Yesterday the 100 Club draw for July was made by Mike and Bonnie Garvey. It is great that all three numbers drawn belonged to first time winners. The results were; 1st prize, 42, netting Win £49, 2nd prize, 61 and £24.50 for Tom and finally number 49 winning Lin £24.50. Congratulations to the lucky members.
Mike and Bonnie have supported St Mary’s Church since they arrived in Billingsley six years ago in many ways. We thank them for their generosity and hard work and wish them all the very best as they move to their new home in the Cotswolds.
How far should religious figures be involved in politics? The father of Theresa May was a vicar; he would not allow his daughter to display election posters in the vicarage as he thought these might act as barriers between him and his parishioners. At the other end of the spectrum was Bruce Kent, the former chair of CND who has just died He served as army officer during his national service in the 1950s and then was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic church. He could have achieved high ecclesiastical office, but he set it aside for his commitment to what he understood to be the Gospel of Christ; in particularly, a passionate belief that possession of nuclear weapons was a moral evil. He worked tirelessly for nuclear disarmament. Eventually he resigned from the priesthood, convinced that his calling as a Christian meant he could not in conscience abide by the strictures of the church. Bruce Kent had no time for those who though religion and politics could not mix; for him, his faith had to be lived out in the political world. In vicar-speak, he believed he was called to speak with the prophetic voice, just as in Old Testament times, the prophets spoke truth to the corrupt rulers of Israel and Judah.
Whilst I incline to the views of Theresa May’s late father on trying not to impose my own views on others, I always fully supported Kent’s right as a Christian to become involved in politics, although I did not share his analysis. I am glad today that Christians are still prepared to enter the political fray and argue for policies or parties based on their Christian convictions, even when I disagree with them. What I do ask is that they do so with humility, however strong their own convictions. I have always been impressed by the attitude of a Quaker, who I once heard praying. Quakers are famously pacifists, I was in no doubt he stood on nuclear weapons, but he finished his prayer by asking for humility, in case he was wrong and those who disagreed with him were right. Perhaps this is an attitude many politicians could learn from.
Last week, we held another “Forest Church”. It is not a good name; it rarely takes place in forests and it is not really church, at least as most people understand it. It does involve finding inspiration to respond to God from being outdoors, but beyond that there is no set pattern. Previously I have held events in Billingsley and Glazeley churchyards, largely because there was a building close at hand in case of rain. The activity depends on who turns up; we have had meditations, music and an informal communion. The one thing common to all events is silence, to listen to the natural world and hopefully, through that, also to God. The most recent event was at New England, now a quiet place on a brook, once a hamlet. We finally moved away from a church into at least a wood! I spoke about the history of the area and the communities that had flourished there or benefitted from it; the first sewerage treatment work in Highley was opened there before the First World War. We had a Bible reading, a passage from Ecclesiasticus, praising the contributions of craftsmen and manual workers. However, this does not mention God and I think I only used the G-word once, as we reflected on what we had seen and felt during a time when people did their own exploration of the area. But God is bigger than we can possibly imagine and can reach us in ways we do not understand. Those of us who came spoke about the peace and the tranquillity we experienced; perhaps the next time we hear the phrase “the peace of God”, the evening at New England will give that extra meaning.
I have been much struck to the tributes to the Rev Richard Cole, TV and radio presenter, former pop star and Church of England vicar, who has retired from parish ministry at the age of 61. The journalist Caitlin Morgan has written “I am as godless as a person can be, but I admit now, when I have gone through bad times… I have often wished he preached in a church near me so I could go and take part in something comforting. Cole’s life, the struggles, the grief, but also the impulse towards joy and love, make me trust his take on faith, charity and generosity…”
And to bear that out, some of his words, given a couple of weeks ago in an interview with the Daily Express, about his reaction to the death of his partner, David, when the interviewer suggested it was unfair: “It’s not about fair. What you get is not about your just deserts, fate, chance or whatever. I never thought being a person of faith meant you got a golden ticket. When David died, I didn’t feel I had been cheated out of anything. I just thought it was a terrible thing.”
This coming Tuesday, 14th June, marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War, the conflict between the UK and Argentina. I suspect for those of us of a certain age, this is poignant. I was a 20-year old university student at the time. A few weeks before the war broke out, I was at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford when, coincidentally, a Vulcan bomber was brought into land; retired from service to join the museum collection. Whilst the Cold War was very active at that time, this seemed a throw-back to another age. Little did I imagine thatsix weeks later one of the Vulcans still in service would be used in anger, flying half-way round the world to bomb an airfield on the Falklands. For the first time in my life, I lived in a country that was, effectively at war, albeit in a conflict very remote from Cambridge where I was living. As students, we would wait on the nightly briefings from the Ministry of Defence, with a mixture of anticipation and fear.
War always raises difficult questions for people of faith. Christ chose a path of non-resistance to the powers of his day, to win a once-for-all victory over evil. Even in that simple sentence, there is a clash between actions of peace and words that speak of war. The same Jesus who went peacefully to his death used a whip to clear the temple of money-traders. Whilst there are Christian traditions that reject war under any circumstances, the majority of voices accept that in a fallen world, sometimes we do need to resort to arms to prevent or correct injustice. Whilst there were some dissenting voices at the time, I suspect most would now accept that the conflict in the Falklands was a just use of force, to liberate the islanders and reverse an act of violence. I think it was Oscar Wilde who wrote “the truth is rarely pure and never simple”; sometimes we have to muddle through moral decisions as best we can and pray that God will forgive us if we get them wrong.
This coming Sunday, 5th June, is Whit or Pentecost Sunday, when the church marks the work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. This prayer, from the evening service of Compline, speaks to me:
Come, O Spirit of God, and make within us your dwelling place and home.
May our darkness be dispelled by your light, and our troubles calmed by your peace;
may all evil be redeemed by your love, all pain transformed through the suffering of Christ,
A community Jubilee Picnic, hosted by the 100 Club, was held in the orchard next to the church on Friday 3rd June. There was a splendid turn out from villagers plus a few members of the 100 Club who live further afield. Everyone had a super afternoon enjoying their picnics, refreshments and the splendid views and wonderful sunshine. Our thanks go to everyone who supported the event plus those who gave up their time to help with the preparations and clearing away. And of course the 100 Club members who made this event possible.
Rev. David Poyner said a prayer for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, a toast was made and a celebratory cake was cut. The June draw for the club took place immediately afterwards. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Wildblood for making the draw. Mr Wildblood was hoping to pull his own number out as it is yet to make an appearance but alas it was not to be; better luck next month! The first prize once again goes to lucky Eveline (59) who has very generously asked that her winnings fund something special for the churchyard, we thank you. James (28) and Julie (63) both won a cheque for £24.50 each.
For most of us, it is all we have ever known; the Queen on the throne. To have any real memories of George VI, you will need to be at least 80. It is a period that has seen remarkable changes both nationally and internationally; for many of us, the 1950s seems another world with the Second World War still fresh in the memory. The Queen has been the symbol of the nation through good and bad; both good and bad in the life of the nation but also in her own life.
The coronation in 1953 was fundamentally a religious service with connections to enthronement services described in the Old Testament. Like a priest at ordination, the Queen was marked with oil as sign that she was called and set apart by God for her role. Like a priest, she made promises before God. Even in 1953, I doubt many people paid much attention to this; the country had long before effectively left the church of “all gas and gaiters” (Under 60s, Google this…) behind. But one person did take seriously the anointing and the vows made before God and that was the Queen herself. Almost alone of our national figures, she speaks openly about her faith as a Christian, whilst at the same time respecting the beliefs and convictions of those around her. Her faith underpins her life and she is open about this.
One of my favourite hobby horses is how, as a society, by rejecting organised religion, we are in danger of turning our backs on something that is actually part of our very nature, our spiritual life. That isn’t really about whether we believe in God or not, it goes instead to the heart of how we live our lives, what our values are, how we relate to other people and the world. It seems to me that many people have lost the language to talk about this and they are diminished as a result. By contrast, this 96 year old woman remains at the heart of the nation because she has not lost that language. Long may she reign as an example to us and to our political leaders.
Why do we seek God? Assuming that if you are reading this, you have at least some interest in the question… Those a certain age may know a song released by Heaven 17 in 1981; it was all the rage when I was a student and has the lines “Come and join the fun on the way to heaven, Come and talk to God on the party line. If you can’t be bothered, we don’t need you; We’re going to live for a very long time”. It was an ironic commentary on what can seem to be a common attitude amongst some people of faith; a motivation that is ultimately rooted in self-centredness. I recall a former local vicar, whose favourite line in a sermon was to warn all his hearers that they faced “a lost eternity” if they did not believe. I am uncomfortable with an approach that on the one hand threatens hellfire and damnation and on the other, is just another way of looking after ourselves. This seems at odds with so much of Jesus’s teaching, who commanded us to love one another because God first loves us. In a recent book (“Humbler faith, bigger God”), one my favourite theologians, The Rev Dr Sam Wells, has addressed this issue in a way that speaks to me.
“If we seek God because we want heaven, we don’t deserve God. If we want God because we want to avoid Hell, we’re headed for Hell. But if we desire God because we want nothing other than to be in utter relationship with the source, origin and purpose of the universe and if we trust the God who came in flesh and died emptied of all but love and rose, because in the end love is stronger than death and will never ultimately be separated from us-if that’s what it’s all about, all about for ever, for us- then God will give us that relationship for ever”.
