the Parish of St thomas' Brampton, Chesterfield

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

Rector's Letters February 2005-January 2006

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 2005	April/May 2005	June/July 2005
August/September 2005	October/November 2005	December 2005/January 2006

February/March 2005

I am writing this article in the midst of a terrible tragedy. The earthquake, which hit Asia on Boxing Day 2004 and the subsequent Tsunami, have killed an estimated 150,000 people. This wave of death has left in its wake millions of homeless, thousands of children orphans, disease, starvation and misery. And into this horrendous situation comes the question of why?.

Why did God allow such a tragedy if he is all powerful? Why cant didnt he stop it if he is a God of love?. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a recent Radio 4 broadcast, acknowledged that such events can lead us to question our faith in an all-loving, all-powerful God.

I am sorry to disappoint you, but your Rector does not have an answer to these questions. I dont believe anyone has the answer. But I do wish to say three things. Firstly, this world id not how God planned it to be. In Genesis 1 we read that creation was good. There was harmony within creation. There was no sorrow, no pain, no death. But then comes Genesis 3, the story of mankinds fall. Sin enters the world and along with it comes disorder, disharmony, disease and death. We live in a world not as God planned.

Secondly, the world is not as it will be. One day, God will bring creation back in harmony. We read in Revelation 21, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. The old order of things will pass away. Paul in his letter to the Romans says the whole of creation is groaning for such a day. One day God will do something. He will liberate the whole of creation from its bondage to decay and death.

Thirdly, God has done something. At the cross God took it all. Upon Jesus was visited every sorrow, every pain, every disorder and every sin. He took the punishment of every sin from Adam onward. God knows what it meant to suffer. He did that so that I may know His love, his forgiveness, his empowering. Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Rome, Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword? No, in all these things we are more that conquerors through Him who loved us.

The world is not as it should be. One day God will transform it. I do not have all the answers, but for now because of His love I have hope. Because of His Spirit I have the power to reach out into this broken world in love.

David Mouncer, Rector

From the February 2005 edition of the magazine

April/May 2005

"Set you minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Colossians 3 verse 2

I am writing this article in early March. There are now less than 110 days to go! I am counting down the days till Iceland! Let me explain. To celebrate the coming of middle age, (I will be 40 this year) I am off in early July on a walking holiday in the wild north-west of Iceland. For six days I will be hiking through some of the most dramatic landscapes on God's earth. I will have to carry all my provisions, tent etc, as the area has not been inhabited by humans for over thirty years. Being within the Arctic Circle, there will be 24 hours of daylight. There is a strong possibility that, even though it will be the height of summer, it will snow! For some reason, known only to herself, Lisa didn't want to accompany me!

I was musing the other day just how much the thought of this break has influenced me. Firstly, it has given me hope. Hope which enables me to endure. When things get difficult in church life (and they do from time to time), when work gets hard and overwhelming, I think of Iceland. I keep an Icelandic coin in my pocket most days now. I often finger it when life gets painful. The thought of a holiday in Iceland puts a smile on my face and a warm glow in my heart. It gives me the strength to keep going, to endure even through the most difficult times.

Secondly, it has changed my behaviour. 'Eg er ad leara islenku' - yes, I am learning Icelandic. Everyday I spend a few moments in my study with Daisy Neijmann (the author of 'Colloquial Icelandic). My tastes have changed. I genuinely like, and seek out sources of, dried fish. I actually stayed up late the other week watching an Icelandic film on BBC4 till past midnight. I have read book after book about Iceland and even have grown to appreciate the music of Bjork. The prospect of an Icelandic hike has helped me to lose weight and get fitter. Whilst for the last twelve months I have been saving pound coins in an old golden syrup tin to pay for the holiday. I have gone without so that I can afford the trip. In so many ways, my life has been shaped and influenced by this future adventure.

Paul reminded his readers in Colosse to live their Christian lives with one eye on heaven. To change their lives now, knowing where they were heading. To revolutionise their behaviour (3.5ff) to transform their relationships (3.18ff) and to live with enduring hope in this transitory world (3.4).

How does the thought of your eternal home revolutionise your life?

David Mouncer, Rector

From the April 2005 edition of the magazine

June/July 2005

"You, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house."
1 Peter 2 verse 5

I like it when people disagree with my sermons! I actually relish it when people come up to me and debate some point or other about which I preach on. It shows that they are engaged with the preaching, that they are thinking about what I've said (and who said that Rectors always get it right all the time.)

Only the other month someone corrected me after a particular sermon I had preached over the Easter period. I had talked about the importance of keystones in an arch. I had said that without the keystone the whole structure would collapse. True-but only half true, as was pointed out to me. Because, when it comes to an arch, every stone is important. You can not remove any one stone without the whole edifice collapsing in a heap on the floor. The same is true of any building. Foundations, roof, walls and windows all have a part to play in the structure of the building. Each has a different function or role to play, but each individual unit is as important as the next.

In the coming year, we are going to ask God to build St Thomas'. We are going to pray that we will be instruments in his hands to build his church. The 'Living Stones Project' aims to see the church built up. Built physically, as we make progress with the parish centre development. Built spiritually, as we reach out into the community with the Good News of Jesus. We want to see people coming to a living and life changing faith in Jesus. Each of us has a part to play in the 'Living Stones' project. That part may be big or may be small but is important. You might not be the keystone, you might only be a buttress or a slate on the roof, but each of us is important to the building of St Thomas'.

With God's grace and through his mighty power, we will build his church.

David Mouncer, Rector

From the June 2005 edition of the magazine

August/September 2005

In the evening service through the months of May and June we have been studying together the biblical teaching on heaven and hell. I had the privilege to finish the series on a wonderful high note. Through the revelation given to John in chapter 21 we saw the glorious hope that we have in Christ. The sure and certain hope of heaven.

In my preparation for that sermon I came across the following illustration, which I wish to share with you all now.

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her minister and asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral service, what Scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She requested to be buried with her favourite Bible.

As the minister prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The minister stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.

The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork'. It was my favourite part of the meal because I knew something better was coming - like velvety chocolate cake or apple pie." "So, when people see me in that casket with a fork in my hand and they ask 'What's with the fork?" I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork. The best is yet to come!"

Live with that empowering hope. Live in that great truth: the best is yet to come.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."
1 Corinthians 2 verse 9

David Mouncer, Rector

From the August 2005 edition of the magazine

October/November 2005

The following is a piece of prose which I recently read in a Diocesan publication. It was originally written by Dr Robert McNeish. I have added some scriptural quotes for you to consider and to explore further. We can learn a great deal from geese!!!!

Fact One As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird following. By flying together in a 'V' formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. 1 Corinthians 12v.12 'The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.'

Fact Two When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into formation and another goose flies into the point position. Galatians 6v2 'Carry each other's burdens ...'

Fact Three The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep their speed. Hebrew 3v13 'Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today ...'

Fact Four When a goose is sick or wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay until it is able to fly again or dies. They then launch out on their own with another P formation or catch up with their flock. Romans 12v15 'Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn'.

David Mouncer, Rector

From the October 2005 edition of the magazine

December 2005/January 2006

"While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2v.6-7

Geoffrey Bull, a missionary to Tibet, was cold, exhausted and hungry. He had been seized by Communists following their takeover of China in 1949, and his future was bleak. His captors drove him day and night across frozen mountains until he despaired of life. Late one afternoon, he staggered into a small village.

After a meagre supper, he was sent to feed the horses. The stable was beneath a small house, which he entered by climbing down a notched tree trunk. It was dark and very cold. His boots squished in the manure and straw on the floor. The fetid smell of animals was nauseating. The missionary expected at any moment to be kicked by one of the horses. Geoffrey, cold, weary, lonely and ill, began to feel sorry for himself.

"Then as I continued to grope my way in darkness," he later wrote, "it suddenly flashed into my mind. What's today? I thought for a moment. In travelling, the days had become a little muddled in my mind. Suddenly, it came to me. It's Christmas Eve. I stood suddenly still in that Oriental manger. To think that my Saviour was born in a place like this. To think that he came all the way from heaven to some wretched eastern stable. There, in that dark place, I knelt and worshipped."

Why do we beautify the stable? On our Christmas cards, we make it well-lit, roomy, clean and inhabited by kindly looking animals. Why do we beautify the stable? Is it because we are almost ashamed to admit to ourselves the vastness of God's love for us. That he would give up everything to save us.

2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

From the December 2005 edition of the magazine

Rector's Letters 2006