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Previous monthly letters
November 2010
What do you remember?
What events do you recall?
For each of us these questions will evoke memories of special wonderful events, for
others a sadness will consume as we consider the past and what that means to us. Life changing moments that remain with us
throughout our lives.Throughout the month of November we remember. Remember Guy Fawkes who became synonymous with the Gunpowder
Plot, which has been commemorated in England since 5 November 1605. His effigy is burned on a bonfire, often accompanied by
a firework display.Yet the main remembrance is focused toward 11 November.
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of
the eleventh
month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th
November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent
after more than four years continuous warfare.
Over the years there have been so many questions in relation remembrance.
Wearing of a poppy – red or white? Will young people commemorate this day as others in the past have done? An ongoing
question heightened by current conflicts across the world. Red or white, current conflicts or past the act of remembering
is important.
Remembering reflects the past so our present and future is changed. Yet does it? Do we learn from
the past or do we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again – not just in relation to conflict but our
own lives to? What conflicts are there in our lives?
What do we strive to remember and never let go of? My prayer
for us all is that we will not always cling to the past in a way that prevents us from living in the present and the future.
But together as individuals and as a nation we may develop effective of ways of seeking peace, harmony and justice for ourselves
and for others.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
"Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
In considering our lives would
you perhaps also remember:
God loves you
You are unique and special
You were created to be cherished and loved
May God bless you Jackie
September 2010
Dear friends,
For the harvest of bygone ages, in the hope of
the coming days,
Go into his gates with thankfulness, and into his courts with
praise
Not quite so well known as We plough the
fields and scatter, but a good old traditional harvest hymn nonetheless. It comes in useful this month, and not just
because we look forward to Harvest...
For the harvest of bygone ages...
This
year in the Central Partnership we will celebrate harvest at Latchford on 19 September and 26 September at Bold Street and
will focus specifically on the gifts and graces of God for us and the beauty of the earth. This year also
at Latchford we will welcome a number of new church members as the fellowship in both churches continue to grow. To grow not
just in numbers but spiritually and in discipleship means we need to be continually fed by God’s spirit, truth and word.
As we celebrate
the future we always remember our past, the heritage and inheritances of our lives remind us of God’s faithfulness and
steadfastness to us.
..in the hope of the coming
days...
Harvest is about thanksgiving
for the past. Our faith is based in ancient history. But it is a history which gives us “hope for the coming days.”
This hope is centred in our worship and prayer life. The weekly prayer meeting at Latchford reminds us we are a praying and
worshipping community – do meet with us at 10am each Wednesday if you can.
As a circuit, partnership and churches we continually look to God to guide us into
the future. Over the next months the circuit seek God’s guidance on partnerships – we need to be open to the Spirit
for guidance and strength for the days to come. Please remember all as we struggle to find the right way forward.
Recently I came across this curiously upside down but challenging definition of the church by John Zizoulas
– a writer of the Eastern Orthodox tradition: The church is like a tree with its branches in the present and its roots in the future.
“God is the tree, we are the branches” could be our slogan for Harvest. As we face another
busy autumn season, giving thanks for bygone ages in the hope of the coming days, we begin with a challenge.
How does
God call us to branch and blossom where we are planted, and where will our roots take us next?
Even though our Harvest is home grown this year, it sounds like we still have places to go, and to grow.
With every blessing, Jackie
July/August 2010
Dear friends,
Worship from the Heart - Where is the year going?
Here we are already in June, half way through the year and almost
at the end of the Methodist Connexional year. Clearly I am getting older as I have joined the group of people who say “oh
isn’t the year gong quickly!”
It’s also amazing to think of the new things we have done
in our churches:
At Bold Street:
New Song Café on behalf of the circuit – 4th
Sunday evening contemporary worship @ 7pm in the hall
Book Club continues to inspire as members
read and chat together sharing thoughts.
Coffee Shop Paintings continue to provide a canvas for local
artists to display their work and skills.
Coffee and Chat provides an opportunity for members to have
a informal conversation and idea sharing.
Fellowship lunches are a wonderful reminder of the togetherness
of our church family.
At Latchford
Discipleship meets once a month for an
informal discussion on various issues and themes. Subjects covered include Methodism, Prayer, Reading the Bible and Change
.. more to follow.
Singing for Fun is a weekly get together of singing and fun – each Tuesday
at 4pm in the Guild Room – led by Gill and Barbara … Songs from the shows etc.
Shoppers Café
provides a Saturday morning drop in for coffee, chat and bacon sandwiches.
Kids Connecting and KC Kidz
on Wed night offers a safe space for our young people.
In both churches "Worship at home" - a monthly
resource for all who cannot physucally attened our church on a Sunday.
On the way – Street Pastors, Community
Outreach Programme, Storytelling @ Latchford, Midweek Luncheon, Home Groups, Monthly Communion and other ideas…all
ways of reaching our community and showing that our God cares and adores us and all who we seek to serve.
In addition to all our
activities our worship is crucial. Worship is one of the most important activities that we can engage in as Christians. Through worship we are making a direct connection with God. As I expect
you will know, the word “worship” comes from the old English meaning - “Worth-Ship.” In 1 Chronicles
16:25 it says “For Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise”.
The God who made the universe and everything in it. The air we breathe, the food
we eat, the very life we have – God DESERVES our Worship.
Yet as Christians of course, we have even more cause to Worship God because even when we were far from God
and separated in our sinfulness – God sent Jesus to die for us upon the cross, to save us from our sins and to call
us His Children.
And
if that doesn’t inspire us to worship God, I’m not sure what will. So Worship is not primarily for us but for God. And fundamentally it is a response from the
heart. There is a quote that says “God does not love you because you are thankful. You are thankful because
God loves you.”
In
other words Worship must never simply be an activity we do because we have to. We worship because it’s the way we give expression to the thankfulness in our hearts. If worship ever becomes dull or boring – don’t simply blame the preacher or the hymns.
Look
instead into your heart.
May our God bless you
Jackie
June 2010
I have been reflecting on the news headlines and on some of the many situations that are reported and this will be
an election free letter. They are a mirror of what goes on, to a greater or lesser degree, in people's lives - including
those of Christians.
So here are the results of my reflections: If I break a leg it goes into plaster and you can all express your sympathy by signing it! If I am in a wheelchair
I will be overlooked - 'does she take sugar?' If I am blind I will have a white stick and I will be escorted across
the road whether I want to cross or not!
BUT if I am deaf then I am treated as if I am stupid; if I have a mental
illness then I am ignored because they can be dangerous; if I am bereaved I am avoided because people are just too embarrassed
to know what to say.It's just the way we are.
What about our moral and spiritual lives? There are those of us who have made moral mistakes in our time;
society reacts differently depending on the problem: If I am convicted of theft then I pay the penalty the courts dictate
but what then? No one will employ me. If I am convicted of fiddling my tax - most people will say - 'what a shame you
did not get away with it!' It's just the way we are. Most of the time most of us are able to keep our
faults hidden - most of the time few, if any, know of the battles that go on in our lives, we have developed masks that hide.
I sometimes think that in the Church we can avoid saying how things really are, it goes like this - 'How are you?'
and the reply is always 'Fine, thank you'. None of us tell it how it is, none of us say how we really feel because
it might well be a conversation and friendship stopper! Yet so many of us are hurting and in pain, sometimes it is guilt,
sometimes it is hidden illness, sometimes it is broken relationships and the list goes on… It's just the way we are.
BUT IT'S NOT THE WAY WE ARE MEANT TO BE.
In Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 we read
'Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.' The Church should be the one place
where we can be truly open and know that we are loved and accepted unconditionally, a reflection of God's acceptance and
love. Perhaps creating a safe space with people we trust is an on-going challenge, but we must do it, in order to become whole
people. John Wesley's class system had an 'in band' code of practice, meaning anything shared was to be kept within
the group. They confessed to one another and supported and built each other up. Are you interested in setting one up/Time
for a bit of honesty I think! May our God bless you Jackie
May 2010
Dear Friends,
Sometime
ago I was sat in a coffee shop and I saw an elderly woman lose her footing outside and fall. It was an awful thing to see
and many people rushed to help her and see if she was all right. The first thing that many people attempted to do was to try
to help her to stand up. It thankfully turned out that she was ok.
I always wonder about that. We mostly hate seeing other people in pain and we do our best to quickly
get them back on their feet again so that everything is as it should be. It's normal, because even my own nature is: when
something is broken, to attempt to fix it - the toaster, the picture frame, or even my own life. I usually hurry on to the
mending process, because, like many people, I can't bear to see things, or people, broken. It is probably a very natural
human reaction to brokenness, and is found even more so in the church. I, and others, usually don't like to see things
out of order, slowing down, dying, or sick. It's quite a dilemma we're caught up in really.
Out of our natural concern for people we try to fix it for them,
we hurry to pray, or "do something" to make it better for someone we care for. We do it especially to members of
our own family. It's completely understandable. And yet, I question this kind of reaction in myself, the "fix-it"
mentality. Why can't I bear to see things, or people, or myself not fixed? What stops me from just letting people simply
be where they are at that time? What is it in me that wants to be the "repair person", whether by act, prayer or
thought? Is it because I cannot deal with my own brokenness that I cannot look at the brokenness of others? I guess, at least
if I so am busy helping others, caring for someone else, praying for another person, I do not have time or energy to sit with
my own sorrows, my own pain, my own emptiness.
The
reality is, Jesus did not heal everybody. Jesus did not come to fix the world. Mostly Jesus came to sit with people in their
pain and brokenness. He knelt down beside tired feet and listened to the stories of their pain and struggle. He was not quick
to mend every broken person he saw. Indeed, the story of the incarnation and the cross is all about a God who is present in
pain, not aloof from it. Ours is a God, who does not simply dish out blessings from the safety heaven, but a God who is fully
engaged, on a human level, with people in their own situations.
Sometimes, we can help people mend. But sometimes, perhaps, we need to let them be. Sometimes we
need to simply sit with them in their pain, unable to help, unable to do or say anything.
The next time we fall, perhaps we just need a few moments to gather our thoughts, assess our own
damage is there is any, and be allowed to just sit, even if it makes other people feel uncomfortable. May our God bless you this week
Love Jackie
April 2010
This article appeared in the April edition
of Good News for All
|  | Dear Friends
The last few months
have shown us all that, despite the grandest of hopes and the best of intentions, the long term effects of the economic downturn
is still with us. The effects of a shrinking economy are reflected on our high street, where more shop premises now lie empty
though there is hope that some of the empty units in Golden Square will be filled again soon. And they’re played out
most painfully in homes and families where redundancy and repossession are real threats.
There is, however, one cycle
that has been decisively broken – and this not by any feat of fiscal prowess or political acumen. For God has done for
us what we could not do for ourselves: the terrible, damning tragedy of human violence and alienation has been addressed once
and for all upon the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus exposes the human tendency always to seek out and identify someone upon
whom all our indignation and anger can be vented – someone whom we can blame. And the punishment of this victim, it
is supposed, will restore calm to the community.
So
Jesus was chosen to be this victim, to bear the brunt of our anger. Yet his death was not the final
word: for Jesus rose in power on the third day, overturning the judgement that had been laid upon him and declaring that in
him healing and restoration are to be found. In the risen Christ, the victim returns not to exact revenge but to breathe forgiveness;
and the Cross shall forever stand, not as the place of condemnation, but as the sign and standard of God’s boundless
love.
This same love which reached across the chasm
of crucifixion, was then poured into human hearts in the coming of God’s Spirit at Pentecost. And we who affirm this
love, are summoned to demonstrate it also in our lives: love that is no mere feeling or attitude, but love that is measured
and constituted by its deeds.
So let us learn
how to serve, and in our lives enthrone him;
each
other’s needs to prefer – for it is Christ we’re serving.
This service is ever present as we approach a period of questioning and decision making in local elections and a
general election (Though at the time of writing this, the general election has yet to be called). We have
a responsibility, yes to ask thoughtful and challenging questions of parliamentary candidates, but also to show God’s
love as they offer themselves to be public servants.
May we pray for all involved and for ourselves that we may use our God given right to vote responsibly.
That we may as the prophet Micah reminds us: “And what does the Lord require of you? To
act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”. Micah 6:8 May our God bless us Jackie |
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March 2010
This article appeared inthe Good News for All magazine March 2010
Dear Friends
I always feel quite excited when the signs of spring begin to appear. There is a delight in the prospect of new life
re-emerging from the cold earth. The greyness of winter and dark cold days and nights hopefully disappear and things all around
us change. The daylight is longer and there is something about the spring that makes me feel optimistic
about life. It can lift our hearts. And so as we approach spring it is filled with the mixed emotions of our Lenten and Easter
season.
Lent begins on 17 February and Easter Sunday is 4 April. Lent
indicates a season of wearing purple stoles, removal of flowers in some churches, hymns and songs on themes perhaps of sin
and penitence. Lent or spring which is my preference – well I looked it up in the dictionary – coming between
the words lens and lentils the Old English word Lencten means spring. Wow! Lent and spring meant the same thing, perhaps we
people of Modern England have misunderstood what Lent is about. We treat Lent as though it was a spiritual winter.
What would happen if we treated it, instead, like emerging spring? Spring
reminds us of new life and promise – summer is on the way. Lent too is full of promise. A promise that we – you
and I are forgiven. The promise of the love of God who loves us always, in all seasons and that promise fulfilled in the death
and resurrection of Jesus. New life new birth. In lent I always look positively – don’t give something up, take
something on, is my own personal preference.
What changes should there be in my life? Changes
in my spiritual life and commitment to God, changes in the quality of my relationships, changes in the priorities of my life?
What do I want my life to be? I want to be filled with the ever new life of God’s Holy Spirit. I want my life to be
…………………………... There’s a lot of work to do then,
a lot of changes to be made!
So this year shall we see lent as though it were spring – filled with excitement, wonder and anticipation?
Lent, spring, Easter, resurrection and new life. All things for us to celebrate. May our God bless you Jackie
February 2010
This article
appeared inthe Good News for All magazine Feb 2010
Dear
friends,
In the middle of a green lawn are two pieces
of coal, a half-eaten carrot, an old scarf and two twigs lying in a puddle. What’s this about? What’s happened
here? Is it just an accident? Did these things come together by chance? This month all partnerships within our circuit are invited to share their findings from the review undertaken since
November.
As a central partnership we have asked opinions on how we work as a partnership (Bold Street and Latchford)
through a survey, one to one conversations and an open meeting. We have asked if we should remain as partnership, we have
sought what our priorities ought to be and the findings of these conversations will be shared at the meeting in February and
subsequently with both churches.
Have you solved the conundrum? On the site of the bits ‘n’ pieces in
the pool of water, a proud snowman had earlier stood. (I say ‘proud’: to me, all snowmen look imperious!)
The sun’s now out. It’s melted all the snow! And the carrot that had been the snowman’s nose is now food
for passing animals.
Given the large amounts of
snow we have seen in the last month, it may well be that you’ve been building your own snowman. This year, we’ve
been seeing plenty of them. There have been igloos too! Schools were closed and this has allowed some children for the first
time to experience the delights of the snow. The first time of snow-crafting, snowballing, sledging and sliding. Treasured
memories for our young people.
Winter snow has
brought us other stories to tell too. Inevitably, there are those whom we know who have suffered a fall. The ice on both pavement
and road has been treacherous. Some folk have been able to stay in, even as I have heard, for ten days at a stretch. Others
have had to try to get to work, only to get stuck in traffic, or to turn again for home. Meetings and services have been cancelled.
We have had to adapt and change what we have done and through it all we have telephoned, visited (when enable) and supported
one another. What a sign of partnership and of working together.
This
year then, we’ve had a winter! We reflect on our winter experiences and we hope now for a Spring! Of new birth,
new life and of fresh growth and experiences. However we work as churches we work for the glory and praise of God and not
for our own.
We will always encounter seasonal
happenings. They’re not accidental events! Enacted before us is growth, grace and new life. Before our eyes is repeated
the story of the inexorable success of supreme power of the created world and order changing and developing – we too
experience the same – we change, grow and develop and our God remains constant with us. Encouraging, challenging and
supporting us in snow and in spring God is constant.
So
Bold Street and Latchford, in partnership together, or with another church we move forward seeking God’s fresh vision
for new life and new birth in Christ and in ourselves.
May
Our God bless us
Every blessing Jackie
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