On the afternoon of Monday November 10th a coach left the parish at 4pm. We were heading for Tilston in rural Cheshire for the licensing of our former curate, the Revd. Paul Smith, as Priest-in-charge of the parishes of Tilston and Shocklach and also Initial Ministerial Training Officer in the diocese of Chester. The coach made good time up the motorway, but even so it was dark well before we arrived. Our city eyes, accustomed to road lighting, couldn't make out anything of the landscape around us; we were aware only of the narrow twisting lanes along which the coach was travelling and wondered at times how the driver managed to avoid the occasional car which came in the opposite direction.
We arrived in the village of Tilston on time at 6.15pm. As we got out of the coach, the pungent smells of the countryside filled the air. At the Memorial Hall we were welcomed by some of the parishioners and given hot drinks. The buffet looked tempting, but that was for later. Already, from words spoken, we knew that Paul and Mags had been made very welcome and that they in turn had begun to endear themselves to those amongst whom they are to serve.
After our 'comfort stop' the coach took us on to the church half a mile away: another St Mary's but set in the middle of fields, not shops and houses. Once such churches were surrounded by dwellings, but their splendid isolation now is a reminder of the devastation wrought by the Black Death.
The church was warm and welcoming, filled with people from Shocklach as well as Tilston and with local worthies offering a welcome to Paul and also to Mags who had been licensed earlier as a non-stipendiary assistant priest. Talking with Paul before he left Moseley, he said that he was looking forward to getting to know everyone in the parishes. That perhaps is the luxury of rural ministry and not something which would ever be possible in the 'village' of Moseley. In many ways it's hard to imagine a greater contrast for Paul; and tempting to think of Paul, Mags, Eve and Aidan settling in to a rural idyll.
But rural communities have problems too: they are not exempt from the problems of poverty and drug abuse. Wherever there are people there are relationship problems, perhaps heightened in a rural area by the lack of anonymity. And there are problems specific to rural communities and to those who try to make a living from farming the land. It was not long ago that the scourge of Foot and Mouth disease left many farms without livestock and many farmers wondering if it was really worth the effort to try and set up again. Now there is the possibility of a widespread potato disease which may threaten the livelihood of many others.
Those of us who live in the city look to the countryside for rest and relaxation. We want it to stay as it is so that we can go and enjoy it for a weekend and return refreshed. But it won't stay as it is if we ignore the problems the farmers face. Who can blame them for turning fields into equestrian centres and barns into campsites and car parks. Why should they continue to labour on the land when there is little encouragement from the government and not much financial benefit? So our thoughts and prayers are with Paul and Mags as they begin a new ministry and offer the support of the Church to people who live in a situation very different from the one with which they were both familiar in Birmingham.
But the question they will ask is one we are asking here as well: what should be the focus of our mission and ministry in the place where we have been set at the beginning of this 21st century? What are the needs of those amongst whom we serve? What is it that the Church - our church - can uniquely offer?
The Christian faith is an incarnational faith. We worship Christ, the word of God made flesh. As we tell again the story of the Christ-child in the manger, we remind ourselves that the revelation of God in the person of Jesus was located in a particular time and a particular place. As we seek to follow Christ, so we too must be channels of the divine love in our own particular time and in this particular place.
Ours is not an easy time or place to be. We live in an age when faith has been pushed to the margins and ignored or despised.
Sadly, the response of many in the Christian church is to develop a ghetto-like mentality, to imprison faith in the rigid doctrines of sectarian religion. Once the Anglican Church offered the possibility of faith and religion to people who held very different views about doctrine and morality. Now there are pressures upon it to conform to a closed set of doctrinal statements and have a common attitude to ethical issues. It is a pressure we should resist. There are people outside the church who are hungry for an encounter with God; but they don't want to leave their minds outside the door or compromise their integrity.
There are great riches in the traditions of the Church and in the understanding of scripture; but neither should be used to stifle human questioning and exploration. Better perhaps to see the wisdom of the past as the fruit of the questioning and exploration and search for God of men and women of faith, not as a closed body of opinion. We value their insights, their knowledge, but do not imprison ourselves within them. An encounter with the living God is an encounter with the one who constantly challenges our attitudes, who breaks through the boundaries of possibility; the one who always and everywhere makes all things new.
We live in challenging times; we live in a challenging place. Moseley has been described as a 'melting -pot', a place where people of different cultures, ethnicity, sexuality, education, wealth find a home. It has its problems and its opportunities. It challenges us to make new relationships: to work together with the parish of St. Anne's, to build links with the local Muslim community through our conversations with members of the Hamza mosque. The God who makes all things new challenges us to think imaginatively about the use of our church building and the church site, to ask fundamental questions about our role and involvement in the community.
The Christ-child was born in a manger, in a stable because there was no room for him at the inn. He is the Christ of compassion, full of understanding for those who are searching for somewhere to go, those who find themselves outside longing for a spiritual home. Do we know how to welcome them in?
Averyl BradbrookTo consider the ministry and mission of St Mary's church in Moseley and its implications for the redevelopment of church and the future of Centre 13
| 10:00 a.m. | Opening thoughts and prayer |
| 10:15 a.m. | Briefing: background and present context |
| 11:00 a.m. | Presentation of different options for development |
| |
| 11:45 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 12:00 noon |
|
| 1:00 p.m. | Lunch with opportunity to ask questions and consider possibilities |
| 2:00 p.m. | Individual questionnaires |
| 2:15 p.m. | Consideration of criteria |
| 2:45 p.m. | Analysis of options |
| 3:15 p.m. | Plenary: The Way Forward |
| 3:50 p.m. | Closing Prayer |
This is an important day in the life of our church. Everyone is welcome, please bring a contribution to a Bring and Share Lunch.
God our Father, we thank you for the opportunities you have given us all in this parish to serve you in a variety of ways, through Church and the life of St Mary's Youth & Community Centre. At this time of uncertainty, we ask in our decision making, for vision, wisdom and a right judgement in all things, that we may know your will and purposes and be equipped by your spirit to face the challenges of this hour; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
On which side of the present debate about the openly gay American Bishop are you? Do you think it's all about power-broking rather than sexuality? Is one person's interpretation of the bible better than another's? Has the bible already been interpreted for all time? What do you believe when you hear: 'This is the word of the Lord'? Is there more to our Anglican heritage than the writings handed down to us?
I'm not going to attempt to persuade you to any point of view, you'll be pleased to hear. All I will say, to show my colours, is that whatever people believed thousands of years ago to be right or to be the will of God does not dictate or limit how I think today.
We have been given minds by our creator and we have to use them to formulate our own views. They may be the same as our forebears in some or all respects but, equally allowable, they may not be.
But whichever side of the debate you're on - and I don't really mind because I'll still be in communion with you - I'm sure that the time is well and truly here that we should stop the name calling. Surely one of the beauties of belonging to the Church of England is that there is no membership test. We welcome all shades of opinion within a faithful community and I hope I'm not alone in finding the 'pigeon-holing' and ferocity that goes on to be rather odious. If the language of the crisis over women priests was bad enough, it pails into insignificance by the sheer vitriol that has been spouted over recent weeks by avowedly Christian folk, including African bishops and both English and American soi-disant 'fundamentalists'. There are those who say that belonging to a minority clique is more about self support anyway rather than expounding views but what is the Church as a whole there for after all?
Surely we should all be pulling together and trying our hardest to resist the myth that we are only interested in this one topic. In my formative youth, the word on everyone's lips was 'witness'. It seems to have gone out of vogue and the buzz-word of the 90's, 'inclusiveness' is now sidelined by groups pushing their own agendas. Let us learn from the past and become a loving church with a mission to all in faithful service.
In any event, I don't know about you but I don't want to be labelled as thinking this or that and put in a box with others who happen to hold the same views. A few years ago, the present Bishop of Durham wrote:
It is time to forget:
- evangelicalism and concentrate on the gospel;
- catholicism and concentrate on the church and its mission;
- liberalism and concentrate on clear thinking;
- the charismatic movement and invoke the Spirit of the living God.
I think he had it just about right.
Robert BrownAs a structural engineer I find church buildings inspiring and often ask myself how do they stand up? We sometimes forget the men who built many of our churches did not have modern machinery and the majority of the work was done by hand. This results in varying details, you may have noticed around the Nave of St Mary's the figureheads between the small clerestory windows and the top of the pillars are all different, and have different views of the church.
Behind these figureheads the stonework is cracking and crumbling and in urgent need of repair. I don't want to loose this inspiration and for this reason I am involved in the 600 year Anniversary Appeal which includes restoration of the stonework.
I come to the appeal with an engineer's eye and mind but just as the figureheads around the church are all different, so for the appeal to be a success we need to use our different views and experiences if to we are to achieve our goal.
If you are involved in public relations, good at art, have experience of fundraising, could write letters, just willing to have a go or good at something an engineer wouldn't think of then please come along to the planning day on November 29th or speak to a member of the clergy or member of the appeals group.
Lis Sparrow"Would you like to stop banging that drum and hear a story Sam?" SSShhh... It's quiet time in the crèche!
During the Autumn we have been piloting a scheme within the crèche to have a few minutes ' quiet time'. You may have seen the posters around church advertising this. This has been in response to a feeling that our crèche, which is held every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m., even during family worship on the first Sunday.
Now as anyone with experience of very small children knows the attention span is limited, and language and creative skills are in their earliest stages so obviously we had to do something that was very simple and also brief, just for five - ten minutes.
So after the sermon Revd Simon or a member of the congregation has gone into the crèche and cleared a space amidst the toys and crushed biscuits to gather everyone around to hear a short Bible story from a cheerfully illustrated children's Bible, and to join everyone together in a short activity prayer of thanks to God for (for example) friends, animals or favourite food.
The sessions have required no preparation (the 'leader' has simply chosen a story and prayer on the day) and should be no more daunting than reading a child a bed time story. The leader has then been able to return to the main service during the offertory hymn.
So far these simple and informal gatherings seem to have been enjoyed by the children, and appreciated by the parents even though sometimes they're not exactly 'quiet' quiet times! We hope to continue these in future, led by one of the parents already in the crèche taking a turn three or four times a year. As always we'd be glad to know what you think of this scheme - and receive offers to help too.
Speak to Revd Simon Buckley (471 2229) or Jo Whiteley (449 4280)We were all saddened by the news of Roy's death on October 9th. He will leave an unfillable gap in the lives of his family and friends, who are, literally, all over the world.
Roy served as a Priest in the Birmingham diocese for over 40 years - and in particular in the parishes of Cotteridge and St Peters, Hall Green, where he ministered in word and sacrament for over 29 years.
Both his preaching and teaching skills were recognised by the Diocese. St Peter's became a training parish, and all of us who were privileged to train with Roy have cause to be thankful to God.
But his ministry stretched far beyond the boundary on the parish; he was appointed an Honorary Canon of Birmingham Cathedral in 1984; he was also an Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Birmingham for a number of years. Roy was a part-time Chaplain to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the healing ministry which he exercised, particularly in the Liver Unit, will be remembered by staff, patients and their families alike.
Roy was a caring pastor, he delighted in people and had a heart of love for young and old alike. One of the ways in which the stature of his ministry became apparent was in his letter writing. Many of us will treasure his written thoughts, which he wrote in times of joy and sorrow.
He was gifted in many other ways; music was part of his life; playing the piano, singing, composing, flower arranging, playing golf, walking in the countryside with his beloved Mary and friends - all these and more brought relaxation and joy to his life.
But all Roy ever gave, and indeed received, was earthed in his unshakable faith in the God he faithfully served all of his life. This was so apparent in his last weeks and months of suffering. He would also say that the loving support he received from Mary and his family were mainstays of his life.
Roy and Mary were married for over 49 years, and were so looking forward to celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary next year. Theirs was a great partnership, and their joy in their two 'girls' Heather and Ann, and later on, sons-in-law David and Alan, together with two dearly loved grandchildren James and Victoria, made their family circle the place of rest and contentment - which enable Roy to give so much to others.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary and the family; with them we shall all miss Roy more than we can say.
Joan Griffin
God be in my head,
and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes,
and in my looking.
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking.
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking.
God be at my end,
and at my departing.
Each year it has been the tradition at St Mary's that on the Sunday morning before Christmas the children of St Mary's perform a presentation as part of the ministry of the word at the 10am Parish Communion.
This year is no exception! Revd Simon has written (or is still frantically writing depending on when you read this!) a play for the children to present called 'The Company of Heaven'.
As we've long realised trying to gather all the children together for Saturday morning rehearsals is virtually impossible, and so again this year a small number of youngsters will have parts that require substantial preparation whilst all the children will play a part through some songs they will learn within their children's groups. All children are invited to come along on the day suitably dressed to take their place in a massive angel chorus.
We want it to be fun for the children and for the adults too, we want it to enable us all to hear the early part of the Christmas story in a new way and we want it to be to the glory of God whose incarnation we're preparing celebrate.
So will you...
Thankyou!
Revd Simonp.s. Angelic behaviour is welcome too but not obligatory.
Should you wish to participate in the Friends of St Mary's Choirs and Music, or have any ideas, thoughts or comments, then please contact John Carey (Chair) on 449 2506 or Mandy Doyle (Secretary) on 449 3135
At the Parish Church in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, where my school takes pupils on residential visits each year, there is a novel contraption: by the side of the pulpit is the screen of the Lady Chapel; from that screen projects a bracket at the end of which - in full view of the preacher - is an hour glass! One job of the Parish Clerk in bygone days was to turn over the hourglass at the start of the sermon so that the Preacher, and the entire congregation, could see exactly when his allotted time was up! It seemed a good idea, so I've brought my own with me. This one tells me when to start this one, which then starts this one, which then starts...
Personally I blame my parents - and the Jesuits.
Let me explain. When I was a child and taken by my good Roman Catholic parents to Mass, from the earliest times I can remember, they spent every service pointing out to me all the actions of the priest, explaining the significance of various parts of the liturgy and all the time keeping my interest in what was happening at the altar. I had books - picture books at first, then books that explained in child-friendly language the purpose of the Mass and how Christ had suffered and died for us all. I was riveted by it all. As I grew up I could read these books for myself and soon wanted to have a proper Mass Book like the adults so I could follow what the priest was saying. It all gave me a deep and enduring sense of the enormity of God's love for us, unworthy as we are (not a fashionable concept these days), in sending his Son to teach, cure, guide and, ultimately, to die to save us from our sins and to bring us back to him.
Then came the Jesuits.
My Secondary School was Wimbledon College, a Jesuit-run establishment where the whole ethos was one in which Christ was never far from our studies. We had weekly Mass, Confessions (as a developing teenager there was LOTS to confess!) and my delight - Benediction in the Parish Church with its grand, impressive organ on a Friday afternoon before school ended. As soon as I could I was in the choir, staying to sing Bass when my voice changed, and eventually learning how to play a little on that wonderful instrument which adorned the back wall of the building.
The Jesuits - (and here I've got be very careful as Jesuit Fr. Ned from New York and my cousin Raymond, who yesterday took his first vows into the Order, are both in the congregation this evening!) - the Jesuits were keen to instruct us in the matters of faith and to encourage us boys to think seriously about giving our lives to Christ in the priesthood. Thanks to my parents' early nurture by the time I was fourteen my vocation was formed and I looked forward increasingly to entering the Catholic priesthood on leaving school.
Then God intervened - although I didn't know it at the time - in the great exhibition Halls at Earl's Court.
As sixth formers, we were taken to the Vocations Exhibition at Earl's Court, where every aspect of religious life was on display: from ordinary parish clergy life to the missions; from Benedictines to Carmelites taking in Franciscans and Cistercians on the way. You name it, it was there. How to choose in which direction your vocation was taking you.
And in one corner was a discreet sign saying "Organs, upstairs".
That intrigued me so upstairs I went to find a huge display space crammed with electronic church organs of every size and level of complexity. Kid in toyshop syndrome!! I spent the whole day exploring organs. I ignored Jesuits, Carmelites Franciscans and Benedictines; I missed the corporate Mass at the end of the day; I played with organs! Next day I bunked off school and went back and played some more.
I had had piano lessons as a child but now I wanted organ lessons, so dug gardens, helped the milkman, did painting, anything in order to earn the money for lessons with the organist in my local Anglican Parish Church (the Catholic organists weren't up to much where I lived!). And there it started.
I was still convinced of my vocation, though, and, as well as all the music making, I still led the school Sodality (God Squad!), and organised the Altar Servers in my church, serving myself at every Mass I could. I was put forward for selection by my Parish and went for interview at Southwark Cathedral, London. As I waited, praying, in the Lady chapel before the interview, a little voice started nagging me at the back of my mind: "Don't do it, don't do it. It's not for you." I pushed it out of my head - after all, I'd invested four years developing my vocation and I wasn't going to waste it because of this devilish weevil whispering sweet nothings into my ear.
I was accepted for training but I deferred for a year in order to help set my parents straight financially. I joined a neighbouring parish as organist in order to develop the musical aspect of my church involvement. Unlike my church, this parish had a thriving choir and before six months was up my priestly vocation had been shelved. I was immersed in things musical as God had shown me where my true vocation was.
The upper room in Earl's Court was my "Damascus Road", I suppose, and like Jonah in the first lesson, who tried so hard to escape God's plans for him, God had to stop me short in order for me to be convinced of what he wanted me to do.
So what's a good Catholic boy doing making music in the Anglican Church? Good question. Answer is that when, post Vatican II, the Catholic Church increasingly abandoned the devotional services (Holy Hour, Benediction, Novenas and so on) in favour of wall-to-wall Masses in the "new" dialogue style where much greater demands of participation were made on the congregation, I found that the foundation of my prayer-life was gradually being eroded. The opportunities for enrichment of my personal relationship with God within the context of a corporate act of devotional worship with my fellow-Catholics had all but disappeared, as the "new" Mass afforded less time for personal meditation. At the same time I found myself in some demand at my local Anglican Church to accompany their choir during Cathedral Holidays. That introduced me to Matins and Evensong, which being non-Eucharistic, gradually took the place of the abandoned Benedictions in my affections and enabled me, more or less, to take up where I had left off.
And so, through various routes, I find myself in Moseley, and for the first time in sole charge of a large choir: 20 boys and some fifteen men when I came as a young man of 28. It was a challenge: I had something to prove and it's turned into a 25 year love affair.
And through all the years since I have grown to love St. Mary's, its choristers, its' people, the building, the organ, Moseley itself. This, I feel, is what God intended for me in the upper room at Earls Court all those years ago. It has been shown to me over the years in so many ways that have convinced me not only that I belong here, but also that God has not only musical work for me to do here.
Fr. Ned will bear me out when I tell you that in the United States, Organists and Choirmasters are more often than not designated "Ministers of Music" and as such are part of the ministerial team with the clergy. Their job is to make Christ's presence and God's plan for us manifest through their music and their work with musicians as much as the clergy make it manifest through the liturgy and their pastoral work.
Although I still "see through a glass darkly" I have at least some shadowy sense of what God wants me to do in his world. Church is not therapy. As far as I am concerned, the work of the Church should be in large part to help all people discover what their vocation is, how they fit into the great scheme of things and, by so discovering, to move into a more intimate relationship with their Creator. I am still a novice at getting to know God although, I suspect, he knows me rather better!
When cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats with Nigel Blakey over ten years ago, we came upon Carlisle Cathedral. I read in that building a homily by a departing Verger. He likened Cathedrals to God's projectors, shining the brightness of His light onto the world. But a projector without slides produces unfocussed light. We are the slides, he said, who each makes God's light accessible to those in our world according to our individual talents and character. By discovering our individual vocations we present a clear, sharp image of God working through us to bring others to Him. This is our challenge and forms our Christian witness.
A while ago a young friend asked me if I missed having children of my own. Echoing Mr. Chips I said, "But I've had loads of them - all trebles in the Choir!"
And so I have delighted in working here. Especially with children and young people as it's one way in which I can do what my parents did for me: they helped me become part of God's machinery which makes his church work, rather than a passive spectator looking on. I often say to members of our congregation: "What do you want YOUR child to remember of their upbringing in church? Watching what other people do, or being a vital cog in the machinery which drives it?" Being a chorister is a way in which even the youngest of our children can become part of the engine driving the Church and, hopefully, find God working through them.
Yes, there have been discouraging times; times when either the choir or the Singers has been at a low ebb; When I've thought, "It's all going to fall apart - perhaps I'd better leave." And then I think of the dedication of those who are there. How could I leave them and say, "Tough luck, you'll have to face it on your own." Like Jonah running away from God's work when it seemed impossible to contemplate. So, no, I stay and every time just when things appear bleak, God opens another door and the choirs blossom anew. As I've got older I've appreciated the staunch, good-humoured 'stickability' of the Singers who have always kept me going (thank you!) when the vagaries of youngsters have proved a frustration. In their turn the Choir has provided an endless source of youthful enthusiasm when the ranks of the Singers have been depleted through departures and few new arrivals have seemed forthcoming.
Averyl knows that last year, when several key personnel had moved on, we were again facing lean times. But together we renewed our faith in God's love and support, tried some new ideas and some wonderful new people have appeared in the ranks!
Tough decisions have had to be made along the way. When the supply of boy trebles all but dried up what did God intend for us to do? In school equality of the sexes had become the norm. But girls in the Choir?! Obvious now when you look back, but without the dearth of boys would God's work of inclusiveness have been achieved here? Ironically now we have more boys in the Choir than we had at that low point!
It is ironic also that, although Matins was one reason I made the functional transfer from RC to CE (functional, because I've never traded in my membership card!) the Choir and I were partly responsible for its demise here. That, too, was a hard decision but I'd suggest, ultimately for the best.
I have had real experience of God has moving in mysterious ways: when I was recovering from my hip operation 18 months ago I was asked to arrange the music for Bishop Santer's final service in the Symphony Hall. That would have been impossible had I been at school.
Again, when Bishop Sentamu arrived and wanted a big family service in the Hippodrome I was asked to be involved with music for that too. An impossible task if I was working. But having had my accident at the beginning of the term and being off school following the remedial operation, I was again available!
In St. Mary's Hospice some years ago, I discussed with the terminally ill mother of two former choristers, the music for her funeral; as I was imminently due to go on holiday on my motorcycle I checked with her doctors the likely timescale of events. "No problem, go on holiday," they said, "we're looking at months rather than weeks." The following week, at 5.30pm the day before I was due to go away, I had a freak accident on my motorcycle. Nothing major but the bike was hors de combat and the holiday was off. On returning home I had a phone call from Hayward, our Vicar, informing me that the lady concerned had died at 5.30pm that evening and the funeral would be in a few days.
God works mysteriously in all our lives. Can you see him working in yours? I just wish sometimes that he would find less painful ways of ensuring my participation in his plans!
Having come to St. Mary's 25 years ago I fell in love with the place and its people very quickly. So why am I still here? God has woven St. Mary's into the fabric of my life through so many different experiences and so many people over the years. I count that a blessing. I now feel myself to be more and more part of the history of the place, having noticed that I am the second longest serving organist in the last ... years!
I have so many to thank: Vicars who have put up with me, bounced ideas with me, supported me; generations of choristers and Singers whose dedication has made it all worthwhile; members of the congregation, who by their kind, appreciative words have fuelled the enthusiasm; and Assistant Organists, the best of whom we have with us today. Chris and Ian, thank you for all you do, especially, Chris, in maintaining the organ and Ian, in maintaining me!
Perhaps to conclude I could quote from a popular book of a few years ago, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. In one passage, Iannis, an elderly Greek doctor warns his daughter Pelagia about Love. Would that we could all apply this to our relationship with God and with one another: And another thing.(He says) Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion... That is just being "in love"; any fool can fall in love. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away... It is finding that you have roots which have grown towards one another underground and that you are one tree and not two.
A few weeks ago the Samuel family sent a few choice gifts up to Suet-Lin and Andy for the new addition to their family (For those of you who haven't yet heard, Suet-Lin Teo and Andy Winter have a daughter called Lucy Sau-Lin Teo-Winter, born 3rd October 2003). Andy responded gleefully and was particularly impressed by some Christian socks we had found. Apparently the Episcopalian Cathedral in Glasgow (where they worship) regularly features in its magazine an article about 'wearing your faith', which has never included an item about socks.
Many people will recall the request from Bishop Mark several years ago that all Anglicans should wear an outward and visible sign of their faith, which he prompted by selling/supplying little 'gold' crosses for the lapel. Unfortunately there have subsequently been so many calls from virtually every direction for lapel badges that a simple cross would get swallowed up by the chains-of-debt, scales-of-justice, purple/pink/green/lilac/red bows, Rupert Bear, Pudsey, Red Nose &c badges that we are all meant to wear. (Not to mention Poppies and Daffodils). I began to think, therefore, about the many different ways I have seen for people to 'wear their faith' in a subtle but noticeable way.
The first item of Christian clothing I particularly recall, other than event tee-shirts and the Ichthys badge, was a simple sweatshirt bearing the legend "3:16" on the front and "Know what I mean, John" on the reverse. I have actually seen this shirt becoming a conversation starter in a Pub which virtually led to a prayer meeting involving the interested questioner. Shortly thereafter I bought a "Sword of the Spirit" tee-shirt, featuring Ephesians Chapter 6, which was used as a sermon reference point by a former St Mary's Curate.
Other Christian emblems have specific dual-purposes. When I first saw a W.W.J.D. wrist-band I did scratch my head as to what it meant, but when I asked someone she admitted that she was too embarrassed to wear an overtly Christian emblem in front of her 'cool' and street-cred conscious friends, but liked to be able to look down in difficult situations and be prompted to think "What Would Jesus Do?" Other people I have met confess that they wear the cryptic WWJD just to encourage discussions on faith with curious people. The Jubilee debt campaign rainbow scarf is a fine example of leisure wear faith-garments (albeit not exclusively Christian), but for the suit-bound man I have seen dozens of Christian ties, with soaring eagles, heavenly cities, doves of peace, arks in the flood or simple fish emblems. Faith on your feet socks are a similar attempt to promote the wearing of subtle Christian images. There are Daniel with the Lions, Jonah with leviathan, sheep and crooks, loaves and fishes, sealed lips (remember Zechariah), Noah's Ark, Camels and needles and numerous other images to choose from, all at a reasonable price.
If you are interested try www.holysocks.co.uk, phone 01389-849-027, or look in your local Christian bookshop.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen and found inspiration from faith-related clothing (or if some garments have sent out entirely the wrong message) - perhaps in the next St Mary's News?
Glyn SamuelFirst, that the distinction between secular and spiritual is false. How many times are Churchwardens asked; 'Where are the toilets?; 'Can I see the Vicar?'; 'Why don't you do something about the graffiti on the church walls?'. A good Churchwarden will seek to place all practical questions within the context of the mission of the Church. It is a fact that an out of date notice board, a poorly kept churchyard, shabby premises, a dirty sanctuary, and an untidy church will shout their own deafening story of a church in decline.
Second, that churchwardens are called to support the clergy and share in their mission to the parish. During my time as an Incumbent I thank God for faithful, loyal and gently critical churchwardens whose care and love were central to my ministry as priest. I owed them so much. It is sad to hear from time to time of breakdown between clergy and their churchwardens. It should never happen and, on those rare occasions when it does, the ministry of Christ is the first casualty.
Third, churchwardens are far more than local lay readers. They represent the wider Church. They are the bishop's representatives in the parish and, as such, are not spies to report what is going on. They are truly threads of the universal church, through which the local church is reminded that it can never exist independently of the universal church, symbolised as it is through the office of the diocesan bishop.
To return to my father, I recall his coming home from the annual Archdeacon's charge and saying to my mother 'What a responsibility. But what a privilege!'
And so it is, little wonder that George Herbert describes the role of churchwarden as 'being the greatest honour of this world to do God and his chosen service'; or as David says, 'to be even a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord'. And Herbert ends his tribute to Churchwardens by saying surprisingly, 'Do well - and right - and let the world sink!'.
Article taken from the Churchwardens Yearbook, 2004As we approach the Parish planning day on 29th November, let us remember that the church building of St Mary's in Moseley has been, and continues to be an ever changing, ever evolving church.
The building in which we worship today has evolved since the present tower was begun in 1496. The Historical notes detail how, to accommodate increasing congregations the building was enlarged until it reached the current size in 1909. Indeed, at the turn of the century, with the advent of the various religious movements that had, and were taking place, congregational attendance was in abundance.
You only have to look at the photographs in the Historic corner to see the various changes to the building during the past century, some of these changes were as a victim of circumstance, such as the landmine destruction in 1940, the restoration of the stonework on the tower and south window in 1952/1954 due to the ravages of industry and time, and in later years to make the building more flexible towards the needs of the patterns of worship as they have developed over the years, such as the nave platform built in 1997.
But let us not forget, that despite all the changes to the building that have taken place over the many, many years, we, the individual members of the church of St Mary's are the living church, and the building is merely where we gather to publicly worship and pray as part of the Anglican communion.
As members of a living church, in considering not only our own needs but also the needs of the wider community, let us cast our minds back at how the current church building, and in later years Centre 13, has evolved to meet the needs of the parish during the past century or so, and look at how it now must evolve to meet not only our needs at the present time, but also the needs of the future.
As Reinhold Niebuhr wrote:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;Ian Biggs
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.