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From the Manse - March

Dear Friends I wonder what it felt like, being called by Jesus to be his companions? I often think that his presence must have been commanding – there was never any argument – those men just went, leaving everything, family, homes, friends, employment – to go on the road with a virtual stranger. And yet… we all know in some way what it is like to be called to be the friends of Jesus. We are all committed in one way or another to following the way of the Lord.

In this season of Lent we are supposed to examine our discipleship and our commitment. Jesus prepared for his ministry by withdrawing from the world, and spending time in solitude with God. I remember reading a book not so long ago that depicted Jesus’ time in the wilderness as a time of wrestling with himself. He was a talented master mason by that time, and could have gone on to become rich and powerful in his own right. So he struggled with the inner voice that was continually saying to him “Don’t do that! Never mind what God wants – you do what you want!”

Don’t we all go through such struggles from time to time? When I was a student it was the struggle between doing what all my friends did – staying out at the theatre on Saturday nights and coming in late, then staying in bed with the Sunday papers until lunch time! Later it was the excuses of children and domestic tasks that kept me from worship. But really it was that poisonous inner voice that urged me to please myself rather than listening to God.

I am often asked what the difference is between church members and those who faithfully attend worship without becoming a member of any church. On the surface it’s not a lot! But in reality the difference is great. Church members have made a public commitment to their place of worship that transcends financial giving. They are committed to being there and helping the church in whatever way they are able; to praying for the church and its members every day; to spreading the Gospel wherever they can and generally building up the Body of Christ. But so are adherents! (In fact, I know that some non church members are more committed to the church that those who are!) Never think that adherents are not valued in the same way – they are – but the church needs its members, who can make decisions and not just express opinions but also vote on them!

What I observe is that many people already do so much for our churches and yet seem reluctant to make that public profession of faith and commitment to one congregation. I know that there is an historic reluctance to increase church numbers in case it increases the church’s assessment figures – but that is not necessarily the case. There is an inborn fear that if someone becomes a church member they might be asked to do more than they feel able to do – but the word “No” is in the church vocabulary! There is a sense of saying “I’m alright as I am” but the church needs members! For me the over-riding reason for committing to church membership as opposed to faithful adherence is one of ministry. The more members a church has the more likely it is to receive ordained ministry from its denomination.

So those of us who are already members of our churches could take it upon themselves during Lent to discuss with those who are not the possibility of becoming members; and those who are not members but faithfully attend and work for the church should be looking seriously at this challenge to join and asking themselves why they are reluctant to do so.

Jesus wrestled with his doubts and his fears alone in the wilderness. We struggle with our feelings too, and with our sense of what God is calling us to be and do. I hope, during this time of Lent, we might all find a new calling to be the best disciples we can possibly be.

By the time you read this John and I will be in America. I pray that Lent will be a time of challenge and discovery for you all – as no doubt it will be for us. I shall be preaching at First Free Methodist Church in East Liverpool Ohio on 11th March. Please pray for us, and for Steve Forsythe and his congregation whilst we are away.

With love and prayers

Barbara   

From the Manse - February

For me the only good thing that can be said about February is that it’s a short month! (Although it has an extra day this year) My grandmother used to say  “February –fill dyke /Either with black or white” to indicate the weather – snow or rain. Along with November this is a dreary month…

But slap bang in the muddle of it comes Valentine’s Day – what has become a sentimental slushy excuse for chocolates, flowers and cards to rise to astronomical prices; when romance takes centre stage, and love is in the air. St Valentine was a priest in Rome in the time of Claudius II. He helped Christians under persecution – they were martyred in great numbers by order of the Emperor. He also helped Christian couples to marry. When Claudius heard he sent for Valentine and tried by all means to get him to renounce God and his faith, but failed. He was imprisoned, and Claudius took a liking to him. His fatal mistake was to try to convert the Emperor! Valentine was then beaten with clubs and beheaded on 14th February. He was buried near to Ponte Mole, and the gate into the city near the church built over his tomb was named after him for many years.
Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine." He is the Patron Saint of bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people.
Although St Valentine’s Day sometimes seems a bit over the top, it is a timely reminder in a dull month of the centrality of love in human life. We have one word for love, but the Greeks have four – agape – true love; eros – passionate love; philia – brotherly (or sisterly) love and storge – affection. It is well known that those who are unloved do not flourish. (Remember the Romanian orphanages?)
The love of God for us is the deepest exression we encounter. From the time of the Creation the Bible tells us of the ways in which God expressed that love – and we have just celebrated the love which gave us God in human form; we are on the road that leads to the loving sacrifice of life itself for the redemption of the world. God loves us – totally, absolutely, without strings; all he asks is our love in return.
I challenge you on St Valentine’s Day, to spend half an hour with your Bible. Read again that familiar treatise on love that St Paul wrote in his first Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 13) Read it over and over; reflect on the qualities of love; then praise God for his love for us – and for the places where you find love in your life.
And the dull month will pass, and we will be looking for signs of Spring before you know it!
 

With love and prayers
Barbara
 

From the Manse - December / January

Dear Friends,

 I always find this letter a little difficult to write. Do I focus on Advent and the preparation for Christmas, or on the New year and the clean slate? Over the years I have done both, and it sometimes seems that I can get it right for December but not for January – or be relevant for January and premature for December. So I’ll have a go at a different tack altogether!

 One of my favourite “Christmas / Epiphany” pieces is this, by an American writer, Howard Thurman.

“When the song of the angels is stilled

when the star in the sky has gone

when the kings and the princes are home

when the shepherds are back with their flocks

the work of Christmas begins;

to find the lost, to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people

to make music in the heart.

 It seems to me that this short piece of writing sums up both what our approach should be as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, and what we should be focussing about in the New Year. It always reminds me a little of both Isaiah 61: 1-2 and Matthew 25: 31 – 46. (If they don’t ring a bell, why not look them up?) Sometimes we get so hung up on that single day, and the celebrations within and around it that we forget to contemplate why God came to us at all. We forget that Jesus came because human beings had forgotten to find the lost, heal the broken, feed the hungry, release those in bondage, to rebuild the nations and seek peace. Against the laws of Moses the people of God had compromised their faith to live alongside Rome; some of them had become greedy and self centred, looking only to themselves and their own welfare. So God came, going to the humblest place he could, being born and living as one of us, preparing to preach a Gospel of love and equality and redemption to those who would listen.

 So as we hear the age old stories that we know and love so much, we also need to hear God’s voice behind them, as he used ordinary people like me and you to reveal him to a world that had grown careless.

 Then, when the excesses of Christmas are over – the eating and drinking and visiting and present giving, we need to find a place for that gift that God has given to us. A bit like the hideous vase that Aunty sent, the socks with the reindeers on that your grandchild picked so lovingly, the aftershave or perfume that smells disgusting, what can you do with a present you are not sure about? Do we pack Christmas up with the tinsel and baubles and put it away for another year? Or do we keep it out, and work with it, striving to find a way of doing “the work of Christmas”

 As I said earlier in the year, if we put Jesus away with the decorations we will never allow him to be more than a baby in a manger; his message, his purpose, is thwarted if we never allow him to grow up. So that is the message for the New Year – let your faith grow up and grow out. Allow it to look for ways of fulfilling the Gospel message of peace and goodwill. There is always something that we can do, that God is pointing out to us.

 We need to feel the reason for the season – and after that season is over, we need to go out and work with and for the gift God has given us.

 John and I wish you a good Christmas, and a faithful and happy New Year.

 God bless,

Barbara