Month: June 2017

‘Crisertunity’ – 25th June, 2nd Sunday after Trinity

Posted on by St Mary's

Based around Jeremiah 20:7-13.

In one episode of the TV show ‘The Simpsons’, Lisa says to Homer ‘Dad, do you know that in China they use the same word for crisis as they do for opportunity?’  Homer, not renowned for his language skills, replies “Yes! Crisertunity!”

I’ve been reminded of this exchange most days for some weeks now; we seem to be living through times of crisis when the very fabric of our society seems to shift as Government seems to be fumbled, accidents and terror attacks take dozens, if not hundreds of lives, and our national institutions and relationships with other countries look like they will undergo massive changes.

We have the crisis; we just don’t yet seem to be seeing much opportunity.

In fact, we probably need a prophet to help us out; not a pollster, pundit or astrologer, but a good, old fashioned, Old Testament prophet.  The Biblical prophets had pretty straight forward job descriptions; To explain the plan and purpose of God and tell us what he will do in the future, and to turn people away from evil and back towards the will of God so that they might be saved.

But they were also men.

Tonight’s reading from Jeremiah isn’t the usual ‘fire and brimstone’ we might expect from the Biblical prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial. It’s the words of a man who is expressing the anguish and torment within him – partially, as he sees it, from being a prophet of the Lord.

Jeremiah began prophesying around 620BC in the reign of Josiah, and continued through a time of massive unrest when the fate of Judah itself – like many other small nations of the Middle East – was being sealed by the rise of the larger empires such as Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, and by the time he finished his writings – around 587BC – Jerusalem had been destroyed and the majority of the people had been taken to exile in Babylon.

Amongst the prophets one thing that is interesting about Jeremiah is that he wasn’t shy about telling us that he was human; he wrote several verses that are often summed up as expressing feelings of  ‘woe is me!’.  These are called his confessions, or his lamentations.

Tonight’s reading is the last and longest of these lamentations, and like the previous confessions it showed something of the inner turmoil and unrest that Jeremiah felt. I think that these confessions make Jeremiah more human in many ways than the other prophets. If you think about it, his job on a day to day basis was not an easy one.

Jeremiah’s grumbles are written in a format and structure that would be familiar to anyone who has a knowledge of the Psalms.  The ‘Lamentation Psalms’ are psalms in which the writer is directly addressing God on the event of some calamity; more than that, they frequently have a direct complaint against God, and some theologians have argued the ‘Lamentation’ is too wishy-washy a word to associate with these Psalms, and that we should just use ‘Complaint’. Because that’s what’s happening – the Psalmist is addressing a complaint to God – either for himself or for the community as a whole.  If you want to read a couple of these Psalms, take a look at Psalm 13 or Psalm 74.

Jeremiah starts by accusing God of deception; basically Jeremiah feels that God conned – some translations use the word seduced or enticed – him in to the job of Prophet.  One of my commentaries uses the phrase ‘God had been excessively persuasive’.  In the second part of Verse 7, Jeremiah starts complaining about his own situation “I am ridiculed and mocked”, and then in Verse 8 continues in this vein; by preaching the word of the Lord he’s put himself in the position of being insulted and vilified by the people.

Verse 9 is Jeremiah feeling sorry for himself again; he’s experiencing that major problem of a prophet of the Lord in that even if he’s reluctant to speak the word of God  – in this case to protect himself – Holy Spirit will be working within him to compel him to speak out – as Jeremiah himself puts it, the word of God is like a fire in his bones trying to burst out, and he can’t stop it.

In Verse 10 Jeremiah again regales us with the activities of his ‘friends’ who seem to be waiting for him to make a mistake, and his enemies, who’re waiting for him to prophesy again so they can take their revenge on him.  This wasn’t an unusual fate for prophets – on more than one occasion in his career Jeremiah was beaten up for speaking God’s work when the people didn’t appreciate it.

We can probably all feel for Jeremiah – he’s between a rock and a hard place; compelled by the Holy Spirit to do the right thing, but scared for his life and well being if he does; friendless, feeling sorry for himself, stressed; perhaps even powerless – what’s the point of prophesying the word of God if no one listens and some even regard you as a liar and troublemaker?

There’s a quote from Gandhi – “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win” – that Jeremiah would have probably appreciated.  Because in Verse 11, he remembers just who he has got on his side; the Lord God. In Verse 11 Jeremiah re-states his trust in the Lord, and in Verse 12 he requests that the Lord punish his enemies.

And finally – in Verse 13, Jeremiah praises the Lord.

Because despite his grumbles, Jeremiah has been promised by the Lord that the Lord will be with him through his work; and even in the depths of this lamentation, in Verse 11, he reminds himself of that “The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior”.

 

Do you think it feels a bit odd to be complaining and grumbling at God? I know it does to me, sometimes, but at other times I have to admit that I’m tempted to start my prayers with “Hey, Lord, where ARE you right now? We need some help here!”

But I think that the desire of God isn’t that we have a ‘fair weather friend’ relationship with us.  I think he wants us to be able to come to Him ‘warts and all’ – to be able to bitch and grumble at whim when we feel things have gone pear-shaped – because it is only through honesty in relationships that true relationships grow.

Like Homer Simpson, we’re not immune to the crises of modern life. Nowhere in the Bible – Old or New Testament – does it say that being faithful to God will give you a ‘Get out of trouble free’ card in life.

Right now, MY heart is full – personal issues, terrorist attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire, political crises and scandals. “Lord, where are you? We’re here; we’re suffering; your people are crying out. I am suffering; I am crying out too. Where are you? “
But then, like Jeremiah, I remember “The Lord is with me” – and I start looking for His work. And I remember the words of Jesus to his followers “And I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I have His promise; like Jeremiah, I can take the promise of the Lord and work with it; it may not be easy, but I know that, no matter what, God is with me. And all of us. We need to have faith, and look for His works.

Reader Joe Pritchard

‘Fatherhood’ 18th June, 1st Sunday after Trinity

Posted on by St Mary's

Based around Romans 5:1-8 and Matthew 9:35-10:23

 

“Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

These are the opening words to the prayer with which we and many millions of others are so familiar. We call God our Father and as today is Father’s Day it seemed to me entirely appropriate that we should consider and celebrate fathers and father figures because they are important to us.

Having decided on the theme for this sermon I thought I ought to do a bit of research. Somewhere at the back of my mind I seemed to remember hearing that Father’s Day was a fairly recent invention which came about in order to mirror the fact that we celebrate mothers on Mother’s Day and a more cynical view is that it was dreamed up by the retail industry who wanted to sell us yet more cards and gifts and stuff. Without wishing to actually be cynical, I’m pretty sure there is an element of both involved.

Imagine my pleasant surprise then when I learned that in the Catholic parts of Europe Father’s Day has been celebrated since the 14th or early 15th century, usually on the 19th March which is St Joseph’s Day and it is now celebrated in many countries throughout the world although not necessarily on that date. Marking it on the third Sunday in June seems to have come from the United States when the tradition was established in the early twentieth century.

According to what I read, and this is a very concise history, the first recorded modern observance of a Father’s Day was in 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia and was the idea of Grace Golden Clayton whose father had been killed in a terrible mining accident the previous year along with 360 other men. Apparently 250 of these men were fathers and their loss left around a thousand children fatherless. Imagine the impact this must have had on the community as well on the individual families concerned. Ms Clayton suggested that her pastor, Robert Webb, of what is now the Central Methodist Church, honour these fathers but this seemed to have been a one off event at that time. The next few years saw numerous attempts to establish Father’s Day as a regular celebration but for various reasons it didn’t work out. After this somewhat faltering start it seems it was another woman, Sonora Smart Dodd who after hearing a sermon about Mother’s Day suggested to her pastor that fathers should be honoured in a similar way. Her father, a veteran of the Civil War, had brought up his own six children without a mother. As a result, it was in 1910 that a number of local clergymen throughout Spokane in Washington, preached sermons honouring fathers. Again though the observance was local and not regular. Over the next four decades there were attempts to get Father’s Day established as a permanent national holiday but they met with resistance from Congress. Apparently there was a good deal of cynicism about the motives of the trade groups who were helping to promote the idea of a father’s day but in 1957, Senator Margaret Chase Smith accused Congress of ignoring fathers for forty years while celebrating the role of mothers and in 1966 President Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers and set the third Sunday in June as the date to mark it. Finally it was President Nixon who in 1972 signed this into law as a permanent national holiday. We seem to have followed the same tradition and I for one am very glad that we do honour and celebrate the role of fatherhood as well as motherhood and in the broadest senses of these terms.

Going back to the idea of St Joseph being associated with the first celebrations of fatherhood, I can’t think of anyone more appropriate as a figurehead. He epitomises the good qualities we associate with being a good father: protector, provider, nurturer, teacher, and encourager to name but a few. I also think he is a great example because in Jesus case, he was not actually his biological father and yet he loved him and brought him up as his own son. He could have turned his back and walked away but he didn’t. He could have boasted and made much of his role in Jesus life but we certainly don’t hear anything like that in the Bible. He was an honourable, kind, modest and faithful man who was content to play the part God had given him in spite of what others may have thought of him. God chose well when he chose Joseph.

It always seems a shame to me that the men who day by day, quietly go about the business of being good, reliable, dependable father figures don’t always get the credit they deserve because fatherhood like motherhood isn’t always glamorous and fun. Sometimes it’s hard and frustrating and even painful and heart breaking and there’s a fair amount of self-sacrifice involved. All the more reason why the value of good fathers and father figures should never be underestimated. They are sharers in the shaping of the next generation and their influence is great and lasting so it needs to be good. We all need good male as well as female role models if we are to be balanced, compassionate and loving human beings. I am aware that unfortunately not everyone is blessed with having a good father and that there are damaging and destructive relationships that cause a great deal of lasting harm. But surely that is all the more reason to value, encourage and celebrate the good ones and hopefully there will be good father figures somewhere along the line for all of us. They don’t have to be perfect, none of us are.

Sadly my own dad died nearly ten years ago. I still miss him. But because he was a good father he left me with many things that have enabled me to go on making my way through life, able to appreciate the good and deal with the not so good. We used to work together and in many ways we were kindred spirits. We could inspire and encourage each other and keep each other going when things were difficult which they often were. I could talk to him about pretty much anything, we didn’t always agree but in the end there was always respect, understanding and kindness. But as with all of us there were things I kept to myself. I’m sure we all have thoughts and feelings at times that we are not proud of and wouldn’t want anyone else to know about fearing that they would think badly of us or reject us if they knew.

But with our Heavenly Father it is different. To Him we are completely known and in spite of all our faults and failings we are loved anyway. I don’t know about you but I find this knowledge very liberating. God is the only one I can say and confide anything to, confident that I will not be misunderstood and not being misunderstood matters so very much. How many of our problems in life, in society and in the wider world stem from misunderstandings and an unwillingness to forgive human imperfections and failings? How comforting to know that God sees beyond what we see and that his judgement is not the same as ours.

I recently re-read Psalm 139 and I think it expresses this close relationship with God far better than I can. Here are just a few of the verses and I hope they speak to you as they do to me.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord you know it completely.

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me fast.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Here’s to good fathers on earth and in Heaven. Let us value and celebrate them and let them know how much they mean to us. I think we all like to know that we are valued and loved.

 

Reader Kath Boyd

Magazine Article – Fair Trade at St Marys

Posted on by St Mary's

St Mary’s Church has promoted Fair Trade for many years, primarily by offering specifically ‘Traidcraft’ grocery and seasonal goods for sale after selected Sunday morning services and at certain events at the church.

Taking over from her predecessor, for a long while Catherine Burchell brought such goods from the ‘New Roots’ shop on Glossop Road, on a sale and return basis. When the shop closed, it was decided to continue offering ‘Traidcraft’ merchandise by setting up an account directly with them and for over 3 years now I have sold ‘Traidcraft’ products on behalf of the church.

But what is ‘Fair Trade’? In simple terms, fair trade benefits producers in a number of ways; it guarantees: –

1. Farmers a fair and stable price for their products.
2. Extra income for farmers and estate workers to improve their lives and communities.
3. A greater respect for the environment.
4. Small farmers a stronger position in world markets.
5. A closer link between consumers and producers.
6. Decent working conditions and no exploitative labour.

Along with quarterly catalogues, I receive quarterly ‘Traidcraft’ magazines and monthly bulletins. These regularly include stories illustrating the benefits realised by producers in those third world countries with which ‘Traidcraft’ has established links. ‘Traidcraft’s’ strategy is to maximise its impact in those particular countries with which it works and in practical terms this also means that ‘Traidcraft’ cannot spread itself too thinly (unlike the ‘Sweet Justice’ ‘Traidcraft’ honey that you might spread on your morning toast!)

Here is just one example of the many real-life stories given to us: –
Mwathi Musyoka and her family are from Kenya. Mwathi took part in ‘Traidcraft’s’ Flourishing in Vulnerable Environments (FIVE) programme. She joined the programme to improve her farming technique and knowledge. Previously she was only able to sell one bag of maize for 1250 ksh. Her land had a lot of erosion leading to low production. Since receiving training on soil conservation her production has improved and now sells two bags of maize and two bags of cow peas thus earning 6100 ksh and also grows beans, greens grams, sorghum and pigeon peas. Mwathi sends her children to school but had incurred a debt to the school of 24,000 ksh and her children used to miss entire terms. With her increased income, she is starting to pay off her debt and doesn’t have to buy a lot of food from the market. Because of the poor harvests previously experienced, some days the family had no food. Now the family eats every day, three times a day. Mwathi is now passing on to other growers what she has learned about soil conservation.

‘Traidcraft’ products are often more expensive than their nearest high street non-fair traded equivalent. The reason is explained by the previously-listed, and other, factors and is evidenced by stories like that of Mwathi. The more fair trade products that are sold the more ‘Traidcraft’ can work with families like Mwathi’s to help them grow more, earn more and eat more.
Unfortunately, St Mary’s cannot operate on a sale and return basis. If products do not sell, St Mary’s makes a loss and I am forced to withdraw such products from the range sold at church. Regular supporters of ‘Traidcraft’ at church will have noticed this decline. If you would like me to source other products not currently sold, please let me know and if you don’t currently make purchases, please think about doing so and the benefits this is likely to bring, such as that experienced by Mwathi.

Geoff Vause

‘St Patrick’ – 11th June, Trinity Sunday

Posted on by St Mary's

Today is Trinity Sunday – when we celebrate the Holy Trinity.  Tonight, I don’t intend to preach on the readings, but want to think a while about this enduring mystery.

There is a rather nice cartoon on Youtube in which St Patrick attempts to explain the Trinity to a couple of local farmers he meets.  He makes various attempts to explain the Trinity with examples – like a three leaf clover, water existing as water, ice and steam, a man being a father, a brother and a son…all of which are (correctly) shot down by the two not so dim farmers, who go so far as to mention exactly which heresy Patrick is stating.

Eventually, Patrick loses it, and recites the statement on the Trinity from the creed.  After a few seconds of digesting it, the farmers simply say “Patrick, why didn’t you just say that in the first place”

I think those farmers are right.  Sometimes we overthink things.

The Trinity is mysterious; it should be. The Medieval theologian Meister Eckhart said :

“Thou canst understand nought about God, for He is above all understanding. A master saith: If I had a God whom I could understand, I would never hold Him to be God.”

We can’t understand our God completely. So, what do we understand when we talk about the Trinity?

There is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is often stated as ‘God is one in essence but three in person.’

In the Bible, we have a number of examples of God being three in person – we read of the Father as God, Jesus as God, and the Holy Spirit as God.  And at Jesus’s baptism we get a wonderful demonstration – Jesus is baptised, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove and the Father in Heaven says ‘This is my son in whom I am well pleased.’  And the Holy Spirit is a ‘person’ as well – not some sort of mystical ‘Force’ like in Star Wars.

Just think how our Christian life starts – or how I started tonight’s sermon.  We’re baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – not just in Jesus’s name, or in the name of the Father.

Each person is fully God; we’re not talking about the persons being a third of God each – each of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is God entire.

And there is one God – we are told this numerous times in scripture.

Now, I have to admit that this does all sound rather strange to us mere mortals living in a three dimensional world where we’re used to things being distinct and separated.

Theologian and apologist Norman Geisler explains it this way; while essence is what you are, person is who you are.  So God is one “what” but three “who’s.

The three ‘whos’ are quite capable of referring to themselves as ‘I’ and the other two as ‘You’.  And so we can have relationships between the three persons within the trinity. The Trinity is thus not a splitting of God’s essence or being in to three separate parts; it’s described as an ‘unfolding’ of God’s single essence in to these relationships.

And that was one thing that the early theologians agreed upon; that what was important wasn’t the gender or exact nature of the three persons of the Trinity, but the relationships between them.

Do the persons have ‘jobs’?

We often hear people says that ‘The Holy Spirit is working through them’. The pattern of our prayer is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is that which moved over the water in Genesis in the act of creation.  We might think that, therefore, Father, Son and Holy Spirit has some sort of skill set special to them.  But that’s not so – of single essence, and being totally God, whatever one person of the Trinity is involved in in our lives, the others will be involved with too.

It’s been said that the Father is the Infinite one, Jesus is the Imminent – coming in to being with us – one and the Holy Spirit the Intimate person of the Trinity; of course, there is also intimacy and infinity in the person of Jesus, and a sense of imminence and intimacy in the Father, and so on.

God is not only more complicated than we imagine Him to be; He is more complicated than we CAN imagine Him to be!

However, it’s fortunate that we don’t have to be able to fully understand God for us to be in a relationship with him.  And that’s what I’d like to think about now – how our relationship with God, how we worship Him, how His love for us is manifested – is intimately linked in with the Trinity.

It’s often said that the Bible is the story of God’s relationship with human beings; in the Old Testament, with the people of Israel, and in the New Testament we see that relationship expanded to all peoples.

But for us, our own Christian belief is about our relationship with God; and with the Trinity that can get quite complicated!

Franciscan priest and writer Richard Rohr suggests that the perceived roles and functions of the persons in the Trinity are not that important; what matters is the relationships between them, and, as we are in a relationship with God, we’re also intimately involved in the relationships between the persons of the Trinity.  Which, you must admit, is pretty special.

In his book ‘The Divine Dance’, Rohr suggests that we might like to reflect on the Trinity when we cross ourselves, rather than just allowing the act of crossing ourselves to become a ritual without thought or prayer.

At the head, home of our mind and source of all our intentions and actions, he suggests we honour the person of the Father; as we move down to our chest, over our hearts, reflect on the person of the Son – the fleshy incarnation of the Trinity. And finally, sweeping from shoulder to shoulder, reflect on the Holy Spirit

And finally tonight – one of Rohr’s prayers:

 

God for us, we call you Father.

God alongside us, we call you Jesus.

God within us, we call you Holy Spirit.

You are the eternal mystery that enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things,

Even us and even me.

 

Every name falls short of your goodness and greatness.

We can only see you in what is.

We ask for such perfect seeing—

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

Amen.

 

Reader Joe Pritchard

Magazine Article – Friends of Walkley Cemetery

Posted on by St Mary's

Our AGM will be on Friday 23 June this year. This is always a great opportunity to get a good idea of the whole range of activities under-taken by the Friends. Hugh Waterhouse will be giving a talk in the first half of the meeting followed by the AGM business after a break.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission sign has now been affixed to the gatepost at the cemetery entrance.  It looks good and helps to advertise the presence of war graves on our site.

We have several events that are part of Walkley Festival – please consult the Festival programme for details.  One new venture will be the Big Draw on Saturday 1st July.

The Bracken Bash is this month. This helps keep the bracken under control and prevents it spreading.

Do join us for any event. No experience necessary!

 

Forthcoming events in the cemetery 

AGM:  FRIDAY 23 June 7.30, St Mary’s Community Hall (Refreshments available before and during meeting)

WORKDAY: Bracken Bash THURSDAY 22 June 2-4pm

TOURS:  SUNDAY 2 July (Walkley Festival Tours)

                    2pm and 4pm

FESTIVAL EVENT:  SATURDAY 1 July  Big Draw 12-4pm