Category Archives: Uncategorised

5th September – Evening walk from Glazeley Church to Chelmarsh Church

On Friday the final evening guided walk of the Summer took place. The event was once again well attended and David guided the walkers through fields and woodland, tracks and farmyards, from Glazeley Church to Chelmarsh Church and back. The journey out was one of discovery as several tracks were difficult to find but undeterred the group made it to their destination. A refreshment break was taken at Chelmarsh where everyone enjoyed a quick sandwich before heading home before sunset. The views on the return journey of the Clee Hills and the glorious Shropshire countryside in the fading light were spectacular.

It is hoped that day time walks will continue during the Autumn and Winter when everyone is welcome to join us. Look out for further details.

Friday 4th September – Inaugural draw of the 100 Club

The inaugural draw of the Billingsley 100 Club took place at 5pm on Friday 4th September at Lincoln Fields. The first number out of the bag was 22 belonging to G Davies who took the top prize of £53. The next two numbers drawn were 91 and 10 belonging to M Stepney and D Lewis respectively, who both won a worthwhile £26.50 each. The second draw is scheduled for Friday 2nd October.

Number are still available for anyone who wishes to join. Application forms and further details can be found on the 100 Club page of this website. Alternately contact the promoter directly on 07434 882845 or email suebates@uwclub.net

More than half of all taking go into the prize fund, the remaining money will be allocated to the upkeep of St Mary’s Church, Billingsley and community projects. Already money has been spent to secure heating in the church for the forthcoming winter.

St Mary’s is extremely grateful for the tremendous support it has received from members of the community, friends and family and supporters from further afield.

Thought for the week – 7th September 2020 – Inspired by a mushroom

I was on my weekly tour of inspection at Billingsley church, noting how the weeds were starting to sprout again on the path. Then I was stopped in my tracks by a large mushroom. I’ve no idea what it was, all I knew was that I thought it was beautiful. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, there was something wonderful about the its cracked, leathery brown top with streaks of orange beneath.

Some people see beauty in nature as evidence of a loving creator God. I’m a bit wary of pushing that too far; the coronavirus is also a product of nature; whilst as a scientist I can see beauty in the way the spike protein on its surface changes its shape, I also know that this is how it infects cells, the process that has so far killed around 800,000 people throughout the world. Mushrooms and viruses alike are the products of evolution, something that relies on random mutations. But as a Christian, I have no problem in accepting that evolution is the process that God uses to create. Because God gives creation freedom, that will sometimes produce killer viruses. But more often, it gives beauty; it gives us, humankind. And so when I look at the natural world and see wonderful processes, plants and animals, I can give thanks to the God who has chosen natural selection and given creation the freedom to give us beauty.

Zoom events for week beginning 2nd September

Dear All,

Details of events this coming week are below: all are welcome! Please pass these invitations on to anyone who you think might be interested.

Zoom services

1) Wednesday evening catch-up

Sept 2nd, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

2) Friday Morning Prayer, 9.00am

Sept 4th, 2020 09:00 AM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

Service at https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/morning-prayer-contemporary-friday-4-september-2020

3) Friday night prayer

September 4th, 2020 09:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

Service at https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/night-prayer-contemporary-friday-4-september-2020

Thought for the Week – 31st August ‘Singing or Song’

Thought for the Week, 29th August; Singing our song

The life of faith has challenges. We are called to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and to reject the values of this world. Jesus spoke of how we are called to pick up our own cross to follow him; Paul, who endured much hardship in his ministry, spoke of how we are to be living sacrifices.

But Jesus also said that his yoke was easy, his burden was light. I think by that he meant we were not to be governed by the clutter of religious rules and regulations that put so many obstacles between God and ordinary people. And Paul and the other leaders of the early church were also aware that we are not called to carry an unbearable burden. As a fellow vicar once said to me in one of my more idealistic moods; remember Jesus was crucified for us so we don’t need to be. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells his readers that they cannot excel in every Christian virtue, in every form of Christian service. Not everyone is called to be a leader, a teacher, a servant. Each one of us is called to some form of Christian service, something where our faith guides us and so marks us out as followers of Jesus, but we are not expected to do the lot. Paul is actually being tremendously affirmative of the quiet life of faith that most of us lead. We are not called to stand on street corners to preach the Gospel, to embrace poverty, chastity and obedience, to spend all our waking hours praying and studying.

About 20 years ago, a priest called Francis Dewar wrote a book for those considering ordination called “Collared or cornered?”. His central message was that everyone has a gift that as Christians they are called to share; ordination can actually get in the way of that. He had a wonderful phrase; God has given each of us a song to sing. Our job is to try and find what that is, so that people can hear us and see that we are Christians when we sing it our way, as nobody else will be able to do.

September events

Friday September 4^th

5.00pm Inaugural 100 Club Draw, on the grass, Lincoln Fields, followed by Guided Walk, 5.30pm meet Glazeley Church, to Chelmarsh and back; bring a sandwich to eat en-route.

4 miles, easy walking, back by 7.00pm

100 Club numbers still available!

Sunday September 13^th

6.00pm Billingsley Church; Harvest Festival.

Lead by Mary Rayner

Sunday September 20^th

8.00am Billingsley Church: Holy Communion

And for the real enthusiasts, our AGM takes place by Zoom at 7.30pm on Thursday 3^rd September; email David Poyner for details

David Poyner, assistant curate, Severn Valley Benefice. Tel 01562 68638, email D.R.Poyner@aston.ac.uk

Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BillingsleyChurch/ or our websites, www.st-marys-billingsley.org.uk , https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10415/

Friday 4th September – First draw of the 100 Club

The numbers are ready for the first draw of the Friends of Billingsley 100 Club. The first draw will take place at 5 pm on Friday 4th September on the green at Lincoln Fields. The top prize is a guaranteed £50 (minimum) with two further prizes of at least £25 each. Many thanks to the tremendous support that has been shown by the local community, friends, family and supporters from further afield. There are still numbers available for those who wish to join the club.

The draw will be followed by another of David’s guided walks which will start from Glazeley Church at 5.30 pm. Bring along a picnic tea to enjoy en route.

Thought for the week 24th August, ‘On facing Evil’

Let’s call the person N. I first met him about 25 years ago, when he was the secretary of an organisation of which I am a member. He was energetic and well organised; he did very good work. I got on well with him; he was a somewhat larger-than-life character, perhaps with a short fuse but I was happy to accept the occasional eruption from him. I did notice however that the tantrums started to get more frequent as the years went by; he was starting to become something of an embarrassment to us all. I put this down to ill-health. At this stage, my only contact was via emails and I tried to avoid those. Then suddenly he resigned. At that point we learnt the truth; he had been downloading indecent images of children onto his computer. That resulted in a year in prison. Our paths never crossed again. I was pleased to learn from others his wife stood by him and I hoped that it had been an isolated aberration; that he would reform. I was keen that the organisation did not write him out of its history; he had done good work for us. Unfortunately, out of prison, he reverted back to his former ways; more convictions for the same offence followed. His wife died and his health was clearly failing. In jailing him again, a judge observed that he was past any prospect of reform. Then the truly appalling crime came to light; some years before he had raped a child. A few weeks ago, he died in prison, shortly after starting a lengthy sentence for this act.

Cases like this bring into sharp focus two opposing strands in Christianity. On one hand we are called to love, to show forgiveness and mercy. On the other we are called to work for justice. I cannot offer forgiveness to N for crimes he did not commit against myself; I would not presume to tell his victim that she should forgive him. She is a victim who needs support and part of this is that she gets justice; the prison sentence that N was serving was just. But what is not possible for humanity is possible for God. If N admitted his wickedness (for his actions were wicked) and truly repented, then he would be forgiven by God. I have no idea if this happened; even if it did, the church has learnt the hard way that sex offenders can easily revert back to their evil ways. We can minister to these people as best we can, but always aware that we cannot fully trust them. Safeguarding protocols are important. In any case, for myself it is irrelevant, N is dead. But what is not irrelevant is how I respond in prayer to this event. All I could pray was that God would deal mercifully with him. In the face of evil, I am not sure there is much else we can do, but to trust in God the just judge, for whom all things are possible.

Thought for the week 17th August – Education and Wisdom

Thursday was A-level results day; the time students find out their grades and whether they are to be part of the 50% of 18 year olds who now go to university. I was doing my bit at Aston University where I work, conducting telephone interviews with students who wish to join us. I was in the happy of position of being able to give good news to everyone I spoke to.

However hard we try with interviews, it is always hard to know what motivates students to come to university. Some are keen on the whole undergraduate experience; they want a taste of independence and a chance to make new friends. Some are after qualifications that will allow them to have a secure and rewarding job. Others want to study because they love a subject. Probably most have a mixture of all of these and each is a valid reason. For a professional academic like myself, it is the love of learning for its own sake that I most identify with; that thirst for knowledge which continues to drive me, both in my professional life as a research scientist, but also in my spiritual life.

Traditionally the church has always distinguished between the proclamation of faith to those who do not share it and the teaching of faith to those who identify as Christians. I find it hard to make this distinction. The disciples called Jesus “teacher” and I try to explain what I believe and why whenever I speak, regardless of what the individual may or may not believe. Often it seems that I am trying to help individuals find their way through their own spirituality, perhaps helping them to find the language to express and make sense of this, the very deepest emotion that we all have. Somehow in that process, I believe the Holy Spirit is at work, knocking at the doors that guard all of minds. The Bible speaks of this process as gaining wisdom; not learning of facts (the writer of Ecclesiastes perceptively comments that too much study wears out the student!) but rather listening to our inner thoughts and hearing God, whatever we call him, whispering to us. This the Bible calls this (perhaps unhelpfully) fear of the Lord; in modern language, we would call it knowing God. This is the deepest education.