Letter From Kevin Keefe – Churchwarden of Otley Parish Church

I was walking through our churchyard recently and noticed again the sign attached to the gates saying, ‘Take Care, Path Can Be Slippery’. As I walked along, it occurred to me that this could be a metaphor for life in general and the thought popped into my mind that perhaps we should have added some catchy evangelistic second line that would attract people’s attention and encourage them to think that OPC would be a great place to visit. You know the sort of thing that you see outside some churches: ‘CH__CH – What’s missing? – UR’ or even worse: ‘Sinners Wanted, Apply Within’.

Perhaps our sign on the gate should read: ‘Take Care, Path Can Be Slippery – But Walk With The Lord And You Will Be Eternally Safe’ or ‘Trust God And He Will Guide Your Steps’. Of course, if people joined us only on this basis and then found the path was still slippery enough to make them fall over, it might make them think twice about the rest of what we believe!

Some people are attracted to take a look at our church fellowship because of what they see from the outside – maybe on noticeboards, Facebook, Twitter (X), etc. Some visit us because they already know people who are part of our church community. Whatever the reason for that first visit, most say that they returned because of the friendly welcome they received. This is a wonderful way in which the people of OPC show God’s love in action to those who visit. But the people who make it into the building this way are only part of the story – we are commissioned to go out into the world and tell people the good news about Jesus.

We may each be welcoming to one or two new people on a Sunday morning but just think about the huge number of people whom we collectively meet during our normal daily lives. If we interact with them sufficiently, they may decide that we are a good and decent person. This is fine but if that’s as far as it goes and people don’t know that we believe in Jesus, then how does that attract people to want to know more about God?

I’m not suggesting we should pounce on the checkout operator at Sainsbury’s and attempt a full presentation of the gospel as we pack our groceries – that’s definitely not my style! But I did get thinking about how we do actually engage with people, how we gain their attention and earn the opportunity to share our faith with them. It may just be a few simple words of blessing or offering to pray for a stranger who seems to be struggling. Just a few words that show that for us there is a God who is within and beyond the daily grind.

This year we’ve learned how transformative a relationship with our good and beautiful God can be and how we must live ‘apart for God’ in this world – freed from pressure to conform to the standards of ‘influencers’ and others who want us to follow their ways for whatever reasons. Instead, we are to live by God’s rules and standards in His ‘now’ Kingdom.

Going back to the slippery path. Of course, as we grow in the knowledge of God’s love and grace and continue our walk-through life with Him, we learn that the path really can be slippery and we really can fall. But through God’s love and grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit, we find the strength to get up again and carry on – again and again. Who wouldn’t want to tell people about all this?

As we move from summer into autumn our thoughts will (dare I say it!) begin to contemplate another Christmas season. We have a perfect opportunity ahead to talk to people about what we believe. Perhaps before you go out each day just ask God to give you the opportunity and the courage to let someone know what Jesus means to you – and for the Holy Spirit to give you the right words to say.

Kevin

Letter from Aaron Kennedy – Vicar of Otley Parish Church

Many of you will have heard me mention in church that the PCC have recently appointed a part-time youth worker through the Leeds-based Christian youth work agency, Missional Generation (MG). Ben Jones, the director of MG, has been a fantastic guide through the process, and we are pleased that Maria O’Hagan will be joining us from the middle of July.

Maria has most recently been a Children & Youth Intern at St George’s Church, Leeds, and is a graduate of the University of Leeds with a degree in Music and Mathematics. As a part-time youth worker we will not see her every week, but she will be contributing to the life of OPC at strategic times that best support the development of our youth and children’s ministry. She will support both our Sunday Club team, and our 7UP Youth Group team, and we hope she will also spend time working alongside Mark Atkins at Prince Henry’s Grammar School.

Please pray for Maria as she transitions roles in the next month and moves house. Please also pray that she can find an affordable car for her commute from Leeds.

Here now is a message from Maria:-

Hello! 

I’m so excited to be starting at Otley Parish church as a Missional Generation youth worker. It will be great to get to know the children and young people (and their families), and to learn how best I can support, disciple and mentor them in their relationship with Jesus.

It will also be wonderful to get to know the rest of the church community and the volunteers currently involved in supporting the youth work. I want to hear about your ideas and dreams for the young people. I’m also excited to bring some of my own ideas, as well as chat to the young people about what they’d like to learn and how they would most like to be supported in their discipleship.

A bit about me. I’ve spent the last three years doing youth work and, in the last year, I’ve been a full-time intern doing children’s and youth work at St George’s, Leeds. I’ve learned a lot about how best to connect with children and young people of different ages, and how to help them to grow; that it is crucial to listen to their questions and their concerns and to be able to journey with them in school life and in church life.

But I’m also so aware that a new youth group brings so many different ideas, as different people and characters come together. And this brings so much more excitement, and it makes me really excited to get going and to get to know you all!

I am really passionate about musical worship as well and want to encourage any young people who are interested in this too. I have led worship quite a lot and I play the piano and harp. I would enjoy the opportunity to encourage children and young people in musical skills!

I’m also very keen that our youth group is a really growing, exciting place to be, where young people from unchurched backgrounds are excited to come, and where they will find friends and be able to journey alongside disciples of Jesus. That kind of environment can really help to deepen their relationship with God and tackle any difficult questions they may have.

And it is a priority for me to enable youth work volunteers in the church to feel really confident going into lead youth work. I want to help build the team and to support them in the best way possible as well.

I’m really looking forward to meeting you all!

Maria

Letter From Barry Milner – Churchwarden of Otley Parish Church 

As I was leaving church in the late afternoon one day a few weeks ago, the peace of a spring day was shattered by the roar of a jet engine. Looking up, I saw a low flying military jet crossing over the town.

As I walked on, I mused that although I had been startled by the unusual loud noise I hadn’t been terrified, I hadn’t felt the need to hide, to find the nearest safe shelter.

What must it be like to live in a country where a plane going overhead would be a terrifying experience, or perhaps worse, to live somewhere where the noise of military hardware had become commonplace?

Let us give thanks to the Lord that we live in a peaceful democracy where despite political differences we do not resort to strength of arms.

As I walked home thinking of all the war-torn countries in the world: Ukraine, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen – a seemingly endless list – I felt powerless in the face of such inhumanity.

I thought of Jerusalem, a disputed place for centuries where violence is again breaking out in a city claimed by many religions to be a sacred place. The endless cycle of retaliation continues in what seems the most intractable conflict on earth.

I feel certain that most people living with conflict want peace, just the ability to get on with their normal lives, go to work, educate their children, practise their religion freely. But again and again lives are turned upside down by the actions of a few who believe violence is the only means to their ends.

As a Christian, what could I do in the face of all this terror and injustice?

I could lobby my MP, write to the papers, go on Twitter… or maybe I could pray!

Jesus spoke of ‘turning the other cheek’ and ‘my peace I leave with you; my peace I give you’.

In the book of Isaiah is the verse ‘They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore’.

The esteemed Russian sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich produced a bronze sculpture entitled ‘Let Us Beat Swords into Ploughshares’ depicting the figure of a man holding a hammer aloft in one hand and a sword in the other, hammering the sword into a tool to till the land. In 1959 he was given the award ‘People’s Artist of the USSR’ and the sculpture was gifted to the United Nations. If only the current Russian regime would follow this creed.

Through the period from Ascension Day to Pentecost we have been taking part in the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer initiative. Our building is always open as a place for prayer but during this period we joined together with churches of all denominations to pray to the Lord. To all dictators and despots around the world the message is not ‘your kingdom come’ but ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – a King who came to serve, not to be served.

We are entering a time of change in our church life as Aaron guides us to develop youth work, pastoral work, community links, improved discipleship, and more inclusivity. So, let us all pray for discernment and guidance, for His will to be done.

Letter from Aaron Kennedy – Vicar of Otley Parish Church

All of us have a different relationship with the monarchy, and there is a wide spectrum of views, and that’s OK. But as Christians this is a moment in our national life – whether you are dyed in the wool lover of the monarchy, a republican anti-royalist, or something in between – to pray for the United Kingdom; for God’s blessing on us, and for wisdom for the King in his new reign.

The coronation itself is also a moment where the somewhat wobbly relationship between church and state really comes to the fore. The King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey as part of a service of Holy Communion. While the establishment of the Church of England is also for some a divisive issue, for Christians this event undoubtedly represents a precious and not-to-be scorned opportunity to preach the Good News, pray for all who witness it, and for the future of our nation. This is not a Christian country. It never was, in my view. It was partially Christianised, at best. But whether or not you can agree with me onthat, we must all agree that the influence of Christian faith in public life is waning.

So many divisions! And yet, at the heart of the service of Holy Communion we have a coming together. A comm-unity in and through the person of Jesus Christ. In Jesus the world sees the vast and wonderful love of God; before Jesus we acknowledge his holiness, his breath-taking goodness, and our sin; and through Jesus we are reconciled to God, and one another. The words “Though we are many we are one body, because we all share in one bread” encapsulate this reality perfectly.

And this, of course, is the kind of King that Jesus is. It is the nature of earthly Kings to lord it over those they rule, but it is not so with Jesus (despite his being the Lord of all), and it is not to be so with his followers. Jesus is enthroned on the cross. On the cross he is revealed in all his strange and wonderful majesty: the Creator of the world, who defeats death and sin and opens the way for all people to re-enter the garden of God’s holy presence… hangs dead, beaten and bloodied and naked for the love of us. Let us pray, whether we like the monarchy or not, that King Charles III will be this kind of King. That he will love and serve with self-sacrifice and love – as all Christians are called to do.

And let’s also pray for this wonderful country we live in. As Christians we should celebrate the reign of Elizabeth II, and her quiet, faithful Christian witness over so many years. I don’t think we can fully appreciate the positive influence she had on us (imperfect though she was); let us pray that King Charles may have absorbed more of her way of life and faith than we may guess. Our national life, while deeply blessed and privileged, is nonetheless at times fraught with division and injustice. And as Christians, while giving thanks for all that is good, we should always be calling politicians to the standard of the highest law of love.

Letter from Jackie Hird
Licensed Lay Minister at Otley Parish Church

Those of us attending Church in person were recently set the challenge of learning some new names. You get a gold star if you learnt 5, silver for 3 and bronze for 1. The challenge came from the realisation that we have had the joy of lots of new folk join us at OPC recently and wanted to get to know each other better.

If you are one of those who are new to OPC then on behalf of the church, WELCOME. We hope you quickly feel at home here. We hope we can help you on your faith journey. If you wouldn’t class yourself as a follower of Jesus, we would love to explore things with you. If you are someone who would describe themselves as a Christian, you may have noticed we are taking seriously Jesus’ instruction to “make Disciples”. We don’t want to just call ourselves Christian we want to help we each other follow Jesus, orientating our lives around what he taught and how he lived. That involves some training rather than just trying hard and hoping for the best.

So much of being a disciple is much more than what I personally believe or do. It is also about my relationship with others and how I treat them. We regularly say the greatest commandment in our services. “Love the Lord your God…AND love your neighbour as yourself.” Discipleship is not just about the first part but the second part too.

We are proud of the welcome we give at OPC and see it as part of loving our neighbour. The commandment includes our Church family neighbours! We start with a warm greeting as you arrive and some quality coffee after the service. But real welcome, real loving, means appreciating that we are all different, and have different preferences and needs. It means including all, not just tolerating all. It means seeing all as made in God’s image, loved equally by God.

A church of disciples, learning to be more like Jesus will be full of warmth and acceptance. It will feel safe to share our joys and success but also our pains and disappointments and even our doubts. It will be a place of freedom from masks or pretence and will be a place of honesty, a place to come when you feel you are succeeding at life and a place to run to when you have crawled through the week on your knees, and a place where children will be cherished and appreciated and included whatever their age or stage, personality, or additional needs.

The church isn’t “them over there” or the super spiritual or even the Vicar. It’s us! All of us. We are all responsible for making and maintaining a “love your neighbour “kind of church. That can be as simple as being aware who is on their own and sitting with them. Or looking for someone who may need a warm greeting and a genuine “How are things going for you?”. It might even be thinking a minute before we jump to make judgements about other people, adults, and children.

If there is something that is a barrier to you feeling at home with us, please speak to one of the leaders and together we can try to find a solution. You are not on your own.

At OPC we want there to be a place for everyone, with Christ at the centre. As we grow as disciples, increasingly putting Christ at the centre of our lives, we will tangibly feel the reality of there being a place where everyone feels welcome.

Letter from Aaron Kennedy – Vicar of Otley Parish Church

I don’t know what comes to your mind when you hear the word “sabbath”, but I was raised in a Christian home, and we observed sabbath as a family. Certain rules applied, the chief one being “no TV!”. My studious older sister would do her homework, but my brother and I would often get pretty bored, and then up to no good.

And to be honest that word “bored” is the dominant memory I have of keeping sabbath as a child.

So, why, I hear you ask, am I seeking to introduce the idea of sabbath keeping at Otley Parish Church? The story of sabbath is written into the fabric of the universe, and most human cultures, but the word itself is not used in the Bible until the book of Exodus. God has just liberated the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt where they had worked without a day off from one year to the next. God was determined not only to free them physically from slavery, but spiritually also. It is no good being a free people who are still trapped in fear, still not believing that they were, as God had told Moses to say to Pharoah, his “first born son” – desired, beloved, cherished and protected by powerful, trustworthy, loving Father God.

At the heart of the wisdom of sabbath is the idea that only God can set us free. And that outside of his freedom we are never free. Many in our world do not believe this; a great many doubt the goodness and trustworthiness of God. And that is painful for us, but what should cause us much more concern is that while many of us believe that God is good with our minds, not all of us are actually free from slavery in practice.

Many of us carry, as it were, the weight of the world – burdens that our not ours to carry. Many of us are stressed, anxious and fearful. Many of us are unable to forge a healthy relationship with our smart phones and many of us are oppressed by a magnetic sense that we must read all the news, scroll through all the social media feeds, and keep up with YouTube and podcast content. Pornography too is a massive problem for Christians, as it is now so easily accessed through the super-computer in our pocket. And many of us see no other way to live. We have accepted our fate, and live lives of quiet desperation.

We are, in short, slaves, and willing slaves at that.

While practicing sabbath is going to be a wonderful liberation for some of us, it is going to be hard for most. We will run up against the stories we actually believe, rather than the ones we consciously think we believe. We may start out on our practice and then, like the Israelites, regret our newfound freedom and wish to back in Egypt. We may give in to the temptation to grumble and complain. We may realise that, despite many years of going to church, God is not actually the Lord of our lives, and that we rather like being in charge.

This Lent I hope that our teaching and practice of Sabbath will shine the light of God’s truth in our lives. I pray that the old stories of unconscious belief – the lies of the evil one will fall away. I pray that the ingrained habits of our bodies that lead us to continue living in slavery will be broken and that new, lifegiving habits will begin to form.

Sabbath is about stopping, resting, delighting in and worshipping God. It is his gift designed to free us, as only he can, from the inevitable slavery of spirit in life outside of his Kingdom.

I warmly invite you to join me on this experiment in living in the way of Jesus.

Let the Exodus begin!

Letter from Aaron Kennedy – Vicar of Otley Parish Church

Putting the “Christ” back in “Christmas”?

This phrase was so overused in my youth that I think we all lost touch with any sense of what it means. Latterly, it seems to have been reduced to making sure your chocolate advent calendar has a picture of the nativity on it.

But ought we to bring back this catchy phrase, perhaps reinvented a little?

“Putting the Christ back in Christmas” means connecting how we celebrate, with why we celebrate. This of course means finding ways to tell the Christmas story afresh for this time and for new generations, but it means more than that as well. It means celebrating in a way that is in keeping with our vocation as Christians to care for the world we live in and all the people in it, and our calling to live simply and with self-control.

Even those of us who are usually striving to live lives that are environmentally friendly, generous and ethical, can find ourselves tempted to abandon these principles in the festive season, as we seek to make things special for ourselves and our loved ones with lots of presents, excessive food and drink, and glitzy decorations. But does that really do justice to what we’re celebrating? A saviour born to a poor family who would become refugees? A God who loved the world so much that he was born here to save it?

Perhaps a more Christ shaped Christmas means finding a way to celebrate it that isn’t at the expense of other people, or the earth. With that in mind here are a few suggestions:

• Re-use your Christmas decorations rather than buying new ones – especially plastic ones – as plastic will be here for life not just for Christmas!
• Buy organic and local if you can – to reduce the impact your food has on the environment and the species that live in it. Cook a little less meat, and a few more local veggies.
• Try to resist the urge to buy new clothes, especially if you’ll only wear them once or twice. The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and modern slavery!
• Choose recyclable wrapping paper (the less shiny stuff, with no sparkly bits), and send less Christmas cards.
• Look for palm oil free mince pies!

An eco-friendly, ethical Christmas doesn’t have to be more expensive! Simple can still be special. Consider one really thoughtful gift, rather than a shower of presents, or cooking only what you think might actually be eaten, rather than over-catering and wasting food.

If you’re able to, please be generous to churches and charities this Christmas. Many are having a hard time at this time of year, and resources are needed to keep everyone safe, warm and able to rejoice.

This year be kind to the planet, give to the poor, cherish your loved ones, spend time with the lonely, embrace those who are grieving, pray for those you find it hard to get along with, because that’s where you’ll really find Christ this Christmas.

Dear Friends – this month by Barry Milner

As we move into autumn we give thanks and marvel at the breath-taking display of colour in our beautiful part of the world.

The two Church Services with the highest attendance in October were midweek!

On Tuesday 4th October all the children from All Saints’ Primary School, together with their staff, parents, grandparents and carers filled our Church. The children gave us a wonderful Harvest service. They reminded us that the word HARVEST contains the letters of the word STARVE and SHARE. (One little boy also realised they contain VEST.)

On Thursday 6th October the Church was filled again by Westgate Primary School. The focus of their service was climate change and the need to improve our stewardship of God’s world.

Both schools assigned their generous donations of non-perishable products to Otley Food Bank. Together they donated 26 crates of food!

On Tuesday and Wednesday 11th and 12th October, groups of toddlers from Monkey Puzzle nursery came to Church wearing their yellow gilets, to bring their harvest donations for the Food Bank.

St Joseph’s Primary School, Pool CofE Primary School and Askwith Primary School have also kindly donated their harvest produce to Otley Food Bank this autumn.

Jesus taught us to care for the needy and vulnerable and we give thanks for these kind donations and for the care and interest of the staff and the children.

In Mathew Chapter 25 in the parable of the sheep and the goats Jesus tells us, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’.

On behalf of Otley Food Bank, we are most grateful for these donations. In previous years, harvest donations would go into our incoming stock room and be used over the next few months. Such is demand now that these donations went straight into the main stock area and much has already been distributed.

We pray for the day when the Food Bank will be no longer needed, and everyone will have the resources to provide for themselves.

In this harvest season we think especially of Ukraine.

Ukraine is a major grain producer and exporter, the ‘bread basket’ of Europe and the developing world. We give thanks that, through the diplomatic work of the UN, grain shipments have resumed, allowing space in the silos for the farmers to harvest their crops this year. It is estimated that the effect of the Russian invasion will reduce the harvest from 86 million tonnes in 2021 to 50 million tonnes in 2022. We pray that this shortfall will be dealt with fairly and that the poor will not suffer.

The 6 months guaranteed period for Ukraine refugees in this country is coming to an end and we pray that the refugees will be able to move on and be housed on a more permanent basis. Jesus and his family were refugees, and He would understand. As Christians we need to not only offer help to all refugees but also oppose all the situations which create refugees.

We see the effects of climate change affecting harvests around the world, either by flooding destroying crops as in Pakistan or drought preventing them growing in the first place as in the developing famine in Somalia. As these changes increase – affecting food prices even in this country – we need to remember that the poor around the world will be the first to feel these effects. We have created the pollution, but they are paying the price.

We are living in a time of growing uncertainty both political and financial but as we look forward to the season of Advent and begin to plan for the celebration of Christ’s coming into the world let us remember that He came to bring Good News for all.

Barry

Letter from our Vicar – Revd Aaron Kennedy

Greetings OPC!

I thought I would share something of my personal story in this, the first of my letters for In Touch. However, I first want to thank everyone who contributed to making last weekend’s services happen so smoothly – from all who were involved in the big church clean and tidy, to Kevin, Barry and all on the technical side, to the musicians, singers and bellringers, to those who baked and cooked and generously laid on the wonderful food that kept us going all the way until Sunday lunch! There has been such a warm and generous welcome, and it is unsurprising that as a family we are already feeling so relaxed and welcome here. So, thank you, one and all!

Please consider this a conversation starter.
I am going to be doing my best in the coming months and years to listen you all, to learn your names (please be patient!), to hear your individual stories, and learn the collective story of OPC, and throughout it all I’ll be looking for the fingerprints of our good God and asking for his guidance for us as we seek to move forward in his strength. But here’s something of my, and our, story, to get the conversation(s) started.

I am 40 years old this year, but it all began in 1982 in London/derry, Northern Ireland. I was raised as a Presbyterian Christian in the north coast of County Antrim by my wonderful parents, Arthur and Eva, along with my brother and sister, Niall and Emma. One of my great hobbies (apart from rugby) has been playing the drums, so after my secondary school education I had some music training in Scotland before returning home to Northern Ireland briefly. I discovered I didn’t have the temperament (or natural talent, if truth be told) for the life of a musician, and it was at this time that many questions began to emerge about my Christian faith; it was a difficult time, and quite lonely, with the needful answers not presenting themselves. I had to resolve these questions, so I decided to go to university to study theology. This led me to a season of great doubt and even unbelief in God, as I took the opportunity to read the perspective of the so-called masters of suspicion (Marx, Nietzsche, Freud), and many of the post-modern theorists. It was a time of growing older (if not up) for me, and of learning to set aside much of my previous identity which was painful for my parents I think, and many of my older friends too. I was far from God, but he wasn’t far from me, and when my very own Project Self ran aground and I felt I had run out of steam entirely, I began to cry out to God once more. And he was, of course, so gracious and forgiving, and I have always known since then that I am held by God, that I am living the story that he wants to tell with my life.

Perhaps some of that has reminded you of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. It does for me too, and that story has indeed been a guiding force in my life. And, cutting a long story short, the next chapter of my life has been one of an abundance of blessing being poured out – as it were, the fatted calf being killed, and many unlooked-for good things having been given to me. As I returned to God, Grace entered my life, and I began a journey of discernment about ordination. Both have borne wonderful fruit in our fabulous children, Gabe and Clem, and the privilege of a hugely fulfilling priestly ministry.

We all very much look forward to seeing what God wants to do in and through us, in this next chapter, as members of Otley Parish Church.