St Thomas' Brampton and St Peter's Holymoorside, Chesterfield Rector's Letters February 2003-January 2004 Our vision statement: Sharing the love of Jesus

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The Rector's letter is printed in each edition of the Church Magazine February/March 2003 April/May 2003 June/July 2003 August/September 2003 October/November 2003 December 2003/January 2004 February/March 2003-Church Warden's letter during the vacancy I am writing this on the 12th day of Christmas, which, in the church’s calendar is the Epiphany, the day when the Wise Men visited the infant Jesus. But were they as wise as we are led to believe? They were kings, leaders in their own countries and presumably intelligent men. Yet they went to King Herod to seek advice and promised to show him where Jesus was. Did they not realise what Herod’s reaction would be? It needed God to guide the Wise Men in what to do: not to go back to Herod but to go home by another route. Since the first Christmas we have had ‘Wise Men’ (or to be politically correct ‘Wise Persons’) leading the countries of the world but many of them have got it wrong. Indeed today, at the start of 2003, we have ‘Wise Men’ as leaders but we are on the brink of war in the Middle East, there is a stand off looming over North Korea, there are terrorist attacks all over the world, there is famine in Africa although the West destroys food to keep prices high. I could go on. We need to pray that those who lead the countries of the world will seek the Lord’s guidance and will rather than following their own agenda. At a local level here at St Thomas’ and St Peter’s we have hopefully been wise and sought God’s guidance. 2002 has been quite an eventful year. The biggest event was Christopher’s leaving. However, with the Leadership team, retired clergy, lay readers and office staff all working well together and seeking God’s guidance we have kept on course and moving forward. Other notable events included the restoration of the organ, the setting up of the after school club, the Holiday Club, the fete and the progressing of the development of the church. I extend my thanks to everyone involved. Looking ahead to 2003. It will be a crucial year in the history of our parish. The two biggest decisions we need to make will be deciding who will be our new Rector and how we progress the development of St Thomas’. I would like to think that we have ‘wise persons’ to make the right decisions both at Parish and Diocese level. However, to get it right we must seek God’s guidance and will. Verses 20 and 21 of St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians are encouraging at this time: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Finally, may I thank everyone who has helped Pam, Adrian, Ian and myself carry out our duties as wardens over the past year and for your continued support in 2003. Mark Hoare, Church Warden From the February 2003 edition of the magazine April/May 2003-Church Warden's letter during the vacancy Did you watch the enthronement of Dr. Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury, the 104th successor to St Augustine, on television recently? I did and was an enthralled witness to the event. The appointment of Dr Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury seems to have caught the interest of the public in a way that few religious appointments of modern times can equal, so, along with other curious people, I was keen to see and hear more of the man who is appointed leader of many millions of Christians throughout the world. The weather was kind and the waiting crowds were bathed in the early spring sunshine as they watched the invited dignitaries arrive to take their places for the ceremony. Inside the cathedral cameras revealed more of the spectacular setting in which the ceremony was to take place. Who could fail to be thrilled at the impressive array of representatives of State, of the universal Church and of other faiths gathered together in a historic place of worship? Amid great ceremonial, in which the Church of England excels, the long awaited service began. The traditional rites were observed alongside a feast of pageantry, music and poetry. Through his choice of readings, music and dance items and later his sermon, the new Archbishop put his unique stamp on this traditional and solemn service. Dr Williams based his sermon on a reading from Matthew's Gospel and I would like to share with you some of my recollections from this address. All are children of God 'Once we recognise God's great secret, that we are all made to be God's sons and daughters, we can't avoid the call to see one another differently. No one can be written off, no group, no nation ….' 'We have to learn to be human alongside all sorts of others, the ones whose company we don't greatly like, whom we didn't choose, because Jesus is drawing us together into his place, his company'. Jesus at the heart of everything Jesus was 'simply there' at the heart of everything - 'Nothing of value happens in the church that does not start from seeing him simply there in our midst, sharing our suffering and transforming our human disaster'. '... through Jesus God's own life and love is given …' Our role as individual Christians and as members of the world wide Church 'The one great purpose of the Church's existence is to share the bread of life;' …….. 'The Church exists to pass on the promise of Jesus - ' You can live in the presence of God without fear; you can receive his fullness and set others free from fear and guilt'. '… wherever he is, God is active, pouring out his gift, inviting our response.' And this means we can't know fully who God is and what God gives unless we are willing to stand in the same place as Jesus …. in mercy and renewal'. 'The recognition of Jesus in the stranger was why Christians would engage with passion in the world of our society and politics …' Dr Williams' prayers for the Church to have ' … confidence, courage; an imagination set on fire by the vision of God the Holy Trinity; thankfulness'. The Archbishop's vision of the church '...The church of the future will do its … work effectively only if it is concerned first with gratitude and joy; … we will solve our deepest problems by better discipleship, and a fuller entry into the intimate joy of Jesus' life'. The enthronement of an Archbishop of Canterbury is a momentous day in the life of the Anglican Church. Few periods in our history have been more challenging than those of today. Therefore Christians everywhere need to unite in prayer for Dr Williams as he commences his Primacy. May his term of office prove to be a time of reconciliation, blessing and growth for the world-wide Church. May I wish you and your families a very happy and blessed Easter. Pam Brimelow, Church Warden From the April 2003 edition of the magazine June/July 2003-Church Warden's letter during the vacancy The four or five weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the season of Advent in the Christian calendar. In my dictionary advent means an arrival or coming, especially one that is awaited. In the period of Advent the one who is awaited is of course Jesus. During Advent we prepare for His arrival. We at St Thomas’ and St Peter’s are in our own season of advent, (with a small a). We are awaiting the arrival of our new rector, David Mouncer. Since Christopher left last September we have been busy: Christmas, Lent, Easter, the Annual General Meeting, appointing David, keeping the church running and so on. Now we are entering a less busy period (except if you are involved with Holiday Club!) Let us anticipate and prepare for David and his family’s arrival. The best preparation we can do is to pray. Pray for the practicalities of their move from Maidstone, that they will settle in quickly here and for David’s forthcoming ministry amongst us. The Old Testament foretold to God’s people, the Jews, of Jesus’ coming. However it did not tell them what Jesus would look like, what His voice would sound like, what His personality would be like or how He would conduct his ministry. People reading the Old Testament would have had their own images of Jesus. For most people at St Thomas’ and St Peter’s the same could be said of David. Apart from those who met him when he came for interview no one else knows much about him. Is he tall, short, clean shaven or bearded? Does he have a high pitched voice or a deep voice? No doubt we all have an image in our minds. What is his personality like, how will he conduct our services, what will his ministry be like? Only time will tell. However we must not be like the Jews when Jesus came. Most of them rejected Jesus because he was not as they had expected and refused to accept his ministry. We must not reject David. I believe God wants David at St Thomas’ and St Peter’s. We must accept how David leads us, his ministry, style of worship, the changes he may make, the way he does things. We must not grumble, moan or cause division. We must accept David and his family with love. At the Maundy Thursday meal a few weeks ago Robin talked about the example of love that Jesus showed to his disciples. He washed their feet. So when David, Lisa, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Joshua and Samuel come let us ‘wash their feet with our love’. If we don’t happen to like or agree with something let us pause and think, “What would Jesus do?” Mark Hoare, Church Warden From the June 2003 edition of the magazine August/September 2003-Church Warden's letter during the vacancy Have you moved house recently? A few weeks ago I helped a friend to move and I must say I agree with whoever it was who said moving is the third most stressful experience you can have! We are all faced with moving at certain times in our lives for various reasons. Young people changing schools, leaving home for the first time, going to university: others of us changing jobs, retiring or relocating. None of us can escape change. The more middle-aged among us usually find change disturbing. It makes us feel insecure. Most of us are comfortable where we are and with what we know, we are reluctant to give up long held ideas and habits. Do you ever feel that you would like to freeze life where it is? Perhaps it took everything we have to get where we are - 'Let’s go' is not what we want to hear. Decisions have to be made - what to take, what to leave behind, what to dispose of. Is this the chance you have been waiting for to ‘set your house in order’? Are you strong enough to leave behind the things that have served their purpose? Are you a victim of misplaced sentiment? Practicality verses sentimentality is not easy to deal with. Change can also be painful, especially when it means leaving behind people you love, because they are unable or unwilling to move. We all need time to deal with these feelings. Viewed in a positive way change can be seen as a challenge, a chance to further your career or to take your life in a new direction, as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean, to move on and start again. Whatever the nature of the change perhaps it would help us to deal with it better if we saw it as an opportunity to re-evaluate our lives on practical, personal and spiritual levels. Attitude can either keep us moving on or cripple our progress. It’s up to us. If we allow him, God will work in our lives, taking away the things that don’t belong and pruning those that do. He will remove the things that have served their purpose, refuse to change, will give trouble in the future, are standing in the way of something better, are holding us back. Jesus said,'I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.' John 15: 1-2 Do you have traditions in your family? Perhaps to do with birthdays, Christmas etc. Be honest, are you happy with all of them? Is it time ‘the wind of change’ blew through some of them? Unfortunately traditionalism can squeeze the life out of us if we don’t keep it in check. I’m not talking about the right kind of traditions: the ones that give us deep roots and an anchor in the storms of life; traditions like believing the Word, loving God, living for others and becoming ‘salt and light' wherever we go. I am talking about the difference between petty prejudices and Bible principles, refusing to be bound by religious practices that turn non-Christians 'off' and keep them out of God’s kingdom. We need to stand on the side of openness, allowing room for the untried, the unpredictable and the unexpected, while holding fast to the truth. We need to be on our guard so that we don’t become self-appointed wing-clippers frowning on anything new, shooting down all who attempt to fly, and pouring others into the mould of our personal preferences. We read in the Bible how for some people faith depended too much on maintaining a particular tradition or style than was healthy. The Galatian Christians, for example, had fallen into that danger and it is surprisingly easy today for us to follow suit. We all have our ‘traditions’, patterns of spirituality, church life and worship which we regard as authentic, important, even vital expressions of faith. We too can be in danger of defending our 'traditions' as the only real way of worship. Many of these Galatians were sincere people who wanted to inject spiritual discipline into their lives, but the Christian life cannot be lived to a formula: 'do it this way, and you’ll get it right with God'. Because so many problems result from reckless haste, the Bible talks a lot about 'waiting on God'. And that’s a good thing. But look out, you can wait too long! God said, 'I have begun .. Now (you) begin to conquer and possess ...' Deuteronomy 2: 31. Are we saying, 'I’m waiting for God to move?' Maybe he’s waiting for us to move! God promised Abraham a great future, but it didn’t happen until he left his comfort zone and went out -'Abraham ... obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going' Hebrews 11 : 8. When Pharaoh’s army trapped Israel at the Red Sea the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites to move on.' Exodus 14:15. The time for waiting and praying was over, in order to receive their next blessing the Israelites had to face and overcome their immediate fear and march across the Jordan when it was in flood. It happened only when they started moving! The disciples left everything to follow a man they didn’t even begin to understand. They had dreamed of a Messiah who would establish a kingdom and overthrow Rome, so the crucifixion blew their minds. And the resurrection created problems too, now they had to preach a controversial Gospel that could cost them their lives. They certainly didn’t know how much it would cost them or change them when they decided to follow Jesus. If you think accepting change is difficult - try introducing it to others! We are all resistant to change to some extent - venerating the past to such an extent that no progress or growth can be made. The period of the vacancy in this parish will soon be at an end. Meanwhile there is still a great deal to be done, not least in the day to day running of our churches. In spite of all the ‘busyness’ we need to prepare ourselves for change, to keep an open mind and a positive attitude, so that we are able to rise to the challenge. We know God disturbed many people, Abraham, the Israelites in Egypt, the disciples, Paul and others we read of in the New Testament. Their outlook and attitudes were changed in order that the gospel could be shared. In the next few weeks perhaps we should take some time to give ourselves a spiritual audit and reflect on where are we going as a church and why. The God we serve is a God of change; he is always on the move. In the opening sentences of the Bible we read 'In the beginning … the Spirit of God was hovering (moving) over the waters' Genesis 1: 1-2. And he is still moving today! As Christians we need to respond to issues which affect all followers of Jesus. How can we pray for growth and then defy change? The people of Israel had to move when the cloud moved; otherwise they would have been left behind! Are we prepared to play an active role in promoting the future of the Christian faith, or do we prefer to be 'left behind'? I feel there are some questions I should be asking myself. I wonder if you will ask yourself similar questions in the weeks and months to come. Am I excited by the prospect of change? Am I ready for change? Is our church ready for change? Am I willing to support any necessary changes? Am I aware of God’s hand on all that is happening in this parish? Do I see change as a blessing? Am I spiritually ready to face the challenge of change in the world-wide church? I feel I need to pray, 'Father, whatever it costs, help me to move on with you.' Pam Brimelow, Church Warden From the August 2003 edition of the magazine October/November 2003 How do you write an introduction to yourself? How do you paint a picture of yourself to a new church? Simple - paint by numbers! 458- my age in months. 19- the number of years I've been a Christian. I was converted on October 23rd 1984 at St.Michael's church, Aberystwyth. On the very same night I met Lisa for the first time! 16 - the number of years Lisa and I have been married. 7 - the number of homes Lisa and I have lived in during our married life. 4 - children. Benjamin, Elizabeth, Joshua and Samuel. 3 - the number of jobs I've had in my life; grammar school teacher, London City Mission evangelist and priest. 9 - the number of years I've been in the ministry (+ three years studying at Oak Hill theological college) 3 - St.Thomas' and St.Peter's is my third job. I served my curacy in Folkestone and have just left a church in Grove Green, Maidstone. 4 - the number of denominations involved in my last church. Because it was a Local Ecumenical Project I was, for Grove Green, the Anglican Priest, the Methodist Minister, the Baptist Pastor, and the United Reformed Minister. (confused - you try wearing 'four hats' when you go round the parish!!!) 3 - the number of priorities I have in my ministry; prayer, preaching and people. 33 - the number of years I've been a loyal supporter of Leeds United football club. 0 - the number of times I've been to Leeds. 2 - the number of times Lisa and I have visited Iceland. 1 - the total number of Icelandic words I know. (“bless” - goodbye) 5.21 - the chapter and verse in Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church - my favourite, and in my humble estimation, the greatest verse in the Bible. 1 - One Lord, one faith - Amen. David Mouncer, Rector From the October 2003 edition of the magazine December 2003/January 2004 Picture the scene; a typical infant school nativity production. Mary, a 'heavily pregnant' six year old, struggles to walk with a pillow under her dress. Joseph vainly attempts to look strong and manly with a tea towel on his head. They move across the stage towards the inn where they inquire about the availability of space from the disappointed innkeeper. Disappointed? Most certainly. Little Johnny, the innkeeper, is very disappointed. He wanted to be Joseph this year, but all he has is one single line in the whole script. He would have more of a role being the back end of the cow in the stable scene. He's not in a congenial mood and he wants his revenge. Joseph inquires with the tradition words, 'Is there any room in your inn? My wife is pregnant and we have come far.' To which little Johnny replies, with a twinkle in his eye, 'Plenty of room mate, come on in.' What fools those Bethlehem innkeepers were. What an opportunity they missed. God coming as man, to be born amongst us, and they had the chance to give him shelter. They could have entertained angels and witnessed the wonder of the incarnation. But they were full, too busy with other people and with their own needs. In their defence, I suppose they could plead ignorance. They weren't to know the identity of the baby that Mary was carrying. We do not have such a defence. Yet in all the hustle and bustle of the celebrations, do we still say to Jesus - 'Sorry mate, no room.' Corrie ten Boom, a Christian writer, once said, 'If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.' Make room for the King this Christmas. David Mouncer, Rector From the December 2003 edition of the magazine Rector's Letters 2004