July 2008
I am often prompted to reflect on the purpose that God might have for the existence of His church, as well as reflecting on the reasons He might have for the continuance of the three churches in this Benefice (or group of churches). It is not as obvious as it might appear on first consideration, because it is not enough to believe that the church exists for my, or our, spiritual comfort. That's not to say that giving spiritual comfort, and guidance and support to its members is not an important function for the Church and task for its clergy, because it is. Hence the amount of time I devote to sermon preparation and to the less visible ministry of individual spiritual direction.
When we look at Jesus' ministry we do not see him moving from synagogue to synagogue ministering to and mingling with the 'churchy' people of his day. We see him out on the hills or down by the lake and he is dealing with the ordinary folk and often the outcasts of society, those who the community at large would really prefer to be somewhere - anywhere - else. Jesus spent most of his time with those who were 'out there' not 'in here'.
He is the model and example that the Church, as a community, and the Christian individual should emulate and be inspired by. It's this truth that makes reflection on why we are here not always very comfortable. If we are good at looking after each other, we are most certainly in need of movement before we can begin to believe we are reaching out to our communities.
It was this sort of thinking and reflection that caused me to label this year as our year of outreach in my report to the APCM at St. Nicholas. There are two sorts of reaching out. There is the reaching out that the person on the side of the swimming pool offers to the person in the water to help them out of it, and there is the reaching out done by the person in the house solely designed to bring someone else into the house. It is the former model that I find to be more important and most difficult. Going back to the example of Our Lord we find him to be engaging with people not to make them all His disciples but just because they were there, and had a need that he would respond to.
I'm not sure where this sort of thinking will lead us in practical terms, but I hope it might provoke those who are part of the church to, like me, reflection, thinking and maybe imagination about what it might mean for us here. I hope too that those who are part of the local community might also be encouraged to view the church not as an organisation that is only interested in the outsiders to try to make them insiders, but as one that is interested because we are part of the same community with a desire to enhance that community and to offer love and support where it is needed and welcome.
Graham Newton, Rector
May 2008
Dear Reader,
The killings continue in so may places in our world - places like Afghanistan and Iraq, which are still in the news, but also in those that appear for a while and then disappear Darfur, the Holy Land, and Sri-Lanka. Despots continue to rule by oppression and repression, some regularly in the news like Zimbabwe, and others occasionally like Burma. But we continue to live in a beautiful corner of England, with the Barton Hills as a timeless backdrop, and the Bedford plain spreading out like a carpet beyond our village.
It is so easy to put a mental wall around ourselves and to worry and care about whether spring is early or late, to notice that now is the time to plant our seeds - or whatever the current gardening task might be. It is such a temptation to parochialise our compassion, and worse our praying to that which is around us and that which we feel we are involved with.
Thankfully, (and I do say thankfully) there are issues that are beginning to breakdown the barriers between our local and our global concerns, and which challenge us to face up to the world as it really does exist beyond our parish boundaries. Global warming is not ‘their’ problem it is ours too. The price climb for basic commodities like wheat and rice hits our pockets and reminds us that food shortages do seem to be coming back to kill and destroy.
Whilst I do not welcome the pain and suffering that come with conflicts in our world or global warming etc I do believe that if these issues inspire us to prayer, they can, in spite of the evil and suffering that come with them, be agents for good. I hope that we will increasingly see that, to live in comfort and beauty, as we do, without paying attention to the suffering of our planet and the majority of its people, is demeaning to our humanity and an affront to God. I hope too that more and more of us will feel the call of God to go beyond praying for our world’s healing, and beyond simply giving to charity so we can forget, and come to that moment when we say, ‘Lord what can I do?’
Your friend and priest,
Graham Newton