Priorities

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a start.

• DAC Presentation on font and church hall
  • To include extensive explanations why this is the best solution, which the architect hasn’t time to prepare, so I need to have ready.
  • Deadline: 23rd July
• Summer Camp Liturgy and Worship on Easyworship
  • Deadline: 24th July
• Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage 26th July to 8th August
  • Leave here 26th July for 2 weeks
• Ordinand Supervision for next 10 days
  • Reports due by 24th July
• Blesséd Mass
  • Deadline: 19th July
  • Desert of lack of inspiration on key areas for worship, especially Gospel text: Matthew 20 etc Great Commission
• Greenbelt  27-31st August
  • Blesséd Mass for adults (date and time still not confirmed) – nothing as yet organised
  • Blesséd Mass for Youth (low-tech, nothing as yet organised)
  • Discussion alongside Ian Adams and Nadia Bolz-Weber (much more eminent than me) on “Rhythm & calendars, feast-days & fasting: Maggi Dawn hosts a conversation exploring the attention paid to the ebb & flow of the Christian calendar in emerging worship.” Of which I know nuuthing.
  • A vague suspicion that I have another worship to lead from Blesséd as well, but of which I have no information. I feel not very in control of what is expected of me, and I am worried
• MaryMass at Glastonbury, 16th August
  
  • Have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be doing for this: an email mentions a screen and a projector and beyond that – help!
• Sacramental alt.worship book
  • Needs to be written before the end of November.
• House Purchase to be finalised, and my bolthole moved into.
• SCP
• Brune Park Chaplaincy
  
• Weddings
• Baptisms
• Funerals
• Bible Study and Discipleship
• All night youth event with Youth Evangelism Fund money
  • 23rd September
  • Nothing sorted for that yet, amid  the constant fear that the Sunday night youth group might just implode in teenage apathy.
• Friday’s Youth Club
  • new school year, new challenges
  • funding issues
  • Church Hall issues
    
• Parish Pilgrimage to the Shrine, 20-22nd November
• Induction as Vicar, 16th September
• Mass… as always
• Pastoral Care … they are always with us.
  
• Divine Office ,,, of course
• Wife and children – with their own special stresses and strains this GCSE and A’Level year as well as Lou’s NQT year.
• School Governor x 2 with new Ofsted Inspection, new SEF and a Single Equality Policy to devise.
• Blesséd Daily Text – both a delight and a right drag
• …and lots of other things besides
  

…and behind it all, chronic lack of sleep, low energy levels and my diabetes always threatening to spiral out of control.

Now I am not normally a moaner, and I tend to always be a half-full glass sort-of-person but I can’t seem to get beyond this seemingly enormous volume of activity. I don’t need sympathy, just your opinion on my priorities and the best way to tackle it all. I never claim to be the perfect priest, a second John Keble, and I am not above asking your advice. I know plenty of you are just as busy, just as stressed; but what do you think I could do?

Admission to Holy Communion – the Body of Christ is here!

I use the word in all seriousness, it was my privilege to be able to Admit to the Sacrament of Holy Communion, 4 young people yesterday.

After a course of preparation called Welcome the Lord’s Table by Margaret Withers and extra services (including a Penitential ‘Sorry’ Service mentioned earlier in this blog), a Seder Meal and a host of other work, we as a parish prayed over these young people and I blessed them for the next stage of their Christian Journey – the road to Confirmation.

This is the second group Lou and Debbie have prepared and we have admitted, meaning that there are now nine young people who are regular communicants in this parish. This is not the church of the future, this is the church of now: the people of God gathering in worship to be fed by the holy and life-giving sacraments.

The young people ministered to us in other ways: a full complement of servers, all of the Ministry of the Word was read by young people, some as young as six, the intercessions were led by them. Caroline our ordinand on placement from Cuddesdon preached the word very effectively and pitched it just right for both children, adults and a number of newcomers to the church, here for the admission; but more of that reflection in my report to College

The young people gathered around the altar as the Eucharist was celebrated and they had the privilege of receiving first.

The whole Mass was relaxed, reverent and holy – which to be honest is as it always is. A visitor remarked “it is good to see the eucharist presided over by someone who takes it seriously”, and I was reminded of our mantra at Mirfield – to take our faith seriously and our religion lightly, for there is so much about the practice of religion and especially our Anglocatholicism which is frivilous and silly, and worthy of a smile, and yet at the heart of it all is a profound truth that is beyond ridicule. I remarked in the notices that I have never been a supporter of the “family service” which seeks to denude worship of all its mystery and turn it into entertainment, because each and every Mass should be a family service, should be accessible to the whole community to worship together and enable all to gather and receive the sacraments. If you are not saying a Mass that isn’t already “all-age” then you clearly aren’t doing it right.

Afterwards. nearly 30 people gathered at the local curry house for a buffet. Last week, a man had been stabbed to death outside it but I must emphasise that that is a rare occurrence in Gosport. Amid flowers and candles (more material for my research on the secular roadside shrine), the family feeling continued as a huge extended church family shared what could only be described as an Agape Lunch. I sat in the midst of the children, who were amused by my improvised headgear:

The food was lovely, the conversation wide-ranging and engaging and a good time was had by all. It was a fitting end to a wonderful celebration.

God is indeed good.

When there is turmoil and schism and hatred and division throughout the church, there comes a time when we have to just STOP and pause and see what actually is important in this world and to this world. The baby Jesus must cry sometimes to see all of this condemnation and division, the exclusion of some and the slavish devotion to power and money and success which is more like the devotion to the enemy (I think reading the Alpha News insert which came with Church Times this week has focused this thinking – so much which reeked of triumphalism, of success, success, success, of money and it came over like a Party Manefesto – so full of spin and about as believable.) He said “My Kingdom is not of this world” and he actively rejected the trappings of power, and relied on an authority given by his Father, which needed no earthly simulacrum. When there is such division in the Church, it is about time we stopped arguing about trivialities, about who is sound, unsound, biblical, unbiblical and got on with the sacramental proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord.

FCA and the numbers game

“The FCA claims that it has around 1,600 followers from 320 parishes around the country”

Church Times 10th July 2009, p3

That makes about 5 in each church… If some churches are filled with say 40 or 50 supporters, then that means there are an awful lot of the 320 churches with one (maybe a rabidly enthusiastic Curate). Not exactly a sweeping movement.

However, as one Archbishop once remarked:

“The Church of England is like a swimming pool – all the noise happens at the shallow end”

Busy, busy, busy…

Almost no time to get anything done properly. Please come and make me feel it has been worth it.

Some interesting things coming forward for Blesséd:

The Intercessions will, this time, not be visual (in the usual style)

Blesséd Intercessions Ritual

Music: Amanda Palmer – Another Year – a short history of almost nothing (SPR edit)

Start handing out paper strips and pens

If you want to write down your prayers, what would it look like?

A shopping list?

Would it be more like a doodle?

Would your prayers form a little sketch?

A spider diagram?

A single word?

Logical in structure? Random or chaotic?

Does it matter?

Handing out finishes

Before you write anything down, pause and reflect.

What is your main concern?

What do you need to bring before God?

For yourself.

For others.

For the Church.

For the world.

For the sick, the ailing, the addicted, the troublesome

For the dead and the mourning..

We do not pray alone.

We join these prayers with all the others written tonight.

Weaved together. Linked. Joined.

Joined with the angels, the saints, the prophets, the patriarchs.

Joined with the prayers of our Blesséd Lady…

Hail Mary,Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.

* * *

How did they turn out?

No need to sign your prayers

God knows.

He knows your needs,

Your desires

Your concerns…

…and he listens.

He responds.

Whether you prayed a picture, a list, a diagram, a single word…

God responds.

Maybe Yes

Maybe No

Maybe Not Yet

Not always the answer to your prayers that you want.

…but he answers.

Always.

Amen

The prayers are written on stips of paper and wrapped into paper chains to be wrapped around the altar during the offertory

FoCA – the beginning of the end

I have not been to London today, not least because from what I have read from others, the FoCA meeting would make me very very angry indeed. Instead, I have been labouring in the vineyard, working in local schools and spreading the Gospel, rather than travelling up to London to take a day out to have a go at gays or women or whoever else you think you ought to hate.

What a waste. When we should be more concerned with making Christ known, with delivering God’s Holy Word and Blessed Sacraments to those who need it, some are more concerned with rattling sabres about schism. David Virtue calls for a new reformation, and in doing so puts the enemy (and all his divisions) at the heart of debate. +Broadhurst describes Satan at Church House. Shame on him. He should resign his holy orders immediately. What are these people doing to make Christ known? To share his love? To embrace the marginalised and the poor?

The (few) members of the House of Bishops supporting this schism should be ashamed. If they aren’t ashamed, then they should have the integrity to resign from this Church. This would, of course, leave Chichester without Episcopal oversight, but hey, at least all those gay priests in Chichester would know where they stood. Likewise, I note with sadness the support of the PEVs – they who have in their care a disproportionately high number of gay priests, most not even safely in the closet, but many who have active partners – I went to Mirfield, and that is how I know this to be the case. I wonder how cheated they feel at present. As MadPriest asked yesterday, is it worth the sacrifice of their integrity and their self-worth just simply to keep the girls out? We ordain women because we baptise girls.

Fr Ivan seems to confuse the Gospel with some kind of mysogyny, which is a pity because I deeply admire everything else he does: the tireless proclamation of God’s love in that community. From what I read in his blog, it would sadly appear that he would no longer wish to be my friend simply because of a different reading of Scripture, a different reading of the Church and a slight change in the Mission of God on this earth.

The one thing that comforts me is that they will get their way. If they want to be ‘orthodox’ in their own little way, then they should be allowed to leave the Church – walk out of the buildings and away from their pensions and start again. However, I consider myself and our parish to also be orthodox – to be true to Scripture and also more importantly, the meta-teachings of Christ. To claim they have the handle on ‘truth’ is just arrogant. Matthew 7:1 is clear about judgement of others.

They should read their bibles a bit more.

(My sincere apologies to Bishop Peter for my typing error, now corrected)

Infant Assembly: Parable of the Talents

Parable of the Talents for Infants (Ages 4,5 &6)

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Jesus, who I and millions of Christians around the world believe to be the Son of the very God who created this world, and all of us, and who came down to Earth to show us how much God loves us, taught us some special things.

He did this using parables: special stories with a special message. And I want to tell you today, one of Jesus’ special stories which might make us think about those special gifts, those special talents, those unique skills that God gives to us; and that we can use either to grow, and learn and laugh and love (just as wants us to) or to waste, and fritter and leave undeveloped.

This is the story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…

Once upon a time (and don’t all the best stories start with Once upon a time…?)

A Rich Man – a man who had lots and lots of money, goes away and leaves three of his workers with a task. It was, I imagine, a bit like Dragons Den:

To one of his workers, he gave a huge amount of money

To another, he gave a little less

And to a third he gave a little less than the other two, but it was still a stonkingly large amount of money – more money than you could earn in 10 years!

The Rich Man told his workers to go and do what they could with the money –

When he came back, he called them to him to see how they had done.

The first had doubled his boss’s money, trading and buying and selling and using the money to do good in the world, and the Rich Man was very pleased with him.

The second, who had not quite as much to use, had done pretty well: he had traded and sold, invested and as a result the Rich Man was very pleased with him as well.

The third man, who had not quite as much as the other two, only had an excuse:

“I know you’re a very strict boss, and I am a bit afraid of you. I was worried that I couldn’t do much with this smaller – although admittedly still quite huge – amount of money, so rather than trading with it, rather than buying and selling and rather than putting it to some use, I just hid it under my mattress, and here it is”

Do you think the Rich Man was pleased with the third worker?

You are right – the Rich Man wasn’t at all pleased! He had been really generous and had given the third servant a large amount of money, to do good and to make more money with it, and yet he had wasted the opportunity.

The Rich Man took away the money he had given to the third servant, the money he had simply held onto and not done anything with, and gave it to the one who had achieved so much, and he sacked the third servant, the lazy, unambitious servant, the one who could have used what he had been given, but didn’t even try…

God gives us such wonderful gifts.

It might be a talent for drawing,

or reading,

or dancing

or football.

It might be a talent for helping other people, brightening the day of someone who is sad.

It might be mathematics, or bike riding, or making models.

It might be for being kind, and helpful and loving.

God gives everyone talents, so much talent, so much opportunity, so many blessings.

Does God expect us to just take those talents and hide them away, keep them to ourselves?

No – God wants us to share those talents, to use them to make the world a better place, to grow and to learn, to make the most of our opportunities in school, to help others and by showing our love to others, to show them God’s love for us?

Will you hide away your talent? Or will you go from this place, to work hard at school all this week, to be happy about all that God gives you and work to build on your talents to do even better?

We ought to pray about this…

• For all our talents           thank you Lord
• For all your gifts             thank you Lord
• For all the chances we have to learn, and grow and love thank you Lord
• Help us to not waste our chances, but to do what you want to become happy, and successful and loving of one another   thank you Lord
• Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Blessing

Patronal Festival 2009

I apologise for the lack of photographs, and my failure to record Fr. Toby’s excellent homily last night. There was simply so much happening at the last before Mass, it just went by the board. Poor S. had his bag stolen out of Church, and so had to rush home to get his lock changed, and he lost his keys, his driving license. It put a pall over it all.

Another shadow on the evening was the local murder of two men yesterday. I passed the incident just as the ambulance arrived on scene (and as I am no longer able to practice as a nurse, paramedics on scene and lots of other people around, I did not engage with the event), and so saw it unfold over the day. By 3pm I had been invited by the police to join an Incident Advisory Group which is made up of local community leaders, including local teachers, councilors, a smattering of faith leaders and other agencies to support the Police and reassure the local community. This kind of event is rare in Gosport, so rare in fact that it makes major news. It isn’t an everyday occurence. Fr. Toby opening with his experiences in Peckham, where this is a daily reality and draw this terrible experience into our reflection on the Scriptures. We prayed for the souls of those two young men (who have yet to be formally identified), their families and the Community. Those who commited this crime (three were arrested yesterday) also need prayer: that’s hard, but it’s true. Prayers for all.

Having said that, the Patronal was absolutely lovely: again a couple of major mess-ups meant that it remained resolutely human.

Firstly, although I had created a Visual Intercessions for the Patronal, I had forgotton to put it on the slideshow, so our organist provided me with 30 seconds of covering music so I could get to the back to insert it. My bad.

Secondly, we had such a fab response and more than 60 in the congregation, I ran right down on hosts and had to snap the last couple of wafers for the very last to receive. Churchwarden #2 then reminded me that one of my Spiritual Directees present in a wheelchair had yet to receive. Normal practice here as in most churches is then to turn and signal to the MC to get the reserved sacrament out. No problem.

Earlier in the day, the DAC had visited and been really supportive of our Church Hall and Font plans (more on this later), and because the Archdeacon was present and likely to use the visit as his visitation, we had done the usual dutiful thing and moved the Aumbrey key to the safe. You and I know that most churches keep it close to the tabernacle, we just don’t admit it to the Archdeacon. Hence, no key. Bugger.

Luckily, this lady has such a profound spirituality and sacramental understanding, she would understand that Jesus Christ is fully present in both sacraments, and if in this case, one is unable to receive the blessed sacrament but only the precious blood (or vice versa), then full communion has still taken place. I took the chalice from Caroline, our Ordinand from Cuddesdon (who is doing very well) and went to administer in one kind only. It worked. It was profound. It was still my cock-up.

It was a lovely concelebration with nine concelebrants, and afterwards a happy and joyous sharing of wine, coffee and doughnuts. After that, back to the vicarage for a supper and a few more medicinal tinctures. 2am finish. That was really good fun.

One of the interesting discussions during that lasagne and alcohol-fuelled celebration was about our policy on admission to Holy Communion and its relationship to Baptism. Someone made a comment that there no explicit Scriptural reference to the fact that the Twelve were baptised. Many followers of John the Baptist might have received John’s Baptism of Repentance, but John himself said this fell short of what the Messiah would do. Jesus does not baptise in Scripture, but tells them post-resurrection to do it, and does not explicitly make it a condition of initiation – he just says “do it to all nations”. So, if Jesus shared the Last Supper with the unbaptised, did not demand electoral roll forms off the 5000 on the mountain, then who am I to prevent the working of the Holy Spirit in someone brought to encounter Christ in broken bread and wine outpoured. This position might get me in some degree of trouble with the established church, and Canon Law, but it is precisely because I have such a passionate belief in the power of the sacraments, the role of the Mass as a missionary tool and an evangelistic opportunity, that I will administer those life-giving sacraments to all who come forward, and let God deal with the (usually marvellous) consequences of that. For that, my dear friends, is what evangelism is really all about – letting God in.

Washed Clean Homily – the secret of how it is done!

I showed you this, were you impressed? I was when young Daniel Henderson showed me all those years ago.

Now, to reveal all and to know that I will never be able to use this outside of School Assemblies ever again!

Two bowls of water – one clean water and one filled with water 100-200mls of FILM FIXER. You can buy it at a photographic supplies shop – Jessops still have a few bottles at the back for those who still develop proper film: £9 for a litre which will last ages.

One white linen handkerchief, chopticks or tongs to handle them

One small bottle of Iodine Tincture from the Chemists/Dugstore (79p from Rowlands Pharmacy)

1. Add Iodine to clean water

2. Cloth in ‘dirty water’ so it becomes stained.

3. Transfer Iodine cloth into fixer solution -> the iodine is neutralised by the fixer and it goes back to white

4. Transfer cloth now soaked in fixer solution into bowl with iodine water in it, so that iodine is neutralised and both bowls appear clean

5. Dispose of carefully as the chemicals are poisonous.

There! You can dress up sin and redemption how your theology paints it (you can tell, I don’t do penal substitution) and you can explain it according to your audiences (Infant and Junior School Collective Worship love this!). Over to you all now – make the most of it!

So Stonewall actually meant something after all…

Via the Changing Attitude Blog

The Times commissioned a poll, conducted by Populus, to commemorate the Stonewall riots 40 years ago. The riots took place on 27 and 28 July 1969 were a spontaneous resistance to repeated police raids on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York and it was the drag queens who led the resistance. It was a defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and Britain.

The poll reveals a revolution in attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. It shows that a majority of the public want lesbian and gay people to share identical rights to everyone else.

68% of the public back “full equal rights” for gay men and lesbians.

61% want gay couples to be able to marry, not just have civil partnerships.

51% want children to be taught in school that gay relationships are of equal value to marriage with 44% opposed.

49% believe that gay couples should have equal adoption rights.

The Times headlines the poll results “Church ‘out of touch’ as public supports equal rights for homosexuals” and names the Church as the final bastion of formal discrimination.

But I want to suggest not everywhere. There are at least some churches which welcome, and support and promote equality, who are not based on prejudice.

In a separate article, Peter Riddell shows that people have become far more tolerant in the past two decades. The British Social Attitudes survey shows that those who think that homosexuality is always or mostly wrong fell from 75% in 1987 to 32% in 2006.

Since January 2005 those agreeing that gay couples should have exactly the same rights as heterosexual couples has risen from 65% to 68%, the number disagreeing falling from 31% to 27%.

A 1999 Ipsos MORI poll found 37% in favour of gay people being allowed to adopt with 57% opposed. Now, 49% agree that gay couples should have the same rights to adopt with 47% disagreeing.

A year later another Ipsos MORI poll found people evenly divided about whether gay couples should be allowed to get married. Populus now finds almost two thirds support the equal right of gay couples to marry.

Less confident are parental responses to their children coming out as gay. 41% say they would embrace it while 45% would feel upset but try to understand and come to terms with it. 9% said they would not accept it and would reject the child.

There is still so much work to be done, centuries of prejudice (because frankly, until the Victorians started to have a problem with it, it wasn’t an issue) to turn around and a vigorous and honest hermeneutic of Scripture to be applied to counteract the crappy translations and narrow prejudices of a few so insecure about their sexuality that they feel threatened by an honest expression in others. I am glad that society is changing and pray that it might be the work of the Holy Spirit, and so it can be done with grace and charity. Despite the pronounciations of certain Housesof Synod, despite the political manoeverings of some Bishops (supporting Schismatics – be ashamed you Bishops of Lewes and Winchester) and putting Sex far above the Gospel, we will endeavour to continue to be an inclusive, family-friendly Parish, seeking to further shape society and show God’s love to all.

Summer Fayre