Dear Friends

This lunchtime finds me typing away at my laptop, whilst sitting outside on the lawn in the rear Rectory garden. It’s good to be outdoors! Earlier today, I was able to complete what I label as my “4 park jog” – a bit of exercise taking in the wonderful green spaces of Whitworth, Platt fields, Birchfield and Swinton Grove and their respective parks. And it was lovely on my return to see our own church garden being utilised by the Wednesday toddler group, with the little ones enjoying the lawn and other areas to explore. Even in the midst of the city, we are blessed with green spaces where a combination of lawned grounds , and leafy boulevards (offering precious shade in these balmy times).

In our all age service last Sunday, looking at how God can use all of us in his service both young and old alike, and taking as our inspiration from the anointing of the young David, our prayer time utilised the church garden as a prayer station whereby we could take refuge and be refreshed “in green pastures”. Whilst the weather allows (and in the midst of prolonged uncertainty regarding Covid restrictions in the future), please be encouraged to spend a bit of time outdoors, or at least open a few more windows!), and take in some of the refreshment that God our creator wants to offer us.

Stay Blessed!

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.
​
Simon

Dear Friends.
The ear worm (tune in my head) with me today, comes from the amazing vocalist Bobby McFerrin, who briefly troubled the charts with his catchy ditty; “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. When pondering on the lyrics for a moment though, I was templed to conclude that it is easier said that done. For I acknowledge myself that I seem to have inherited the worry gene that I can trace through my dad’s side of the family, that is only marginally being diluted from generation to generation. Early mornings if unchecked, can be accompanied with a gradual panic over a multitude of things enhanced by the silence, which is only broken with the noise (greater than usual at the moment!) which ushers in the day. I suspect I am not alone, and clearly there are many of us who have been beset with enhanced worries over this last year. But what to do? Indeed the same theme of worrying is picked up in a poem I came across recently, by Mary Oliver, which was shared by our friends at the Scargill Community.

I Worried
I worried a lot.Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth
turn as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrow
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And I gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning
And sang.

Which perhaps brings us back to Bobby McFerrin and his song. For he seems to encapsulate the sentiments of Jesus, who shared these words with any who would listen;
‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ Matthew 10:29-31. 

We know life isn’t easy still at the moment. We all have bouts of stress and anxiety, which the pandemic has only fuelled, but last Sunday, we were reminded that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had waited in the locked room for the Spirit, which gave them boldness, confidence and the nerve to follow Jesus; to be empowered and encouraged to be living witnesses to a life with Christ.
​
As Jesus said to his friends then, as he says to us too;
'Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.’ John 14.1

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.

Simon

Hi Everyone,

It’s a slightly longer thought this week so why not grab yourself a brew before you settle in to read.

When I was at primary school I had a headmaster called Mr Ottowell. He was an older gentleman who had served in the Second World War. He wasn’t exactly conventional in the way he taught us; I probably ought to mention at this point that the national curriculum wasn’t introduced until part way through my time in Junior School (Key Stage 2). Despite it being a Church of England Primary School where it was expected that assemblies would be faith-based and the songs we sang would be hymns, Mr Ottowell delighted to regale us with wartime stories, teach us about wild flowers and sing songs with us from his army days (I’m pretty sure some of them had been edited to make them slightly more child friendly). He also had a number of sayings that he liked to teach us. One of his favourites was:
Good, better, best,
Never let it rest,
‘till your good is better,
and your better is best!

He would get us to chant this over and over again, getting faster each time. At the time this seemed right and perhaps a Christian statement. It didn’t feel dissimilar to some of the messages that I was learning in church as a child. It definitely fitted with some of the Victorian hymns and carols we used to sing. Every Christmas we would be left with the words from Once in Royal David’s City ringing in our ears:

“Christian children all must be,
mild, obedient, good as He.”

I suspect that has a lot more to do with the Victorian ideal of children being seen and not heard rather than anything that Jesus said.

The point of me telling you all of this is that sometimes things can sound like they are Christian ideals when they are not. For example, a mindfulness post popped up on my Facebook feed this morning and it said something along the lines of:

“You don’t need to be perfect,
you just need to do your best.”

It sounds wise at first reading and even Christian but I’m not sure it is. I can get on board with the first line. Absolutely, we are not called to be perfect, Jesus is the only one who is perfect and we won’t ever be perfect this side of eternity. That’s sort of the point of all that Jesus achieved on the cross. We can’t be perfect, however much we try but Jesus was perfect on our behalf (I’m sure the theologians among you will pick that apart but please indulge my incredibly simplified gospel). 

I’m not convinced that doing our best all the time is any more possible than being perfect. Doing our best implies trying hard, being constantly conscious of our thoughts, motives and actions and choosing the most excellent course of action within our own limitations. Sounds biblical right? I’m not convinced. You see, trying our best all the time is ultimately quite stressful - believe me, I have tried it! It also somehow reduces our value and self-worth. We become people who are putting on an act, or a brave face all the time. This attitude also tells us that we are not quite good enough when we are being ourselves.

I think the Christian message is a little bit different to this. I believe that the Bible teaches us that God created us in His image and that he looks at us and says that we are his good creation. That is not to say that we don’t get things wrong, of course we do, and of course we need to think of others and behave well towards each other but I think there is a reason why this line from Bridget Jones’ Diary is considered to be one of the most romantic:

- Mark Darcy: I like you, very much.
- Bridget Jones: Ah, apart from the smoking and the drinking, the vulgar mother and... ah, the verbal diarrhoea.
- Mark Darcy: No, I like you very much. Just as you are.

There is something very freeing when we realise that we are loved just as we are. It frees us from having to be perfect or having to try our best all the time. Yes, there are situations when we do need to try our best (usually exams!) but more generally Christ calls us into freedom. Perhaps a favour we can all do ourselves today is to see the good in ourselves. To choose to see the unique goodness that we bring rather than focussing on those messages that tell us that we need to do better. Because the truth is, that (unless you are a serial killer or something like that) the reality is that you are loved, just as you are.

So why not take a break from striving and stressing today and let the words from Psalm 46:10 sink in:

“He (God) says: Be still and know that I am God”

With love,

Jess

Dear friends, 

I was speaking to someone recently, trying to explain the virtues of a “comedy album”. As I saw their eyes increasingly glazing over, I realised that whilst explaining the concept of a vinyl album was hard enough, it seemed too great a stretch to suggest that someone would go out and pay for a recording of a comedian simply telling stories or jokes. In the days of the internet, with streaming free or otherwise, a comedy record does indeed sound far fetched. However they did exist, and what’s more I remember buying one… for my dad one birthday: an album with tall stories as told by the Welsh comedian Max Boyce, who would always end a far fetched tale with the catch phrase: “I know, cos I was there!!”

Today the church celebrates Ascension day - acknowledging the return of Jesus to his father and the welcome of heaven. And, through Jesus’ experiences of being on earth; living the life of a human being, we believe heaven to now be a changed place. All of our human experience; the joys and the pains, the highs and the lows, are now represented, appreciated and understood through Jesus. He knows, cos he was here!

We are encouraged to make prayer a focus, in the period between Ascension Day and Pentecost Sunday in 10 days’ time (do join us if you can for the evening pray walk this coming Sunday). And if the glories of heaven feel a long way away from your current situation and the state of the world at present, as we are reminded in the letter to the Hebrews:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."   Hebrews 4. 14 - 16

Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.

Simon

Hi Everyone,

This morning I have been contemplating exams. For most people this will not be their favourite subject. I have a love / hate relationship with exams. I find them stressful but I also like being able to measure how well I am doing. I want to know that I am hitting the mark. Basically, if you give me a star chart I'm a happy bunny (perhaps I should have mentioned this to Simon at the beginning of my curacy!). My lockdown project has been to teach myself piano and, after a few months break, I returned to daily practice with the hope of taking some exams soon – watch this space!

On Sunday we were thinking about calling; the call to love, to serve and to follow. During the sermon, one of the things I got everyone to do was to write a list of all the things that make them who they are. It's a really interesting exercise to do but, unlike my love of star charts, there is no pass or fail in this system of measurement. The goal is not to be the most accomplished; instead it is to know ourselves and who God has created us to be.

God calls us to come to him, just as we are, to know him and to know ourselves as loved by him. Then he sends us out to share his good news using the gifts, skills and passions that he has given us. We are often at our very best when we are authentically ourselves, restored in the image of God and empowered by his love for the world.

So, whatever you are doing today, be the you God made you to be and use all of your wonderfulness to bring his good news where you are.

With love

Jess