Letter From Tom Raper – Churchwarden of Otley Parish Church
Recently we were staying on the Northumberland coast in a tiny cottage that looks across towards Cuthbert Island and Lindisfarne. Here you become conscious of the daily rhythm of the tide covering and exposing the extensive mudflats. Autumn was just arriving with wildfowl in the tens of thousands coming back from a summer in the Arctic.
At night all we could see were navigation lights interspersed with the regular flash of the Longstone Lighthouse on the Outer Farne. The nighttime sounds were beautiful with wildfowl calling, seals howling as they gather to have pups and the crashing of waves on Lindisfarne. It’s a timeless reminder that this is still the Lindisfarne of St Cuthbert.
The rhythm of the tides made me think about the similar rhythm of attending church in Otley with the sending out at the end of each service. We gather to become the body of Christ and just as the tide comes in at Lindisfarne and refreshes the shores, so we too are refreshed, renewed and restored. As Christ said, “when two or more people are gathered together in my name, I am with you”.
As the tide goes out the wildfowl feed on the mudflats in their thousands. It’s quite a spectacle of colour, sound and movement. It’s as if the whole of Creation is saying thanks to The Creator. Our sending out from church is in the power of the Holy Spirit. We say, “send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory”. I think this is probably the most important part of our church services.
Leaving church, just like the receding tide, we can be filled with awe and wonder and also with thanks to our Creator God. But how can we communicate this to others, and how do we spread the Good News about Jesus? St Cuthbert spent his life walking and preaching throughout Northumberland to the sick and poor, and performing miracles; he lived a humble life. It’s difficult for us to do that today although we too can be saints like Cuthbert. One definition of a saint is – ordinary people who can do extraordinary things. In our own modest ways perhaps, that is achievable for us all in the sending out.
You may recall our church weekend away at Swanwick earlier this year, when our speakers talked about Frontlines in our everyday lives where there’s an opportunity to tell others about Jesus. I have been challenged while thinking about this and recently stumbled upon a book title, “How to Talk about Jesus Without Looking like an Idiot”. I thought, that’s for me! The book is described as a no nonsense panic free guide to having natural conversations with your friends and family about your faith. The author, Andy Bannister, described himself in his younger days as being an undercover Christian. Telling others about Jesus was for the professionals and it wasn’t for him.
When it comes to sharing our faith many of us do panic. We’re nervous and being an evangelist is scary. I haven’t got all the answers to this, but I think bringing this out into the open helps others to think ‘that’s how I feel as well’. In the book, the author describes some simple steps to overcome these fears. An example being through conversation simply stating that reminds me of something Jesus said, something Jesus did, of a story Jesus told. Finally, the Gospel or Good News can only be spread by us talking to others – just like the rhythm of the tides at Lindisfarne as we gather, and are then sent out.