Moving On: Simon's announcement 8 Sep 2024

Dear friends, Sept 2024

Our Scripture last Sunday was “for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

A community of 400 people of prayer and praise

In the services, I announced that after nearly fifteen years of Christian ministry in Godalming area, our family is moving on. We do so with grateful hearts for all of you and after much prayer and reflection. So much has been achieved as a church family by working together in prayer and activity. All of this will continue because it isn’t about one person, but about a community of 400 people of prayer and praise. We’ve become a deeper community that celebrates one another in Christ. We have something quite special here as a Minster.

My sadness is that I am stepping away at a time when so much is beginning to grow. It would have been lovely to remain to be part of this, but God’s call is to live out our faith actively. It means living the truth that as Christians we are temporary dwellers, wherever we are and that we are called to obey him. The Bible calls us sojourners or elect exiles. We live in the faith to travel lightly because of Christ.

Thank you

It has been a privilege to be God’s steward here for so many years. Together, we have shared moments of joy, supported one another in times of hardship, and grown together as a community of believers. Your faithfulness to God, and your willingness to serve one another and our wider community is a message of Christ’s love.

Over the summer, I was offered a new role that now leads our family into a new chapter. While leaving the Minster is not easy and we are stepping out in faith in this, the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 are powerful: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." I know that His plans for all of us are good and true. God’s plans for His people locally are for good things and he will already be raising and preparing the next Rector for their own change of calling.

New role

I leave parish ministry at a final service on 5 January 2025, to which everyone is welcome. My new role will be to work nationally with a Christian organisation (CPAS) in leadership development, clergy support and supporting churches in evangelism. We hope to stay in the Guildford area, and we are exploring what this might look like.

The next person

The appointment of a new Rector is a time of adjustment, but we know the Lord provides. We are a church of spiritually equipped people with two deeply committed churchwardens in David and Will and a fantastic ministry team. Our wonderful Associate Rector, Rev Simon Willetts, is such a rock of faith for a time such as this. Simon led the church through my sabbatical, and I am told that I wasn’t even missed! That says so much about everyone: the staff team, clergy and LLMs, pastoral and congregational leaders and, in fact, every person. A Rector leaving is not about loss but about God’s space for renewed growth. The churchwardens have a meeting scheduled with the Archdeacon, and Simon W and the Churchwardens have started to meet together regularly.

I want to express my deepest thanks to each of you for the trust and love you have shown throughout my time here. As Philippians 1:3-4 says, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy." Our family will carry many memories as we pass the baton to God’s next person who will do great things in the power and love of the Spirit.

After Jan 5th 2025

After Jan 5th the Minster will be in a vacancy, or interregnum. The Archdeacon and Area Dean will guide the Minster through this period. The Area Dean (Rev Chris Bessant) is excellent. He is fully supportive of the Minster as he is on Bishop’ Council and was part of the support for how the Minster was developed.

In due course, the parish will be invited to engage in a vision and vacancy workshop, facilitated by the Diocese. I have given permission for some of the pre-work and consultation to begin in the next couple of months. This should bring the timeline for an appointment forward. The PCC will discuss some of the process when it meets next week. There will be a call to prayer. There will be a Section 11 meeting of the PCC where legal processes begin. A Parish Profile will be compiled which describes the Minster and what the role for the new Rector entails.

We have such a gift in what the Minster is; I am convinced that many clergy will want to be part of it. Interviews are likely to take place around May 2025 (subject to Bishop/Archdeacon/Patron availability). The panel involves the Bishop and/or Archdeacon, Parish Reps, The Patron and the Area Dean.

One body together

Please be praying for the ministry team, churchwardens and staff team. Please offer your practical support, time and energy as the Minster’s work continues to develop. If you hear of a need or see someone needing help, please step forward with your gifts and skills. It is at times like this that we learn to pull together in new ways, overlook differences and recognise the importance of the unity that we have. This is a time for continued growth for God’s Kingdom throughout the Minster.

In Christ,

Simon and Catherine

Penhill was always there, even if I couldn’t see it in the rain

Earlier this year I went to the Yorkshire Dales for a reunion of four friends from our youth group days. We arrived full of great intentions to walk, hike and climb but we had forgotten to take one thing into account. The UK weather! We arrived to wind, mud and snow instead of warm sunshine. It didn’t take us long to shift our plan. Why? Because we realised that our clambering over the terrain in those conditions wouldn’t look as good to others as in our minds. We might imagine ourselves as gazelles leaping, but the reality would be more earthy!

Walking went out of the window, except for one particularly long walk. We spent the week justifying our new plan as if somehow it had always been a superior one. In our minds, it became the plan we’d always had! Admittedly, it was enjoyable as we took a Theakston’s brewery tour, sampled Aasygaarth tea rooms and visited the Wensleydale cheese factory but it was a poor substitute for where we’d hoped we’d end up.

In life, our best plans can go out of the window. We take a different tack than we intend because we convince ourselves that we’ve made a mistake in the first place; or our great intentions seem to be a waste of time in the face of situations; or we’re worried that others might see our struggles and slip ups.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve found some of our church plans have needed to be double checked. We thought the Busbridge Church tower and roof were sound, but the UK weather and squirrels have taken their toll. Our plans began to be reshaped. The question we asked ourselves was what the building meant to people. Did the tower, and the integrity of the building, matter? What did it mean to have the tower there? Should we let the community know that we were having to grapple with a significant issue with this Grade 2* building that we’re stewards of for future generations?

When we told the community about the tower problems, we had no idea what the reaction might be. A local firm is supporting us with the works. A roofer offered his expertise free of charge. Individuals have given funds. Ben Rogers has completed a bare-foot 39 mile hike from the coast to Busbridge. Ben’s already raised £4,000, and it’s not too late to sponsor him on his gofundme page.

We all face dilemmas. Circumstance change, but that doesn’t mean give up. In the Dales, no matter where we drove, a huge tor called Penhill always in sight. Even in the rain, it was obvious this huge tor was still there. It stood there like a sentinel. Yes, we climbed it. That hill became a comforting symbol of constancy despite the changing plans and uncertainty. It stood there reassuring us that we were indeed in the Dales, in the right place, and together as friends.

We might be concerned that people might see our struggles, but God’s love means we don’t need to hide the struggles behind closed in windows. Situations often seem too vast for us, but our situations are never without hope if they centre on good intentions. Like Penhill, God’s presence is constant, even if changing plans of snow, mist and rain of life obscure our awareness of God. As the Bible puts it:

“You will make known to me the path of life, in your presence is fullness” (Psalm 16)

Rector's Reflection: DDay80 “I remember the Old Days, and I cry”

At 11am today, there was an important act of remembrance and service at the Godalming Town War Memorial besides Godalming Minster Church Street. The public gathered alongside representatives of the military, emergency services, those in civic and council service, town representatives and the British Legion gathered to commemorate the terrible sacrifices on D-Day, 6th June 1944.

The mayor of Godalming, Cllr Paul Rivers gave the exhortation and there was a chill in the spine as the bugle sounded and the union flag was slowly lowered. It was a time to stand together across faiths and backgrounds, whether spiritual, religious or otherwise. As we stood as one, 80 years ago at that moment, the World was being changed by individuals who banded together and died where people now sunbathe. As the Minster’s representative for the town, I had the humbling privilege of leading this service.

I shared a recollection from a young man who had staggered ashore 80 years ago. His abiding memory was “what upset me most were all the dead soldiers in the sea, one of which had his pay book hanging out. Funny how you remember some of the little things.”

When we think of the sweep of history or the enormity of events, we can easily forget that every person is created by God. There are no little things, or insignificant people in the losses of sacrifice. Every sacrifice in fighting for peace is a momentous one that sends shivers through time.

My second thought was from the words that opened the D-Day operation. A single person in a radio booth in England gave this message across the BBC “Wound my heart with a monotonous Languor.”

These words were had previously been written by a 22 year old poet, Paul Verlaine, to reflect the sadness of growing old. At 23:15 hours on June 5th they were the coded message to the French Resistance that the invasion was about to being.

What does sacrifice look like? A 22-year-old wrote a poem about not wanting to grow old, and here it was being used to announce that thousands of young people would never grow old. Sacrifice is each of them stepping ashore in a World of turmoil and bloodshed knowing that they were fighting for lasting, just peace against evil.

The poem continues “All breathless And pale, when The hour sounds, I remember The old days And I cry;” Today, we are called to cry.

Crying like this is an ancient Christian sign of lament, and it is perhaps something lost in a modern, fast paced World. Crying for lost youth, families broken by war, nations destroyed for generations, borders that become places of conflict rather than connection; and today, a cry to remember sacrifice and to live as people and communities so that we are worthy of the man whose pay book hung from his pocket as he lay in the tide.

Let us live worthy lives in honour of their sacrifice.

With particular thanks to Councillor Paul Rivers, Mayor of Godalming and consort Cllr Penny Rivers; Paul Follows, Leader of the Council and Armed Forces Champion, Flt Lieutenant Poulter of 154 Squadron; Dave Sargent of Godalming Band; Neil Godden for the Emergency Services; Fiona Jenkins of the British Legion and Andy Jeffrey of Godalming Town Council.

Easter is when the garden that represented death becomes the garden of proof of Life

When I was at primary school we had a glorious cookery lesson which has stayed with me ever since. We made bread. My memory is still full of the smell of the bread as it rose in the oven and our eager faces as we anticipated tasting it.

One of my friends camped out in front of his oven. He sat there for hours, peering through the glass because he was afraid that he’d miss out on the moment when the bread suddenly jumped into life and rose!

This is a great image of our celebration of recent Easter Day whether that was formally or within informal worship, with guitars or a robed choir. It is Resurrection Sunday. What a glorious day! It is our day of celebration when we gather as God’s people to glorify the Risen Saviour. We taste and see the fruits of the Holy Spirit as we gather in worship and thanksgiving – and this year, at Busbridge Church, we gave thanks for a particular couple who have lived the Christian life locally for many decades.

I read the other day that there are fewer Christians in the UK but there are more spiritually hungry people. What does a spiritually enquiring person find in Easter Sunday? That Christian faith is full of meaning, life, hope, purpose and the freedom from fear that is craved by all. Deep down, my experience of many people’s life stories is that they arrive at Christianity last on their spiritual quest because they haven’t realised that the deepest fears of life are met in Jesus Christ.

My school friend was like a reflection of much of life. He was afraid he’d miss out! So many people live in fear of not quite making the mark in their independence, autonomy, rights, experiences, relationships, or just missing out on stuff. The antidote to fear of missing out is one of our themes for the year from Mark 6:50. “Jesus immediately said to them ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”.

Fear is deeply rooted in what went wrong in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:10). Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate antidote to fear. The garden that represented death has become the garden of proof of life. It is no mistake that in the Garden Jesus’ first words after he’d risen were the ultimate corrective to Genesis 3:10. His words spoke freedom from fear. He said “why are you crying?” and the angels first response to the visitors to the tomb is “Don’t be alarmed”. Later Jesus speaks “Peace” to the disciples when he powerfully appeared within a locked room. I reckon they clung onto that word as they worked out what on earth was going on!

Easter Day is the high point of the Christian year and its smell and experience lingers with us as we head through 2023 as a Minster Church for all of Godalming and area. We gathered as the community of life to taste and see once again that there is only One Lord, One Faith, One Hope.

We no longer need to camp like my friend and his oven to watch and wait in case we miss out. We have arrived at the fullness of Life. Easter Day is Resurrection Sunday in the garden, but the story in the garden continues.

A positive pattern in troubling times

What do the following all have in common?

Paypal, Deloitte, Adobe, Brewdog, Buffer, Vistaprint, Church of England

All tech companies?

No. Brewdog is a brewery.

All created since 1845 (when Deloitte was founded)? No, the Church of England has been around for a very long time!

So what’s the connection?

Answer: They all invest in their people’s wellbeing through providing sabbaticals. The word sabbatical comes from the Latin for Sabbath – the Lord’s day of rest. So, a sabbatical is a faith-idea about rest and good patterns of living well. The first reference to the word sabbatical in the UK was in the 1590s!

There’s something special about the idea of a time of rest. We’ve lost that art and I don’t see that it is doing people much good. In many people’s eyes who I meet I don’t see rest, but exhaustion.

The Bible says that there should be a rest period every seventh day and every seventh year because this is God’s best pattern for us (Lev 25:1). If someone is in debt then they should be released from it on the seventh year so that it does not burden them too much (Deut 15:1).

A field should be left fallow to recover on the seventh year (Ex 23:10). If a time of rest is good enough for a field and God’s creation order, then it is a good model for us in our daily lives. That’s why churches have historically gathered people every seventh day. I have my old physics teacher in mind when I recall his words all those years ago when he taught us about the limits of stretching something “If you stretch an elastic band beyond its elasticity, it isn’t any good any longer.”

If you feel stretched, can I invite you to consider what your sabbath pattern could look like? Is Sunday just another day? If you’ve fallen out of the pattern of church on Sunday, please consider the benefits of what it releases in your spirit (Deut 15:1-2).

My sabbatical has come to me after being delayed due to covid lockdowns. It isn’t the seventh year but something approaching a quarter of a century! The question is, what does a vicar do on a three month sabbatical? Mine is a diverse undertaking.

I’m going to Barcelona to look at a cave where Ignatius of Loyola pondered the meaning of life. He formed a Rule of Life shaped on Christian faith which might stand many of us in good stead in the midst of an increasing fractured and World and communities:

·       More – seek to do things well

·       With – to be alongside others

·       Cura Personalis – respect for all, even in disagreement

·       Heartbeat –of heart, mind and soul together

·       Ad Majorem Dei Gloria – God matters

·       Ethic – living well

I think these are universal desires for good patterns of living. I’ll be returning with some thoughts on what this might look like to benefit many of us in a busy Surrey community and local church.

Of course, Barcelona also has Camp Nou (aka Spotify stadium) so that will be a different bit of experience for the heart!

I’ll be taking some time to walk part of the South West Coastal Path to follow in the footsteps of Raynor Winn’s book ‘Salt Path’. I’ll be visiting my favourite retreat centre, the Roman Catholic community of Chemin Neuf in Storrington, West Sussex, which I tend to visit twice a year. Between these times there’ll be space for a few past times that have slipped over the past quarter of a century of serving the church and the local community as your vicar.

The church is in great hands with many fabulous volunteers and a brilliant staff team who serve everyone locally with such love and devotion. We’ve got a very able team of vicars here so all the usual vicar things of both joy and sorrow will continue uninterrupted.

If you see me around, do say hi.

The noise and quiet of Christmas

The noise and quiet of Christmas

Are you ready for the noise of Christmas? The first proper Christmas in three years! Noisy and busy Christmas jumpers at the ready? The bustle is beginning. Last Sunday we were full at both Busbridge and Hambledon churches for the morning family carols. We’ve just hit the 300 mark for the second Christmas Eve candlelit family carols and the first service is already completely booked up –even with us taking the service on tour to the much bigger venue of StP&Ps in the town centre.

What noise does Christmas make for you? I’d like to invite you to a noise that ripples through time – it is the noise of Christmas quiet.

‘quiet hurtled

through the store

barging noise… away’

Some years ago I was in a shop when a mother had lost her child. It wasn’t the scream that stopped everyone. It was the deep hush – the quiet – that descended afterwards as everyone froze and looked around. The quiet hurtled through the store barging noise and activity away.

We’ve all lost something this year. How do we cope? We fill it with activity – with noise. Noise of football or rugby terraces, noise of anger or aggression, noise of more work, more work more work, noise of family, friends and feasting.

Noise is familiar and safe, but it drowns something that the courageous listen for. Noise drowns quiet out and, like in the supermarket, quiet stillness is alien to us and it discomforts us until we realise that the quiet is the best place to be.  

‘Courageous people are willing

to reach into Christmas

beyond the noise and

look into the quiet of the soul’

Quiet is when we run out of noise. When I speak to people who have entered quiet, they find that quiet changes them. Why? It allows our souls to speak and for us to seek our souls. It is people of courage who are willing to remain in quiet rather than revert to the noise that is distracting. Courageous people are willing to reach into Christmas, beyond the noise, and look into the quiet of the soul. We fill our lives with noise to avoid the quiet in the soul because our souls are restless for the quiet of God’s peace.

“After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face

and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave”.

2 Kings 19

In recent weeks I’ve experienced two situations of the deepest quiet. It is as if time has stopped. In both situations, those I was with were courageous and allowed the quiet to dwell. They had both suffered incalculable loss, both had distance to contend with and both were entering a profoundly changing experience. Noise ceased. Quiet descended.

The sound of Christmas is to bring the quiet of peace to our souls. It is the quiet whisper of God that says into our lives “what are you doing?” because God has plans for who we are, what we are to do and how we are to be. People of quietened souls reconnected to God by Christ are people who do things differently. We are purveyors of quiet into noise and bringers of peace into aggression.

The quiet of Christmas is the cry of a new-born baby. Have you ever been in a situation where you have heard a new-born baby cry? Somehow, it evokes a response – an awareness. It silences our noise and we become acutely aware for a moment – we check for danger for the infant. This Christmas, Jesus cries out to us not as an infant but as the Mighty God everlasting, the author and perfector of the quiet peace of our souls and our souls quietly soar in response.

‘The quiet of Christmas is the cry of a new-born baby’

Isaiah 9: 5For every trampling boot of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

Merry noisy and soul-quietened Christmas to you all. Here’s to 2023 as we courageously step out in quiet faith.

 Simon Taylor (Rev)
Christmas 2022

Changing seasons

Reflection for the Bridge magazine

We’re entering the season when the song of the birds will largely fall silent. It isn’t the songs which have changed but our ability to hear them. We will not be hearing the sounds as we walk in the woods or drop children at school because the birds are singing their songs far away. The Manx Shearwater will be singing in Argentina, the Arctic tern makes it sounds in Antarctica and the Willow Warbler now warbles its voice 5,000 miles away in the African Spring.

Some birds remain in the UK and because they stay, if we listen, we can become attuned to the beauty of their voices. Our noises often drown this quieter sound from our ears.

Humanly, we each enter different seasons when there seems to be a silence of the soul. The noise of change, uncertainty or fear means that we no longer hear the beauty that we thought we knew so well. We are left with a season that seems to be silent and maybe even a place of desolation or emptiness.

The cause of the change of season is likely to be far beyond our control and there is a lesson from the birds in this as they adapt and migrate. We cannot keep living as if we only have one season of life, employment, God’s creation or in any number of situation that you may be thinking of as you read this.

Things are constantly changing around us, but we can be so used to drowning the changes out that we keep living as if this season will last for ever and that we are in control of this. Accepting that seasons change means accepting loss, and loss is painful, but there is often a new light or we hear the sounds of life differently as we emerge into a new season.

Personally, I have entered a new season with some of my family growing up and growing away. As a local community, we are in a very different season to where we were two or three years ago. As a church in Godalming and locally, we are entering a new season as Busbridge and Hambledon Church becomes an important part of a new venture we are calling Godalming Minster.

In these season changes, the song does not fall silent. The song continues and it may be healing and helpful to consider it as simply being in a different tone, a different place or a different volume. The song doesn’t change because, the Christian faith knows that the deepest song of the soul can be secure. The song of the soul is to seek the Lord and be renewed every morning as we head into this time of autumn and winter. The Psalms put it like this:

“Arise, my soul, and sing his praises! I will awaken the dawn with my worship, greeting the daybreak with my songs of light.”

Why not spend a moment reading those beautiful words by taking them into your own soul for comfort and then listen careful the next time you hear a quiet song of the birds.

Power or strength? Ukraine and the muchness of God

Tuesday 1 March at 6pm. All are invited to join together for Prayers Across Europe for Peace in Ukraine. Stop and pray, or use the link to join the YouTube prayers led by: Bishop Robert Innes https://europe.anglican.org/.../1781-prayers-across....

Ash Wednesday - The Church of England is sharing the Pope's call to all Christians to fast and pray for Ukraine. The traditional Ash Wednesday communion service at 8pm at Hambledon Church will also dedicate prayer to the situation. All welcome.

A reminder that Busbridge and Hambledon Churches are open daily for private prayer should you wish.

I once spoke to a weightlifter about what they noticed about people in the gym. She explained that it was broadly possible to identify two types of weightlifters. There were those who boosted themselves with additives. These weightlifters often had the ability to excel with short term bursts of power but they could become addicted to this power. There were other ‘lifters who took longer to develop muscle density because they did not take additives. Those who took time to build their muscles had long term strength compared to the power-lifters who soon lost power if they stopped taking the additives. The difference was what the ‘lifter called ‘power vs strength’. We see something of this when we see the incredibly enduring strength of peace-desiring Ukrainian resolve.

There is a great deal of difference between power and strength. Power is often external and derived from status and authority. Power can be legitimate but it can also be amassed through various means. The philosopher Plato made a distinction between power and strength back in 400BC. He noted that people make much of visible power, but what they really need is enduring strength. It is strength which provides resilience compared to power which has but a season until the burst of power has passed. In the Ancient World one of the best ways to be put in a place of power was to amble. Ambling was what Roman senators did if they wanted to get elected. They had to amble with the ordinary people to talk with them, hear their concerns and gain their vote. Ambling took time to do. You couldn’t rush it. It is why we say people are “ambling along”. Every year the senator had to do the same ambling, because power was temporary. Good temporary power comes from the people and it is earned, respected and used carefully. We know instinctively when power is being misused or abused. Something stirs in the soul. We cease to amble and our hearts quicken (Psalm 119:37). It is good to have hearts that are quickened – it means we care.

The source of Power

In the Bible God reveals that the source of true Power is located in Him and we are told what good power looks like. His is the enduring Power and Kings and all Rulers of this age answer to Him. Power when it relates to God is most referenced in terms of goodness, majesty, holiness, mercy and grace and this is the character of power which God expects of those who hold temporary, passing ‘bursts’ of power. The word most used for power is the same word in Hebrew as that which means to have authority or to hold responsibility.

Strength on the other hand is often associated with how we respond to God or our attitude to life’s situations. Like the weightlifter’s observation, we find in Scripture that strength lasts and is particularly visible in the hard times.

God is our strength and refuge, a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Let the weak say I am strong (Joel 3:10).  

Strength is usually revealed under much pressure. Strength in Hebrew is ‘me-od’. It is the word for “muchness”. We are reminded by God in His Word that his muchness (strength) is great; that His mercy is muchness. We are people of much strength because we are walking in holy step with the Living God of muchness of power.

Ukraine’s strength

When we look at Ukraine, or in a smaller way into our own lives, we may sense great power at work and we may wonder where this power is derived from. Sometimes things may appear so powerful that they might overwhelm us and our faith in Christ. When people act with power which is not in the way of God it will not last. The muscles that have been flexed too fast or the energy that has been consumed to create the power pass. As we approach Lent, we are called to remember that we are part of the enduring Power and strength of God, through the real resurrection of Christ from death. God who raised Christ Jesus is the God who sends His Spirit on us now.

We might feel that we have little to offer to the situation in Ukraine, but we do. Our strength right now is to stand with the people of Ukraine. We offer tangible signs of hope. There are practical ways to demonstrate standing with the people of Ukraine and the many peace-loving Russians for whom this is a terrible time. You may know Russians locally who cannot believe what they are witnessing and part of your strength may be to strengthen them. We offer strength in being bearers of peace. It is a peace which passes all human power. Only those who know Christ Jesus have this eternal peace – and it is something we offer to the whole world, in love. Each day we offer prayer. I personally kneel in prayer twice a day at the moment and pray for the Power and Strength of God to bring the invasion of a peaceful nation to a halt. Prayer is our strength in the Power of God to powerfully transform situations.

Prayer that intercedes is a power of strength beyond anything in any earthly arsenal. The Bishop of Guildford has asked that Christians in Surrey dedicate time to pray at 6pm on Tuesday 1st March. We have been asked by the Archbishop’s of Canterbury and York and by the Pope to dedicate time on Ash Wednesday for prayer for the people of Ukraine and its churches and fasting for peace. Please use these requests to strengthen your resolve in prayer.

What would you do if you met your old self?

Have you ever looked into an utterly still, serene pond without a ripple on the surface? What struck you? I did this once when on a walking party up Cader Idris in Wales. What struck me was not my face but the immense expanse of the sky which filled the pond surface. And then some bright spark in the group threw a huge rock in the lake and the ripples roared into life and the moment of enormity was lost. The stillness was replaced by movement.

We’ve had a strangely still 18 months globally and locally. It has tested endurance to the limit. Now huge boulders of uncertain change are sweeping in and even as I write this in August I do not know if its message will be relevant or timely in September.

There are several stages to disaster response. Three of the more well known are rescue (immediate aftermath), recovery (the next couple of years) and then… it depends what happens next. In some situations there is a third stage. It can be reconstruction- back to the old ways – or a good and permanent change – restoration and renewal.

The problem with back to the old ways is that they don’t create resilience for the future. Recovery that leads to reconstruction what went before means losing the best of new relationships, closer community and changed pace of life. It loses the 18 months of stillness and reflection that has led many people to consider deep things. It is like the ripples have roared back into life and now we move on. We do need to have movement and alongside this it would also be great to keep the best of the deepest thing we’ve been considering in our souls. The choice is ours.

As a church and local community we have innovated and experimented. The rescue phase appears to be over. I hope and pray that we are less eager to leap into reconstruction of former things and instead to wade into renewal.

Renewal is a deeply spiritual word. A 19th Century preacher once said "If you are renewed… and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his [sic] company." (Rev Charles Spurgeon).

As we look to the future my hope and prayer under God is that we’ll find that the good Lord has brought us to a softer, humbler, contrite and generous place. Throughout September we’re gathering as a church each Sunday to be a community that seeks renewal and to remember that while we seem to be recovering in the UK there are many elsewhere in the World who have yet to benefit as much as we have. You are welcome to join us in person or online. In the meantime, the beauty of water whether it is still, rippled or flowing, is that it represents good life and the Bible of course has these very famous lines in it about the stillness and beauty of water:

“The Lord is my shepherd, shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ”

— Psalm 23

Long Awaited Ending

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life…” Daniel 12:2

My marking of time has a new memory. We’re used to marking time. We do this with birthdays, anniversaries, facebook memory settings and so much more.

This time last year I came down with an illness that hit me so powerfully that I labelled it ‘the beast’. It briefly gave me insights into my own mortality and just how precious, fleeting and fragile the beauty of a God given life is.

I can pinpoint the moment I knew the darkness meant all was not well but here I am, one year on and able to look back. I am waiting, like all of us, for the ending. It may be a long awaited ending of mixed emotions of restlessness; waiting in hope and longing; but also waiting in loss and pain. Some of us will be waiting with memories of loss of family, friends, loved ones, time or energy. For some the end will be gradual and there will be ongoing smaller endings of learning to cope in new ways or steps into recovery. Some will already be in endings of changed lives or livelihoods and uncertain futures.

In my waiting I have watched far more tv than ever before. One film was ‘The Never Ending Story’ (1984, remade in the 1990s). It’s the story of a dark force called The Nothing which seeks to engulf the World. Something in the theme resonated for me and this is why we’ve taken ‘Long Awaited Ending’ as our church theme for Easter.

We’re waiting for the end to restrictions, distance relationships and lack of community and the end of this phase of the amazing vaccine effort but as a Christian I know that there is another ending. It is the ending longed for in Scripture across generations and it is the defeat of the darkness of evil. The ending which arrives at Easter is the resurrection of Jesus and by placing my trust in Him I know that my mortality is only fleeting because eternity beckons.

This Easter, please join us on Palm Sunday by collecting a Palm Cross from the box in the church porch in the days beforehand. You don’t need to be particularly religious to take one.

I’m inviting you to put your palm cross in a window or on a gate post in our lovely neighbourhood as a sign of the end coming and hope returning. It’s an invitation to help all who see it be assured that the end has come and is coming.

There is hope for tomorrow and in it I invite you to remember that yours is a precious God given life. Easter means the waiting is over and we have a new life to live which takes us to the end of time (Daniel 12:4).

Worship over Christmas and into January

Some people have asked what we are doing and why we cancelled the large carol events with singing last Sunday. We hope that the following information is useful.

We are delighted that over 200 cars will be driven into our COVID ‘bubble’ Christmas carol service. We’re offering a 9am short communion service (in person, not online) for the Benefice and live-streamed main morning Christmas Day service at 10am with a limited congregation.

In the New Year we’ll continue to offer our limited congregation access as we offer both Classic and Contemporary worship and also the pre-recorded BCP Heritage; which we are sure will go live with a congregation in the near future when we can resource this.

We weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15)

Tier 4 starts in areas of Godalming. It is about us standing with our brothers and sisters in Christ who worship with us but who now have to be at home as they should not cross a Tier boundary. Going ahead with worship tempts people to cross this boundary or it raises the spectre of ‘them’ and ‘us’ amongst our own people.

We mourn with those who mourn (Rom 12:15)

The wider community is either in a situation where they can see 1 person or 6 people and only outside. It is not possible to have more than 15 people at a funeral and weddings can only be held under exceptional circumstances. Gathering groups of people in our buildings or larger groups in the open air could sound like ‘exceptionalism’ whereas we are called to identify with our neighbours and love them by mourning with them.

We take safety seriously

There is a new highly transmissible strand of the virus. Several of those involved in leading the online live worship are now more aware of social distancing and we must ensure they feel and are safe. If we cannot do this, we will find our ability to provide this form of worship is reduced.

Given the medical information available over the weekend, we felt we should err on the side cautious than become a super-spreading community.

We care for the vulnerable (PS 82:3a)

There may be some who are alone and need to see others in worship and some of those may not be on the internet. We have worked hard over the past six months to identity such people and Penny and the Prime Time team have folded them in with us; Dave, Anto and a team have installed youtube and zoom for people and them on using their computers/ipads.

We are offering spaces to gather primarily with those who are alone or without the internet in mind. We have ways to sign people up even if they are not on the internet.

Daily Hope is on our website so that anyone who knows someone without access to the internet can point them to this excellent free worship resource.

We approach worship in a manner which is God honouring (1 Cor 10:31)

We are committed to continually improving, slowly expanding and developing the worship, teaching and spiritual nourishment which we offer. We are nearly there with tech installation and we will explain more in the New Year.

We can gather people, but, to paraphrase Chris Witty in a Government bulletin, that is not the same as it being right to do so. We urge people to consider being online to allow the alone to gather. To aid Track and Trace and to enable service leaders to plan our hybrid approach to live-worship we will be asking everyone who wishes to attend to sign up. If someone new, alone or without the internet arrives without signing up we will endeavour to accommodate them.

Have a peace-filled and safe Christmas in the comfort of Christ,

Simon

Lockdown II: You have such beautiful feet

This is an exciting time. Yes, you heard that right. Excited, not to be locked-down but because we’re ready to provide worship, teaching and community through Lockdown II. It is about having beautiful feet. Everyone else probably has scarred and scared, worried and worn feet. Yours my friend are… beautiful. You are a person of the beautiful feet.

Did you know that you have beautiful feet? Now, honesty, how are your feet doing? What state are they in?

As a follower of Christ you have beautiful feet because your feet carry you to the places and people that God has prepared for you to do his mighty works (Ephesians 2:10). This is what we are about in Lockdown II and though our feet and hearts are worn and scarred, we know that “As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15

Tim Davies’ has beautiful feet. His work on cameras and tech in recent months has put us in good place to be creative for the Gospel. We’re deeply grateful to Tim and we were recently able to show this thanks with a card and a little something else as a token of our appreciation. Tim is now taking a well-deserved break and Jacob Taylor is currently helping us to take things forward.

We’ve got beautiful feet for the Gospel because our online ministry is growing and we would love to open up an opportunity to be part of the team that are shaping it. You’ll be helping reach several hundred people a week! Last Sunday’s services have been viewed nearly 500 times.

We’ve got beautiful feet that mean the Holy Spirit takes us to proclaim peace and salvation (Isa 52:7). God takes us to people and places where he knows we can make a good difference.

From Nov 15th we’ll be offering a fantastic array of worship:

·         9am Recorded Heritage BCP on youtube

·         Live Classic and Contemporary ZOOM Livestreamed, Classic at 9am, Contemporary at 10.15am

·         Contemporary taking a ‘conversations from the couch’ format and including breakout rooms, video clips and live discussion

·         Classic and Contemporary services also live on youtube (but you won’t see faces on that one, so better on zoom!)

·         A ‘highlights’ version of Classic and Contemporary on youtube from that evening onwards

·         Youth and Children’s ministry will continue online.

We’ll also be posting short video blogs from time to time, so do join/subscribe to our youtube channel

We’re asking Home Groups to meet on zoom or similar for coffee on Sundays and if you’re not connected or haven’t folded into a home group then this is your chance. Email simon.willetts@bhcgodalming.org to be connected right now. it is a chance for the people of beautiful feet to gather together in fellowship.

Our online ministry is currently allowing us to reach 100’s of people who currently cannot attend Church physically, people who are shielding or quarantining for health reasons, our young people who have gone off to University but can’t get access to their Christian Unions or join Churches, families during a time when gathering for children’s ministry is compromised. It’s also for those that are exploring Church and the Christian faith but who aren’t ready yet or don’t want to attend in person.  

We know that our online ministry is making a difference. Did you know that there is a night-time ‘spike’ in when people connect? We’ don’t know who, but we do know that there is a regular ‘spike’ of people tuning into our soundcloud past-sermons on the website, often at around 2-3am. We’re offering a Gospel message that helps people sleep! (Psalm127:2).

We have the ability to reach a whole community of people with the gospel but we need your help to do it. Right now, over the next 3-5 weeks, we need you!  We want to build a team of beautiful feet people who enable this ministry to happen. You don’t need any prior skill – you really don’t. You can be 10 years old or 100. Age is no barrier.

We are not just looking for operators we are looking to form a team that will shape the future of this ministry and take Christ’s love into people’s hearts and homes. You’ll be the people of beautiful feet who carry the good news (Isa 52;7) This team will consist of the following roles;

- Visuals laptop operators

- Sound operators

- Someone to monitor and host the zoom call (and laptop) so that we can invite participation from our community

- Point the camera people

- Vision mixing operator

For each role full training will be given but the first and only requirement is that you have feet that might look worn to you, but as you engage in this Gospel mission, you will have beautiful feet.

Please contact Dave Preece, Simon Willetts, Frances Shaw, Jacob Taylor or Simon Taylor and get those feet moving!

God’s Normal: how are we to be as a church family?

Luke 21:25-34

Strange things are happening around us!

Strange things happening mean our sense of our own ‘status quo’ has been upended. Personally, here are some strange things: I haven’t seen my mum since March; our family has made three 1,000 piece puzzles yet we usually struggle to complete just one at Christmas; my son has cut my hair (surprisingly well) and I find that I view hairdressers, keyworkers and shop keepers with new reverence. Strange times and strange things.

In my reflection last week, I mentioned that a friend of mine wondered if one of the reasons for the reaction to George Floyd’s death was partly because “the World has stopped”. We’ve realised that how we did things and why we lived them required adjusting or even radically re-orientating.

In strange times God unsettles our limited view of normal

It can be unsettling to reconsider things as we seek God’s spiritual normal for who we are. I was speaking with someone in our church family recently who has really struggled with not being able to gather for worship, but they didn’t call me for this reason. They called (and I have their permission to share this) because they’d realised that they’d made gathering for worship their primary way of being a Christian at the expense of a deep, personal daily walk with God through personal reading of Scripture and daily spiritual depth. In the past, one had kind of crowded the other out rather than the two acting together to complement one another.

They’d realised that strange times were leading them to realise what God’s normal in their life could be like. Strange times are a sign that we live in the End Times; the time between Christ’s resurrection as Saviour and Christ’s return as Judge. Our strange times do not indicate that His return is imminent, but Luke 21:25+ is clear: there will be strange things happening, whole countries will be in despair and fear and people will fear as strange things happen.

In strange times we’re called to discover God’s normal as a church and in our lives

Jesus call to us at this time is to live God’s normal. When “these things begin to happen” Jesus goes on in Luke 21 to call us to “stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is near” (v28).

When we seek to have the deep things of Christ written on our hearts then the strangest of times may disturb us, but they won’t throw us off course. Instead, like the person who called me, we will recognise the Holy Spirit taking us beyond that which used to satisfy us spiritually and into a new normal with God. The things that truly matter about being a church and our faith increasingly become what we draw on.

In strange times Deep Truths of faith draw us to the Holy Spirit’s normal

I am reminded of Terry Waite, who worked for the Church Army. Waite was a Church of England hostage and peace negotiator in the Middle East in the 1980s. He became a hostage himself in Lebanon for 1,067 days. He had no fresh air or sight of the sky throughout and was not allowed books or writing paper for three and a half years. Even though he lost most of his muscle tone, he survived psychologically and spiritually by reciting the two things which were deep within him. One was a prayer he had memorised as a child (from the Book of Common Prayer!) and, at his point of mock-execution, he recited the Lord’s Prayer from memory. He had nothing else to draw on but these memories pointed to deep Truths which sustained him and enabled him to know the salvation of Jesus was near. You can read more here https://hope1032.com.au/stories/open-house/2013/terry-waite-break-my-body-bend-my-mind-but-my-soul-is-not-yours-to-possess/ or for how he is researching how we cope with extreme stress see here https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/terry-waite-and-what-his-time-captivity-taught-him-about-resilience-human-brain-598020

As I read this, I wondered what from my present spiritual living I would be able to draw on for my connection with Christ if I was alone for nearly four years? I find it an unsettling question.

This leads me to wonder what the deep Truths are which are sustaining us right now, both as Christians in homes and streets and as a church family together. It asks what these deep Truths mean for the future as we think about ‘normal church’ for tomorrow.

I believe God is inviting us into something new which is founded on His unchanging deep Truth. As we look to the future as a church family we’re seeking the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance as to how these unchanging deep truths shape our faith as we worship together, live together in Christ and walk together in love and care.

In strange times, eight questions for BHC about God’s Normal

Here are nine questions which may offer a glimpse of the future:

1.       How do we connect spirituality with those we have connected relationally with in recent months?

2.       What does our whatsapp neighbourhood say about where we focus our time and energy?

3.       What does worshipping together look like in a COVID19 world?

4.       What does Busbridge and Hambledon Church look and feel like as a community if we are always 2 metres (1 metre?) apart?

5.       How do we gather if gathering is limited to 20,30 or 40 people for our own health and for common good of the whole community?

6.       What is the connection between being a church which gathers on Sunday and a church of disciples living life together in the week?

7.       How can we deepen in knowledge, faith and understanding in a way which creates whole life discipleship?

8.       What has God gifted us with as a church which we can offer to others around us; what do other churches offer that will strengthen our walk with the Lord?

If the call of God is to be prepared for the future then these may be slightly unsettling questions brought about by strange times, but they are important questions because they ask what God’s spiritual normal is like for who we are as individuals and as a church family. They are questions of our preparation for the return of Christ on the Last Day so that we are people of watch and prayer (Luke 21:34;36), always ready to give an answer for the hope which we have.

All of this is not so much about services, buildings and locations (no, that isn’t code for no buildings!) and more whole life discipleship, mission and confidence in deep things of God, holiness and attitudes of grace and preparation as we journey with God into the future. We, the people of God, shaped by these things will be well placed to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.

In strange times, glimpses of God’s Normal future? There are some practical signs of this:

·         We’ve had two documents on the church website for some weeks, asking questions about how we shape ‘being church’ in the future. We’ve been asking people to explore the questions they raise. They are questions of strange things and times leading us deeper into God’s normal for our shared life.

They’ve been read or downloaded over 140 times and lots of home groups, music leaders, youth leaders and many others have offered great responses. Many are saying surprisingly similar things. But we’d expect that if we deeply believed the Holy Spirit was leading the way!

·         We’re finding that more people in the local community around here are openly expressing spiritual things – not Christian necessarily, but certainly more aware of life being more than it seemed to be 14 weeks ago; particularly those under 40.

·         We’ve re-opened the church buildings for private prayer all day, every day. We are very aware of many for whom Hambledon Church cannot have opened soon enough; both people of our church family and the wider community. We know this because we’ve been asked about it many times. The building matters to many people and is seen as a place for prayer.

·         Busbridge Church has a gentle and thoughtful art installation with music and silence, art pieces and videos. There’s been a steady stream of visitors and most are not regular worshippers.

·         As of July 5th Rev Sheila Samuels, (pioneer) curate in charge of Ockford Ridge, will be working closely with myself and others, including our good friends at St Peter and Paul’s in Godalming. Sheila will be developing pioneer ministry vision into the community of Ockford Ridge and will have access to resources and staff expertise as I become her training incumbent. We’ll work out with our friends in the town what all this means and how we can see God’s normal flowing in this important area of Godalming.

This is to help Jane (Rector of Godalming) for when she returns from a long period of illness. This allows an interim vicar who joins St Peter and Paul’s to concentrate on ministry in the town itself and hold things for Jane. Do pray for the churchwardens, PCC and worshippers.

·         Many of us have stepped out in new ways, both practically in care and through folding into a home group for the first time. Over sixty people have chosen to join a home group and be part of this amazing midweek journey of faith together. Some home groups are getting quite large!

Simon

George Floyd

AUDIT. AWARENESS. ACTION

Romans 12:15 “…weep with those who weep”

The moment you see George Floyd’s name you know what this piece is about.

It is a piece which I have struggled to write and this is the third time I have started it and then started again. So, I ask for forgiveness if anything that I offer offends or demonstrates my own lack of understanding at this time. This piece is a start, not the definitive statement but it starts from a place of weeping.

I have found it uniquely difficult to put pen to paper and I have a strange sense of disempowerment. This probably reflects my sense of inadequacy to speak into the hugely destructive and distressing arena that is racism. Perhaps you feel the same way?

Perhaps that is a healthy place to start: to acknowledge that I don’t fully understand and I don’t have easy answers if my starting point is myself and my own marred knowledge. I am part of the problem because I see things dimly (1 Cor 13:12). We live in a broken World, before the glorious return and final judgement of Christ, and so we weep with those who are weeping.

I have found myself strangely quiet and reflective and wondering if I, with a white ethnicity, have anything to offer? The more I have prayed and read Scripture and spoken with friends and people who have far more personal understanding than I about racism and cultural presumptions, the more I have come to the view that my, and our, primary identity in Christ is the clothing (Gal 3:27) that means we each have a voice as Christ followers; and also ears to listen deeply by seeking the voices who understand this injustice from personal experience.

I have found the writing of Christian activist, pastor and theologian Thabiti Anyabwile immensely helpful. Do look him up. His challenge is to recognise the bias that we carry through life and to recognise that if we pause to dwell then we might be called by Christ to come to a place of change within ourselves and how we view situations.

“If we allow ourselves even for a moment to contemplate the vast weight of suffering in the world, we will easily be overwhelmed with grief. This is why we develop the habit and self-protective instinct of overlooking the suffering around us.”

Thabiti Anyabwile, In The Life of God in the Soul of the Church The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship

View this post on Instagram

Join us as Adam & Kyla (attempt) a dance off, Britt shares some news and Esther (Adams sister in law) reflects on recent events.

A post shared by Oak Church Stevenage (@oakchurch) on Jun 7, 2020 at 10:33am PDT

A great friend, Rev Esther Prior, is vicar of St John’s Egham, and she has helped me enormously in recent days. I highly recommend this seven-minute interview with Esther (32 minutes into the 54 min service, note that the sound goes for a moment at 34 minutes):

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBJHOKoBt6P/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet 

Esther wonders if one of the reasons that George Floyd’s death in another country has resonance in the UK now is because “the World has stopped”.

I recommend reading The Life of God. If you have stopped, don’t rush into starting again. Don’t bury the questions and learning, shaped by Scripture as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

A word of caution, writing not theologically but as a Christian pastor. We mustn’t reduce people to what they can help us with for our own ends, nor make assumptions about anyone. Please don’t assume that everyone you might want to approach to help you understand might be in a place where they can help you; it would be wise to ask their permission rather than make assumptions, because our faith surely leads us to honour people for who they are, not merely for what they can give us or what they may represent.

I come to this with a deep awareness that I am speaking about something which I am learning about alongside so many others right now. There are many, sadly, such as Esther, who can say “it is personal, think of me”, so are able to speak stories of pain and with far deeper understanding than my own. The fact that people have such stories in 2020, in the UK, in Surrey, in Godalming and villages and in homes, businesses and shops here strips away the veneer of image that racism is a thing of the past.

Thabiti Anyabwile provides a Christian framework for engaging with racism and how we respond personally and locally. He says that to be a healthy church (and Christian) then the pastors and teachers of the church must start with Scripture and allow its meaning to drive the agenda. In What is a healthy church member?

Galatians 3:28 “you are one in Christ Jesus”

Like many Christians, I am considering questions of identity, value, uniqueness, our God ordained purpose, and how our actions flow from our deep seated and sometimes unconscious attitudes. Our Christian faith speaks into all of these and we must not be silent. As Christians we bring the powerful voice of our faith in Christ, which shapes who we are.

Our foundation is that “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. (Gal 3:28) and Paul’s reason for saying this is to demonstrate the basis of our identity which is beyond reducing people to an ethnicity. All people are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and our faith is about the identity we have found in Christ. We are called to proclaim this into every situation we find ourselves in. If we truly believe that a black life matters as much as any other life, then we will see everyone as having equal identity. I suspect that no Christian would disagree with this but…

This takes us to a place of being willing to pause and ask questions, of taking what Rev Ben Lindsey, the vicar of a black majority church in South London calls ‘audit’: to take a self-audit and to self-audit the businesses, churches and charities that we are part of with eyes and ears that listen and see. Audit is about asking questions, seeking to listen and wanting to integrate the saving grace of Jesus Christ fully into every aspect of who we are. As the Holy Spirit flows through us we are a new creation and we become deeply aware of places, people and positions where there is injustice.

This may bring discomfort and disrupt our own expectations and norms, but it is God who is the great disruptor time and again in Scripture and throughout history. He does not leave us in the status or the status quo we create or are used to. This is the point of Christianity: it is no longer about me but about God and us.

When we comprehend this we begin to understand that our Christian faith is an activist faith. We are disturbed by the Holy Spirit within us into action when we begin to glimpse with fresh eyes those who have been at the margins of justice, or on the receiving end of injustice. Sometimes, that injustice is forcefully propelled onto our tv screens and media feeds in an uncompromising way and we are left with a decision: to audit ourselves and places we are involved with, or to walk away from the discomfort and ignore the past and present.

Psalm 37:28 “The Lord loves justice”

As Christians we bring the unique power of God’s love into shaping how the past might be healed and where the future leads for those who bear the hidden trauma of racism but that love is also a love of practical action too. It isn’t about ideals alone but about ideas that are acted on, in love. Ben Lindsey gives some utterly shocking examples of what the disparity of opportunity looks like, today. I would urge you to watch this interview between Rev Tim Hughes of Gas Street, Birmingham and Ben Lindsey:

https://www.facebook.com/gasstreetchurch/ (8th June, 2020)

This is what Ben might mean when he says that Audit leads to Awareness, and Awareness leads us to Action. He warns against rushing to Action. Awareness is when we come to God in humility and cry “Lord, shine a spotlight on my heart”. What resonates with me about this call to all of us from Ben is ‘heart’. God is the God of compassion and time and again in Scripture God is described as the God of Love. The Psalmist tell us (Ps37) that God loves justice because he his righteous.

As Christians we have a voice to bring to wherever we have authority and power of the perfect interweaving of judgement founded on loving justice. Justice without love is no justice at all. Judgement without justice is injustice. We are called to have love at the heart of our attitudes but love can be a code for softness or acquiescence. There is nothing soft about God’s righteous judgement and we know God judges our hearts (1 Sam 16:7). It is a deep call to explore what drives us and, where we discover that there is sin present in this, to acknowledge and repent of this before Almighty God.

Today: what are you going to do and how will you think differently now?

This surely frees us, as Paul goes on to say in Galatians 4, to be people of freedom based on our clothing in Christ. Once we fully comprehend this freedom we lose the shackles of fear that bind us to concern about status, privilege, maintaining that which we have or concern that our voice may be dismissed or ignored. We become truly open to listen and learn and to ensure that the future does not repeat the past.

We are freed to speak out in our workplaces and communities; and do so in the love which knows that God is The God of Justice and hope; the God who draws us together for eternity.

Practically, right now, we can seek to learn and understand by Auditing our response to racism and our own situation. We can seek to be Aware of the situation, history and injustice so that we can understand more. We can sense the Holy Spirit’s calling us to Action in Love. This might lead us to attend an interview with Ben Lindsey on Tues 16th June at 8pm with a live Q&A afterwards.

We can open our eyes to why a person’s death on another continent has opened a response that means that I am writing this article and you are reading it.

The question I’d leave you with is one that I was asked by a friend after I’d listened to them: “so, what are you going to do and how will you think differently now”?

We unite against racism

I recommend everyone to watch the Archbishop of Canterbury, as we consider our response to recent events in the US and UK following the death of George Floyd, and to racism. We acknowledge we have work to do as Christ’s people in Busbridge and Hambledon and are looking at ways to make a start on this journey.

A thought on the Zoom outage on Sunday 17 May

Pause and give thanks - Who uses Zoom at 10am on a Sunday morning?

“Rather than complain, let’s be thankful for Zoom.

Who uses Zoom on a Sunday at 11am? Maybe people connecting with prayer, peace, church and Christ?

Maybe this could a brilliant hotspot map of the spiritual heartbeat of the UK right now? What a bright light!

Let’s give thanks for what it might show and thank Zoom for trying to fix the issues. Thank you people at Zoom.
— Simon, 17/5/2020”

Mid-week 'thought of the day' - 29 April 2020

Dear all,

It is heart-warming to know how much you are all caring, sharing, supporting, praying, worshipping and growing in fellowship in Christ. We’re hearing more and more stories of church members connecting together in new ways. We know that many of you have welcomed a call from a home group leader and the response to ‘would you like to fold in to a home group’ has been amazing. Thank you once again to our home group leaders. You play a crucial role in the leadership of BHC as we head into the future.

We’re gradually expanding the faith, teaching, worship and fellowship that we can offer online. We’re doing this because we think that our church family might be doing these online things for a while to come. We’re offering some online short-courses and one off practical faith events; we’d encourage you to be part of them, partly to bless those who are putting such effort into them for all of us.

We’d like to give particular thanks this week for Matt Toombs. Matt and the Explorers team create an incredible weekly ‘padlet’ for the young people. The work behind it is phenomenal. Also, a quiet thanks to Jacqui R and all the wonderful saintly supporters who are caring for many in and around Hambledon, Hydestile, Enton and beyond. Do pray for these people.

We’re beginning to turn our thoughts to what ‘normal’ life, worship, faith and fellowship might look like in the months to come and even further ahead too. Like much of the UK exploring how life might be changing; we’re asking what “BHC MkII” might look like under the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Some research has been started into this and you can read an interesting theological and practical article which has been forwarded to us by Rev Catherine McBride.

https://www.dur.ac.uk/digitaltheology/ewo/sections/

What can we return to? What have we learnt God is growing afresh and which we need to explore further? What can we set aside as we live together for the Kingdom of God and look forward to Christ’s Return? If you’ve got thoughts, do send an email to Simon and Simon.

In the love of Christ,

Simon