Christopher Frith
St Thomas' Brampton and St Peter's Holymoorside, Chesterfield
Rector's Letters February 2002-January 2003
Our vision statement: Sharing the love of Jesus
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February/March 2002

In the aftermath of foot and mouth, the scarcely credible atrocity of September 11th and the long drawn out devastation of Afghanistan ("smoking out" Osama Bin Laden) all eyes are on the Euro. Will the £ soon be a distant memory? It all adds to a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty as we enter 2002.

It is an opportune time to put our trust in the Lord - who is secure and trustworthy.

In our parish, we face a year of opportunity. We have our new Mission and Ministry Leadership Team. We are "Talking Money" We need to make decisions about developing St Thomas' buildings and replacing the portacabins. We are about to have a major and expensive refurbishment of the organ. And St Thomas' is preparing for a "vacancy", being without a Rector for a while - all distinct and tremendous opportunities.

In this context of opportunity as well as insecurity and uncertainty, we have a new church motto:
Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only (1 Samuel 7:3)

It is a challenge, unlike previous mottos, which have tended to be an encouragement or an invitation. The prophet Samuel delivered it to God's people when they were at a low ebb.

It means a clear - out. Get rid of foreign gods, Samuel said. What or who has supplanted God as our number one affection? We may need to be radical. It demands commitment - an unfashionable characteristic, the very opposite of the "laid back religion" prevalent in the churches. I am a West Ham supporter (football that is!) but I'm far from committed. It costs me no money and very little time and I'm useless to them. Commitment to Jesus Christ does cost us plenty, and we do want to be useful to Him. It is what Christianity is all about - and it's exhilarating.

It calls for a clear-cut determination to serve (or worship) the Lord. In our homes and families, our jobs and our communities we need to do our utmost to please Him and further his mission.

Let's go for it - and make 2002 the best year of our lives so far.

Christopher Frith

From the February 2002 edition of the magazine

April/May 2002

Be Proud of the Church of England

The Church of England is a very large organisation. It employs about ten thousand clergymen and women plus many other people to run its affairs. The vast majority of these clergy are employed in Parish ministry.

Parish ministry is what the C of E is committed to. What that means is that the C of E aims to be available to every person in England because everyone in England is in a Parish which has an ordained person responsible for it.

No other church or organisation is able to do this. Only the C of E has the will and the means to be available to the whole country, and it has been like this for many, many years.

Men and women are selected by the Church for their suitability to be Parish workers, and they are trained with this work in mind. Every Bishop that I know, and every Archdeacon, have all worked in a parish as Curates and Vicars.

An important aspect of the Church's selection of people to be Vicars is that the C of E tries its best to be classless. Many clergy are from ordinary working backgrounds and training is free.

At its root, the C of E is based on the Book of Common Prayer, which stresses the authority of scripture and the need for people to be saved. At its root, I see the C of E as an evangelical church.

Now you may look around at some C of E churches you know and you may not like them or feel at one with them, but they are only part of the whole. It is important again to remember how big the C of E is, and remember the Parishes serving all the people. We should also remember that there is no Gospel without a church and that without the C of E a great many places would not have any church at all, and many prisons and hospitals no chaplain.

Over many years the Church of England has been a great blessing to millions of people. It is a blessing to millions today, and it will continue being that as long as it is supported with prayer and money and the contribution of people's gifts and ministries.

You are asked to do two important things as members of the Church of England: pray for it, for its leaders, for its ministry and its future. Also give gladly to it, and remember, that while we are aware that it needs us and also remember that we very much need it.

Without the Church of England I would not be a Christian. I would not have been blessed by being trained for a ministry. I was born and lived in the East End of London where the free churches had had to close because their members had moved away. Only the C of E stayed, being supported by the church at large, and through this C of E church, poor in terms of money, I became a Christian, and later through this same church, my children became Christians also.

Be proud of the Church of England.

Alex Simpson (Non Stipendiary Minister at St Peter's Holymoorside)

From the April 2002 edition of the magazine

June/July 2002

GOOD -BUT COULD BE BETTER
A summary of the Rector's report to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

This is a special place, with special people and a special work of God going on here. The last year has been remarkably uncontroversial, a year of steady progress.

Some NOTABLE FEATURES include...
  • The formation of the six Mission and Ministry Teams encompassing all we do. The commissioning of the six leaders by the Archdeacon in January was a momentous occasion. We now have a shared leadership and a workable structure.
  • Feeling more part of Derby Diocese. We have participated in Diocesan programmes (Talking Money, Being a Blessing, avoiding business meetings in Lent, etc.) and been blessed by them. We await the Party in the Park eagerly.
  • Children's and Youth initiatives led by Neil Roper, supported by Karen Herrick. Opportunities in the local schools, Cosmic club, the Holiday Club (Cosmic Circus) and so on spring directly from our employing a gifted Youth and Children's worker -just an idea at the Annual Meeting two years ago.
  • Bridges with the Community have gradually been appearing and our building project aims to develop them.
  • A group of those in their 20's and 30's has emerged, plugging a gap which we have had for a while. Those who grow up through our youth and children's groups tend to go off to university and rarely return - although our current crop of students are a huge encouragement and very supportive.
  • Our wonderfully active, retired clergy. Sam and Elsie Cartwright have been joined by Alex and Pat Simpson, who look after St. Peter's, and Robin and Eileen Balch during the last year - each one a treasure, contributing much.
  • Facing a Vacancy. We have been without a Curate for seven months and we are surviving. Soon the parish will be without a Rector for a while. Our churches are in good heart with excellent people taking responsibility. Please pray for them.
THE REAL CHALLENGES seem to be:
  • Reclaiming a generation. A generation has grown up knowing next to nothing about Jesus - and now we seek to reach their children. This is crucial and leads to...
  • Developing our buildings. Portacabins are inadequate. Replacing them with a permanent structure and seeking to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act is now urgent. Our project will require vast amounts of faith, courage and generosity.
  • Committing ourselves to the Lord and serving him only our apt motto for 2002.
Christopher Frith

Christopher and Pam's last Sunday at St. Thomas' is due to be 1st September and the Induction and Institution at Alvaston is to take place on Wednesday 11th September. Please make a note now in your Diaries.

From the June 2002 edition of the magazine

August/September 2002

It has been no ordinary experience to be Rector for exactly 17 years. St Thomas' is a remarkable church, characterised by bewildering variety and versatility, outstanding love and generosity, emerging signs of community outreach and, under girding it all, deep love for Jesus. For all this, I claim no credit at all, but I do appreciate it.

St Peter's is so much stronger and larger, both the people and the building than it was in 1985. If ever there was a church to describe as friendly, we need look no further. St John's, Walton, has grown out of all recognition and their becoming an independent parish two years ago was a major highlight. In our free paper "Mustard Seed" which readers will have seen, I mentioned some special memories and now I have thought of some more.

First comes the development of our daughter churches. Early in our time the PCC agreed that priority must be given to them. Two young families agreed to move from St Thomas', one to St John's, one to St Peter's and that really kick - started the process. I spent a large amount of my time there, especially at St John's. Perhaps, most significant of all, God gave us gifted clergy to take over leadership in both. St Thomas' itself was undoubtedly held back but, over all, it was worth it.

Secondly, there was a Natural Church Development Survey completed in 1998. This was a device designed to reveal the "quality characteristics" most needing attention and the two such were shown to be "empowering leadership" and "functional structures". Behind this jargon, we could see we had major needs and a process began which has led to the formation of our six Mission and Ministry Teams which encompass everything which we do. The leaders of each of them make up our Leadership Team, appointed by and accountable to the PCC. We are now structured much more clearly for growth and leadership is shared.

Thirdly I think of the appointment of Neil Roper, as our first Youth and Children's Worker. When the challenge to pledge an extra £17,000 a year for at least three years was put to the Annual Church Meeting in 2000, there was a fantastic, positive response. The challenge to "reclaim a generation" was starting to be grasped.

Fourthly, I thank God for surrounding me with such wide and extraordinary talent and loving commitment. It starts with my wife and family, and includes a wonderful succession of Curates, Office staff, Wardens, Treasurers, Estate managers .....and so I could go on.

Lastly, and most thrilling of all, I think of the unbelievable joy in witnessing many people come to faith in Jesus. In the end, that is what it's all about.

As I sign off, I want to say to everyone as I often do to God ....
  • THANK YOU for all the encouragement my wife, my family and I have received over the years
  • SORRY I've not been a better, more prayerful and godly Rector In many ways, I'd like to start all over again
  • PLEASE make pleasing, serving and loving God your priority. Remember our 2002 motto: "Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only " (1 Samuel 7: 3)
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Christopher Frith

From the August 2002 edition of the magazine

October/November 2002

As we are in an without a Rector at present the Church Warden's have taken over the writing of the 'Rector's Letter'

Another era in the history of St Thomas' and St Peter's has come to an end. Christopher, our Rector for the past seventeen years, has left us and is now the Vicar of Alvaston in Derby. He and Pam and all the family will be greatly missed. The tributes and emotion during their farewell weekend bear testament to this. We thank God for Christopher's time with us and uphold him in our prayers as he begins his new ministry.

So what now for St Thomas' and St Peter's? Not until Christopher said at his farewell service "from tonight I am no longer Rector of the parish and from tonight I relinquish responsibility for St Thomas" did it really hit me that Christopher was going, and what the implications are. My first thought was "well, who is responsible?"

Of course, as churchwardens, Pam Brimelow and I are legally responsible, and we would value your prayers as we carry out our duties. However I believe that all of us at St Thomas' and St Peter's are responsible for our parish. Over the past few days I have had a picture in my mind of two ships. One is a large container ship and the other a Roman galley.

First the container ship. It is in mid ocean but its engines have broken down. The ship is drifting and not going anywhere in particular. At the moment the sea is calm and there are no rocks. The crew is quite happy to await the rescue that they know will come. Eventually the engines will be restarted and the ship will be under way. Meanwhile the crew is getting lazy and the cargo is rotting. If a storm comes or they drift near to rocks the ship could founder.

Second the Roman galley. The galley has been blown across the sea in a strengthening wind. A large sail has been hoisted and good progress has been made. Now though the wind has dropped and the galley is in danger of being becalmed. Immediately the galley begins to slow down, the crew get out their oars and start rowing. They have not rowed for a while so it takes a little while to sort themselves out. A few oars break but are quickly repaired, some people become tired but are relieved and allowed to rest. The boat still generally goes in the right direction and little momentum is lost. In fact after a short while progress is as good as when they had been reliant on the wind. Storms and rocks are easily negotiated.

By the time the wind returns the galley is still on course and schedule and the exercise and discipline from rowing has produced a fitter and more cohesive crew. Indeed the crew wants to continue rowing as well as being driven by the wind.

I trust and pray that St Thomas' and St Peter's will be like the Roman galley. When our new Rector comes he or she will find that we have continued to move forward following our mission statement `Sharing the Love of Jesus'. We will be reaching out more into the local community both in practical and spiritual ways. Our development programme will be on track and our work with children will be flourishing. Everyone will have been pulling together and playing their part, putting that extra effort and commitment in and perhaps using talents they did not know they had or were afraid to show.

Of course we have great advantage over those on the galley. We have Jesus. The first and foremost thing we must do is pray, seeking His help, guidance, encouragement and will. This is a great opportunity to make us a praying church. We must not get so busy that we do not pray. If we cannot do anything else we can all pray whether it be individually, in groups, at meetings or during services.

So, let us hoist the banner of Christ to our masthead and go forward in the name of Jesus.

Mark Hoare, Churchwarden

From the October 2002 edition of the magazine

December 2002/January 2003

This year we adopted "Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only" 1 Samuel, 7:3 as our motto.

A few weeks ago I was asked if I thought it would be a good idea to keep the same motto for another year. My reply was "yes". I hope you will agree with my answer. Why? My impression is that many members of our church family have really taken this year's motto to heart and that it has been demonstrated in worship, prayer and action.

During these first three months of the vacancy period Mark Hoare and I have received tremendous support from you all. We are particularly grateful to those of you who pray for us on a regular basis. "The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect". James 5: 16b. It is so reassuring to know that we are part of a team of people who, week by week, month by month, willingly and faithfully serve the Lord in both our churches. "All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it". 1 Corinthians 12:27. We thank God for your spirit of genuine commitment to serving him and each other. We also thank all of you for so generously using your gifts, your time and your energies in maintaining and furthering the worship and work of our Christian fellowship. The length of the vacancy is as yet unknown. While we wait for our new minister let us continue to use this time in encouraging each other to be a witnessing worshipping community, strong in the Lord, faithfully serving him at all times.

During the next few weeks Christians the world over will celebrate the season of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation, a time of excitement and anticipation. The long period of waiting is almost over. God's promise of salvation is about to be fulfilled. Let us make ourselves ready to receive God's Son afresh in our lives by celebrating this season of Advent with joy and thanksgiving, remembering with gratitude all that has been good in God's provision for us in this parish and rejoicing in his wonderful message of salvation.

As we wait for the climax of this Advent season: the celebration of the birth of Christ, Immanuel, "God with us", let us rejoice in the knowledge that God can be trusted to fulfil the promises he makes to his people and be reassured that he is indeed with us. This year the message of Christmas will surely be especially meaningful to us as one of fulfilment of past promises, of hope for the future and of joyful anticipation of what the Lord will do for us, his people, in this parish. We cannot know how or when God's plan for us will come to fruition but we do know that if we trust him in all things, and live as his people, he will faithfully meet our needs.

I wish you all a Joyful Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

Pam Brimelow, Church Warden

From the December 2002 edition of the magazine

Rector's Letters 2003