Kirkby Malzeard Chapel - Letting Go

The last Sunday of October sees the sad closure of one of my chapels in the Ripon and Lower Dales Circuit at Kirkby Malzeard. 

I’ve served in six Circuits and resided in a seventh in my ministry. I’ve only had one church close before while I was the minister, that was Ashington in West Sussex. There the small congregation found keeping their building going too hard. They formed a house group in the village which is still going strong twelve years later. 

This Sunday, we end a long chapter of our story as the people called Methodist serving the community of Kirkby Malzeard as we sadly let go of our building, for similar reasons Ashington closed: a building we cannot afford to keep going, financial worries and a lack of people who can commit themselves to hold office and be there every Sunday.

The congregation will be gathering on Sunday with many emotions. Some will no doubt be thinking of those saints who have gone before them who are part of the chapel’s story, people who loved the place and lived out their faith from it, others may be thinking of special family occasions, baptisms, weddings, funerals that have happened, or times of rich fellowship and togetherness shared together over the years, and those who have come to us more recently will be thinking of the warm welcome they received walking through the door which made them stay with us. Kirkby chapel has had an important part to play in the story of God’s love, without it, many people would not have come to know Jesus.

  

On Sunday afternoon, people can come and see pictures and memorabilia that tell something of the Kirkby Methodist story. 

It’s been a story of sharing God’s providence, leading people to Christ through faithful service and community. I hope folk will take time to say thank you for this special place, laugh a lot, cry a bit, and take time to remember. 

However, the closing of our building is not failure, or the end, but a pause, a full stop of the chapter of our first 142 years. A new chapter will open for us. I look forward to leading our people writing the first words of a new chapter, free from worries about money and fabric, and who is going to open the church and now instead open to what God might want of us as we do things a bit differently. 

 

“Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Saviour,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”

(Psalm 65)

It’s not been an easy decision to make to cease to meet, but I write again this is not failure, and we must open ourselves, freed from some burdens and responsibilities to where God might be calling his Methodist people to be now. Wasn’t it Churchill who said “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It might though be the end of the beginning.” 

 

Moving isn’t easy. Standing still in God’s plan though is never an option. To stand still or try and avoid movement is to become stale and we will eventually die. “To grow is to change, and to become perfect is to have changed often.”

 

Some changes are easier to deal with than others. And this Sunday will be hard for the Kirkby congregation and I want to thank them for their devotion and energy over the last few years which haven’t been easy for them. 

What has been the message of our holy place? And any holy place? Well, when people came in to Kirkby chapel, they came in under the words “Ebenezer 1880.”

Remember when Israel defeated the Philistines, Samuel built a monument in the place it happened. He called it Ebenezer, “stone of help”. Those who built any chapel, like Samuel, built it because they wanted people to remember God’s very present help in trouble. As the hymn said  “here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’ve come.” A chapel can be a sign of the reliable help of God. Not the only sign but a reminder as people pass that God is about. I find it sad that when a church closes, people who don’t come tell me it is so sad and we should have done more to keep it open. They never came! We all have a church or chapel we want there but today keeping things there needs commitment. There was an event close to my smallest church the other month. I was told “we must keep the chapel open.” I told those who said this I needed them to start coming to it then. 

 

The help Ebenezer states is there is seen most clearly in Jesus, so those coming into Kirkby chapel will have been reminded of this in these words in front of the chapel on the wall: “Great is our God, Jesus Christ is Lord.” That Jesus has been shared faithfully is a cause for rejoicing and celebration. We are called to plant seeds and we might never see how faith growed in those we taught. I bet there are many memories of Sunday School of old shared on Sunday! 

I, being the minister of the church at Kirkby, so wanted to be there on Sunday to lead the services, but that is not to be. I will be thinking of everyone. It will be hard not to be with them. Devastating, actually.

I pray my good people at Kirkby Malzeard, like any other little Methodist society that is challenged about its future, find new life having decided bravely to let go. The church after all is not a building but the living moving, vibrant people of God. I’m thinking about other places I’ve served which have since closed. Millbrook and Tame Valley in my first appointment, Whissendine and Somerby from my second, Auckland Park from my third, Ashington in my fourth, and Tydd St Giles in my sixth. All the churches I served in Hastings, my fifth appointment are still going, two have moved from rickety unsustainable church buildings into community centres but they still meet every week. 

With Kirkby, who knows, we might grow again doing church in a new way. I do not believe God has finished with us yet… so when people ask me how many churches do I have, I shall still answer eight as while I might soon only have seven buildings, I still have eight communities - it’s important to say that. 

The society at Kirkby Malzeard moves on. This is not the end. On December 11 we shall hold a carol service in the afternoon at the mechanics institute in the village and then from January, there will be a Methodist service on the last Sunday of the month at St Andrew’s C of E. We are grateful to the Rev Ian Kitchen and the PCC for their kind ecumenical welcome. We also hope to meet together as a church for fellowship when we can. On behalf of the local congregation in Kirkby I ask, please pray for us. 

 

In the words of Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been — Thanks. For all that shall be — Yes.”

 

Reflections from a hospital bed

Passage for reflection: 1 Corinthians 12: 12 - 27

“When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer, when one part of the body rejoices, we all rejoice.”

Most of you will know by now I got costochrondritis from nowhere the other week, and amazing pain around my sternum. I was in A and E two days running and was sent home with pills and it was getting better. About six weeks to be pain free they said, but I could get on, indeed last Sunday I took three services and processed round the cathedral quite happily.

Alas, on Tuesday it was discovered said pills should not have been prescribed and I was taken back to hospital and they found two stomach ulcers and that I’d been bleeding internally from them. I was immediately taken off said pills! Nearly five days later, I’m still in hospital, the ulcers are healing and the bleeding has stopped but because they can’t yet find a pill that will help the pain and not have amazing side effects, I’m stuck. They wanted to send me home on tramadol. If you want me vacant, confused and wobbly, I’ll come home on tramadol! 

I am very much in tune tonight with Paul’s verse in his first letter to the Corinthian Church. Remember he wrote to that community because it was fractious. He wanted to stress the mutuality of all the people in that place and so he used the body to explain his point. 

It isn't about every part of the body doing the same thing but every part of the body contributing to the same purpose. In a symphony, everyone plays different instruments, but they are all playing the same piece.

How one part feels affects all of the other parts. A stabbing pain just now which caused me to press the bell left the whole of me feeling rubbish, woozy and hot. The nurse has just looked at me and said “ is it the pain?” Er, yes. You’ve taken me off the pill which was helping because it had too ridiculous side effects and now you’ve given me another which isn’t doing anything. So one part suffers and all of me suffers! 

Living in community isn’t easy. It was Sartre, stuck in a lift who concluded hell is other people! I’ve not been on a hospital ward for any length before. You are suddenly in community with five other men you’ve never met and are unlikely to ever meet again, although the nice man opposite me was lovely and he has a pub in Wetherby we might visit. Sadly the others on my bit of the ward all had major problems, and they liked to get out of bed in the night often in the nude and pull their feeding tubes out. Last night they didn’t stop, and it was desperate. I apparently said out loud at 4am with no sleep “oh for God’s sake!” We were all suffering. This morning I was moved to a quieter bit of the ward to sleep! Sometimes the action of a few can affect the whole. 

We’ve seen community at its best though in recent days. The collective national mourning for the Queen has brought the nation together. The funeral on Monday was deeply moving as was the sense we were sharing in a piece of history together. We saw collective rejoicing at the jubilee. There are times when this country comes together brilliantly but there are also times we are seriously divided. The announcements from the new Truss government about tax cuts will help some but not others as the cost of living rises. It is good the churches are reminding the Prime Minister she must remember the most vulnerable. I am meeting people who are suffering locally. It is good our churches and other agencies are trying to respond to a situation of want that shouldn’t be happening. Society is weakened when one bit of it can’t function rather like when one part of our body hurts. 

It’s been fascinating watching doctors and nurses and others here in Harrogate hospital work together in really difficult conditions. Paul is saying to today’s Church work together, support each other, remember those who are suffering and have a party when there is something to celebrate. Community at its best supports us when we need it. It’s easier to walk by on the other side but that isn’t Church nor is it Christianity. I’m very aware while I’m out of action, others will be looking after things. I hope there are people taking my services tomorrow! I found these words of Nadia Bolz-Weber helpful as I read them earlier:

“This ended up being one of my more difficult weeks in recent memory and I found myself having no choice but to rely on the prayers and faith and wisdom and compassion of those brothers and sisters in Christ whom God has put in my life – because frankly I was tapped out.  Which is hard because I’d so rather have all the gifts myself and not have to rely on others. But when it feels like a failure on my part that I don’t have the faith or compassion or prayer life or wisdom that I need, I just have to remember that the only real failure is when I fail to recognize that I do actually have all the faith and compassion and prayer and wisdom I need –  it’s just that someone else in my life is holding it for me.”

A paragraph worth reading again. We need each other. Without others, my wife, people who’ve sent me messages, the Chair of the District who turned up here this morning, the amazing staff here - I would be in a worse state than I am. I’ve needed others because I haven’t been able to do everything myself - which is no bad lesson for all of us to learn. Nor for our world where we just don’t get working together and relying on each other, and we let others remain in pain because it’s too hard or time consuming to help because we have so much to do it’s easier to just pretend all is well or tell them the pain isn’t really that bad or we numb it rather than fix it. Commitment to community where all flourish will cost us - but it’s our call and we need to be better at it.

“When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer, when one part of the body rejoices, we all rejoice.” 

God beyond borders we bless you for strange places and different dreams, for the demands and diversity of a wider world, for the distance that lets us look back and re-evaluate, for new ground where the broken stems can take root, grow and blossom.

We bless you for the friendship of strangers, the richness of other cultures and the painful gift of freedom. 

Blessed are you, God beyond borders.

But if we have overlooked the exiles in our midst, heightened their exclusion by our indifference, given our permission for a climate of fear and tolerated a culture of violence, have mercy on us, God who takes side with justice, confront our prejudice, stretch our narrowness,  sift out our laws and our lives with the penetrating insight of your spirit until generosity is our only measure.

Kathy Galloway

Living through history

It isn’t often we live through events which will be remembered in history which will be spoken of long after we have left this earth.

Prior to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II I guess I had lived through two such events. The first was the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and the second was 9/11 in 2001. Both events made us stop and think deeply about what had happened and now we might react to shattering news that would change life forever. 

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II has seen us share in a sense of communal loss. We’ve worshipped together, cried together, shared stories together, watched pageantry together and we’ve had to stop and take in that someone who has always been there in our lives has now slipped into history. 

I think I will remember several things observing the transition of constitutional monarchy and how we’ve reacted to a Queen dying we never wanted to go. 

First, the importance of worship, prayer and silence at a time of grief.

 After the Queen passed away I went into the cathedral and lit a candle and said a prayer with someone who was in tears. We just stood together, stunned we were in unchartered waters. I remember e mailing my Anglican colleague in Boroughbridge saying “help, have you got any prayers?”

 It was really good to return to the cathedral later that evening for a hastily arranged compline. I gathered the Circuit together on the Sunday after the Queen’s passing and over seventy of us shared a quiet service of reflection, then a week after her passing I shared in a service in the Anglican Church in Boroughbridge which was extremely powerful in its simplicity. We lit candles as a violinist played. It was good a lot of younger people were there. Then on the night before her funeral, after another Circuit Service we shared a minutes silence together and then left the church in silence. That was extremely powerful.

Then the funeral itself, remember, was a Christian act of worship. I hadn’t realised we would share in two parts of it, one in Westminster Abbey and one in Windsor. The liturgy was comfortably ancient. I was reminded as I watched the two services the promises of God are timeless and eternal. As we’ve worshipped and prayed in these days, we’ve remembered a sovereign who put worship and prayer first. As the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us she first prayed silently at the high altar in the Abbey prior to her coronation putting service to God before service to others.

Then secondly I think the events around the passing of the Queen have brought death into the public arena. Maybe we have domesticated death in the modern age. The Victorians took it more seriously with black clothes and periods of mourning maybe. I’ve not lived through a time of national mourning before. It’s been really interesting having people stop and want to talk about what they have been feeling. It’s happened to me in coffee shops and even in men’s loos! A man said to me “I’m not religious but this has really got to me.” We’ve learnt again that death is part of life. Yes, we believe in resurrection and eternal life, but first we have to go through death. 

The funeral marches played as the late Queen was processed through the streets were sombre but we needed them to be. Death is real. We have to face it. The good news comes but first we have to remember we are dust and to dust we shall return — and that’s hard. And it’s okay and good to admit that. As the late Queen write to President George W Bush after 9/11 “grief is the price we pay for love.” 

Then finally living through these days we’ve been part of history. We will never see a long reign like Queen Elizabeth’s again.

I found the process of accession really interesting. The new King permitted previously private things to be opened up for us to share them. It was good on the Sunday after the Queen’s passing to stand on the market square and listen to words proclaiming the new King from the balcony of the town hall. It was hard to sing “God save our gracious King” for the first time. 

Then on the day before the Queen’s funeral, I was glad to represent the Methodist Church at a service in the cathedral. I was really conscious we were mourning and marking change. And I guess it hit me most when we saw her coffin being lowered into the vault at Windsor and the wand of office broken in two, signifying the second Elizabethan Age was at an end.

One of the news reporters on the night of the funeral suggested we are mourning not just a person but an ideal. Queen Elizabeth taught us the joy of service, duty and dignity. She brought this country together - think about the Platinum Jubilee a few months ago and strangers becoming friends waiting for hours to see her lying in state. 

I pray in changing times, we might hold on to the faith our late Queen lived by, we might keep supporting each other and we might pray for King Charles III as he adapts to a new life. On the day after her death, he said hers was a life well lived. If we show in our lives just a little of what she lived her life by, her reign will have not been in vain. 

Remembering Queen Elizabeth - part two

There are times on life’s journey that we just have to stop where we are and try and take in what is going on around us. I expected this Sunday to witter on for a bit about my two days of fun and games going in and out of Harrogate hospital then in and out again giving you anecdotes from an A and E cubicle. I expected this Sunday to reflect on a change of Prime Minister and to reflect on the cost of living crisis and to commend her government to God seeking good leadership and a new start. 

 

Then came Thursday…

 

There are times on life’s journey we know exactly where we were when we heard news and we just stopped stunned. Some will still remember where they were when Neville Chamberlain told the nation we were at war again, some will still remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, or Margaret Thatcher resigned or when Diana, Princess of Wales died in that Paris tunnel or 9/11 happened. You may think of other life changing moments that just take time to comprehend. 

 

We watched the television on Thursday afternoon as we were told the Queen was under medical supervision and news programmes filled hours commenting on Balmoral gates and what did “she is comfortable” mean. 

I was getting ready to go and visit a bereaved family when Lis told me “she has died.” I walked via the cathedral. As I approached the cathedral I got the message that dear Elisabeth Hogerzeil from our Circuit had passed away peacefully. I went into the cathedral which was open and lit a candle. A lady was there very upset. 

She saw I might be clergy, and she said “say a prayer” and we cried together, stunned by a sudden change in life, what we’d always known was suddenly no more. 

 

When someone who has always been there dies, there is a profound shock. All of a sudden the anchors that hold life steady move and a new secure point is needed. It’s a moment to make the strongest wobble. That is the same for a nation as it is for families. We now enter a new epoch, one which brings us into unfamiliar territory. Anglican clergy doing 8am communion this morning from the Book of Common Prayer were praying they would be alert and read the amended text prepared the night before. There’s a prayer which has said for the last seventy years “bless Elizabeth our Queen and bless all those who exercise authority under her.” There was a picture last night of Elizabeth crossed out and Charles put in and Queen crossed out and King put in and her crossed out and him put in and it’s all a bit strange because most of us have never seen this change before. We need time to adjust. 

 

I want us to celebrate what we have lost but will remember for ever and then I want us to think about how we take what we have treasured in our late monarch into life as we go on. Queen Elizabeth II was a devout Christian and was not afraid to commend her Saviour to her people. She saw Jesus as an example to be followed, as a servant, an embodiment of humility and just leadership, one to be looked up to with sound ethical ideals to be followed and lived out. In 2002 at Christmas, the Queen said this:

 “I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.”

 

In 1986, her Christmas message reminded us that Jesus’ life began in humble surroundings, and that ‘you don’t have to be rich or powerful in order to change things for the better, and each of us can make our own contribution’.  And at the turn of the millennium, she simply remarked that:

Many will have been inspired by Jesus’ simple but powerful teaching: love God and love they neighbour as thyself – treat others as you would like them to treat you. Jesus’ great emphasis was to give spirituality a practical purpose…

And remember these words she spoke in 1947:

I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
 
But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it."

Her life, and reign, have proved to be long and she has steadfastly and determinedly kept her promise; her vow and dedication. She has served and kept on serving. She has truly been a Servant Queen.

She has herself made clear time and again that she fulfils this service as her calling under God. She serves because of her love for Jesus Christ, and for the nation and commonwealth whom she has been called to serve.

And of course we are stunned that has come to an end. Why? Well maybe two politicians speaking over these days have it right… our Prime Minister said in the Commons:  “Her legacy will endure through the countless people she met, the global history she witnessed, and the lives that she touched.

She was loved and admired by people across the United Kingdom and across the world.

One of the reasons for that affection was her sheer humanity. She re-invented the monarchy for the modern age. She was a champion of freedom and democracy around the world. She was dignified but not distant. She was willing to have fun, whether on a mission with 007 or having tea with Paddington Bear. She brought the monarchy into people’s lives and into people’s homes.”

And Sir Keir Starmer said similar: “For seventy years, Elizabeth II stood as the head of our country.   But in spirit, she stood amongst us.”

 

I believe we are mourning stability, example, and we are all a bit unsure now. Because while she was 96, we didn’t want to face not having her on the throne. When someone you admire isn’t sharing with you on life’s journey any more then you’re a bit wobbly. The goalposts have moved and the waters are uncharted, so you stand and stare in disbelief. 

 

Which brings me to the other Elisabeth. To not have Elisabeth Hogerzeil about will be hard. She has been a wise counsellor to many people for many years, a deeply caring Christian, an effective preacher of the Gospel, a lady who knew her Bible and who believed in the power of prayer and a lady who cared for others above herself. I had many conversations with her about God. The 11am Thursday prayer times she led were spot on, very deep and rooted in God’s love which she was so sure about. I saw her in hospital last Sunday. She preached to me, asked about everyone and we shared a prayer together. I commended her into God’s care and while we miss her especially in this church, she entered into God’s rest peacefully and confidently. Her last message to the Circuit were those words of Mother Julian of Norwich: “ all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Like there is a Queen shaped hole, there is an Elisabeth shaped hole and it’s really hard.

 

But there is a but… Paul has it right in his letter to the Romans. In uncertainty and stunned disbelief, there is nothing that will separate us from the love of Christ, not even death. And Jesus has it right in his teaching giving us the Beatitudes. The key to life in all its fullness is radical discipleship, a different way. A way shown to us by the Queen and many Christian souls who have passed this way whose names live for evermore. 

 

Now we pray for King Charles III and his family that in his words he         “ shall endeavour to serve us with loyalty, respect, and love.” And remembering the Queen and other saints known only to us we pledge ourselves to be just a tiny bit of their example to make a difference in the world. 

 

Stunned silence, yes, there is need for time to mourn, that’s why I wanted us to gather today, but when we’re ready we go forward together striving to bring the Kingdom nearer beginning where we are called to be. As the King said on Friday night we say to Elizabeth our Queen, and all those who’ve lived with us “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. “ Life’s work well done.

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II - part one

What to say this weekend? I was sitting in a cafe in Thirsk this afternoon with two Saturday newspapers trying to get inspiration. I have my ordinary services tomorrow morning and afternoon then I’ve put in a special evening service to remember the Queen as it felt wrong we were doing nothing. 

A rainbow appeared over Windsor Castle late on Thursday afternoon, Queen Elizabeth’s favourite home.     A double rainbow also appeared over Buckingham Palace.   It seems appropriate somehow.   Perhaps the heavens themselves wanted to mark the passing of this amazing woman.  Her public announcements showed she had a genuine faith in Jesus.

 

“Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far.   He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong.   And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives.  I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love”   

Queen Elizabeth II - 2016 Christmas Speech

 

There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth lived an extraordinary life.   It was of course one marked by huge privilege.   She came to the throne by an accident of birth, and the abdication of her uncle and untimely death of her father.   

She was wealthy and privileged.   But by those who met her she was universally described to be a humble, charming, engaging human being – both by world leaders and ordinary people alike.   It was her sense of being a chosen vessel of God to serve the nations of this world that probably led to that humility and life long sense of duty.  As Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday: “ For seventy years, Elizabeth II stood as the head of our country.   But in spirit, she stood amongst us.”

She was not just our Queen but also the head of the Commonwealth, and loved all over the world.  It feels strange not to have her here. But I have to say the new King has begun well and spoke last night with warmth and sincerity. 

 

Queen Elizabeth has brought stability to our sense of nationhood.  She has brought continuity over all these decades, and has given confidential advice to fifteen prime ministers from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss (who she appointed just 48 hours before she died).   She has been our servant and God’s and most of all has shown us Christ. Her sermon on Christmas afternoon will be missed! 

 

The life of Queen Elizabeth is now in the care of God who is her source and goal and final destination. As the King said last night we say to Elizabeth our Queen, “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. “ Life’s work well done.

Good habits for a new church year…

I’m just coming towards the end of having a month’s holiday. I don’t usually take four weeks off together but I agreed not to take any time off during my Superintendent’s sabbatical and I would go away on his return at the beginning of August. 

I needed a break after a busy three months, and also I needed this time to think through where my eight communities have developed since I arrived to be among them in September 2020. Frighteningly, if the Circuit choose to let me go after five years, I’m half way through my appointment in February! It’s not been the easiest two years really with circumstances beyond my control blighting normal everyday pastoral care, but I begin year three with my folk with hope and a desire to find where each of my churches can move forward. 

In these weeks, I’ve discovered three things we all need to hold on to when it gets hectic or we feel we cannot go on with this church thing.

First, the need to rest amidst our chaos. It’s been good for me to drop into Evensong again both in Ripon and this last week back in Peterborough where I learned to love it. The other Sunday afternoon, the reading in the cathedral in Ripon was some of Isaiah 30:

“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." But you would not, And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses"-- Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses"-- Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain and as a banner on a hill.

Therefore the Lord will wait, that he may be gracious to you; And therefore he will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When he hears it, he will answer you.”

Maybe in our stresses and strains, we have forgotten the promises of God. We need rest in order to listen for and understand his will for us and hear his message for us again. We make the choice to go the other way, we flee on horses, and we wonder why we are so troubled! Yet God waits… and he will answer. It was very powerful to sit and listen to Canon Michael read Isaiah 30 very slowly. The joy of Anglican Evensong is that you just enter into it, it’s timeless, it doesn’t change, the story of God’s care for his people is recited as it has been for centuries, in churches and cathedrals up and down the country day after day. And yet, in it, there is something that’s always fresh that you’ve never heard before to put you back on track whatever you face. So for me, a resolution for the new Methodist year has to be to go to my local cathedral more and enter into disciplined returning and rest… and then wait for God to speak.

Second, maybe in these weeks, I’ve rediscovered that life needn’t be so complicated! We are all surrounded by stuff, personally, and in the news. This cost of living crisis will be catastrophic for so many people as we get nearer the winter. We all have worries. But maybe we need to remember our blessings in order to cope with our chaos. This regular recitation of our faith seems to me to be important. As Wesley once said “preach faith till you have it.”  

It’s been good while away to revisit some friends in the Fens. A highlight for us was to visit George and Mollie and June, dear friends we got to know in the chapel at Tydd St Giles, where we chose to worship in our short time in the Fens Circuit. Mollie had her 92nd birthday last Friday and it was a privilege to be at her party at home with her family and friends. Mollie and George are two of the dearest people we’ve ever met. They’ve lived all their lives in the Fens, been married over sixty five years, their lives being about their small holding, an appreciation of Fen life, their family, and their chapel. They went to the chapel at Tydd Fen up the road, then when it closed, they went a bit further to Tydd St Giles. 

I’m sad the chapel there never reopened after the pandemic and apart from being sent the Connexion at home service and Songs of Praise on the TV their church involvement after a lifetime of service is minimal. But they taught me again visiting them this last week twice, about contentment. They’ve got aches and pains and physical impairments and don’t go out much now but they are happy, happy with each other and happy with their lot, and they’d be amazed if they knew I was writing this next sentence - they are an inspiration to me. Sometimes, we need examples of rest and returning to remind us that blessedness comes when we remember what we have. Yes, there’s lots to moan about and lament is a vital part of spirituality, but we also need to remember what we have. And nurture it! There’s a prayer which goes - Lord, we thank you for the bright and glorious things of life, let us count them and remember them.

Then thirdly, a new vision of what church might be. 

It was good to have a day last Sunday at Greenbelt, the Christian arts festival in Northamptonshire. I went to Greenbelt in 1985 and camped with my youth club and hated every minute of it and vowed I’d never return! We went back in 2019 and I loved it and this year we went just for the Sunday. Next year I hope to do the lot and yes, perhaps camp (!) as I really enjoyed it three years ago and this year. Why? Because it’s church without the pressure! You just rub along with thousands of others, sometimes having conversations with complete strangers about faith or about life or about laughter. The highlight for me this year was a Taize service at 9pm as night fell. The tent was very full so a lot of us were outside it but we could still hear. Over a thousand people who’d never met, joined in singing what we believe very simply. The most powerful bit for me was the ten minute silence in the service. There wasn’t a murmur. You could feel the peace. You were being church with folk next to you, in that moment, a gathered community of pilgrims led to be there together. It was a spirit filled thin moment. No one was thinking about a church building or how we keep going, it was God and his people simply gathered together… in returning and rest you shall be saved. 

I’m very aware I return this weekend to three services on Sunday, and to many issues. They are mostly about how we might grow the church. I’m also very aware of the pressure on me to deliver - all my churches want to see me more, schools want me, care homes want me - we have one less member of staff and no more hours than before - and I’ve things at home as well as work that need my attention…

What’s the message for a new church year? Not more on our plate, but returning and rest…doing less will help us cope with all our demands. Where’s our prayer life? How do we carve out time to read? How do we wait? In returning and rest we shall we saved. I’ve needed Evensong, George and Mollie and Greenbelt this August to put me back together and remember good habits.

A fruitful and flourishing new church year depends on me - and all of us - keeping those habits going. 

A Bible Study for my church at Allhallowgate on Isaiah 65 and 66

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible -- Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse. Little Bobby was excited about the task, but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Bobby was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my shepherd . . . and that's all I need to know!" 

Did any of you or your children do the old Scripture exam? There was a memory verse to learn as part of it. How much of the Bible do we know by heart and its promises? One of the first churches I worked in had a sisterhood and the promise box was brought out for any birthday and the person with the birthday got to pull out a promise on a small rolled up piece of paper with a little pair of tweezers.

After a month of study what are the promises of Isaiah for you? Read one out loud and then keep the page safe as we will return to it.

Here’s one from Chapter 12:

“You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to You, O LORD, for though You were angry with me, Your anger turned away, that You might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted. “Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

It’s tempting to look around the world and simply give up. It’s all too overwhelming. I don’t know where to start to put it all right. I had a long discussion about the Tory leadership election at the hatch of the kitchen at Boroughbridge this morning. Well, the same was true for the people of Isaiah’s day. 

Isaiah 65: 17 – 25

Words here spoken at a time when it was easy for the people of Israel to look around their world and give up.

After centuries of internal upheaval, the Babylonians were the latest to invade Israel, killing their loved ones, carrying off the brightest and best to live in a foreign country, taking over their land, and destroying their Temple. Eventually, the exiles were allowed to return and we join them a couple of generations from having come home when their expectations for a renewed Jewish existence simply haven’t come to pass. The previous few chapters of Isaiah speak of bloodshed and miscarriages of justice, of a divided people whose leaders are greedy, unjust and drunk on power. 

There is hardship in the land, cynicism about their future, suspicion about their neighbours. And into this situation, Isaiah brings a word from God;

I wonder how those words were first greeted. I wonder whether Isaiah was heralded as a visionary or a daydreamer; a prophet from God or a fanciful fool who chose to ignore the harsh realities of life around him. And I wonder how you hear those words. Have you ever received or dismissed a message as crazy? Have you ever delivered one?

Do you find comfort in those promises of the future or frustration that they are yet to come to pass? Perhaps, of course, we are supposed to feel both. 

Make a list of what God will do and how the earth will be changed.

What do these words of Isaiah mean for us in Ripon in August 2022?

Isaiah’s words remind us that God isn’t finished with creation just yet. If you’ve ever looked at the headlines, listened to stories of suffering or rumours of war and thought ‘is this it?’, God’s answer in Isaiah is ‘You’ve not seen the half of it yet for I am creating new heavens and a new earth.

Think about how the Bible ends – in Revelation. Listen to these words of Barbara Brown Taylor: 

“ In Revelation, people do not go up to heaven; heaven comes down to them. The earth is not struck by a rogue meteor, laid waste by aliens, destroyed by nuclear holocaust, or otherwise demolished so that humans have nowhere to go but up, like steam escaping a cosmic forest fire. In Revelation, the same God who created heaven and earth the first time is pleased to create them both anew. The sea is no more. The new Jerusalem comes down to rest on the same footprint where the old, troubled city once stood, and God comes too—joining humans right where they are. “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them…” 

In this vision of final destination, the arc of the divine bends down, not up.”

What if we were to be symbols of God’s good news in a world which has had its fill of bad? If we pledged to try to be a visible symbol of hope in our homes and on our streets, in our actions and words and prayers so that people could point to us and see hope incarnated in a way that might become subversive and contagious and transformational?! 

In the little leaflet I produced to help us navigate through Isaiah this month I asked this question:

Sharing a month immersed in his prophecy as a Circuit, what is our good news? Share what you think in your next church meeting. Write a new mission statement for your church. 

 

Someone wrote to me: 

 

We have no good news at present. We do not live up to our present Mission Statement, never mind me typing another! 

 

What are we here for? Surely to bring transformation… but some   times we cling to the past as it slowly sinks into a rough sea. It’s clear God has a different agenda but we stubborn stick to our own comfortable ways. 

 

Allhallowgate Methodist Church exists to spread the love of God  in Jesus Christ  to everyone, to worship, pray and learn together, in  order to share our faith in the community, and to bring hope and joy to all. 

 

How does Isaiah end? Read chapter 66

 

We have a choice. That’s what all 66 chapters of Isaiah have been about. Threatened because of injustice, overtaken by an enemy, languishing in exile, returning to desolation it’s all been about turning back to God. Hear how the prophecy ends:

 As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

 

The book of Isaiah concludes with the fate of the wicked.  Their worm (soul) shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they will be abhorred by all flesh.  God is describing the lake of fire Christians call hell. Why would God leave the reader with the last though of eternal damnation?  The answer is simple:  God is warning us of the consequences of neglecting Him. Fellow preachers, have you ever preached on hell? 

 

Go back to the promises we began with. God is faithful and sometimes we are not. So we wonder why we struggle. We might not face threat or exile or the desolation of desolations but maybe we’ve made God less and the church more? That might get me sacked saying that! What if we believed and acted upon what we read?

 

So slowly read your promise again… how will it make a difference to you and to the work of this church?

 

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