Aidan for Today

Last week, I was able to spend a couple of days on Holy Island, once more. The main reason was to accompany my son-in-law, Tim, who was keen to go and see the island, and to explore Celtic spirituality. We were able to spend some quality time together, as well as giving each other space to commune with God and nature. It was a refreshing time for me: I always draw fresh strength and inspiration not only from the place but from the stories of saints who lived there.

As it happens, yesterday was St Aidan's Day. All 3 of our churches combined for the main morning service, principally to say farewell to Rich, our youth minister, and Kathryn, our administrator, who are both leaving us for fresh challenges. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the continuing challenges of our contemporary mission and in my sermon I linked St Aidan with God's mission today. I have been asked to post the sermon on my blog, so here it is:

 ST AIDAN’S DAY SERMON – Mossley Hill Parish Church Sunday 31^st August 2014

A monk was once confessing to his friend that he was troubled with impure thoughts towards women. There was a pause as his friend decided on how to respond and then he said, “Great! It shows you’re alive!”

That’s the thing about passion: it shows there is life and energy in you whether that passion is for sex, football, food, shopping, your favourite hobby, a celebrity. It involves an intense feeling perhaps so strong it almost hurts. It’s a sign of life. Every passion needs disciplining and channelling, of course as unbridled passion can be dangerous. Nevertheless at least it shows that something is going on deep within.

Paul had a passion for the gospel. “Woe is me,” he said in the old translation, “if I preach not the gospel.” Paul’s commission came from Christ himself at that momentous meeting on the Damascus Road. It led to a real passion for God and for the good news of the Gospel. And what marks out the man or woman of God is that passion for God and the good news; they believe it intensely and want others to believe also. Paul’s passion was also his commission. 

Today we remember another saint, this time one of our own. St Aidan died this day in 651. He has been rightly described as ‘the apostle of England’. His commission came not directly from the Lord, as in Paul’s case, but from King Oswald of Northumbria who promised God that in return for victory in battle he would have his kingdom evangelised and united around the Christian gospel. So it was that Aidan came from Iona to preach good news with his band of monks.

Here are a few facts about Aidan:

·         He established a monastery on the holy island of Lindisfarne.

·         He trained many in prayer and knowledge of the scriptures.

·         He sent them out on mission.

·         He walked rather than rode, as any other man of his social status might do, enquiring of people along the way whether they were Christians. If they were he blessed them and encouraged them in the faith. If they were not he shared with them the good news of Jesus.

·         He gave away his possessions and used any money given to him to liberate slaves, so that they also might train as monks.

One of my favourite passages in Bede’s account of the early English church concerns the reaction that Aidan’s monks would receive as they entered a village. People would come out to welcome them with joy. The monks would bring with them perhaps food for the poor but also the good news of Jesus.  Many found peace for their souls with the promise of everlasting life, and in time the kingdom of Northumbria and even the nation were united around this Christian faith.

We stand today in succession to Paul and Aidan. We too have a commission and hopefully a passion. Unlike Aidan we don’t need to build monasteries, we have cathedrals and parish churches. We don’t need to train monks, we have our congregations. We can have the same passion for God and the good news. Our buildings can be mission stations, gospel resource centres. Our people – YOU! - can be trained as people of prayer and of the word of God to tell others. That picture of the monks being welcomed joyfully would be a wonderful description of how people might greet us. Wouldn’t it be great if in our places of work, in the supermarket, amongst our friends, in our homes, people delighted in our company because they could hear from us the good things God has done in history and in your life today. Wouldn’t it be great if people found us to be people of hope, integrity, joy, truthfulness to light up their lives? Wouldn’t it be good if every one of us was able to speak of a God of love; of a Saviour who died that they might be forgiven for any mess they’d made of their lives or ever could make;  and speak also of a Spirit of peace, of comfort, of healing and inward strength.

Did you know we had a murderer here in church just three weeks ago? He was passionate alright; we couldn't stop him talking. He’d had a terrible childhood, twenty years in prison. He’d got caught up in the drugs culture and in gang wars and it was in such a fight that he killed another gang member. While in prison, he met Christ through godly people who told him of God’s power and forgiveness. I don’t know about you but I long to hear more stories like that; of people whose lives have been transformed because they have found the grace of God. This can happen if we release that passion for God and his gospel. Sometimes I fear we are so preoccupied, anxious even, for the future of our church, its worship, buildings, finance – so anxious that we forget what we are here for. Our passions should be for God, and only afterwards for his church. But so often our passion, our energy is dissipated by the sheer slog of trying to keep things going. We must reach out; we are under commission; we must release that passion.

So let your spirits be raised today. We bless Kathryn and Rich with a sense of sending them out into the next phase of their life; nursing for Kathryn and for Rich maybe ordination. May they know a passion for God in their hearts.  Meanwhile we welcome another Kathryn as our new administrator and soon we will welcome Bill Addy as a new leader in mission, based at St Barnabas. His arrival releases me and Alan at All Hallows and Mossley Hill Churches respectively.

But please may there be no talk of full time and part time vicars; we are not reverting to the old model of one vicar one church. Let’s remind ourselves continually we are part of a new missionary movement for the conversion of our land. It’s not unlike Aidan’s day when many were fearful, confused and ignorant of the gospel story. You will have heard of the heightened terrorism alert this week; we have also been shocked at the terrible revelations of child abuse in Rotherham. In Aidan’s day people also lived in constant fear of starvation, disease, invasion by foreign or neighbouring armies. The gospel brought peace to their land and peace to people’s souls as they realised that they have here no permanent home; they could look forward to heaven as their eternal rest; and such confidence made them men and women of courage and hope. Such, also, we can be.

We begin a new chapter next month. I know that Alan and I both feel a rising tide of excitement at the new possibilities.

So let us worship with joy: let our passion be for God and his gospel:  let us be inflamed by the Spirit of God, that we may fulfil our commission. Amen.

Learning from the Persecuted Church

Two weeks from the last blog - and it's happened again! The spacious month of August has filled up.

The week before last was given over largely to a children's Holiday Club at Mossley Hill. Over 120 children came each day, and about 70 church members were involved. It was a tremendous feat of organization, and this year was the 25th consecutive year it has happened. It was also the one where I was most involved personally. Each day, I led a brief devotional, looking at 5 people in the Bible who said 'Here I am'. I then featured as 'Mr Tagliatelli', the head chef of a fish and chip restaurant. This involved a slapstick sketch each day with 'Salt' and 'Vinegar' my trainee chefs who eventually, last Sunday morning, managed to cover me with cream as they tried to ice a cake!  All good fun, but that meant lines to learn, rehearsal time, as well as prep for each day's devotional.

All well worth it. Tremendous atmosphere, some very happy children, and some very happy parents and grandparents too: 5 afternoons to themselves! Already next year's dates are in the diary.

That same week, a total of 7 deaths were recorded in our 3 parish areas - 8 if you include a small-hours call-out to a dying resident in a care home, for whom no RC priest could be found! It just happened to be the week between Administrators: one had left, the other didn't start till this week. They all had to be arranged, and although I wasn't taking all of them, each one required some organization. Three were of very elderly church members, whose funeral services are or will be genuine times of thanksgiving and hope. One - which I have taken - was of a 59 year old woman, murdered in South Africa, where she was running a holiday estate. Her family were distraught of course. 'Why did God allow this?' cried her niece to me. I could only refer to C.S. Lewis' writing that if there were no evil we would not know what good looked like. The response to atrocities is often remarkable for its courage, hope and beauty. There were at least 7 tributes to this remarkable woman at the service, who was clearly much loved and truly inspirational in lots of ways.

Because of the South African connection, I thought it appropriate (in answer to the niece's question), to quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu's words, 'Goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate...Victory is ours through him who loved us.' At a few minutes notice, our choir - bless them! - sang it for us.

All this against the backdrop of the most horrific atrocities and inhumane behaviour in Northern Iraq and Syria. The stories coming from that region put our own struggles and difficulties into perspective. Reading the testimonies of some of our Christian brothers and sisters I am humbled, and have noticed 3 things:

• They are incredibly grateful for the smallest mercy and act of kindness, be it material help or the prayerful support of Christian brothers and sisters around the world.
• They have learned to trust God in ways we simply do not in our culture, where we can more often than not help ourselves, thank you very much. There is no one else they can trust, and so often the relationship with God is stronger, deeper, wider - making them more generous in their judgments than sometimes we are.
• They have hope - realising that this earth is not their home, they look forward to the heavenly country. As the writer to the Hebrews says, 'this world is not worthy of them'. In fact, chapter 11 from v32 is uncannily descriptive of what many experience today.

Two things follow from this:

1. Our need to care for these brothers and sisters. Could I appeal to all readers of this blog to donate to either Christian Aid: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/iraq-crisis-appeal/index.aspx or Canon Andrew White's own charity Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East: http://frrme.org/get-involved/donate/.
2. We are challenged to consider the strength of our own faith. Of course, none of us knows how we would react to persecution. But we can at least ask ourselves the question, 'Is my faith worth dying for?' If so, why? If not, why not?

August

It's the same every year. I look at my diary at the start of August, and think 'great - no meetings, I can get loads done.' I think of all the planning and preparation I can do. Then, suddenly, it's September and I think 'what happened? I didn't do half of what I intended.' I think it's the old cliche, that work expands to fill the time available. You think you've got loads of time, so you take longer to do things which normally would be fitted into a busy schedule.  This year...!

Today, we've had a brilliant day of HOPE - part of a nation-wide initiative to get 'church' out there, making its presence known in the neighbourhood. It was a fantastic collaboration between a number of local churches (mainly Anglican), Scripture Union, Youth for Christ, and the local Athletics Club, whose ground is adjacent to one of our churches. The sun smiled on us, 100s came: there was a barbecue, tea and cakes, bouncy castle, sports, prayer tent, 'messy' crafts, and loads of other activities. And all FREE. People simply could not believe there was no charge: imagine the delight of parents with small children. One visitor said to me he felt inclined to give more by way of a donation than any charge which might have been made. It was wonderful PR for the churches, and we hope will really develop our community relations. It's all about blessing our neighbourhood.

It's meant to end with an open-air service tomorrow on the same field. Unfortunately, I think Hurricane Bertha has other ideas. More likely to be in our church building. Hopefully that won't put people off. We hope it will not just be a gathering of church members.

I've been thinking again about evangelism, because in a sense this is what HOPE is all about. Not just PR, but providing opportunity for God-talk. My own prayer has been that just one person will come to faith this weekend - and more if possible. I hope I won't offend or embarrass anyone here, but I've been struck by something I've read this week which suggested that the coming to birth of a new Christian can be the spiritual equivalent of how a child is born! My summary would go thus:

1. It begins with Desire - for the other person, the Lover. Evangelism begins and ends with God, and our Christian hope for 'baby' Christians has nothing to do with proselytism, 'making converts', but love for God, out of which comes the hope that others will love him too.
2. Then there is Passion, which derives from the desire and leads to an expression of love. Sadly, I believe, as Christians, we are strikingly lacking in passion. Church life is often dull, mediocre, routinised. There is little expectation of the Holy Spirit shaking us, in such a way that something actually happens!
3. When a child is conceived, there is going to be Energy! (I won't elaborate here!!) But again, for a spiritual birth it doesn't just happen. Someone has to act, speak out, do something which calls attention to God's presence in the world be it for compassion or justice. Maybe just to read the Scriptures or engage in dialogue. I confess to having been guilty myself of acting as though people come to faith by a kind of osmosis. Action is required!
4. Conception. This is the natural, hoped-for result (in good time) of a loving, committed relationship between man and woman. May we not expect the same when there is a healthy relationship between God and his church? Another weakness of the Church today, it seems to me, is that we lack expectancy of anything ever being different. I realise, of course, that a hoped-for, longed-for child is not always possible, and couples sometimes have to come to terms with their childlessness. Likewise, I believe there are seasons in the church when we appear fruitless. But at this point, the circle is completed: we return to our Desire for the Other, which in the end is at the heart of our faith.

I hope this makes some kind of sense, without being too explicit. It certainly helps me, and fires me with a new hope of seeing more people new-born into a faith-relationship with Jesus Christ.

40 Years - and being fellow travellers

We're having a few quiet days after a wonderful weekend celebrating our Ruby Wedding. It does feel like a journey, in the company of many fellow travellers who have accompanied us along the way. We're so grateful for many family and friends who have done so. I'm also mindful of the fact that in the Bible, the number 40 has a special significance: 40 years in the desert before the people of Israel reached their promised land; 40 days in the wilderness before Jesus began his public ministry. I have a sense of looking forward as well as back as we pass this milestone.

Yesterday, as a late birthday present for me, Les and I went on a steam train excursion on the Settle-Carlisle line. It began in Lancaster, so we had to travel by train there first. Excluding the two hours or so we had in Carlisle, we spent altogether 14 hours on trains! We are not particularly experienced travellers, and I feel we still have to learn some protocols about travelling with strangers. We found ourselves opposite a very pleasant couple for 12 hours altogether! Fortunately, we were reasonably compatible,  being of about the same age, and for him it was also a birthday present from his wife. I find it difficult to know how to engage in such situations. I'm aware that in a sense we are all captives to each other, thrown together randomly, so one does not wish to intrude. However, you can hardly not converse when you have so long together. So, how much do you share of your own life, without boring the other? And what is it appropriate to ask of the others, without being intrusive? Looking back, I could probably have risked more engagement.

Anyway, it was a fantastic day and the weather was good for the most part. The views were amazing. We marvelled at the enterprise, skill, ingenuity and labour of our Victorian ancestors in building that line and developing rail travel. Also, at the skill of yesterday's drivers controlling that great beast which hauled our train literally up hill and down dale, without the benefit of today's electronic comforts and safety devices.

We felt a bit like royalty at times, as all along the route, people had gathered to wave, or looked out of their bedroom windows, obviously ready for these weekly excursions.

The journey included the town of Appleby where we spent our honeymoon 40 years ago!

Asking the Right Question (2)

Last week, I spent 2 days at a diocesan training event on 'coaching'. It was extremely helpful and enjoyable. As always with these occasions, it is the company as well as the input that one appreciates. I met up with some old friends, and got acquainted with new ones. Since coaching/mentoring (all depends on your definition) is something I hope to offer in retirement, this was of special interest to me.

If you're interested, the difference between coaching and mentoring is that the former is a skill requiring no necessary knowledge of the business of the person you are assisting. There is a great story of some Swiss skiing coaches who, during the summer months, found themselves coaching tennis players. Their 'coachees' progressed better and faster than those being coached by tennis players! The reason was that, starting from a position of relative ignorance about tennis, they got inside the mind and game of the person they were assisting with no presuppositions of how it was supposed to be done, based on their own game.

A mentor, on the other hand, is a seasoned 'expert' on the subject in hand, and is basically passing on his or her own knowledge and experience. Did you know (I didn't) that Mentor was actually a character in classical literature? In The Odyssey, Odysseus entrusts his son Telemachus to the elderly Mentor to tutor him while he goes away to war. This is a different skill, requiring the imparting of knowledge,whereas coaching is more about asking the right questions. Though, of course, the good mentor will also apply coaching skills - not seeing their mentee as merely an empty vessel to fill.

Incidentally, I noticed during Wimbledon that some top players are now 'coached' by successful retired players. Surely that should be 'mentored'?

So we are back to asking the right questions! - this time, for the assistance of another person. On the course, we practised this and it really is a skill to be learned. Like most clergy, I guess, I am more likely to try and give someone the 'answer' rather than help them work it out for themself. For example, a friend of mine was telling me recently that he had been assisting a church member who struggled with low self-esteem. She was afraid to attempt anything new, for fear of messing it up. He asked her, 'What would you do if you were guaranteed not to fail?' What a great question for helping someone discover their giftedness! It was a transforming moment in the life of that person, and a whole new work began in that church.

The day after the course, Les and I were talking over breakfast. She was trying to resolve a particular difficulty. Having reached a decision, she suddenly turned to me and said 'Were you coaching me just then?!' Well, it was good practice!!

Asking the Right Question

A brilliant service last Sunday afternoon, in the local school hall. It was a 'civic celebration', suggested by our new Lord Mayor, who is one of our local councillors. The idea was both to celebrate the many good things about our local community, with the people that make them possible; and to 'launch' the Lord Mayor's year of office. Although, by her own admission, she doesn't 'do God' she felt strongly she would like to receive the blessing of her own community. It was a bit of a risk really: would anyone come? We reckoned at best 100, but it was getting on for double that! All kinds of people turned up: headteachers, representatives of various community groups, church members and - crucially - leaders of  local Muslims and Jews. The President of the Liverpool Muslim Society and a local Rabbi both took part, and there was a secular reading too, celebrating the power of literature. And the New Testament.

A great atmosphere. We gave thanks for our common life; we listened to children sing; we heard the Lord Mayor's words of appreciation; we committed ourselves to the common good, to all that builds community. There was much talk of 'one humanity'. The highlight for me came at the end, when the afore-mentioned Muslim and Rabbi, who had never met, warmly embraced and said 'this is how it should be - we are one'. Incidentally, before the event, a member of the Hebrew congregation and a Muslim went shopping together to provide food and drink for everyone. On the way, each explained to the other respectively about kosher and halal! Joy!

The challenge for me was putting together a 'service' which was at once non-religious (for agnostics, atheists, secularists) and faith-full for those of different religious creeds. I think we got it about right: we even had a prayer tree, for people to offer prayers, hopes, aspirations. Feed-back from the whole event was good.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a retired bishop. He told me he was often asked, when a parish priest, what was his vision for his church and parish. With hindsight, he said, it was the wrong question. Should be 'What is your vision of God?'  I have had cause many times in the past few days to recall those words, as I have struggled to consider ways forward for our churches here. Lose sight of the God who has called you and you so easily turn inwards.

I told the story in church last Sunday of Antoinette Tuff. Last August, in America, a gunman broke into the school where she worked as a book-keeper, and threatened to kill her, the staff and children. As a Christian, she had recently been learning about being 'anchored in God' and she recalled this teaching as she prayed fervently for God to turn this situation around. She managed to talk the gunman into surrendering himself before any harm was done, sharing something of her own struggles in life and how God had shown mercy to her. As is the way of things these days, she has now become an 'author and inspirational speaker', given a new identity on the strength of one amazing incident! She has written of how 'asking the right question' is so important. Instead of 'what shall I do next?', how about 'God, what  are you doing now?'

The Guardian's comment on this whole incident is worth a read
 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/25/antoinette-tuff-heroism-missing-from-politics

Centenary

I have been rather preoccupied of late with Centenary arrangements at St Barnabas. It's been a great week, especially the service last Wednesday (St Barnabas Day), when the Bishop came to celebrate Holy Communion with us. He really appreciated the choral music, which I must say was superb - our 3 choirs combining. During the week, we have been running an exhibition and flower festival. Our St Barnabas people have been working incredibly hard, and there has been real sense of joy about the place. Tonight, we have a concert and tomorrow morning another special service when we are joined by the Lord Mayor, Erica Kemp. She is one of our own local councillors, with whom we have worked closely in the community, so it will be a special pleasure to have her with us.

One of the highlights of the exhibition has been the contents of a time capsule, buried behind the foundation stone in 1912. The contents have been well preserved, and include a copy of the Liverpool Echo, newly-minted stamps and coins, photographs of the clergy, and beautiful, coloured original architect's plans for the church. They are truly a work of art. One interesting article in the Echo is about a bishop's objection to the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham coming to conduct at a concert in Manchester. He urges Christian people to boycott the concert. Why? Because Beecham is divorced! How times have changed: those were the days of 'Christendom', when it was felt there was a universal set of values to which all were expected to subscribe. Those who did not were sometimes regarded as beyond the pale.

None of us would want that kind of judgmental attitude to return, which so often led to hypocrisy. On the other hand, it does reveal how in today's world there really is no connecting narrative about values - as the recent Gove/May spat has revealed. Many would agree it was the First World War which caused that. People's best hopes of a world which was gradually becoming more humane, more prosperous, more just, more pleasant were dealt a cruel blow. It all fell apart with the ugly, brutal, catastrophic, horrifying experiences of war.

I have reflected on the timeliness of St Barnabas' foundation. It was consecrated in February 1914: I like to think it was God's providence that a centre for prayer and community gathering was right there on the high street, established in time for those gruelling years.

I have just finished reading Half the Human Race by Anthony Quinn. He is a Liverpool-born writer whose first novel The Rescue Man (set in Liverpool during WW2) I have also read.This second one begins in 1911, carries us through the War and beyond. It is essentially the story of a romance, but weaves together women's emancipation, cricket, trench warfare, and art among other things. It's a good read, and certainly conveys the atmosphere of pre-war England and the social changes the war produced. In particular the role of women: one of the characters, a suffragette, says I'm glad (the war) is over - but it did make us useful. It proved to men that we weren't just feeble domestic halfwits. I mean, didn't we take responsibility? We worked so hard they eventually had to give us the vote. She continues sourly, But...they're not letting us keep those jobs. It's "thanks a lot and you can all go home now....men still have all the cards you know."

In our Centenary year, we're not just looking back though. Our slogan is 'Building for the Future'. We want to provide for those who come after us, as those 100 years ago and since have kept the flame of faith burning for us.