Vicar’s Vista Feb 2013
Death & Resurrection
Some readers will lovingly
remember this character –
Inspector Blakey. He was
always thwarted and/or
frustrated by driver Stan &
Conductor Jack.
Poor old Blakey was always
trying to ‘get on top’ but never
quite did – mostly he was given
the ‘run-around’. He just didn’t see eye to eye with Stan & Jack. He
represented ‘By the Book’ and they ‘Bend the Rules’. On the buses was
a successful comedy based around a bus driver, his mate and his
family. On the Buses ran in the 1970’s for seven years on ITV; their film
actually grossed more than Diamonds are Forever (I had to get a 50th
Anniversary mention to James Bond in somehow).
SO WOT? I hear you ask – whilst perhaps recalling the unfortunate but
lazy Arthur, his excruciating wife Olive and dear old Mum (Doris Hare).
Perhaps it is a memory of On the Buses which my parents weren’t ever
totally comfortable with me seeing (it was a bit racy like the Carry-On
films), or my earliest childhood memory of running down the street with
my dad to catch a London double-decker – hopping on as it slowed at
the lights, or that I caught two London buses in each direction to school
– 94 & 126’s and 119 & 146’s, all these have left a place in my heart for
buses. At the Great Dorset Steam Fair I have ministered to vintage bus
driver/owners and in 2009 was nearly moved to help out a young fellow
by buying his Routemaster for just £18,000 – but what would have been
my ‘Olive’s’ reaction when I got home!
God is gracious and has found ways to
enable me to draw closer to a bus of my
own: - The chaplaincy role at the Great
Dorset and then that memorable wedding
when they all turned up on a bus and I
insisted on getting into the drivers seat
and being photographed before the bride
had her group photos outside the church, (it made the front cover of the
Wessex Bus Journal) and now, praise the Lord, a role in being the
trustee of a not-for-profit charitable company called W.O.T.S. What?
‘Word On The Street’ – note not Word On The Buses!
The WOTS Company is a visionary Christian led project that started
several years ago in Ringwood to work with Youth. By purchasing and
re-fitting a double-decker bus with a coffee bar, computer consoles and
bench seating a mobile youth facility was provided. This was later driven
(once-weekly) to Alderholt. Wimborne Deanery has now inherited the
latest WOTS bus and will be taking it to various under-resourced
communities in Alderholt, Holt, Cranborne, Hinton Martell, and others.
Funding has been arranged mainly through various grants and Gill
Clarke and myself have been thoroughly involved through our
respective Deanery roles as Lay Chair and Assistant Rural Dean.
The newly acquired W.O.T.S. Bus – ‘the coach…in community’.
My role is to head the Board of Trustees and deploy staff & helpers
(who will oversee the day-to-day operations). I probably won’t be able
to train as a driver – and there will never be any passengers so there’s
no need for a clippie – I hope I don’t turn into some frustrated Blakey!
Get that bus out – into the community!
Andrew - On The Buses
Vicar’s Vista March 2013
Death & Resurrection
I must have written about this before
but it is the main theme of the
season, which is Lent and Easter.
“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of
wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains just a single grain; but if it
dies, it bears much fruit”, Said Jesus.
(John 12:24)
He was commenting on what he
knew would happen as he travelled to
Jerusalem. He had spent several
years ministering to the people as he
travelled from place to place,
teaching and interpreting the bible as he went. One of Jesus’ most
memorable teaching stories (The Parable of The Sower) was about a
farmer liberally broadcasting seed, almost carelessly in his fields, fully
knowing that some would go to waste for various ‘natural’ reasons and
yet some would take root and thrive and produce seed of its own. The
seeds, Jesus explained, represent the words of God – some people hear
them but they have no lasting value and others cannot hear – there’s
just too much ‘background noise’ in their lives. Even those who hear
are often so disturbed or distracted by life’s challenges that they variously
loose the opportunity to heed God’s Word. God is the Farmer and Jesus
is the Sower who sows the Seed. Jesus was ‘The Word of God’; the
seeds he cast bore fruit, his followers increased and they in turn became
seed broadcasters. They withstood persecution and even martyrdom.
Jesus’ mission was so important that he took it everywhere in the land.
Eventually that brought him to face with those in positions of power and
authority who just didn’t want to listen. They misunderstood, were
jealous of Jesus’ popularity and fearful of his following. They preferred
to put him to death, to silence his voice and kill off his message and
ministry. In killing Jesus the exact opposite effect occurred because the
message was greatly amplified, not silenced. The ultimate ‘seed’ had
been planted and although it died, it gave birth to so much new growth
that future generations were assured.
Lent, Passiontide, and Holy Week enable followers of Jesus to enter
into the story of the events that are the planting of the Seed. Jesus’
death necessarily comes before the glorious re-birth of resurrection and
his stories are finally vested with the fullness of the authority of God.
Death and resurrection are thus key themes within the Christian Faith,
not just in terms of life after death (that most only think of when one they
care for dies), but also in putting to death those things in life that kill off
the fullness of life itself. Central to Christian worship is the expression
of dying to that which is wrong and rising to that which is right. Lent is a
season if you like when each of us can tend the field of our lives, clear
the weeds and prepare the soil ready for a new harvest.
Just as ‘Life Laundry’ has become a popular term – recognising that
most of us accumulate far too much ‘stuff’, so Lent is the opportunity to
listen afresh to The Word of God, to clear away and make room.
So I invite you to our established pattern of worship – detailed in the
diary on the magazine centrefold. This year I have devised a themed
teaching and preaching programme throughout and you’ll find that on
another page. I hope you will feel moved to make space for listening
and hearing.
Finally from me this month we are praying and planning in preparation
for a Parish Vision Day which will be held on 13th April, between Easter
and Pentecost. This is also about death and resurrection. The church
of the Lord Jesus Christ has to keep moving; after all, farming methods
change over time! So we will meet together, away from West Moors,
and seeking the Lord’s guidance will re-envision ministry and mission
here. We have to be prepared to leave some of our ‘places of safety’ as
our former Bishop David taught us, and try new things. Some things
may need to be pruned to allow others to flourish, but that is up to you as
the church corporate and the way in which we are confident to proceed
together. It will present some challenges and demands upon us.
Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit
for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Jesus often used such agricultural
metaphors. Ploughing needed a steady hand and a good eye – if one
looked back the plough would veer away from the ‘straight and narrow’.
Ploughing is hard work and requiring of application and resilience.
Yours in Christ the Lord - Andrew
Vicar’s Vista April 2013
Death and Resurrection
(again)…
Monday April 1st is the first day after
Easter Sunday this year. A new
spiritual beginning as the Christian
rises to new and renewed life in
Christ the Lord.
New life is what we are all seeking.
I recently noticed in a précis of a
diocesan leadership teaching
programme something which I think
most of us know and that is that one
of the duties of leadership is to upset
the ‘Status Quo’. This is not done as
an exercise of power or empty
demonstration of influence but for the sake of moving things forward.
Central to the Easter story is the action Jesus took to face up to ‘rulers
and authorities’ that stood in the way of the kingdom of God. Jesus was
the progressive who came up against the system and was judged too
radical to tolerate. Therefore the church of Jesus Christ has to face up
to itself in as much as it becomes comfortably set in its ways and looses
sight of the gospel. The church does not exist to serve itself – but for
the world. It has a mission of outreach in the name of Jesus.
I am hoping and praying that when we meet on Saturday 13th April at St
John’s Wimborne that we can use this ‘Away-day’ to consider how we
can stir ourselves up. In a leadership role I am calling us to envision the
way forward for the church that we are all called to serve at West Moors
and beyond. I have no agenda other than to deliberately upset the
Status Quo so that we may move forward along The Way of the Lord.
Many worthwhile ministries and activities are central to the life we share
but just as we have re-carpeted the church floor and re-painted the walls
and are feeling uplifted, so must we consider how to freshen-up the life
we share. We cannot be content with ourselves or grow too comfortable.
As a former business-man I know that any organisation that is not
seeking growth and moving forwards is actually going backwards.
It is the same in spiritual terms. Pro-activity brings life. Re-activity
results in death (often a slow death)! So I’m feeling a bit radical in
Jesus’ name and this might just cause some upset – and in a real sense
Jesus came to upset things. Jesus was one who cared, he showed the
compassionate face of God – but he also challenged. Out of death
Jesus rose to life and so beyond the horizon just out of sight, on the
third day (not immediately) lies new life and new beginnings.
The vital fact of Jesus’ death was that it was not the end, it was the
beginning. That Jesus rose from death is certain – why else would his
defeated and cowering disciples suddenly have rallied and developed
into powerful and courageous evangelists? What was it that gave them
the impetus to speak of Jesus in the face of death?
Resurrection is a revitalisation by definition. Out of something dead and
buried rose a movement preserving and disseminating the teachings of
an obscure Jew from Galilee. Two thousand years have passed and
billions have heard of Jesus – despite his death – he is very much alive
in the world’s consciousness. We need to raise his profile in our time.
Christians attribute the quality of God to the man Jesus. In him they see
the great interpreter of Jewish scripture as the one who became its
fulfilment. Even those who do not have this faith cannot deny the lasting
influence of Jesus.
Jesus overcame death; it could not and did not conquer him. Jesus is
alive! The church of Christ must therefore be full of life.
We all face death, sooner or later. It is an inevitable part of life. In
following the way of Jesus I hold what the church has always taught,
that his truth is life giving. We are fully alive as we conform our life and
way to His Way, which is God’s Way. It is very possible to be physically
alive, but not to have life in all its fullness. The difference is a spiritual
dimension which is the vital message of Jesus. The spirit is the
difference between life and death. Physical life can crush the spirit, or it
may never be awakened – to me this is a kind of death in the midst of
life. Jesus brings a spiritual life which brings life out of death – it
enables resurrection – revitalisation, renewal, re-birth.
Let us renew our life in Him together.
See you on Saturday 13th please! Happy Easter - Andrew
Vicar’s Vista May 2013
Celebrating Tradition,
Embracing Change
This was the title of our Parish
Vision Day held on Saturday
13th April at Wimborne church.
Forty parishioners, including all
our PCC members attended.
I would like to thank them for
making time to get together to look into our ‘movement’. Movement is
the correct term. The building that ‘homes’ our worship is static, but the
church itself – the people, are called by Christ to be dynamic!
Tradition and Change are terms that seem to be in tension. It is
tradition that brings order and provides a foundation. Change stirs
things up and destabilises. The world is a fast moving place, the pace
of change quickens and nothing seems to last.
Is the church a haven, a place to shelter from the tsunami of continuous
alteration? Is the church a Titanic institution, that refusing to sufficiently
alter course has fatally ploughed into the iceberg of modernity?
We watched a TED lecture by Simon Sinek on inspired ways of thinking,
acting and communication. His premise, called Golden Circle Theory, is
that successful leaders and institutions act in a particular way which is
opposite to others. Success comes by not telling people what or how,
but why. In our context that means not telling people what we do, or
how we do it, but WHY. People might well accept the WHAT and the
HOW – but it doesn’t feel right and they are unmoved. People don’t
‘buy’ what you do; they ‘buy’ why you do it. It is when people learn why
we do what we do that they are much likelier to feel akin and come and
participate – the What and How follows. Sinek gave examples of the
computer company Apple that has succeeded where competitors failed
even though they had the products. He spoke of the race to develop
flight where the Wright Brothers had nothing but a clear understanding
of WHY (it will change the world, whereas a well-funded Harvard
scientist (Samuel Langley), well-connected and well-publicised failed.
He seemingly had the What and the How, but as soon as the humble
Wright Brothers managed powered flight he gave up – there being no
money or fame for him. He is forgotten, motivated by the wrong thing.
A third example was of one on many Civil Rights Leaders of his time Martin Luther King – he had a Dream (to change the world) – not a
method! He is certainly remembered and his dream largely fulfilled.
People don’t ‘buy’ what you do; they ‘buy’ why you do it. There was
more to Sinek’s lecture but that’s sufficient. We therefore considered
Why we do what we do, in order to inform What to do. Five groups
carefully considered questions of Why and What. The results will be
summarised and publicised for general comment in due course.
We have much to celebrate and in reality much has changed in the past
few years. There are lots of new things happening. So we pause to
take stock, focus in on WHY and decide What for the future, and that
will inevitably lead to more change. Change is disconcerting. I posed
the question as to whether Jesus was a traditionalist or a reformer. The
change that Jesus brought was too much for the institution of his day
and his movement might well have sunk without trace. It didn’t!
Jesus was one who pointed to the actual truth. His Way convinced a
few to come and dance with him and a few felt moved to risk standing
out from the crowd and join him. Others joined and soon there was a
movement. We continue to dance with the Lord of the Dance (I am
alluding to another TED lecture we watched, entitled, ‘How to Start a
Movement’). I can lead and don’t mind standing up to do this. I need,
people to join in to get things moving, and soon a few more will help,
and then the crowds will come. Have faith! That’s HOW!
Traditional church is largely about the Laity coming to church for it to be
done for them by the Ordained. That was never healthy and those days
are long gone. These are the Seven Marks of a Healthy Church: • Energised by Faith
• Outward-looking focus
• Seeks to find out what God wants
• Faces the cost of change and growth
• Operates as a community
• Makes room for all
• Does a few things and does them well
We do need to value all that we have but be ready to be changed.
That’s what happened to those early disciples of Jesus. They were
moved beyond their wildest imagination. The Holy Spirit of God gave
them the WHY and they never looked back!
Blessings - Andrew
Vicar’s Vista June 2013
Bring me Sunshine…
I write this following the glorious sunshine of
Spring Bank Holiday and I’m hoping and praying
for more!
The silhouette is of a couple of swells who brought a lot of sunshine for
a long time to many people. Their body language speaks, so I don’t
have to mention their names – just recall one of their signature songs: Bring me Sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me Laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,
Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.
Words - Sylvia Dee, Music - Arthur Kent
The spirit of this song is of joy and the cheerful lyric married with the
catchy, bouncy tune combines to make a hymn well worth singing.
There is no religion in the song and Eric & Ernie’s shows didn’t have
much religious content – the one gag I remember is Eric (the lapsed)
enquiring of Ernie (the prim Vicar) “Vicar, do you save fallen women?”
“Yes of course”, is the puzzled reply. “Then save one for me!”
Their sketches, routines and jokes were harmless and silly fun, but
actually altogether pointless and too silly for my Victorian Grandmother.
Laughter, fun, warmth, joy, love – are all as sunshine. Humour of
various kinds is part of our humanity and we can all benefit from it. Just
as sunshine warms the body, so fun brightens the spirit and lifts us from
gloom to light-heartedness, (have you noticed how the metaphors for joy
and happiness equate to warmth and light which the sun brings).
Christians find warmth and joy in our faith (believe it or not!). Jesus’
humour is all too often lost in translation and transmission and I try in my
preaching to point out where there is humour and irony in the bible. One
of the Pharisees main accusations against Jesus was that he was a bit
of a party animal; laughing, banqueting, eating and drinking. They didn’t
want to take his popular movement seriously at all. Yet the gospels
clearly recount that Jesus loved to mix with all people and used humour
in his parables and sayings to make them memorable. They flocked to
see him as he spoke of brand new bright tomorrows.
Jesus wanted his followers to live good and happy lives – he did much
to bring relief from the religion of his era that had tended towards an
overbearing pious showiness, governed by a stiff rule book. Jesus was
interested in the original underlying reason and love that had become
eclipsed and even blotted out over the generations. He said: “Take out the plank from your own eye before you seek to remove
the splinter from someone else’s” (humour?).
If the unjust judge responds to incessant nagging, how much more
will the good God hear your petition! (Funny?).
Straining at a gnat and yet swallowing a camel whole is the witty
way of Jesus commenting upon certain absurdities of the Scribes
and Pharisees.
Humour is a very powerful tool in the right hands. Jesus used it to
great and lasting effect. His sunshine has lit up the world.
When I visualise Jesus he is a charismatic teacher with a sense of fun
and love for people – especially for those who were not puffed up, who
were plain ordinary. He is very much a man, not a comic like Eric &
Ernie, but with much joie de vivre in common with them and the
sentiment of their signature song above. He moved around and brought
love and hope to many.
Christians are called to be those who bring ‘sunshine’ into the lives of
others – who are warm and bright, a source of blessing for those in
need and a source of love and joy. We are happy to get together not
just for worship but for fun and good times. There are a few sunny
social opportunities arising as we Open Gardens, Barbecue, hold the
Summer Fete and The Railway day – so please check you diaries.
In this world where we live there should be more happiness and there
certainly can be with Jesus.
Smile because Jesus loves you! That’s “the play what he wrote” with
his life.
Sunshine and smiles in His name – Andrew
Vicar’s Vista
Climate Change…
The oddities of weather patterns are
much in the news these days. You
know the saying….
“It’s been the (insert condition here)
(insert season or month here) since
(19**/records began).” Is it evidence
of long-term climate change or just
the vagaries of the British weather?
Is a periodic Ice Age returning or
Global Warming due to Greenhouse
Gases? Is it sun-spot activity, or
long-term cyclical weather due to
phases of the Sun? Sea levels are
rising and polar caps melting and glaciers retreating. Something’s
happening! The West Moors mosquitoes and midges are frightful!
We Brits love to speak about the weather. We use it as an ice-breaker.
We open our conversation with nice/appalling weather etc. and within
minutes will be sharing our life story!
Jesus spoke about the weather too. He said, ‘When it is evening, you
say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “It will
be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to
interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of
the times. He was debating a certain kind of ‘climate change’ with some
learned religious people (Sadducees & Pharisees). They wanted him to
show them a sign from heaven. Jesus remarked that they could predict
what was happening in the weather but they could not see what was
happening around them.
So I’m cheekily talking about the climate to allude to far more than the
weather (as important as that is). ‘Climate Change’ for me is about the
change in our social and religious environment. Modernism and
Globalisation are realities that have and will continue to affect our daily
lives. With them is a process of continuous change; some are more
able to cope with this than others. The ‘signs of our times’ are an intermixing of various cultures as a result of mass migration and rapid
communications bringing great potential for instability.
Jesus was an agent for change. He was, I believe, trying to get people
to understand the depth of meaning of living as those with faith in God,
whereas they were hung-up on the religious culture that had been
woven on top, to the extent that meanings had become blurred and lost.
For whilst Jesus observed rituals and traditions of his time he wanted
them understood for what they should mean and represent. Culture,
religious and social, helps to form human society – but it can become
prejudicial and lead to loss of freedom for some or even many. Jesus’
Gospel (message of good news) was particularly for the underclass and
those who were at the bottom of the pile and thus there is a fundamental
call for social justice in his teaching and very little judgmentalism of
those who had erred. Yes, he opposed those who were in a position of
authority and were using customs to oppress and yoke others.
The underlying climate of Christianity is that of freedom; freedom within
a set of righteous principles which are fair and equitable. The planet is
an increasingly small place and its resources are under pressure. The
main resource is humanity itself and much depends on each of us being
able to recognise the ‘signs of our times’ and act accordingly. What are
the signs? Division. There is need for mutual respect and toleration of
each other even though we differ as individuals, tribes and nations. We
simply cannot continue to divide ourselves on relatively narrow points of
belief, culture and custom. I feel Christians forget just how radical Jesus
could be in relation to his culture. He was the one who dined out with
sinners, spoke to women and saw great faith in foreigners. He was the
one who preached that in God’s kingdom that the lowly would be lifted
up and the unrepentant proud and mighty be thrown down.
Jesus heralded change; he spoke of personal responsibility before God
for our individual behaviour. The ‘sign of the times’ for all to see was
that God was doing a new thing in Jesus and that brought the need for a
response from all. Jesus wanted to include all – his gospel was for all,
for those who were hot or cold towards God in fair times and foul. Jesus
showed he had God-given power to calm the storms and to bring peace
where there was turmoil.
As I survey the present unrest in so many ways – in terms of raging
movements for change of undemocratic Governments, the clash of
cultures within nations and the loss of trust in those in authority thereto,
I wonder. Surely the world needs to see the sign of the times and to
embrace the Way of Jesus more than ever? Our future is in our hands.
We need Climate Change!
Andrew