NEWSLETTER
SPRING 2015
READERS’ COUNCIL
DIOCESE OF BLACKBURN
Contact Information for the Readers’ Council
Warden
01254 503417
Mrs Mandy Stanton
mandy.stanton@blackburn.anglican.org
Deputy Warden
01772 433790
Mrs Sue Champness
suechamp@btinternet.com
Secretary
01253 725552
Mr David Matthews
davidrmatthews@hotmail.com
CMD Officer
01772 454262
Mr Stan Hazlewood
s.hazlewood@sky.com
What’s Where in this Newsletter
Warden's letter
Results of Elections
Secretary’s Report
CMD Reports and forthcoming events
Reports on events
Book Reviews
In Memoriam
Deanery Reports
Deanery Secretaries and Chaplains update
page 3
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 11
page 18
page 27
page 30
page 32
Newsletter Editor
Dr Ann Dawson
015242 62936
ann@hindburn.com
My thanks to all who have contributed to this issue.
The deadline for the Autumn Newsletter will be Friday July 31st and I
am happy to receive contributions at any time between now and then.
I prefer these by email attachment but will also be happy to have anything
by post to: Well House, Lowgill, Lancaster LA2 8RA .
2
Warden’s Letter
Dear Colleagues,
I was very happy to see so many of you at the Triennial Reader
Relicensing in Blackburn Cathedral in October, and would like to
thank you for your co-operation in returning all the relevant
documents. I would also like to thank the members of the Readers’
Executive who helped with some of the administration, and, in
particular, Jacqui Mallinson, for processing all the forms and
licences, and politely nagging people (including the Warden!)
when necessary. I hope you all found it an affirming occasion.
It was good to have Bishop Julian with us at the Triennial
Relicensing. He will be joining us again at the Training Day on
28th February, when he will be talking to us about how he sees the
future of Reader ministry in Blackburn Diocese. I was personally
very encouraged when Bishop Julian invited a Reader to preach at
his consecration as a Bishop in York in 2013, and I know that he
sees lay involvement as important to the future of the Church.
I encourage as many of you as possible to join us to meet the
Bishop and hear what he has to say.
It seems right for the general body of Readers in Blackburn Diocese
to have the opportunity to elect members to the Executive, to have
input into decisions that affect all of us. The results of the election
are given below.
Later in the year there will also be the opportunity to attend a
Quiet Day for Readers. Many of you will have read the article by
Dr Patricia Wilkinson in The Reader magazine on different ways to
approach Quiet Days.
Patricia is a Reader in the Diocese and a member of the Readers’
Executive, and we are very happy that she will be putting some of
these ideas into practice for us. Details of the Quiet Day are
included with this Newsletter.
3
At the time of writing, I have been spending rather more time than
usual in entirely frivolous reading and TV watching during the
Christmas/New Year break (there is nothing wrong with a little
frivolity on occasion!) and it has led me to think about endings –
happy or otherwise. Victoria Wood has described her musical
‘That Day We Sang’ (shown on BBC2 on Boxing Day) as being
about second chances and happy endings. Of course, happy
endings have always been a feature of romantic fiction and film,
but these days, they aren’t just for bright and beautiful young lovers,
but may happen to those who are older, who have messy and
complicated lives, and who take the chance of joy they are offered
without necessarily expecting to live happily ever after.
I have also been reading a lot of detective fiction, which has been
described (by G K Chesterton among others) as upholding the
morality of order and of justice triumphing over criminality and
chaos – another form of happy, or at least satisfying, ending.
Perhaps there is a lesson here for those of us who preach. We
need to deal with the disappointments and difficulties of real lives in
our preaching, but we also need to offer hope – not for a glib and
unequivocal happy ever after, but for a joy in the moment, a
purpose beyond ourselves, and a possibility of order and justice,
even if that currently seems as obscure as in the most convoluted
detective story.
As Bishop Nick Baines puts it, our faith offers ‘hope, faith and
realism … that the God who has made us in his image sets us free
from fear, compels us to love our neighbour as ourself, promises
us nothing other than a cross for doing so, and captures our
imagination with a vision that takes the world seriously … whilst
placing it into the context of eternity (where death is refused the
final word).’ (Nick Baines’s Blog Musings of a restless bishop
1st January 2015, http://nickbaines.wordpress.com/)
Thank you for all your work, and I wish all of you hope in your
preaching and joy in your ministry in 2015.
Mandy Stanton
4
Readers’ Executive - Elections and changes
New member for the Archdeaconry of Blackburn
(elected unopposed):
James Taylor, St. Anne, Fence-in-Pendle and St. John the
Evangelist, Higham, where he is also Director of Music. James
works for the NHS and transferred his licence from Liverpool
Diocese in 2014; at 25, he is one of the youngest Readers in the
Diocese. James would like to encourage younger people, as well
as older people, to explore their vocations, and also hopes to
encourage Readers and Reader candidates in training to
become more involved in their Churches and within the Diocese.
Member for the Archdeaconry of Lancaster
(elected unopposed):
Audrey Ashbridge, Garstang St Helen (Churchtown) and St
Michael’s on Wyre. Audrey had planned to step down from
membership of the Readers’ Executive but, as no nominations
for Lancaster Archdeaconry were received, she has agreed to stay
on for another year. We are grateful to Audrey for agreeing to
continue.
Member stepping down from the Readers’ Executive:
Sister Judith Smith OCMM. We are grateful to Sister Judith for her
enthusiasm and commitment to Reader ministry, and wish her well
in her future ministry.
The Collection at the Relicensing Service was sent to the Iraq
Appeal through FRRME and this response was received from
Angela Botham, their Administrative Officer:
On behalf of Canon Andrew White and FRRME, I write to thank the
Diocese of Blackburn for the very kind donation, totalling £557.50,
towards the ministry of relief and reconciliation. Your response to
the Iraq appeal is much appreciated, and helps make a genuine
and lasting difference in the lives of those FRRME assist,
particularly at St George's Church in Iraq. The situation in Iraq is
changing on a day to day basis, and updates can be found on our
website www.frrme.org or via Canon White’s Facebook page.
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From the Secretary:
The occasion of a Relicensing provides the best opportunity for an
updating of Reader details. In this respect, the gratitude of all of us
must go to Jacqui Mallinson who, prior to Relicensing day, did an
enormous amount of work in respect of licences, letters, Disclosure
and Barring Service clearances, and the sorting out of enquiries.
An oft recurring difficulty arose with the need for some parishes to
complete DBS registration. During recent months, Jacqui and I
have exchanged numerous emails in the pursuit of information and
accuracy. For the record, our present number of Licensed Readers
stands at 130, those with Permission to Officiate, 57. The list of
Readers Emeritus has now risen to 36.
On the 4th October, three Reader candidates were admitted and
licensed during the afternoon service and there was one transfer –
James Taylor (Fence-in-Pendle, St Anne and Higham, St John the
Evangelist) from Liverpool Diocese. Much good feedback followed
the Relicensing. Particular mention was made of the improved
arrangement for the return of licences and letters via tables set up
just inside the Cathedral’s main door.
Some of those ‘age graduating’ from licensed to PTO asked if their
licences could be given back to them and this has been done, the
documents being labelled as no longer valid. There was pleasure
amongst the Readers Emeritus over the receipt of a letter of thanks
and appreciation from Bishop Julian. Several Readers, unable to be
present on the day, have since received their licences/PTO letters
from the Bishop during his recent deanery visits; others attended
Bishop’s House on 27th November for the same purpose.
Inevitably, hindsight provided some points to be noted. One in
particular: prior to future Relicensings, the letter sent out will inform
Readers that they must collect their documents personally; they will
not be handed over to a third party.
6
My thanks are given to those who have taken the time and trouble
to complete and return their Report Form for 2014. At the time of
writing (1st February), I have received 135 forms and continue to
live in the hope that more will arrive in the near future. I have waged
my annual campaign aimed at maximising returns. By the time you
read this, we shall have reached mid-February – still not too late to
act !
As in previous years, the information given on the forms will be
collated, subsequently to confirm the amount and the range of the
activities with which we are involved. The suggestions for
worthwhile reading and CME possibilities are also valuable.
RIP Bill Anderson, David Lord, Tom Tasker
David Matthews
CMD Reports
As we look to the year ahead it seems it’s going to be a busy time
with many challenges as we work with the clergy to reverse the
alarming downward trend in regular church attendance. Bishop
Julian told the Diocesan Synod in October that Blackburn Diocese
is currently ‘Top of the Shop’ something none of us want and
something we need to change.
In January the Diocesan Synod was scheduled to have a special
Synod meeting to discuss our vision for the next 12 years.
Since arriving in 2013 Bishop Julian has been keen to visit all areas
of the diocese and hear what people have to say. It’s now time to
move from words to action and Synod should have agreed a vision
for the future that has been guided by the people of the diocese,
something Bishop Julian has always advocated.
On the 28th February Bishop Julian will be attending our training day
to speak to us about the future rôle of Reader Ministry in Blackburn
Diocese.
7
Bishop Julian has warned us there is no easy fix to the downturn in
the number of people going to church. He has said that we will have
to be radical in our thinking as we look for ways to reach out into
our communities if we are to help and support them so they can
come to know the wonder of our Lord Jesus Christ and the change
he brings into our lives.
It’s a challenge that will take many of us out of our comfort zones,
but shouldn’t be something that has us running for the hills.
Our ministry needs to be inclusive and to support those who prefer
the more traditional forms of worship as well as reaching out in new
ways to encourage more people to come to Christ.
As individuals we can’t do everything and no one person is good at
all things so a part of ministry must be to reach out into our
congregations and encourage more people to become Readers or
to become involved in the ministry of the church in different ways.
God never gives us a challenge with which we cannot deal. Our
need as individuals is to continue to put our trust in him as he
guides our lives and the life of his Church.
Stan Hazlewood
Reader Training Day ‘Open to All’
This training day focused on how we can make church accessible
to people with different needs. The day started with an opening act
of worship led by Mandy.
The morning sessions were held for the whole group. Our first
speaker, Revd Andy Gray, considered Fresh Expressions and how
to include non-church and non-book people. The second session
had three speakers exploring different aspects of inclusion.
8
Grace Donhue spoke about including people who are blind or
partially sighted, Naomi Barraclough spoke about reaching people
with hearing difficulties, and a representative from ‘Through the
Roof’ discussed how we can make churches more accessible to
people with physical disabilities.
In the afternoon Readers had a choice of workshops; ‘The Edge of
Eternity - working with older people’, ‘Welcoming Families’,
‘Open to adolescents’ and ‘Open to those of other faiths’.
The day closed with a Celtic based Compline service.
About 40 Readers attended and I think everyone gained something
from the day.
The next event for Readers will be a Quiet Day on Saturday 6th
June to be held in Ribchester. Please see the enclosed form for
further details.
Patricia Wilkinson
Forthcoming Events
Readers’ Training Day: Saturday 28th February , 10am – 4pm,
at St Cuthbert’s Church, Lytham Road, Fulwood, PR2 3AR.
There is still time to book for this day by contacting
jacqui.mallinson@blackburn.anglican.org by Friday February 20th .
Tea and coffee will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
The morning session will begin with worship, followed by a business
meeting and then time to discuss issues in Deanery groups before
reporting back to the meeting.
Bishop Julian will join us for the afternoon session which will end
with the Eucharist at which he will preside.
9
An introduction to the ‘Pilgrim’ course
Wednesday, 4th March, at St Laurence Church, Chorley,
with Pilgrim author, Steven Croft, Bishop of Sheffield.
Pilgrim, is a teaching and discipleship resource from the Church of
England which aims to help every local church create a place where
people can explore the Christian faith together and see how it can
be lived out each day. You can find out more information about
Pilgrim at www.pilgrimcourse.org.
The presentation will be led by Bishop Steven Croft, supported by
Revd Mary Gregory, parish priest in the diocese of Sheffield, Dean
of Women’s Ministry, and a Pilgrim contributor.
The Pilgrim course is published in two stages, ‘Follow’ and ‘Grow’.
The ‘Follow’ set comprises Turning to Christ, The Lord’s Prayer,
The Commandments and The Beatitudes.
The ‘Grow’ set is made up of The Creeds, The Eucharist, The Bible,
and Church and Kingdom.
All the books will be available at the event.
Readers who are interested in finding out more about Pilgrim are
invited to attend as well as those who have experience of running
Pilgrim groups, and who would be willing to share their feedback.
You are welcome to arrive at the event from 10am, and the day will
run from 10.30am until 4pm. A free lunch will be provided.
For further information and to let the organisers know that you are
coming, please contact Allison Ward, Pilgrim Promotion & Support,
on pilgrim.promotion@churchofengland.org.
10
Reports on Courses and Events
Reflections on the Training Day ‘Open to All’
Four readers have sent in their reflections and, although there is
some overlap between these, overall they give an excellent picture
of the day.
‘How Open?’
I thoroughly enjoyed the recent Readers’ Training Day in Clitheroe.
What a pleasant location and such wonderful views! There was also
that lovely, vintage petrol pump in the premises next door to the
Church. Nowadays, garages have introduced those new, digital
petrol pumps. You now have to deliver the fuel yourself, garage
services are not like they used to be!
During the day, I heard that 40% of us who are aged over 50 might
have some hearing loss and so I wonder if I heard these questions
correctly.
If you have to go to church to be a Christian, can you be
a Christian if you don’t like the church the way it is?
Should the church adapt for people who don’t like the church the
way it is?
Should the church start where people are in their spiritual
pilgrimage or should the church educate people to take them to
the point where the church thinks they should be?
What happens if people won’t turn up to be re-educated?
Should we start a new congregation if the existing congregation
won’t adapt to be more inclusive of people who don’t like the
services we have now?
Was William Temple correct when he said that the church exists for
those who are not currently members?
11
Unlike the socks which I bought for my niece at Christmas,
one-size, parish spirituality does not fit everyone and I wonder if
parishes which only serve one flavour of spirituality, will struggle to
engage with contemporary populations.
In Islam, some prayers are salat, that is, compulsory; in Christian
theology, no prayers or styles of worship are compulsory except,
perhaps, the Lord’s Prayer. Why, then, do we fossilise some acts of
worship and effectively say You have to pray this way?
Michael Speight (St Cuthbert, Fulwood)
‘Blind Faith’
This was the title of the short talk given by Grace Donhue.
Grace lost her sight when she was 12 years old as the result of a
car accident, but was encouraged by her father to learn how to be
independent and later did a diploma in theology at Cranmer Hall.
Grace now has a guide dog, Holly, and a talking computer and has
recently started the Reader training course with LCTP, but there are
still many occasions when she can feel excluded.
For instance, charity workers giving out flyers in the town centre or
even people in the welcoming team at church tend to speak first to
Holly, rather than to Grace as a person. Grace explained that she
has always had a strong Christian faith, but sometimes as a blind
person she can find church services difficult.
Some churches now use screens for new hymns or responses,
which immediately isolates the visually-impaired person. Video clips
or powerpoint presentations are often shown without any
accompanying description. Grace urged us to seek information
about alternative formats, such as MP3 players, where new songs
or hymns can be recorded. And, as other speakers too pointed out,
don’t assume that all is in order - always ask if there is anything that
could be done better.
Margaret Ives (St Paul, Scotforth)
12
‘Listening Faith’
Having had a prior engagement with the vet and our poorly Sheltie,
Danny, I arrived just in time to hear Naomi Barraclough talk about
catering for people with hearing loss.
Naomi was a clear, informative speaker and very enthusiastic about
getting across to her listeners the need to think carefully about how
we cater in church for those with hearing difficulties.
Perhaps the most thought-provoking points revolved around the
importance of using a microphone, especially when it is linked to a
loop system. Too often, she said, people refused to use a
microphone because they thought that they were ‘loud enough’.
However, ‘loud enough’ is not good enough because speaking into
a microphone linked to a loop system allows the listener with
hearing loss to hear your voice clearly, without the interference of
background noise. And remember, she said, to speak clearly and
directly into the microphone. Do not turn away or mumble!
and ‘Older Faith’
After lunch, we split up into groups to hear more about being “Open
to All”. I chose the session led by Revd Patricia Belshaw entitled
“The Edge of Eternity”.
She proceeded to tell us that society often sees older people as a
problem because of their frailty, multiple needs and dependency.
However, every person, young or old has something to offer.
Too often, young and old are separated but when brought together
there is much they can learn from each other. The elderly possess
a wealth of experiences, which can make a valuable contribution to
the life of the church as well as society.
Patricia challenged us to consider: ’Do we see people for who and
what they are in the sight of God? Everyone is valued by God. Each
one of us is precious in his sight.’
13
We often make too many assumptions about the elderly. We
assume that they come to church because they are secure in their
beliefs but even in old age, people still have questions to ask about
their faith. Many of the elderly comment that they can’t do what they
used to do but times change, our gifts and contributions to church
change. Think about armchair evangelism - if an older person can’t
get to church, what about having a Bible Study or Prayer Session in
their home?
Now it’s over to us to take back those ideas and observations and
to find creative ways in which we can involve the elderly in the life of
the church.
Janet Kimber (St Paul, Ansdell and Fairhaven)
And, finally, an overall reflection on the day
Open to Non-Church and Non-Book Cultures, Revd Andy Gray
Andy is a Pioneer Minister tasked with ‘Fresh Expressions of
Church’. His presentation concentrated on those with Special
Educational Needs, particularly those on the autistic spectrum.
(He has Asperger's Syndrome, as does his son.) His message was
centred upon adapting church to people where they are. (He has
gathered networks of people who may not come to church at all.)
He emphasised the need to tell stories using concrete language,
teaching without text, using multi-sensory ways of communicating,
and not putting up barriers for people who cannot cope with liturgy.
We were set a quiz to listen to various sets of instructions, which
were read out only once, and then to guess what was being
described in each case.
He raised questions about what we are doing to evangelise outside
our church buildings. Unfortunately, because Andy moved around a
great deal and did not use a mobile microphone, many Readers
could not hear what he had to say!
14
Open to People with Physical Disabilities
Grace Donhue
Grace Donhue is blind and came with her guide dog. She spoke
about visual impairment and those not included in the book world.
She noted, for example, that red is a bad colour for people with
macular degeneration and those churches that use red for notices
or on their websites will find that some people can't read them.
Grace spoke about the need to know who people are before you
invite them to church. Blind people are ‘the last to be thought
about.’ And yet new technology can bring them into worship so
easily. She has an iPad that speaks the Bible to her. She suggested
that MP3 players could be available for hymns and liturgy. Braille
books can be supplied. Inclusion can start with small things, but it is
easy for people to feel that ‘they don't want me.’
Naomi Barraclough
Although Naomi Barraclough isn't deaf, she has grown up with a
deaf father. She pointed out that 1 in 6 people in the UK suffer from
some degree of hearing loss and that amount is over 70% for those
over 70. She stressed the need to speak clearly into microphones
and use/advertise loop systems. She emphasised that all readers in
church need training in reading/speaking clearly with microphones
and that people can feel left out if they cannot hear.
Naomi described the different models of deafness:
1) Medical: something to be cured or managed
2) Social: removing barriers so that people are treated equally
and can operate independently
3) Cultural: some deaf people don’t accept other models.
0.1% of deaf people are a distinct group who, in using
British Sign Language, have their own sense of identity and
view the world in a different way. For them stories are
very important and written things are difficult.
15
(The speaker from 'Through the Roof' mentioned a Relational
Model of Deafness that was not expanded.)
In terms of theology, Naomi said that there are many references to
deafness in the Bible and they are generally negative: faith comes
through hearing, there is spiritual deafness, etc. She referred to
Mark 7:31-37 as a helpful alternative. Jesus notices the deaf man,
takes him aside. Is the man cured, or healed spiritually so that he
feels valued?
It is not good to make assumptions. There is a false split between
helped and helpers. Ask what would help people to be more
included. Very important are: amplification, loop system, all
microphones linked to loop, symbols, speaking clearly, enabling lip
reading. If text on a screen is used, it is helpful for text to be issued
in advance.
Representative from 'Through the Roof'
We never learned this person's name! However, this organisation
(www.throughtheroof.org.uk) provides training and materials on all
aspects of accessibility and inclusion in churches. They provide
training days for PCCs, Youth Groups, etc.
Her main point was ‘Don't Assume, Always Ask.’
She pointed to the many places in the Bible where disabled people
made a major contribution to society.
I purchased two books: ‘Be a Roofbreaker, Equipping churches and
communities to become welcoming and secure places for all’ and
‘Removing Barriers, How inclusive is your church? A resource to
help churches welcome and fully include disabled people.’
And ‘The Edge of Eternity’ Revd Patricia Belshaw
This session stressed the value of older people and the rôle of
churches in combating negative stereotypes about them being a
problem/burden on society. We also have to examine what older
people do at church and what they would like to do.
16
They are often the backbone of activities, but is there a more
spiritual dimension that they would like to explore, or other ways
that they could feel included other than providing the teas? Again
‘don't assume, ask’ was the mantra.
Patricia mentioned several successful activities undertaken by
some churches: ‘holiday at home’, specific invitations to people,
celebrating and recognising events/anniversaries, a grandparent
programme, reading groups, intergenerational activities, luncheon
clubs/coffee mornings, a survey of the needs of older members of
the congregation.
We also discussed a particular problem in a church where a group
of older people would not move from ‘this is the way we have
always done it.’ We touched upon services in nursing homes and
issues with dementia.
Canon Andrea Titterington (Broughton, St John Baptist)
5 ACT Joint Advent Service Event
I was pleased to be part of the 5 ACT Joint Advent Service at Christ
Church with All Saints on 7th December at 4pm. This service was
co-ordinated, led and delivered by the lay people of those churches.
The welcome of this creative service summed up all that it would
be:
‘Welcome everyone to our 5 ACT Joint Advent Service where 5
Anglican churches within Blackpool come together to celebrate our
oneness. This is now our time to step into the Advent Season with
great expectations. A time to bask in what is to come, as we allow
our mind, body and spirit to be stilled at this moment in readiness to
be stirred up by what God has in store for us in this service…Jesus
with his birth brought an air of transformation with him – our
transformation from being hopeless and immersed in darkness to
being hopeful and delighting in his wondrous light.’
17
From this came an overwhelming presence of the Lord as his
people took part in prayers, Scripture reading to music, poetry,
testimonies, reflection to music, witnessing by the Gideons,
and with four stations set up purposely for a choice of intercessory
prayers.
This was all heightened by our praising and worshipping with the
5ACT worship team, which culminated with fellowship over mince
pies and a cuppa as we looked ahead to Jesus’ birth and the love
he opened up to all.
Gloria Birdsall (St Thomas’, Blackpool)
Book Reviews
A Tour of Bones: facing fear and looking for life
Denise Inge (Bloomsbury 2014) ISBN 978 14729 13074
The ‘tour of bones’ of the title began when Denise Inge moved to
Worcester with her husband’s appointment as Bishop there in 2007.
Their new home was built on the foundations of a medieval dwelling
that had housed the charnel house priest, whose rôle it was to pray
for the departed. All that remained of that earlier house were the
cellars of the present one. In one of the cellar rooms there was a
trap door leading to the charnel house – ‘the place of bones’ or
‘ossuary’– full of the remains of the Benedictine monks who had
once lived in the Abbey that included the cathedral. Her first visit to
the charnel house disturbed her greatly and prompted her to begin
the journey which led to the writing of this book.
There are thousands of charnel houses in the world, not only
Christian but Jewish, Buddhist, Shinto and Zoroastrian ones too.
From these she chose just four, all Christian, all in Europe, all small
and relatively little known, in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and
Switzerland.
18
She began in Czerna, near the Polish/Czechoslovakian border.
The ‘skull chapel’ there contains the remains of the victims of
epidemics, starvation and, especially, of the Thirty Years War
(1618-48) and later conflicts - a reconciling in death of enemies in
life.
From there she crossed Czechoslovakia to Sedlec. Here the
ossuary holds the remains of some 40,000 people, mainly the
victims of medieval plagues and wars again, but here the bones
have been used to produce sculptures and plaques and even an
enormous bone chandelier.
From there her journey took her to Hallstatt in Austria, where salt
has been mined since Bronze age times, and where the ossuary is
a cave hewn into the cliff face. Here the skulls of the local people
are painted with crowns of roses, laurel, ivy or oak leaves and each
has the person’s name and dates across the forehead.
Finally, she went to Naters in Switzerland, where the skulls, without
their lower jaws, were stacked, with femurs between them, to build
walls twelve feet high and twice as wide, between which stood a life
sized gilded crucifix.
The descriptions of these four charnel houses and her reactions to
them form the core of the book. She writes that they raised
disquieting questions:
‘Are the broken parts of your deep self being healed?
Have you found a lasting hope?
What are the things for which you will be remembered?
Are you on the path of true humility – a humility where you have the
grace to admit your weakness and to receive enough love, strength
and grace for each day?’
As she began writing this book Denise Inge was diagnosed with
inoperable cancer. Despite chemotherapy, a strict diet and
complementary treatments, she died on Easter Day 2014 soon after
she had completed it.
19
So, within the ‘tour of bones’ of the title, she weaves background
and autobiographical material as well as philosophical and
theological reflections about life, death and what might come after.
It is a beautifully written book, very readable, thought provoking and
wide ranging in its content. Above all it is full of hope and joy,
celebrating life, not death, and explaining how, by confronting and
acknowledging the inevitability of death it is possible to fully
embrace the life we have and to live it more abundantly.
Ann Dawson (East Lonsdale)
What a Piece of Work: on being human.
Helen Oppenheimer, (Imprint Academic 2006)
This fairly short book deals with a complex and very important
question. To do so in a short space is to invite banality, but
Oppenheimer organises her text in such a way that we come away
invigorated rather than soothed.
The topic raises perennial issues. What features of our physiology
and behaviour, what capacities do we collectively possess that
incline us to describe them as ‘uniquely’ or ‘characteristically’
human? In what ways do these features mark us off from the rest of
sentient creation? In what ways do traditional Christian
assumptions and beliefs need checking in the light of massive new
knowledge about animal behaviour?
The author does not provide an extended treatment of these
traditional assumptions, though her frequent reference to them
indicates that she takes them to be a commitment to some sort of
Great Chain of Being, to seeing Reason and the possession of a
Soul as the central feature separating features.
The book’s title takes us to the world of Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
where the hero, in spite of his gloom, can still see man as ‘noble in
reason’ and ‘infinite in faculty’, ‘in apprehension…how like a god’,
‘the paragon of animals’.
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Much of what she has to say is a critique of what the quotation
implies, but her purpose is not destructive and she offers us ‘ an
exploration of what Christians can believe, in the hope that it may
be found persuasive’.
Given the complexity of the field, she does not approach it through
grand a priori reasoning, nor does she seek to produce one clear,
simple conclusion. Her concern is to avoid making naïve ‘either –
or’ distinctions between humans and other beings, and to look
instead for ‘both – and’ characteristics where the evidence seems to
suggest this as better.
She is willing and able to draw evidence from many areas of human
enquiry such as theology, anthropology, ethics, imaginative
literature and philosophy; so the reader will find insights from a
varied collection of writers including Bishop Butler, Jeremy
Bentham, Immanuel Kant, Gilbert Ryle, Konrad Lorenz, Austin
Farrer and Anders Nygren. This does not make for easy reading.
The style sometimes suggests the speaking voice rather than the
written form, enlivened by analogies or aphorisms; but passages
can be combative, polemical, requiring us to stop and think where
we ourselves stand.
How then does she give structure to the text? After a preface,
which prepares us for her approach, she works through seventeen
analyses, none longer than ten pages, of key activities such as
‘loving’, ‘hoping’, ‘liking’, ‘owing’, ’speaking’, ‘having obligations’,
or of attributes such as ‘excellence’ or ‘friendship’.
The different topics enable her to draw on various fields of study;
some of which are very closely related to the ‘human/animals’
distinction. Others are more general treatments of human capacities
such as that of using language ‘efficiently’ (to quote a word which
she finds helpful in challenging poor usage without falling back on
the simple condemnation ‘It’s wrong!’).
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What major points does she discuss? One example which turns up
in several topics is the unsatisfactory nature of resting the human
distinctiveness argument simply on ‘Man the thinker’, rationality, or
‘fiddly ratiocination’ (a term she quotes from Austin Farrer).
Why should this quality be seen as superior to others such as
power or beauty?
Over history, this excessive concern with rationality has led us to
locate ‘the soul’ along with ‘the mind’ here. Since animals cannot
think rationally, they can have no soul either. In her view this has
led to two further problems. First, this excessive concern with
rationality has provided an unfortunate cut-off between us and the
animal world. (But developments in our understanding of animals
have enabled us to see that some animals show thinking abilities
which resemble our own – not surprisingly since we share so much
of their DNA print.) Secondly, it has left us with the idea of the mind
(or soul) being a ‘ghost in the machine’ - an idea under attack in
the twentieth century.
If such a view of ‘soul’ is untenable, then is there a better one?
She raises the idea (but in this text she does not give it great
development ) of the body-mind ensemble soul as ‘pattern’: ‘the
soul is no thing, nor is it nothing. It really is well described as a
pattern’. An attribute which other creatures may to some extent
share.
So a consideration of one capacity (reason) leads her to express a
preference for ‘both-and’ rather than ‘either-or’ as a way of seeing
ourselves in relation to the rest of creation. The same preference is
found when in the section on ‘hoping’ she argues that animals
share our sociability but points out that though chimpanzees may
have intricate amicable relationships, ‘they do not really give tea
parties’.
In a short review it is difficult to reduce to a simple summary her
treatment of the very varied concepts and activities found in her
seventeen chapters.
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What she has to say about language and forgiving I found very
useful. The particular interest of the book is to get us to look beyond
the usual conceptual currency: to see inconsistencies and
difficulties in the traditional ways of understanding our humanity,
where we see ourselves ‘born on this isthmus of a middle state, a
being darkly wise and rudely great; sole judge of truth, in endless
error hurled, the glory, jest and riddle of the world’ i.e. flawed, but
categorially cut off from the rest of sentient creation.
The structure of the book could make it useful as a text for group
discussions.
Jim Garbett (Lancaster Priory)
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity - A Novel
William Paul Young ISBN 978-0-340-97949-5
The blurb on the back cover of this book says: ‘In a world where
religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles
with the timeless question, “Where is God in a world so filled with
unspeakable pain?'"
The Foreword explains that the author has known the protagonist,
Mackenzie Allen Phillips (Mack) for more than twenty years, but
‘who wouldn't be skeptical [sic] when a man claims to have spent
an entire weekend with God, in a shack no less?’
This is Mack's story, told by him and related by the author. Mack
had such a violent father that he left home at thirteen to work
around the world before settling in Oregon. He has a wife, Nan
(an oncology nurse), and five children. He works as a technology
salesman, he goes to church, lives a typical family life. So far so
normal. Until on a camping trip with his three youngest children, his
daughter Missy is abducted and murdered - with the signs of her
murder found, after an extensive search through deep woodland,
in a dilapidated shack. After that tragedy The Great Sadness
descends upon Mack's life.
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Following the discovery of a note allegedly from God, he responds
without telling his family and returns to the shack.
The chapters that follow are both story and theological exploration
as Mack encounters the Trinitarian God. Entering into Mack's
experience as he tells it takes the reader on a journey where the
nature and relationship of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, man's relationship
with God, sin, forgiveness, death, pain, evil, redemption, joy and
love are all examined.
An English reader may have difficulty with the very American
personifications of the Trinity, but the concepts and discussions are
profound. And because they take place in the story of a weekend in
the forest, change and growth can occur with the reader as they do
with Mack. Complex issues are couched in actions as well as
words and the reader can take part in the dialogue as Mack lives
the experience.
This is not a book that I would normally have come across. It was
recommended by my fellow Reader, Ann Gray. I pass that
recommendation along to you.
Canon Andrea Titterington (Broughton, St John Baptist)
Lucky Planet David Waltham (Icon 2014) ISBN 978 184831 656 0
A review of a book which explores why Earth might be considered
exceptional and what that could mean in terms of life in the universe
may seem an odd choice for this Newsletter. I was prompted to
purchase it after seeing a very positive review in Geoscientist
magazine (I’m a geologist) and, having read it, I think it may well be
of interest to other Readers.
Although it is a scientific book it is so wide ranging that I suspect no
scientist would have a detailed knowledge of all the aspects that are
discussed – I certainly didn’t!
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Consequently the author has made it as accessible as possible
and if you have watched television documentaries, followed the
latest news about space exploration, and are interested in the
development of life on earth and of the relationship between
science and religion, you should find it well worth tackling.
As I read it I was reminded of the Carol by Sydney Carter which
includes the lines:
‘Who can tell how many cradles,
high above the Milky Way,
now may rock the King of heaven,
on another Christmas Day?’
Those lines reflect a widely accepted view that advanced life could
arise frequently and in many places in the known universe but
David Waltham is convinced that it is almost impossible that there
could be even one such cradle ‘high above the Milky Way’.
He argues that, although life may well exist elsewhere in our
universe, on one of the hundreds of Earth-like planets that our
astronomers have identified in recent years, it is highly unlikely to
have developed beyond the microbial level before becoming extinct.
In this book he marshalls evidence from recent geological,
biological and astronomical discoveries to support his view that it is
very likely that we, as a consciously self aware, intelligent lifeform,
might be alone in the universe.
He argues that Earth has been blessed with incredible good
fortune, giving it all the right properties to sustain a complex and
beautiful biosphere. Although he steers clear of declaring any belief
in God, he acknowledges his awe and wonder at the sheer beauty
and diversity of life on our planet.
He gives three options for our planet being habitable – God, Gaia or
Goldilocks – I suspect you, like me, are convinced that it is the first
of these.
Ann Dawson (East Lonsdale)
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Recommendations for detective fiction with church
or strong moral elements:
Alexander McCall Smith – The Number One Ladies Detective
Agency series
Like G K Chesterton’s Father Brown, Alexander McCall Smith’s
Mma Ramotswe spends at least as much time sorting out people’s
complicated lives with compassion and humour as she does solving
crimes in a more conventional way.
The stories are set in Botswana and are highly evocative of their
African background, and although there is usually a happy ending,
the complications and deprivations of poverty and AIDS in Africa
are not glossed over.
Julia Spencer-Fleming - Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne
Mysteries
These books, set in a small town in New York State, feature a
female Episcopalian priest and the local Chief of Police. Alongside
the crime investigations the author shows the problems of a woman
priest in an area where this is a novelty: the reality of Clare’s faith
comes through strongly, as does her wrestling with personal issues
(not for those who like to think of clergy as immune to
temptation…).
James Runcie – The Grantchester Mysteries (Sydney Chambers)
Adapted for television in 2014.
Runcie, the son of the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has used
his observations of vicarage life to good use but transferred them to
the 1950s, not merely as an exercise in nostalgia, but to explore
some of the issues of social change from that period. Described on
the website as ‘Father Brown with attitude, Agatha Christie with
Cathedrals, and Barbara Pym with sex’
(http://www.grantchestermysteries.com/index.aspx)
Kate Charles – Callie Anson series and others
Kate Charles’ books with a Church of England background, several
exploring the issues which divide the Church.
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Perhaps refreshingly, her clerics do not do much investigating
themselves, but are drawn into criminal investigations through
friendships with those involved and by offering pastoral care to
those affected. Well written and plausible.
Louise Penny – Armand Gamache series
I have been recommending these books to everyone I know!
Although not overtly religious, these books set in Canada explore
religious themes and are superbly written – not many books make
me shout at my Kindle when things seem to be going wrong…
Penny has pulled off the difficult trick of creating a genuinely good
person who remains both interesting and likeable. Warning – the
books don’t have to be read completely in chronological order, but
the series’ story arc means it’s best not to read the last few books
out of order.
And finally, for those with a taste for the supernatural:
Phil Rickman – Merrily Watkins series
Set on the Herefordshire/Wales border (which is evoked brilliantly)
and featuring a female Deliverance Minister, these are the only
supernatural books I’ve come across that seem to take the theology
of deliverance seriously. Warning: these may well be too dark for
everyone, although Merrily’s relationship with her teenage daughter
keeps them (and her) grounded.
Mandy Stanton (Warden of Readers)
In Memoriam
Thomas Tasker, Reader Emeritus (1927-2014)
His friend, Michael Johnson, has sent the following tribute:
It was with deep sadness that we learnt of the death of our fellow
Reader, Thomas Tasker, in August.
Thomas spent the first part of his Reader ministry at St Peter’s,
Fleetwood and then the remaining seventeen years at St Aidan’s,
Bamber Bridge.
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He was a true and faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ and will
be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him. Our sincerest
condolences go to his wife, Olive, to whom he had been married for
almost sixty five years, and to all his family.
We give grateful thanks to God for his life and ministry, quoting
words from one of the hymns he chose for his Requiem, which
sum up his life perfectly.
‘Here I am, Lord, it is I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.’
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
William Anderson, Reader Emeritus (1925-2014)
Lynda Leadbeater, Secretary of Whalley Deanery, writes:
Bill died in August and his funeral was at Whalley Church on 29th
August. He was 89 and had been Reader Emeritus for many years.
He had suffered bad health for several years and spent his last few
weeks in hospital. In all that time his wife, Marjorie, said that he
never grumbled.
Bill had lived and worked in the Blackburn and Whalley area all his
life. He started his teaching career at St Oswald’s, Knuzden, and
became headmaster of St Mary Magdalene, Accrington, at the age
of 34. He stayed in that post until he took early retirement in 1980.
While he was headmaster he interviewed Marjorie for a teaching
post at the school and they worked together for 21 years.
Bill’s first wife, Elsie, died in 1982 and Marjorie’s husband had died
in 1980. The two couples had spent many happy times together and
their children were friends. It came as a delightful surprise to
Marjorie when Bill proposed to her. She was not sure how the
families would take the news, but they had already thought that it
would be the best thing to happen.
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Bill was a family man and he and Marjorie, in their early retirement,
spent a lot of time looking after their five grandchildren. They would
go off for day trips with five grandchildren in the back of the car.
They also enjoyed holidays, travelling and visiting places all over
the world.
Bill had various roles outside Whalley Church. He was on the
Deanery and Diocesan Synods and several Diocesan committees.
He was on the General Synod for at least 15 years. He was a
governor of St Wilfred’s School in Blackburn. The headmaster wrote
to Marjorie commenting on Bill’s sense of humour and the wisdom
that he brought to the roll of governor . He also said that Bill was
never afraid to bring his own points of view based on his experience
as a teacher.
Another of his loves and commitments was to Whalley Abbey. He
was a member of the Whalley Abbey Friendship Group. He became
treasurer and served as the chairman. I did not know Bill personally
but my memories are of him showing people around Whalley Abbey
and the grounds, dressed as a monk, explaining the history, and
bringing to life the way of the Abbey and how the monks lived and
worked.
As I have said, I did not know Bill personally, and I would like to
thank Marjorie for spending time with me and sharing these
memories.
David Lord, Reader Emeritus
Revd Canon Tom Barnes, Vicar of St Saviour, Bamber Bridge, from
1974 to 2004, writes:
David died on New Year’s Day 2015 and his funeral service was
held at St Saviour’s. He was brought up in Longton, worshipping at
St Andrew’s Church and attending Hutton Grammar School. He
studied Mining Engineering at Wigan Technical College and was a
mining engineer in south Lancashire until the pits closed. He then
worked for Pilkington’s as a property surveyor, travelling widely in
Europe.
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He was appointed Churchwarden at St Saviour’s whilst in his early
thirties and his sound judgment and involvement in the life of the
church were much appreciated by the parishioners and myself.
David and his family moved to Chorley, where they worshipped at
St Laurence’s. Whilst there David embarked on his Readership
course and was subsequently admitted as a Reader. During this
time he had heart surgery from which he gradually made a good
recovery.
The family then moved to Clayton-le-Woods and David resumed his
association with St Saviour’s, this time as Reader. His ministry was
greatly valued and he involved himself in many aspects of parish
life – not least singing in the choir, a lifelong interest of his.
David also gave wise advice with regard to parish property and
maintenance. He had many talents which he shared freely in the
service of God and his church.
David also had many hobbies and interests – gardening, stamp
collecting and railways among them. In his retirement he worked as
a volunteer on the Welsh Highland Railway, manning the
refreshment trolley.
He will be greatly missed by his many friends and parishioners.
Most of all he will be sadly mourned by his wife, Julia, his daughters
Pamela, Hazel and Heather and by his three grandchildren, to
whom he was devoted.
‘Well done, good and faithful servant’
Deanery Reports
A couple of Deanery Secretaries have indicated that they have
nothing to report this time and some Deaneries are still lacking a
Secretary – have any of you thought of taking on this rôle?
If you feel able to do so please contact Mandy.
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Lancaster and Morecambe with Tunstall
We met a little later than usual this Autumn as we had the
Relicensing and the Training Day in October and November.
Our Chaplain, Revd Canon Brenda Harding, kindly agreed to lead
an Advent Quiet Evening for us and St Paul, Scotforth, agreed to
host this and provide refreshments at the beginning.
As well as our usual members we were delighted to have Grace
Donhue and her guide dog, Holly, with us as we have now opened
our meetings to those Readers in Training in our area who can
manage time away from their studies to join us.
On Thursday, December 11th, we met at 7.00pm for coffee before
beginning two hours of reflection, prayer and meditation. Brenda
used various extracts from Compline to introduce us to Advent,
provided a wide range of resource material, and then encouraged
us to use the remainder of the time of quiet in whichever way we
chose before coming together at 9.20pm to say Compline.
We all came away refreshed and renewed and were most grateful
to Brenda for her leadership of the evening.
Our next meeting will be at Shireshead on Wednesday, February
11th, when our Warden, Mandy, will be with us.
Ann Dawson (East Lonsdale)
Whalley Deanery
We met in October at my house. Mandy Stanton joined us for the
evening. She told us about her background, her faith journey and
how she became Lay Ministry Development Officer. She explained
what the title involved and her work with the Readers. We then went
on to discuss Reader ministry and the different responsibilities that
we all have in our churches, parishes and wider communities. We
thought about the future and how things might change. One point of
discussion was the training of Readers.
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There was a strong feeling from some Readers that the training was
very time consuming and academic, and people were not coming
forward because of these reasons. Mandy said that training was
always being reviewed for all types of ministry and this would
continue.
In January we will be meeting for our annual meal together.
Lynda Leadbeater (Clitheroe, St Paul)
Deanery Secretaries and Deanery Chaplains - update
Ian Wells ended his many years as Secretary of Leyland Deanery
in October 2014.
The ’phone number of the Leyland Deanery Chaplain, Revd Duncan
Clarke, is 01772 623426, not as given in the Autumn Newsletter.
Both Secretary and Chaplain for Lancaster and Morecambe with
Tunstall have new email addresses: Ann Dawson is now at
ann@hindburn.com and Revd Canon Brenda Harding at
brendakharding@hotmail.com
Otherwise the list remains as in Autumn Newsletter.
Dates for your Diary
February 28th
Training Day with Bishop Julian
at St Cuthbert’s, Fulwood
March 4th
Introduction to the ‘Pilgrim’ course
at St Laurence, Chorley
June 6th
Quiet Day at Ribchester
July 31st
Final date for material for the
Autumn Newsletter
October 31st
Reader Licensing and Autumn Conference
at All Saints, Anchorsholme
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