St Thomas' Brampton and St Peter's Holymoorside, Chesterfield Rector's Letters February 2010-January 2011 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 2010 April/May 2010 June/July 2010 August/September 2010 October/November 2010 December2010/January 2011 February/March 2010 Dear Friends, Did you know that snow is mentioned twenty three times in the Bible? Whether (or should I say weather!) you love it or hate it the recent snowy conditions have certainly had an impact. Business groups estimate that absenteeism caused by the snow could cost the UK economy up to £2billion. Some say it’s been the worst winter in 20 years, other say 30 years, others say more –who knows! I grew up in Ilkley in West Yorkshire. From my home you could see the famous moor (bar tat). If you’re familiar with the area you’ll know that on the moor is an old spa cottage where people used to go and take the waters. It’s called White Wells and it’ll be no surprise to you that it’s painted white. This building is a clear landmark on the moor and because of its whiteness it stands out for miles around. For years I believed that house to be as white as snow –up against the bracken of the moor it looked so clean and pure. It was not until one year when it snowed, covering the whole moor, that I realised that the house that I thought so pure was actually rather dirty. It can be like that in our spiritual life. Against the background of a sinful world we can feel that we are pure and white –but against the background of Christ (the eternal background that really matters) what we once considered pure, we realise to be rather dirty and in need of cleaning up. The Bible says that our robes (our lives) can be washed white in the blood of Jesus and all that he has done for us upon the cross. It’s a cleansing that we all need. No amount of whitewash that we put onto our lives will make us truly clean –not compared to God. If we’re honest we all know that deep down inside Jesus bids us all come and spiritually bathe, to rid ourselves of the pain and hurt and guilt that we carry around in our bodies and be set free to live and love in a new way. God wants to do this for each and every one of us, all He needs is for our ‘yes’! All are welcome at St Thomas’ and St Peter’s who wish to say ‘yes’ (or wish to find out more). I look forward to seeing you soon. Happy Easter Matt Barnes -Rector From the February 2010 edition of the magazine April/May 2010 Dear Friends, In the last edition I started Ploughshare by talking about the weather...let me do the same again this month. I was disappointed to learn that the Met Office were giving up on long range ‘headline’ forecasting after predicting a barbeque summer in 2009 and a mild winter in 2010. It’s true that as a nation we’re obsessed with the weather. Someone rightly commented that we complain if we have any kind of the same weather for more than two weeks regardless of what it is! With that in mind I told this story at ALPHA the other evening -I hope you enjoy it! The Blackfeet tribe of Indians asked their Chief in autumn if the winter was going to be cold or not. Not really knowing the answer, the Chief replies that the winter was going to be cold and that the members of the village were to collect wood to be prepared. Being a good leader, he then went to the nearest phone booth and called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is this winter to be cold?" The man on the phone responded, "This winter was going to be quite cold indeed." So the Chief went back to speed up his people to collect even more wood to be prepared. A week later he called the National Weather Service again, "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man replied, "it’s going to be a very cold winter." So the Chief went back to his people and ordered them to go and find every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again and asked "Are you absolutely sure, that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely" the man replied, "the Blackfeet are collecting wood like crazy!" If the joke tells us anything then it reminds us about how easy it is to just ‘follow the crowd’ without finding out the facts for ourselves and making an informed judgement. Often we do this with our faith. We believe what others would tell us about God and Jesus without taking the time to explore this vital area of life for ourselves. I often urge readers of Ploughshare to become more active in the search for the trust of God. Again I compel all readers during this wonderful Eastertide to think anew and afresh about the astonishing hope we have in the resurrected Jesus and what that means for our lives today. If you don’t know what a difference Jesus can make then don’t rely on what others say, come along to one of our services or join our next ALPHA/START! course and discover the good news for yourself (you might also hear some bad jokes like the one above!) Happy Easter, Matt Barnes, Rector Matt Barnes -Rector From the April 2010 edition of the magazine June/July 2010 Dear Friends, Welcome to another edition of Ploughshare. Of course the big news in the life of our church is the impending commencement of St Thomas’ much awaited building project. After so many years of expectant hoping, patient waiting and careful planning our prayers have finally been answered and a twenty eight week programme of building work is due to commence shortly which will hopefully leave us with a newly completed parish centre before Christmas-time this year. Whilst we are excited about this progress there is still a great deal of unknown, not least as to how the final project will be financially resourced! Faith often requires us to step out into the unknown. That’s why it’s called faith! God regularly asks us to do things for which we don’t exactly know where we might find the resources to achieve them or just what implications our actions may have. He invites us simply to put one foot in-front of the other and move towards His bidding. A verse that constantly encourages me and causes me to have courage as I try to do this is Psalm 119:105, it’s a verse that will be familiar to many of you, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. God does not always show us the destination before we begin a journey of faith, but he does, through His word, give use the resources to be sustained along the way and the promise of His presence with us. Please read the article about our development in the June/July edition and if you’re moved to walk with us on this particular journey of faith then thank you. Whatever your response, I pray you will know God’s sustaining presence in your own personal journeys of faith and that God might safely lead you to the place he has prepared for you before the beginning of time. Yours in Christ, Matt Barnes -Rector From the June 2010 edition of the magazine Rector's Letters 1980