Dear Friends

We are now into the sixth month of the vacancy – the period without a Vicar. The process of appointing a new Vicar has been going on throughout that time and we all had the opportunity to contribute to the Parish Profile. The PCC also produced the Parish Brochure (information about OPC and the Otley area that is sent out to potential applicants) and had various meetings with the Bishop and others from the Diocese. The post was advertised in early April and applications close in early May, with interviews to be held on the 23rd May. Please continue to pray for those involved in the final stages of this process. Whilst we are keen to get a new Vicar in post as soon as possible, Bishop Nick has made it clear that it’s more important to get the right person – even if that means we have to delay things further after the first round of interviews. So while we hope to have someone in post by September we could conceivably be waiting rather longer than that!

One of the most important things that Barry and I have to ensure as Churchwardens during this time of vacancy is that our church doesn’t deviate from the general way things were done during Graham‘s time. Sometimes that can create a little tension but it is important that any significant changes, if indeed there are any, await the arrival of the new Vicar.

However, it’s important to note that, while we can’t have significant changes taking place at this time, we do want to maintain the same direction of travel. We don’t want to stagnate as a church during the vacancy and it has been important to get some of the pre-Covid activities and ministries back into action. It is also really good to continue to encourage many members of the congregation to take part in leading, producing content for and taking part in ourworship services and in other activities and ministries throughout the week. This is something that Graham was very keen to build on.

We have just passed through the Easter season and the great celebration of Jesus conquering death and rising to new life and all that that means for us as redeemed children of God, able to start living life in His eternal Kingdom. The theme of new life is always emphasised in an earthly sense at this time of year also, as we go through spring and move into summer with so much new growth and new birth around us in God’s creation.

In the same way that we don’t want church life to stand still, we don’t want our own personal relationship with God to stagnate either. As we consider Jesus’ gift of new life and a new future through His work on the Cross, and as we look towards new growth and new life in the physical world it’s a great opportunity to take stock of our own personal spiritual development – to see which areas need to have new life breathed into them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Do we need to spend a bit more of our prayer time listening for what God might be trying to say to us? Perhaps to spend more time in reading the bible or praying – simply spending more time with Him. Perhaps God wants us to be involved in a new area of ministry within the life of our church – or beyond. Isaiah 43:19 – ‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’ If God is bringing us to a place of refreshing and renewal, then He will ensure that we have the necessary resources within us to do that to which He is calling us.

As Jackie said to us in her Easter Sunday talk, ‘The resurrection is personal – it’s for each one of us – and we can experience a new coming alive again in the Spirit. And when we really know’ (in our hearts not just in our heads) ‘that the risen Lord Jesus Christ really loves each one of us, it changes our whole lives.’

As we pray for the appointment of our new Vicar and for the new chapter that it will bring in the life of Otley Parish Church, let us also pray for ourselves that, in this time of post Easter new life, God may each day fill us anew with His Holy Spirit – that we may be channels of His love and grace to others.

Kevin Keefe

Dear Friends Letter from Jackie Hird
(Licensed Lay Minister at Otley Parish Church)

We are privileged to be living in Britain and to have such distinct seasons. Whilst climate change is causing some worrying changes in our weather, the seasons still help us mark time and help give rhythm to our lives. Which is your favourite season? Do you enjoy the starkness of winter, wrapping up against the cold? Maybe it’s the colours of Autumn you love. I am ‘summer sun’ all the way! But if its springtime for you, then you will be in your element now, as it is officially spring with the daffodils and crocuses to prove it! We have even had some lovely spring sunshine.

Along with the seasons we also have the Festivals that help our spiritual journeying. We have experienced the light in the darkness at Christmas, and now we are in Lent getting ready for Easter.

It feels like over recent years we have had far too much Good Friday horror and Easter Saturday waiting. After the disruption and disharmony of Brexit came the fear and loss of the Covid Crisis. Just as it felt like we were beginning to emerge from that, we are plunged into the dreadful situation in Ukraine. How we long for Easter Sunday resurrection joy when we declare ‘He is risen. Hallelujah’. We want for everything to be made right, made whole again, and for the pain to go away.

But as we look at that first Easter when Mary finds that Christ has risen and death has been overcome, we see that outwardly the circumstances of the disciples hadn’t changed. They were still living as oppressed people, under Roman occupation. That didn’t end with the resurrection. Some would go on to suffer great persecution, even death. Their lives were not changed on the outside but they were changed on the inside. Christ’s resurrection didn’t change their circumstances but it did change their destiny. The journey remained hard but the destination was different.

They experienced hope that wasn’t dependent on what was happening on the outside but was from knowing that they were loved by Jesus, loved enough that he died for them and that He overcame death that they may have eternal life.

We too can know that whatever is going on in our circumstances we can live in the reality of Easter Sunday every day. Eternal life is not just for when we die, it is from today – from now.

Writer Henri Nouwen says, “This is the enormous revolution, that in this fleeting, temporary world, he comes to plant the seed of eternal life… it is the life of the Divine Spirit within us… Become aware of this mysterious presence and life turns around”.

May you know the hope and joy that is found in Christ this Easter, and join us as we proclaim, He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!

We hope that everyone managed to enjoy the Christmas season with their nearest and dearest.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who helped to celebrate our Lord’s birth in the Parish Church and we hope that the Christmas services did justice to Graham’s legacy of ministry in Otley.

We very much hope that Graham and Janet enjoyed Christmas celebrations in their new home in Cheshire.

Now we enter 2022 with another Greek letter to contend with, let us pray that this year will see an end to the pandemic in this country and the wider world.

We pray for all those who have been bereaved or permanently affected by the virus. Give thanks for God’s gift of vaccines and pray for healing and restoration.

Candlemas
On Wednesday 2nd of February the church celebrates Candlemas. This commemorates Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem as was required by Jewish law (described in Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 2 verses 22-40).

A key part of this passage is that Simeon and Anna, both in their eighties, recognise the divinity of Jesus, Simeon refers to Him as ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’. Simeon had been promised that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. Anna had been a widow for many years and now never left the temple, constantly praying and fasting. She too recognises who Jesus is and tells everyone who will listen, an example to us all to speak of our faith with boldness in our everyday lives.

This reminds us of the great insight that older people can bring. Aren’t we blessed that church is such a wonderful place where all generations can meet and interact? Our young families enrich our lives and represent the future of our church. We all need each other’s support, encouragement and prayers.

In some churches all the candles to be used throughout the year are brought forward to be blessed (if only we were that organised!). The candle serves as a symbol of Christ, the Light of the World.

In France, 2nd February, La Chandeleur is celebrated by lighting many candles and eating crêpes! Their round shape and golden colour are reminiscent of the sun and represent the return of spring after the dark and cold of winter.

In Sweden, the day is celebrated as Candle Feast when the children bring their christening candles to church which are lit as part of the service to remind them of their baptism.

Parish Profile
Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the recent survey. We now have 79 results to assess and analyse. The responses clearly show what a diverse congregation we enjoy. The results will be fed into the process of compiling the Parish Profile and detailing our hopes and requirements for our new Vicar.

We have agreed a ‘timeline’ with the Diocese on the appointment of our new Vicar. Your prayers are welcomed for the Parochial Church Council as we grapple with the complexities of this process.

Light of the World
As we enter the new year and the daylight lengthens we hope that Jesus, the Light of the World will shine into all those dark places where it is needed.

As Stewart Hartley reminded us in one of his daily prayer reflections, it says in Isaiah Chapter 26, verse 3: You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.

May we place ourselves and each other in God’s safe keeping as we journey through our interregnum together.

Barry & Kevin

 

The last few months have been a busy and emotional time for the people of Otley Parish Church.

We’ve had to prepare for and say farewell to Graham and Janet after their twenty-two years of ministry in this parish. Also, we have had to mark the passing, and celebrate the lives, of several loved members of our congregation. And suddenly, it seems, we have arrived at the season of Advent.

Having had a time of departures we move into a time of looking towards arrival – which is what the word Advent means. It is a special time of preparation – when we get ready in our hearts and minds and spirits to celebrate the coming of God into our world as a human being through the birth of Jesus Christ. Then, of course, we have the celebration of the arrival itself – Christmas Day – when we come together to give thanks to God for the incredible gift of His Son that he gave to us all.

This season is also a time of getting ready for Christmas Day in an earthly sense – the decorations, lights, Christmas trees, presents, food, carols, etc. For most (not all) it is an exciting time of anticipation, of looking forward to celebrating with family and friends.

Too quickly, perhaps, Christmas is followed by another arrival – New Year’s Day. The next 12 months stretch before us with all the challenges and changes that will come our way.

Having said our goodbyes to Graham and Janet we now have to really focus our thoughts and prayers on the next stage of our lengthy journey through the process of appointing a new Vicar of Otley Parish Church. Many additional responsibilities default to us as Churchwardens; Jackie Hird, as our Licensed Lay Minister, will have an even greater role than before in preaching and in helping to plan and lead worship services. Our retired clergy will be asked to help more with services of Holy Communion, baptisms, funerals and weddings. Members of the PCC have a crucial role in the process of appointing a new vicar – with much work to be done on preparing a Parish Profile, a Parish Brochure, taking part in the interview process and a lot more.

Graham has helped us enormously in arranging a framework for worship for the next few months and most service elements and people have been arranged to get us through until Christmas and beyond. Regarding the main Sunday Service at 10.30am each week, Baptisms will be held on the 1st Sunday of each month, Holy Communion on the 2nd and 4th Sundays and on the 3rd Sundays we’ll be continuing with the much valued leading of the service by house groups. There will be additional services of Holy Communion on the 1st Sunday of each month at 8.30am and every Tuesday at 11am. Other additional services will take place as appropriate. All services that require a member of clergy will depend on us being able to line someone up – but we’re hopeful that there won’t be a problem.

We believe that we have a clear structure for steering the church through this time – although some of the detail might still be a little fuzzy at first! Your support and prayers for all those involved is crucial and it is so important that we all work together in continuing to try and move forward with the mission that God has given us – especially  with the large gap that Graham and Janet’s departure has left. To that end we really need every member of the church to reflect on what God might be calling them to do, or to be involved with and the Who’s Who, What’s What event held in October was intended to try and encourage that process. Whether your thing is cleaning, music, baking, technology, praying or one of many other possibilities, the body of the church needs all its parts in order to work at its best.

But for now, with all this in mind, let’s keep our main focus on what happened in that Bethlehem stable two thousand years ago and its impact for us today as redeemed children of God.

We wish you all a blessed and peaceful Christmas and a happy 2022.

Kevin & Barry

 

Dear Friends,

For one last time, I’m sitting here looking at a blank screen, wondering what to write for the Church magazine…

As you know, Janet and I are moving on from Otley after 22 years. Our last Sunday is 21st November. Otley has been a great place to live and bring up our children, Mark and Tim. Tim was just 6 months old when we arrived as many of you will remember.

And now we’re heading off to our house near Northwich in Cheshire and not at all sure what will come next. A hint of what may happen is elsewhere in this magazine.

Again and again in life we have to move on – leaving behind the familiar and embracing a new context. Letting go and trusting God. Sometimes we choose the transition, but often we have no choice. It starts when we’re born and only finishes when we die – the final moving on in this age at least.

I’m still surprised when I tell people how long we’ve been here. It was never my plan to stay so long! To be honest, there have been ups and downs, and sometimes when I’ve been very keen to move on (Janet has rarely shared that feeling!). But there have always been people who made it a joy to stay.

So what have I left to say?

Firstly, “Thank you”. We are so thankful to you all. When Janet and I first looked at Otley Parish with a view to coming here, the Rural Dean, Peter Sutcliffe, said that people at the Church simply needed to be loved. And he gave us a great view of the parish in more than one way, as we looked together at Otley town from the top of the Chevin.

We accepted that calling to love the people of Otley, but what we didn’t know is how much love Otley had to give, and how much we would receive.

Secondly, “Love one another”. In a time when we’re all a bit confused as to where society and the world is heading, and are rightly very concerned about many issues, the starting point is what it’s always been – growing a loving community with Christ at the heart. Don’t be overly concerned with what you must do. Be patient and plumb the rich depths of the Gospel.

To paraphrase St Paul: In so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Be gentle with one another, kind and compassionate, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Thirdly, “Let your love embrace all” in the astounding welcome you give as you reach out in love to all whom God lays on your hearts – in Otley and far beyond. And especially those whom we think of as different, or difficult to love. God’s grace is enough. There’s a place for everyone, with Christ at the centre.

Fourthly, “Be honest”. God can meet us anywhere, even in our self-delusion, but mostly, I think, he meets us when we’re honest. He speaks through us, and moves most powerfully, when we are honest about our faith, not when we mask our failings, or our doubts or our true feelings. Remember that the word hypocrite comes from a Greek word describing an actor who wears a mask. A hypocrite is someone speaking from behind a mask, pretending to be someone else.

Fifthly, “You’ve got what it takes in spade loads .” Don’t wish for a new vicar too soon! Have a good look around and see the talent in your midst. The months ahead can be good and creative months for the whole church. As we so often remind ourselves, the Church is the people not the building. Not a vicar plus some pews. And you’re so talented, so loving, so good-looking…

Finally: “Be a World Church”

• • Here to serve the world because God so loved the world that he sent his Son and still sends us in the power of his Spirit
  • Part of a world-wide community with every person from every nation equally loved and cherished by God
  • Promoting care for the world, God’s creation

God bless you and keep you! Do come and visit us in Northwich.

With much love,

Graham

 

 

Dear Friends,

I like to do crosswords. Usually the quick or simple versions from the Guardian or the i newspaper. I rarely get very far with cryptic crosswords.

Normally I answer a few clues quickly – but the grid remains depressingly full of empty squares. I’ve read every clue, but the mind feels dull and no more answers come to me. Then there’s a second phase as I revisit each clue and ‘get my brain in gear’. And each answered clue then gives letters to help with other ones. And so I grapple my way to the final few.

Mostly I get them in the end. Sometimes going painstakingly through the alphabet letter by letter. Or getting help from Janet or Tim. Sometimes I grumpily resort to Google for specialist knowledge. I mean how can anyone be expected to know the answer for ‘An Eskimo boat’ (Umiak)? Or Madagascar’s currency (the Ariary)?

And I enjoy this?!! Well yes, mostly. Like a physical workout (unless it’s running after a ball which I could do for ever) it’s the satisfaction of having done it that keeps me going – or the shame of not completing it!

I try to do a crossword most days to keep the little grey cells working. The process is enlightening. Some answers come easily to us in life. Others need a bit more work and there are always things we need help with.

But I think I see something else at work. It’s this ‘getting the brain in gear’ bit. It’s the sort of momentum that is gradually achieved after a slow start.

Watching a goose take off recently from Fewston reservoir, the goose started by flapping its wings without making much forward progress. Then it ran on the water for a country mile and just when we thought it might give up and not take off at all, it rose into the air and soared gracefully above the bridge it had looked in danger of crashing into!!

I often find it’s the getting going that stops me getting going, if you know what I mean. If it doesn’t come easily, it’s easier not to do anything. Have you ever sat around (physically or on Zoom) in a small group and had a discussion? Like in our Lent Groups? It can be hard to start a discussion as the question hangs awkwardly in the air. Then we make the jump into ‘brain-engaged’ space, usually by someone saying something interesting or stirring, and we get up and running. Sometimes even flying. I hope there’s something in this that mirrors your own spiritual momentum through this past year.

There’s a real momentum now as we come out of ‘lockdown’, with the vaccines in particular enabling the roadmap out of the current grave restrictions. But it’s a momentum that needs constant nudging towards positive change, not a return to old ways that have been found wanting.

There has been extraordinary momentum that has allowed and caused drastic change in so many areas of life, not least in the general acceptance of previously unimaginable restrictions on private and public life. And in our appreciation for the NHS, carers, teachers and so on.

And there’s huge momentum in the readiness to address key questions: How do we …. look after the most vulnerable, … treasure the world we live in … recognise how interdependent we all are on this small planet, … think again about who and what we most value … face our own prejudices … address the massive inequality at home and internationally and so on.

So many issues require urgent action now, we can be overwhelmed into inertia – doing nothing. Whereas we simply need to do what we can, building on and generating further momentum. You never can tell whether something will fly or crash until you try!

Never have so many people of good will on our planet been so united in knowing what needs to be done. God is surely speaking loud and clear to all who will listen. But it is costly, requiring sacrifice. And the forces ranged in opposition are many and powerful, turning up in every quarter, not least in our own hearts.

And so each of us grapples with what we are called to do, and how we are called to live, as part of God’s missional loving of the world. God’s model for bringing in his kingdom is sacrificial love.

And what of Otley Parish Church? Where do you see the momentum in the Church and in Otley Parish Church in particular? As we emerge from this phase of the pandemic, what have we learned? What are we being asked to do differently? What do we need to hold on to and what do we need to let go of? Do discuss these questions and share widely. I’d love to hear your conclusions.

It’s been a very difficult time, but a time of great opportunity is coming for which we need to be ready.

I wish you a very blessed Lent, and joy in the journey.

Graham

Dear Friends,

The French town of St Malo in Brittany is a place we have passed through several times but we’ve never stopped to have a good look around. Whether arriving in France by ferry on our way to a French campsite, or heading back home, we always seemed to be in a rush to move on.

I was made aware of this when I recently read All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. St Malo is central to the story of this wonderful book and the author clearly fell in love with the city when he visited it:

“I felt as though I was walking through an imaginary city, a place that was part fairy-tale fortress, part MC Esher drawing, part mist and ocean wind and lamplight.”

And yet as he writes about the city I find I can conjure up visual memories of the old city walls (which were rebuilt after huge destruction in the war) and the ocean – or perhaps it’s just that he evokes them powerfully by his description.

The title of the book reflects the author’s focus on radio waves which he thinks of as ‘the light we cannot see’. He says we take for granted the “strangeness and sorcery” of hearing a voice from far away on our phones, and wants to remind of what an extraordinary thing that is. In the story he takes us back to 1934-1944, when radio broadcasting was in its prime and it is radio broadcasting which draws together the two main characters, a blind French girl and a German boy, in the context of the Second World War.

When Janet and I were in Sudan in the 1980s, radios were a lifeline. Mobile phones were almost unheard of. The connections now possible, even to South Sudan, are mind-boggling as we communicate via billions of radio waves we cannot see which are forwarded from radio mast to radio mast around the world.

Imagine if we could see the radio waves. Imagine looking at the earth from space with every radio wave lit up. A world wide web… How connected we are.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how connected we all are. How dependent on one another. And the invisible forces that bind us together are not just radio waves. More importantly we are connected by our shared humanity, transcending all boundaries.

As a parent looks at their children and see one family, so God looks at all of his children from every race and nation, sharing his image, hard-wired to connect with each other and with him. And he longs for us to see the light we cannot see – the Light of the World who binds us together through his Spirit into one renewed humanity.

The book is about the threads of goodness, the waves of goodness, that continue to exist in the darkest of times and even in the darkest of hearts. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never put it out.

I am disappointed with myself that I’ve never stopped and had a good look around St Malo. I’m determined to make the most of my next opportunity! But there are so many places I will have passed through without really looking or noticing. I suppose it’s inevitable.

As we travel through life, every day we have countless opportunities to pause and look around. Opportunities to stop and see. To notice. Doubtless we miss many or most of them. Other people can help us see what we miss. Help us look differently. Help us value something we took for granted.

But we can also return to past times and places with a mixture of imagination and memory. I guess that happens more and more as we grow older, though the memories obviously do begin to fade! And even at that distance we can see beauty and truth and gain new perspective on past events but also on our current way of life as we look back and see how different things now are.

Perhaps the biggest lesson we learn from St Malo, is the extraordinary resilience and ability of people to rebuild their lives, and their city, after the trauma and destruction of the Second World War. And when you factor God into that, it gives us hope in every situation.

With love,

Graham

Dear Friends,

The psalms are known as the prayer book of the bible. I love the psalms to dip into, or to study. In them we find such a range of human emotion. I love their honesty. Their place in the bible indicates that we too can say anything to God. They express hurt, hope, joy, wonder, depression, anger, thanksgiving, complaint and much more!

Some of the sentiments are extreme, even expressing prejudice and hatred. To my mind they are there precisely to let us know that you can say anything to God. But we do have to use them wisely and carefully. We read them in a very different time and culture from their original setting.

Being honest, I often skip through, or skip over, the daily psalms. Not because they don’t have something to say, but because they often take such time and effort to engage with, to unravel.  And, to be blunt, I often struggle with how ethnocentric they are. (Ethnocentric = evaluating other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture)

The two psalms set for this morning (as I write) are Psalm 88 and Psalm 95.

Psalm 88 is the most continuous unremitting complaint to God in all the psalms. Abandoned and hated by his/her friends, the psalmist feels not only rejected by God but attacked by him without cause, he/she is trapped, imprisoned and God is ignoring his/her persistent calls for help.

Your wrath sweeps over me;

Your horrors are come to destroy me;

All day long they come about me like water;

They close me in on every side.

To some extent, all of the psalms of lament contain some glimmers of hope but not this one. Except…

Psalm 88 is talking to God – as if he is really there. Talking straight. Telling it to him how it is. I see in that more than a glimmer of light. We can to pour out our heart to God for our own situation, or for victims of war, prejudice and suffering of every type. We can blame God when that’s how we see it..

Psalm 88 could be a circular prayer – start at verse one through to verse twenty and back to the beginning again. A prayer on endless repeat – until something changes. Bleak, yes. But behind this prayer is an absolute belief that God can change things, perhaps a belief that God will change things. The flame of hope will never be snuffed out. It’s very different from turning your back on God.

The second set psalm is 95. You’ll be more familiar with this one.  It opens with:

O come, let us sing to the Lord;

Let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving

And be glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is  a great God…

This psalm is known as the Venite (Latin for the opening words “O Come”). I regularly find the challenge to “come into his presence with thanksgiving” helpful but demanding. Sometimes I have to work hard to remember all the things for which I am thankful and begin to FEEL thankful. Sometimes I need to confess my wrong attitudes and behaviour before I can feel free to offer up thanksgiving. But usually it’s do-able!!

So how does one move from the bleak complaint of Psalm 88 to the thanksgiving of Psalm 95?

The normal way is not to linger too long! We can experience some identification with the pain of Psalm 88, and then are reminded by Psalm 95 that we have much to be thankful for. Joys and sorrows are two sides of the one coin of life.

But it is rewarding to linger longer too. Psalm 95 calls us to worship, thanksgiving and praise but then comes the awesome challenge to hear God’s word or face the very exclusion from God’s presence which is at the heart of Psalm 88.

O that today you would listen to his voice:

Harden not your hearts…

Whichever way around you read them, they interpret each other. Psalm 95 reminds us to be thankful, and to listen to God’s voice. Psalm 88 reminds us to be honest and to hear God’s word through a suffering person. Both seem to me to be important today.

With my love and prayers,

Graham

Dear Friends,

Do you enjoy ‘Call the Midwife’? Each episode begins with a voiceover by Vanessa Redgrave during which words appear on the screen with the question:

Why did I ever start this?

The words come from Jennifer Worth’s memoirs which were the inspiration for the drama, and which provide much of its early material. The drama brings to life the impoverished East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s. It is told through the experience of midwives based at Nonnatus House, home to an order of Anglican nuns. As if you didn’t know!

Jennifer Worth’s words “Why did I ever start this?” come as she thinks of so many other careers that she could have chosen – clearly feeling that many of them, maybe all of them, would have been a lot easier!

I sometimes find myself asking the same question in the middle of a sermon, or even writing a magazine letter… I imagine the liturgical response:

Why did I ever start this?
Amen! Why did you ever start this?

So why did I ever start this letter?

Jenny Worth is acknowledging that her life as a midwife was grim, demanding and often traumatic but also rewarding and full of joy. She finds “the quiet thrill of the safe delivery of a healthy baby … intoxicating”. Her service illustrates what it is to ‘die to self’. The result is a grim-filled and a joy-filled life. For me that is an illustration of the abundant life to which Jesus calls us.

The TV series not only draws back the veil on some horrific conditions, but also gives hope because we know change for the better does come. And that can give us hope in joining the struggle to address many injustices that still face us at home and internationally.

It’s important to know that even heroic works of service have times of questioning and doubts – wondering if what we’re doing makes a difference, or enough of a difference, to justify the cost to us and our loved ones.

The only good answer to the question “why did I ever start this?” must be ‘because it’s worth it’. (Unless it’s not – which must always be considered!)

I guess I also just think that midwives are special people today, in history and across the world. And in the Bible.

• I think of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1. They refused to obey the orders of the Pharaoh, and continued working with the (Israelite) refugee community, a people suffering appalling prejudice and facing annihilation.
• I think of the children of Israel escaping from captivity in Egypt, through the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds). It’s like the waters breaking and out of suffering a new nation is born – it stumbles out into the wilderness, blinded by light, crying for food and drink, finding that with freedom comes great challenge and often wishing it were back in the safety of captivity in the womb of Egypt.
• I think of Jesus telling Nicodemus that we must be born again – of the Spirit.
• I think of the groaning of creation that Paul writes of in Romans 8 – groaning like a mother in childbirth. Groaning in hope. The new creation waiting and yearning to be born out of the old.
• Most of all, I think of Jesus, who died giving birth to the new creation. We are his body and are here to continue his work in the power of the Spirit.

We, representing Christ, are not just called to proclaim the coming kingdom, but to be midwives of the kingdom – using our God-given resources to bring to birth a new reality of life and love which is eternal. Grounded in the everyday grime and joys of life, we become intoxicated by glimpses of the kingdom here and now, motivated to bring life and love into the world despite the cost.

Over the next few years, the many and varied battles against the authorities and powers of this dark world will be shaped by the Covid pandemic. And we will often ask: “Why did I ever start this?” Words from the Communion Service may assist:

Lord of all life, help us to work together for that day when your kingdom comes and justice and mercy will be seen in all the earth.

With love,

Graham

Dear Friends,

I use a simple form of morning prayer most days and since Easter this has been a daily opening response:

In your resurrection, O Christ
Let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia!

I don’t know about you, but I have found that I need reminding about the significance of Jesus’ resurrection. Not so much its importance for me personally, but that it is an event of central importance to the whole of creation.

It’s what’s at the heart of Lesslie Newbigin’s book, ‘The Gospel as Public Truth’. Somehow, our society has managed to manoeuvre almost all religious belief into the personal sphere and out of the public sphere. So nobody is particularly bothered when Jesus’ teaching, and his birth, death and resurrection, are personally important to Christians. But it’s a different matter when it gets ‘out there’ in the public sphere.

The opening sentence in my devotions reminds me that Jesus’ resurrection is an event of unprecedented importance for everyone, and so it becomes a wonderful and simple prayer for our mission as a Church.

I spend a lot of time choosing songs for our Sunday services. I try to pick songs that are right for not only the theme, but for that particular moment in the service as best I can plan and imagine it. And a mix of new and older songs/hymns.

One song I’ve grown to love is ‘O Praise the Name’ by Hillsong. These are the words used to sing of the resurrection:

Then on the third at break of dawn
The Son of heaven rose again
O trampled death where is your sting?
The angels roar for Christ the King.

One of the fun things to do with children is teach them animal sounds. “What does the sheep say?” “What does the Lion say?” What does the angel say?  Angel??? Yes, what do angels say? Apparently the same as the lions. According to this song they roar!

Pretty much from the first time I heard it, I liked the song. Actually, I felt more than a bit unsure about the angels ‘roaring’. It felt somehow a bit coarse. But I began to imagine the angels watching and waiting. Watching the events leading up to the crucifixion. Watching the injustice of his arrest and trial. Watching Pilate capitulating to the baying mob and sentencing Jesus to be tortured and crucified. Watching his slow death nailed to that cross among thieves. Watching as he was buried in the tomb.

And then waiting. Hoping. Maybe they knew what would happen? I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s like to ‘wait’ if you live outside of time like angels must. But I imagine them holding their collective breath. They surely know what it will mean if Jesus does overcome death. Everyone’s future depends on it. All God’s eggs are in this one basket. Death or glory. Come on Jesus.

What else would they do but roar when Jesus conquers death and rises to new life? A billion times more joy-filled than Ireland scoring the winning try against France to complete a Six Nations Grand Slam. A trillion times more sheer joy than anything we can imagine. Why wouldn’t they roar. Let us roar too. He’s the man. He did it. Not a sporting God. The real God. Let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia!

So maybe we can get over our reluctance to speak about Jesus’ resurrection outside our personal and Church-based life. Maybe we can get over our reserve about expressing joyful enthusiasm. Yes, a joy which may often be deep and gentle. And a joy which is sometimes a roar of praise.

Nothing more important has happened in human history. Nothing more important than this one person whose life, death and crowning resurrection has declared him with power to be the Son of God and the Saviour of all creation. Let’s not keep this good news to ourselves.

O praise the name of the Lord our God.
O praise his name for evermore.
For endless days we will sing your praise.
Oh Lord, Oh Lord our God.

May the deep joy of the resurrection grow in us. And touched by God’s Spirit, cause us to join in the roar of the angels.

With my love and prayers.

Graham