the Parish of St thomas' Brampton, Chesterfield

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

Rector's Letter February 1988-January 1989

Our vision statement: Sharing the love of Jesus

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February/March 1988

There seems to be a mood of optimism at all three Churches. 1987 was a good year for us in an unspectacular sort of way. I detect a new expectation of growth and a new joy in worship. I even think I notice a willingness for things to change from time to time- and that isn't usual in the C. of E.!

We are reaching out in different ways. The love of Jesus continually pushes us out, especially in concern and action for the poor - the materially poor and the spiritually poor.

There is a real possibility that we will need to extend our buildings soon - to accommodate more people and to extend the range of what we do. Sunday Club at St. Thomas' is especially cramped and badly provided for at present.

Bit by bit, God seems to be helping us to think big. He is a big God and He has big plans for our Churches - but we've got to get them right. Our own plans, our own ideas won't do. We need to do a lot of listening to God.

These thoughts lead me to a text for 1988: 'Take root downwards and bear fruit upwards' -Isaiah 37:31

Visible growth and development is the fruit. But there is no fruit of any kind without healthy and substantial roots. Roots by their very nature are invisible. But they are the means by which strength and life, and fruit, are received.

So our number one priority for 1988 is to grow roots to our. faith, roots that dig deep down into the love of God. Until we are "rooted and grounded in love" (as the Apostle Paul put it - Eph. 3:17) we cannot "bear fruit upward". This means time with God, learning how to pray, how to listen to Him, how to understand His word, how to worship Him, how to he truly strong - and fruitful.

Christopher Frith

From the February 1988 edition of the magazine

April/May 1988

From the Curate

How do people face each new day and the future without the reality of the risen Christ in their lives?

With prices rising, unemployment, child abuse, sickness, detente diminishing and increasing pollution, the daily news is enough to depress the most stout-hearted.

With fifty million people dying this year because they are too hungry to live (approximately the total number of casualties in the last war), we may well ask, "What is the value of the individual?" And when we consider that the only thing we know with complete certainty about ourselves from the day we are born is that we are going to die, why bother about any¬thing?

These are the, questions which secretly haunt many people and there is no human answer to them.

It is with such thoughts in mind that I sometimes wish that we could sing "Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!" not only in our churches at the Easter services, but up and down the streets of the parish and all over Chesterfield. With such good news how can we be silent?

Through the forgiveness which comes from the death of Christ, we can begin to experience a new relationship with God, and through his resurrection we can enjoy a new quality of life which will last forever. The New,Testament puts it this way: Christ by his death and resurrection has destroyed sin and death - our two greatest enemies.

Even if (as I suspect some will hastily agree) it is not always appropriate to sing in such a way, yet I hope that, whatever our circumstances, there will be a light in our eyes this Easter, that none of our family or friends can miss!

Yours very sincerely

John Cook

From the April 1988 edition of the magazine

June/July 1988

I've had two different kinds of comment about St. Thomas' made to me recently.

The first sort goes something like this: 'We realty ought to do more for elderly people...Why aren't we involved in social issues...counselling...evangelism... campaigning for justice...open youth work...job centres...healing..' and so it goes on, the list is inexhaustible.

The other sort of comment has come since the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, when we heard a marvellous array of quick-fire reports from 15 or more Church Members about a selection of the activities taking place; 'I never knew so much went on...It was amazing to hear all that...I would never have guessed it'.

Both are true. There is so much. more that we could do and yet an awful lot is going on in our parish. It is a constant temptation to be too active and not really effective at anything.

What are we supposed to be doing as a church?

This is a vital question being asked at present. In general terms, we find the answer in the Bible - and this answer does not alter from Church to Church, from generation to generation. As I understand it, there are three essential ingredients:

1. Worshipping and praising God.
2. Proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples for Jesus Christ.
3. Caring, in practical ways, for those around us.

If we ever stop doing any of these three things, we can't claim to be a Church at all. There is, however, so much that we could do under these three headings and we need to discover what God wants for us. Therefore we need to pray and at the time of writing, all three churches are praying, 'Lord, teach us your way'.

We are coming to Him with all sorts of questions.
Are our priorities right?
Are we structured for growth?
Are we reaching all sections of our Parish?
Should we be extending and re-ordering our buildings?
Should we consider employing a Church administrator?
Can we consolidate all the recent growth in our youth and children’s work?
Should we put more emphasis on supporting St. Johns' as it seeks to serve the big Walton housing development?
I don't know. But God does. That's why we must pray.

Christopher Frith

From the June 1988 edition of the magazine

August/September 1988

My mind is full of Israel. My older son, Jonathan, joined me on a quick visit and we are just back. We went, of course, to see the old sites, to walk where Jesus walked. But the modern Israel is interesting too.

For one thing the situation is always potentially explosive. A lot of Pallestinian Arabs live in Israel and they seem to have a raw deal. The PLO is orchestrating strike action : a general strike two days a week and work only between 9am and noon every other day. No solution is apparent. Shadows of Northern Ireland.

The other evident feature is the increasing number of Jews who have turned to Jesus. They meet in clusters of Messianic Fellowships (not churches). They call themselves Messianic Jews or Jewish believers (not Christians) and they meet on Saturdays (not Sundays). They are thoroughly Jewish - completed, fulfilled Jews really - although they gladly welcome non Jewish Christians into their fellowship. Of course, they are a minority, but a highly significant and growing minority.

Just two out of an array of impressions and memories - and we haven't been back many hours. The Arab question needs enormous wisdom. The Messianic fellowships are a source of great encouragement.

Funnily enough, the last PCC meeting, held shortly before we left for our trip, was notable for these same two features : the need for wisdom and great encouragement.

The encouragement comes from realising that all three churches are advancing and there are projects as evidence. See the report of the PCC meeting in the magazine.

The need for wisdom is obvious. All the projects will cost a lot of money, and we mustn't embark on them unless they are right. If they are God's will, we can trust Him to move us to give and to provide the necessary money in many different ways. If they aren't right, the projects will be a major burden.

So, "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" - Psalm 122:6 and pray for the health of Christ's Church in our parish

Christopher Frith

From the August 1988 edition of the magazine

October/November 1988

From the Curate -Peter Allan

Dear Friends,

While the rector was away I thought John and I were doing rather well. Everything seemed to be ticking away rather smoothly until. "I could tell Christopher was away. A pair of shoes were kicking around in the vestry. Christopher would never do that he's so organised."

You don't always create the impression you think you're making. Neither does the Church. We say that God the Father, Jesus God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are equally important, equally worthy of worship (co-equal, co-eternal). Then we give one or other undue prominence.

Some churches are churches of God the Father. They delight in the order and permanence of God's creation. They reflect it in a precise, carefully organised and structured worship. Baptism is a celebration of God's gift of life. Communion a celebration of God's creation represented in bread and wine. Harvest is of crucial importance, but the Church takes care to celebrate through the year the part played in the life of the parish and the world of education, industry and a wide variety of profession and voluntary activities. Prayers and hymns are always directed to God the Father, never to Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Quality and order are all important. Those who love spontaneity or fail to reach the high standards of conduct or decorum can easily feel rejected. (Cathedrals, civic churches?)

Then there is the Church of God the Son. It delights in the saving work of Jesus. The quality of the worship is seen as less important than the sermon - the proclamation of salvation. Baptism is identifying with the death and re¬surrection of Jesus, Holy Communion remembering Jesus' death until he comes again. The world outside is important because each non-believer is in need of Christ's saving love. Evangelism is thus paramount. Prayers and hymns are said and sung to Jesus as well as God the Father. Preaching and evangelism are all important but those who are more moved by action rather than words can feel excluded. (Churches with big-name preachers?)

Finally there is the Church of God the Holy Spirit. It concentrates not so much on what Jesus has done but on what the Holy Spirit is doing. Order and preaching take second place to spontaneity as the Holy Spirit works in different members of the church fellowship. Baptism is being filled with the Spirit. Holy Communion in a fellowship meal for Spirit filled Christians. The world is invited to see the Holy Spirit demonstrated in power in the life of believers. Prayers and hymns are said and sung to God, Father, Son or Holy Spirit as directed by the Spirit. Every member's ministry is all important but those who believe the Holy Spirit is speaking through silence, through the mainstream churches or through tradition can easily feel that they are not included (House churches?) Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God. Three churches? Which church do you most identify with? Where would you place St. Thomas', St. Peter's, St John's? What can we learn from the three stereotypes I have drawn? What are we missing? Can we, should we, seek a Church which combines the best of the, churches of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? - a Church of the Holy Trinity? What impression are we creating through the life and ministry of our church?

Yours very thoughtfully

Peter Allan

From the October 1988 edition of the magazine

December 1988/January 1989

Advent....that seemingly endless time of waiting for Christmas....a mystery to children and many adults too...what is it?

The word means "coming to". So, Advent is a reminder of the coming of Jesus to us - something wonderful, mysterious, beautiful, profound yet truly simple. There are three tenses which all come into play when we think about it. It's a shame that Advent is hectic because we need time and space to take it in.

1. The past tense: Jesus CAME to us. This is the Christmas Story....

The Millionaire became a pauper so that we beggars might become very rich. If only we take Him seriously.

2. The present tense: Jesus COMES to us.

He actually comes to an individual person and shares his or her life. Each story is different. I love hearing how Jesus has come to people and the impact He has made. Black and white has turned into colour, guilt has been replaced by freedom, loneliness has been transformed by a new family-feeling, emptiness is now full of meaning, apathy is edged out by purpose and conviction, fears are shared and gradually melted away....and so it continues. The transformation doesn't happen all at once, and even mature Christians go through bad times, but Jesus really does come to us today. He makes an enormous difference, but, again, only if we take Him seriously.

3. The future tense: Jesus WILL COME again to us.

This is the part we tend to ignore. He has taken so long to come that we think He has changed His mind! Yet He said He would come, not mentioning it just once or twice, but many times. More often than He taught about anything else, in fact, if the Gospel writers can be trusted. If we don't believe it, then how can we believe all the rest of His teaching? If we do, then we must expect Jesus to reappear as our Judge, a sudden, unexpected, spectacular intervention to wrap up the history of this planet as we know it.

The Advent message is clear. Jesus came to live and die for us. He is coming again to judge us and to welcome those who have taken Him seriously. These are two equally powerful, compelling reasons why we need to open our¬selves to Him in the present - here, now, wherever we are, whatever we are doing.

If He comes to us in the present, the celebration of His past coming is a hundred times more exciting, and the future tense is something to look forward to. Keep Him at a distance and Christmas is a charade and the second coming is a nightmare.

"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus". (Revelation 22:20).
Christopher Frith

From the December 1988 edition of the magazine

Rector's Letters 1989