the Parish of St thomas' Brampton, Chesterfield

St Thomas' Brampton and St Peter's Holymoorside, Chesterfield

Rector's Letter February 1986-January 1987

Our vision statement: Sharing the love of Jesus

Home

Church Magazine

Previous letters since 1980

The Rector's letter is printed in each edition of the Church Magazine

February/March 1986	April/May 1986	June/July 1986
August/September 1986	October/November 1986	December 1986/January1987

February/March 1986

The Church ain't what it used to be!

'Marxist' is a scare word these days. White South Africans, for instance, use it to describe Bishop Desmond Tutu. In similar vein, it was used to describe the report of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas, even before it was published.

This report, 'Faith in the City', is certainly not Marxist, but the scaremongering ensured that the report (at £7.50 a copy) was an immediate sellout. It high lights alarming trends in our country and makes many recommendations, 38 to the Church of England and 23 to the Government and nation.

An excellent, magazine-style, popular version of the report has been produced at £1 a copy. I hope many of our readers will acquire copies of this and read and discuss them. We are far from being an inner urban parish, but those who are do not take kindly to blind eyes from people like us - and rightly so. The Church (remember, the majority of recommendations are addressed to the Church) is honour bound to respond.

The Government doesn't like the report, of course. It's embarrasing to have it pointed out that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, that we live in an increasingly divided Britain. "The Church should mind its own business," many think. I doubt whether God does.

Many people also think the Church should be sombre and serious.

I read of a conversation between an English minister and a professor from another European country. "What puzzles me," said the minister, "is the overwhelming sense of solemn gloom that hangs over the services. Does no one ever smile or look happy in your churches?"
"But that would be most undesirable", replied the Professor, "we do not go to Church to be happy."
Not many go to church, full stop.

A little child had the same idea. On a family walk in the country, he saw a donkey.
"He's a Christian, that donkey", he said.
The parents asked why. "He's got such a long face," he replied.

Our first Family service at St. Thomas' would have shocked the Professor and the little boy, to say nothing of the thousands of others who think that Christian worship and joy don't go together. I found it invigorating to shake so many hands after the service, belonging to people with smiling faces.
"That was great!" "We'll certainly come again". "I didn't know church could he like this!"
Comments like these came again and again.

We know that there's plenty of scope for improvement and, anyway, one swallow doesn't make a summer. But it's nice to see that the Church of Jesus Christ isn't what people think it is - or what people think it ought to be.

Christopher Frith

From the February 1986 edition of the magazine

April/May 1986

We can say "Alleluiah" at this time of year! We can even shout it; in our Churches, we will - if I have anything to do with it!

"Praise the Lord" is a fine summary of all Christian Worship and the Easter message is its most compelling motive. Mankind's worst enemy, death, has been overcome. We are "ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven" through the crucified AND RISEN 'Son of God'. That is worth shouting about.

Fellow Christians from, say, South America or any African. country cannot understand the way in which we allow British reserve to impede our worship. Why is there so little joy, they ask? Why no enthusiasm? Why so few Alleluiahs?

We can't pretend to be what we are not. But we should be joyful and that joy should somehow be expressed. "Rejoice in the Lord", the Apostle Paul tells us. It is fine to discover joy in the spring sunshine - I do, as I write. Our families, music, job satisfaction, helping others: innumerable things can and should make us happy. It is, however, in the Lord Jesus Christ - constant, unchanging and, above all, risen from the dead - that lasting joy can be found.

It's a pity that we stop our Alleluiahs at Pentecost. After all, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is joy. Perhaps we'll slip the odd one in; I suspect that God won't mind!

A replacement for Ken Scott has already been appointed. The new Curate with special responsibility for St Peter's, Holymoorside, is to be the Rev. Peter Allan.

He is, at present, curate of St Mary's, Chaddeston, in Derby. He is married to Pauline, a Health Visitor, and they have a lively one year old son, Robin. His first Sunday, appropriately, will be St Peter's Day, 29 June. In the meantime, work is being carried out to improve Rose Cottage.

Christopher Frith

From the April 1986 edition of the magazine

June/July 1986

POISED FOR GROWTH
The Rector's report to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

A friend was praying for us as we started at St Thomas'. She was given a sort of vision by God of baking a cake. All the varied ingredients were there, simply needing to be mixed in the right proportions and baked at the right temperature. A beautiful rich cake was in prospect. The prophet Amos was given to this kind of vision!

We have found a church (or rather, three churches) which fits this picture. No mundane sponge, with three basic ingredients is being baked here, it's more like the richest of Christmas cakes. There are a bewildering, variety of ingredients, and two in particular have stood out.

First, imagination.
Anyone witnessing the Harvest workshops for children, the family Communion or Palm Sunday (with the procession, the cheering, the palms and Jerusalem the donkey) or the Easter Eve Midnight Service of light must have recognized that God has given a special dose of imagination to his people here.

Secondly, involvement
Allied to initiative lots of the people are using their gifts in the total ministry of church in areas like baptism and marriage preparation, bereavement visiting and a variety of house groups.

Pam and I are very grateful that God has called us here. Our perspective is inevitably limited after a mere seven months but one thing is clear we are POISED FOR GROWTH. The foundations are laid. The potential is enormous. God is at work.

Family Service is probably the most exciting example of this. The spadework had all been done before we arrived by the Sunday School teachers, a small working group and by the whole PCC. They deserve our thanks so do the team of 35 visitors who trudged valiently and effectively through the new year snow with invitations. And so do those who don't like Family Service but patiently put up with it because it so obviously is furthering the work of the Kingdom.

Family Service is a bridge into the life of our church. A number of adults and children have already crossed the bridge. More are in the process of crossing. So, growth is already underway and we are poised for further growth.

In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says that God gives varied gifts to His Church "that the body of Christ may be built up." The aim is that "we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ". (Eph. 4: 12,15)

As I see it this involves growing in three-directions.

1. GROWTH OUTWARDS.This largely means better outreach, aiming for numerical growth. Realistic targets would involve the numbers of Communicants per Sunday increasing by April 1987
- at St Peter's from 25 to 40
- at St John's from 35 to 50
- at St Thomas' from 145 to 200

It will involve great commitment to God's Mission beyond the boundaries of our parish and all over the world.

2. GROWTH INWARDS
This means better communication between all of us, better relationships, better fellowship (perhaps the re-ordering of our Church will help to further this) and better pastoral concern. It is my aim, over five years or so, to build up a team of lay members who will share pastoral oversight of the congregation with the clergy.

3. GROWTH UPWARDS.
That is, spirited growth. God surely is worship to improve increasingly, may it come from the heart - singing with concentration, listening for a word from the Lord, praying as though doing business with God. It will mean better knowledge of the Bible. It will mean better response to God - and our Christian Commitment Programme in the Autumn will help us all here.

We have every reason to be optimistic and to expect tremendous growth - provided we look to God from whom alone growth has to come.

It was pointed out during the meeting that social concern was missing from this report. This I entirely accept and hope we will be able to work at it as individuals and as a Church.

Christopher Frith

From the June 1986 edition of the magazine

August/September 1986

It comes as a shock to read how cross Jesus was at times. Hypocrisy angered him, more than anything else, and doubtless it still does.

We looked at this during Family Service in July, with help of the Hippo Family - respectable, double-barrelled Hippo-critts. The idea may have been for children; the message is for us all.

Impressing other people by our generosity or prayer or fasting is the problem of some religious folk. "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do," said Jesus. "When you pray, do not be like the hy¬pocrites....to be seen by men." Christian living should be for the benefit of our Father, "Who sees what is done in secret."

Traditions are sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes neither. If they are man made (and most of them are) rather than God ordained, they should be challenged and changed from time to time. "You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. you hypocrites!", Jesus cried, quoting the prophet Isaiah - "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

Perhaps the most tragic Hippo is blind, for he doesn’t realise his problem: blind to his own faults and blind to what God wants: "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean You appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

Strong words indeed! Jesus is plainly expecting genuine Christianity - from the heart. Do we dare to ask him, "Lord, root out every trace of hypocrisy from my life. Make me a real Christian"?

Christopher Frith

From the August 1986 edition of the magazine

October/November 1986

OPERATION SPEARHEAD IS COMING FAST

It's a God-given chance to make progress as Churches (St. Thomas' and St. John's, that is - St. Peter's may well follow later) and as individual Christians an opportunity to....

Discover what it means to be the Body of Christ
"You are the body of Christ and each one of you'is a part of it" says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor.12:27). This means fitting together, each making our own indispensable contribution.

If any parts don't pull their weight other parts have far too much strain. Hopping or limping, for in¬stance, are not good ways to get about.

Operation Spearhead will help us all to find our niche in the body. Then we can fit together and work together. And then we'll be more like the body of Christ.

Discover how we should each respond to God's Love
Everything we have, everything we are, it all comes from God. Our very lives are his present to us. They reflect his amazing love. Once we grasp this fact it trans¬forms our whole attitude to life. We need to make our regular offering back to him. Rather, we want to. It's the natural response to say thank you.

So we offer ourselves, our abilities, our money, all we are and all we have, back to him to use as he sees fit. In this way, we are learning to pray, as King David did of old....
"Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and on earth is yours ....everything comes from you and we give you only what comes from your hand". 1 Chron. 29:11,14.

Don't be frightened or hold back. It's going to be great.

Christopher Frith

From the October 1986 edition of the magazine

December 1986/January 1987

Operation Spearhead is in full swing, much too close for me to make sensible observations - they will follow - but I cannot see, how our churches can ever be the same again. God is at work.

Immediately ahead of us is Bible Sunday. The C of E in her wisdom devotes a Sunday every year to God's Word, encouraging us to "read, mark, learn and inwardly digest" it. Our teaching and preaching should always be based on the Bible, but on December 7 it will be about it.

In addition we shall pray for all concerned with the distribution, reading, translation and teaching of the Scriptures: the Gideons, Scripture Union, The Bible Reading Fellowship, Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Bible Society.

One of the most encouraging things that has been happening in our churches this year is the way that a number of people have discovered the Bible. A book previously closed and unread, it is now treasured and well thumbed: food for mind and spirit, a weapon to defeat the evil one, a mirror to show us our real selves, a light in a dark world.

I guess, however, that only a minority of our members read the Bible regularly. Not many seem to know the Scriptures well, and this is a matter of concern, for it means impoverishment and deprivation, if not starvation.

If you mean business as a Christian, read God's Word. Help is available in the shape of notes of various different styles. If you would like advice, please approach one of the clergy.

Christopher Frith

From the December 1986 edition of the magazine

Rector's Letters 1987