

After the dog drama, I was able to spend an afternoon visiting friends at the Proc Trust conference for ministers’ wives. I’m busy with other things that take me away from home at the moment, so I’d not signed up for the full four days, but was able to sneak into the tea lounge for a while. I failed to note this year’s fashion trends I’m afraid but it was great to catch up with some dear sisters for a few hours. I heard tales of amazing provision of housing for church planters and encouragements of people coming to faith through church members choosing to move to tough parts of town, and I had a snatched and joyous chat with a vicar’s wife whose husband will soon be the training incumbent for one of our old ministry trainees. So this summer that will be four young men ordained out of our attic, and we heard the other week that another lad who lived up-upstairs is on the pathway to ordination too.

So although I have nothing much to say, I seem to have said a little bit. And maybe you also have tales of sick dogs or encouragements from friends to share too. The stories of life that make up the pattern of daily discipleship. Drama and laughter.  Sick and sisters. Moths and ministry.

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