Wednesday 28 January 2015

Sabbatical 9 (Two Popes)

Lesley and I spent last week at our apartment in Cumbria - more of that next time. We arrived back last Saturday, in time to go to Wigan on Sunday morning for the licensing of a good friend to her new post as an associate priest in a parish there. A new initiative is under way for the mission of the Church (of England) in Wigan, and I can see her having a significant role within that.

I  have been reading recently the work of two Popes, 1500 years apart! I have always wanted to read the epistles of Pope Gregory the Great (c.540-604, and Pope from 590). He it was who sent Augustine, later of Canterbury, to England at almost precisely the same time that Columba arrived on Iona (c.597). Thus the British Isles were evangelised in a kind of pincer movement, of  Romans from the south-east and Celts from the north-west. Gregory was Pope at a very turbulent time politically, following the break-up of the Roman Empire. There were violent incursions from the Lombards, who threatened the very gates of Rome, and Gregory struggled to gain authority in both secular and spiritual realms. Yet he had a pastoral heart, which is why he sent missionaries to England, hearing about her lapse into paganism. Once he had arrived, and people were becoming Christians, Augustine had a number of pastoral issues for which he sought the advice of the Pope. Several of these related to marriage: should clergy marry? can certain degrees of blood-relations marry each other? for example. Another related to how soon after child-birth a woman may enter church!...

The one that interested me most, however, concerned the temples of idol worship. Gregory's advice was that they should not be destroyed, but the idols within them should be. ...If these same temples are well built, it is needful that they should be transferred from the worship of idols to the service of the true God; that, when the people themselves see that these temples are not destroyed, they may put away error from their heart, and, knowing and adoring the true God, may have recourse with the more familiarity to the places they have been accustomed to. (Epistle LXXVI)

There is something humble and incarnational about this approach to mission. In a different tone and a very different era, Pope Francis writes with a similar outlook today. I just love his Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)! He writes from the heart with a profound understanding of today's world and the human heart. For example, writing of city-life, he writes New cultures are constantly being born in these vast new expanses where Christians are no longer the customary interpreters or generators of meaning...This challenges us to imagine innovative spaces and possibilities for prayer and communion which are more attractive and meaningful for city dwellers.

Today, we may not have any obvious physical temples of idol worship (although maybe we could name a few?!), but that sense of the Christian faith inhabiting and purifying existing cultures provides an interesting comparison. Both popes challenge their readers to be bold and creative. Be prepared for more quotations from Evangelii Gaudium!

Thursday 22 January 2015

Sabbatical 8

There's been a bit of a gap between blogposts, as last week I was away on retreat. This was with the Community of Aidan & Hilda, of which I am a member. Every January the 'Voyagers' (i.e. committed members, as distinct from 'Explorers' and 'Friends') spend the inside of a week together. We hold our Annual Meeting, with the usual reports, but mainly spend time in learning, prayer and fellowship together. This year's theme was 'Celtic Spirituality and Mission': we were reminded particularly of the communal life and prayer of our Celtic Christian ancestors, and how for them 'mission' was a natural outworking of their lives, not an add-on. Somehow, today, mission so often feels like something you have to do in addition to all the other things associated with being church. In fact, in those days, mission was the very essence and had as much to do with being Christ's presence in the world as with any particular activity. It flowed from their inner life, as persons and as community.

The phrase I came away with was 'in the Name of Jesus'. Not because anyone was speaking about this in particular but because for me it summed everything up. The Name of Jesus provides the incentive for all we do, giving us confidence; it calls us to account for all our words and actions; it is also the assurance that nothing we do for his sake is ever wasted, even if we don't ourselves see any result.

Among the news items last week were the shootings in Paris, with its aftermath of the street Je suis Charlie demonstrations, and the Archbishops' warnings against social inequality. International terrorism (the clash of ideologies), the gap between the very rich and poor people, together with climate change, seem to me the three greatest challenges of our day. They are all connected, of course. The recent TV programmes by Jacques Peretti, The Super Rich and Us, have shown how great the gap is, with (apparently) 85 people owning 50% of the world's wealth. The worrying thing, though, is how most billionaires just don't get it: Countess Bathurst, who appeared in one of his programmes and who organises polo matches on her country estate, said the problem belongs to the poor, who are envious, don't appreciate how hard wealthy people work, and the worries they have! The programmes showed how the super-rich live in a kind of bubble. The worst thing for me, though, was that social inequality has come about, in this country, by the deliberate policy of successive governments since the 1980s. It has suited them to make London the financial capital of the world, because the wealth of the few gives the appearance of a flourishing economy when in fact the opposite is true.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, writing in Sunday's Independent, says 'Democracy will collapse and aspiration will die unless we turn back from this disastrous ideology (of 'trickle-down' economics). ...When the masses have nothing left to lose, they may rise and light a bonfire of vanities.'

The Community of Aidan & Hilda has its own version of traditional monastic vows: simplicity, obedience and purity. These qualities, lived out in today's world, stand in real contrast to some prevailing attitudes and may just save the world, as Christian mission centuries ago helped to rescue Britain from its Dark Ages.

Sunday 11 January 2015

Sabbatical 7

This past week, I have been almost completely preoccupied with two things: completing Jude's house refurbishment and organising Bob's funeral. There has been no time at all for study, but I don't regret a moment.

The pressure was really on this week for Jude. She had set yesterday (Saturday) as removal day, and the carpet-fitters were coming on Thursday. I admit I had my doubts that we would make it in time, and for the past week we have really put the hours in. Three times, there were 12-hour days decorating etc! But all well worthwhile. The transformation is almost complete, apart from a couple of bare walls where the plaster is not quite dry enough to paint. If you follow Jude on Facebook you can see the photos! It's impressive.

So yesterday, I hired a large Transit van and we took 3 loads of furniture and personal possessions over to the house. That was not quite the end though. She decided to spend one more night with us, rather than try and sort everything out yesterday. Today we loaded up the car with yet more stuff (mainly clothes this time) and I took her over to spend her first night in her new home. It was quite emotional. Jude is the only one not to have gone away to uni, so it was the first time she has left the nest. And for me and Les: our 'baby' has gone, and we are empty-nesters after nearly 39 years. It will feel very strange, but we are so proud of our 4 offspring who all now live independent lives. Jude's attitude and accomplishments over the past few months have been amazing. I've told her she could well go into property development as an occupation!

Bob's funeral (actually, a celebration of his life, following private cremation) was one of the most remarkable services I have ever attended. Over 850 came to our parish church, which can only really seat 350 comfortably. But with extra seats, and standing room only - some outside, with extra sound relay - we managed. It was a long service, but so full of thankfulness for many aspects of Bob's character and ministry. People from many walks of life were there: his large family, many friends, former colleagues, and some who have simply received his ministry and just wanted to say 'thank you'. His family said he would have loved it, which I always think is the highest praise of a funeral service. For myself, I reflected that Bob had been a constant in my life almost since I was ordained. Like many, I had often valued his wisdom, his solidity, his love of life, his positive outlook. So important for one like me, who can sometimes be a bit of an Eeyore!

A week of beginning and ending. Strangely, in both, tears and laughter, sorrow and joy.

Sunday 4 January 2015

Happy New Year (Sabbatical 6)

First of all, a God-blessed New Year, one and all!

This morning, I was back at All Hallows, sharing once more in the sorrow of Bob's passing. With the passage of time, I realise more and more just how much he meant to so many people. Rachel has had over 300 letters and cards! It has been a real honour and privilege to prepare a service to celebrate his life, together with the family.

This is the prayer I wrote for this morning:

Jesus, Lord, our resurrection and our life, we begin this New Year with you, but with sorrow in our hearts. We bring to you our memories of Bob.
Our lives are poorer for having lost him, but richer for having known him.
We are sorrowful that he is no longer with us, but rejoice that he is with you.
We are thankful for all that has been, and we are hopeful for all that shall be.
Be with us, Immanuel, in our journey from sorrow to joy, from darkness to light, from death to life.
Be with all the family in their journey of grief. Remind them moment by moment that neither Bob nor they are lost to you.
And lead us all, with your servant Bob, to our heavenly home and our eternal resting place where you reign, his Lord and ours for ever and ever. Amen.


The past few days have contained a mixture of funeral-related matters, and hours of decorating at Jude's house. We're really seeing the results now, and slowly it is becoming a home, with the arrival of domestic appliances etc. However, we have to accept that the job will not be complete by the time she moves in. Very exciting, all the same. Les and I haven't really adjusted to the fact that after 38 years of parenting we will finally be 'empty-nesters'! Maybe we'll take a lodger!

I'd like to introduce you to Derek & Jane Waller. I hadn't heard of them either till New Year's Eve. By the look of their photo, I guess they're late 50s/early 60s but about to head off to South Sudan: Derek to train church leaders and Jane to contribute her ICT skills. I learned about them through the Church Mission Society Prayer Diary which I habitually use. I am often challenged and inspired by news of people who, for love of God and his world, travel 1000s of miles from home to serve some of the poorest people in the world. I am even more humbled when I read in the same publication of people 'who cannot be named' in countries 'which cannot be identified', sharing their Christian faith through practical action in hostile environments where they have not only given up their home comforts but risk their very lives for the sake of Christ. It is of the very essence of Christianity that, counter-culturally, men and women are prepared anonymously to follow their Lord, as the famous prayer says, 'labouring for no reward, save that of knowing that they do his will.'

Equally inspiring are the stories of medical staff (Christians or not) who go to serve in ebola-stricken countries: people like Pauline Cafferkey, now seriously ill, and William Pooley, who recovered and returned to Africa. Puts our struggles here in some kind of perspective.