27 February 2022
10:00 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
This morning we came to church on a glorious spring morning, with blue skies and not a breath of wind, quite a contrast from recent times!
Father Roger was the celebrant at our Eucharist and we very much held in our prayers the people of Ukraine as they battle their invaders. This is the last Sunday before lent and will be having a Eucharist and imposition of ashes ar 7:30 on Wednesday to mark the start of the 40 days.
The Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by W.A. Mozart, one of our favourite pieces, and we had coffee in the rooms after the service.
The Lent course, following the Diocesan programme, will be held in the rooms on the following Wednesdays at 7:30:
Wednesday 9th March
Wednesday 16th March
Wednesday 23rd March
Wednesday 30th of March
Wednesday 6th April.
If you would like to join us please sign the list in the church so we can prepare enough leaflets. If you are only able to come to one or two of these dates, that is no problem as the course is designed for personal and for group study. If you come and get the course leaflet you can join us as and when.
Also on the Horizon is the Treasure Hunt on the 19th of March in the afternoon at 2:30pm, also please sign up in the Church, individuals or families can take part, and there is Pirate Treasure to be found!!! Bring a picnic tea, hot and cold drinks will be provided.
2 Corinthians 3:12- 4:2
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Since we have such a hope,
we act with great boldness,
not like Moses, who put a veil over his face
to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory
that was being set aside.
But their minds were hardened.
Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant,
that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside.
Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read,
a veil lies over their minds;
but when one turns to the Lord,
the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And all of us, with unveiled faces,
seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed into the same image
from one degree of glory to another;
for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry,
we do not lose heart.
We have renounced the shameful things that one hides;
we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word;
but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves
to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
Address
This Wednesday we come to Lent, and will soon be hearing of Jesus' temptations, and the opposition and rejection that he met. And in due course his execution - and resurrection. Before the tough part starts, today, on the Sunday before Lent, we read of Jesus' Transfiguration, saying that - however else it may appear at times - Jesus is actually successful, Godly and glorious. One of Dr Allan Jenkins, our former Priest-in-Charge’s, favourite themes, was 'Jesus our example'. We are being told in our Gospel today that following Jesus' example, in a successful, Godly and glorious way, may be tough, and sometimes look to the world like failure. The reward of faithfulness might look, for a while, like betrayal and a crown of thorns.
We – most of whom have met many Lents and Easters - will have that idea well enough, but perhaps not rush to take it on board. Much easier to admire Jesus, be thankful for him, than to actually follow him in a way which is potentially very costly. It was always such. Jesus' first friends, who first met these ideas, were very naturally shaken and uncertain.
If we follow part of Luke's Gospel, chapter 9, from which we read, we can see how Luke portrays this.
Jesus is on a journey to fulfil his vocation. He is on a journey heading for death and resurrection in Jerusalem, and his disciples, alongside him, are journeying on a steep learning curve, trying to understand, and to do the right thing with their own lives. And we, too, are on a journey, both through life and through our discipleship.
We might begin in Luke chapter 9 with the feeding of the 5000. Immediately we are put into a vast scenario. Moses, 1200 years' before, has been the greatest, receiving the Commandments and leading the Exodus towards the Promised Land. In his time, God fed his people in the wilderness with manna in time of need. Now, in time of need, God feeds the 5000 in the wilderness through Jesus. Is Jesus an 'A-lister' like Moses - or perhaps something even more?
Then we read of the incident at Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asks the disciples what they reckon about him, and Peter, usually hasty, replies that he is the Messiah, the Christ. A huge statement, to which Jesus does not directly respond, but says he is to be rejected, suffer and die, before a more positive ending. To the disciples this is quite shattering. For their people, the expectation was that the Messiah would be unstoppable, a great success, sweeping all, before him. Certainly not get into trouble and be done to death like a criminal. And to make things worse for the disciples, Jesus says that they can expect a tough time too, and will have to constantly make a brave decision, as to whether or not to continue to follow him, and to keep to a challenging path towards the sort of fuller life with God which Jesus seems to embody.
After all of this, the Transfiguration is described. Jesus seen truly good and glorious, and somehow greater than Moses and Elijah. Moses who'd been the main man, up till now, and Elijah the great prophet of many centuries ago, who was to return when the Messiah was at hand. Even now at Jewish Passover meals each Spring, the Jews, - still hoping for their Messiah, - open the door and pour a cup of wine for Elijah, who never shows up. But for us the Messiah has come.
Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about his forthcoming ‘departure’, that is ‘exodus’, that is ‘death’, which he is going to undergo in Jerusalem. The picture is of a new and greater Moses, leading a new Exodus, to a greater Promised Land.
It is all a tremendous religious experience for Jesus’ friends. In this case, just the inner group of Peter, James and John. They may be hoping that the special experience won't end in a hurry. But as with all good religious experiences, we cannot stay there, and must get on with life, living in the light of the special time. Jesus' friends come down from the mountain and are immediately brought down to earth, into a situation of great suffering and need, which they find they can't help: their ministry meets apparent failure. So, the sufferers have to seek Jesus' help, and disciples will often need to continue to do so too. Jesus chose a significant number of fishermen for his 12 apostles, and it might seem that he did so because fishermen, in their fishing are well used to persevering through frequent times of failure.
So today, a realistic preparing for Lent. As Archbishop Stuart Blanch was wont to say at the beginning of Lent: May God deny you peace, but grant you victory.
Fr Roger
"You may be wondering why we are still wearing face masks in church?
Wearing a face mask does not protect you from catching Covid 19, but lowers the risk of catching it. The government has decided to cut back on testing. This does not mean that Covid 19 has gone away, we just won't know about it, especially if you have no symptoms, which in a vaccinated community is likely. However wearing a face mask will help to stop you passing the virus to anoher person.
Mask wearing is an altruistic thing to do.
We are members of God's church.
It is the Christian thing to do."
- Dr Hilary Platts
Below is a precis from a paper by the Centre for Disease Control, USA:
The use of cloth or paper face masks to help prevent transmission of COVID-19 is a controversial and highly politicised issue.
The American Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a paper that addressed the benefits of wearing a mask. The paper points out that SARS-CoV-2 infection is transmitted predominately by respiratory droplets generated by coughing, sneezing, singing, talking, or breathing.
It says that “Masks are primarily intended to reduce the emission of virus-laden droplets (“source control”), which is especially relevant for asymptomatic or presymptomatic infected wearers who feel well and may be unaware of their infectiousness to others, and who are estimated to account for more than 50% of transmissions,” according to the brief. “Masks also help reduce inhalation of these droplets by the wearer (“filtration for personal protection”).”
Early evidence suggested that the primary benefit was in preventing transmission by the wearer. Now, research also has suggested a benefit for wearing a mask to keep from contracting the virus. “The community benefit of masking for SARS-CoV-2 control is due to the combination of these effects; individual prevention benefit increases with increasing numbers of people using masks consistently and correctly,” the CDC states.
The paper also discusses a range of methods by which cloth masks help protect wearers and others. It notes that multilayer cloth masks block release of exhaled respiratory particles into the environment, as well as the microorganisms those particles carry.
“Cloth masks not only effectively block most large droplets (i.e., 20-30 microns and larger) but they can also block the exhalation of fine droplets and particles (also often referred to as aerosols) smaller than 10 microns, which increase in number with the volume of speech, and specific types of phonation. Multi-layer cloth masks can both block up to 50-70% of these fine droplets and particles and limit the forward spread of those that are not captured,” according to the report.
In fact, the CDC emphasizes that as much as 80% blockage has been achieved in human experiments that have measured blocking of all respiratory droplets with cloth masks; in some studies, the cloth masks recommended for the public have performed as well as surgical masks as barriers for source control.
The new research brief also explains how cloth-mask materials can reduce wearers’ exposure to infectious droplets through filtration, including filtration of fine droplets and particles less than 10 microns. Mask types have varied widely across studies, according to the CDC, which verifies that multiple layers of cloth with higher thread counts have demonstrated superior performance compared to single layers of cloth with lower thread counts, in some cases filtering nearly 50% of fine particles less than 1 micron.
It also describes how some materials, such as polypropylene, enhance filtering effectiveness by generating a triboelectric charge that enhances capture of charged particles and that others, such as silk, help repel moist droplets and reduce fabric wetting, which maintains breathability and comfort.
The brief lists information about a range of studies—including seven that confirmed the benefit of universal masking in community-level analyses—to bolster evidence of “real-world” effectiveness.
“Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2,” the article concludes. “The prevention benefit of masking is derived from the combination of source control and personal protection for the mask wearer. The relationship between source control and personal protection is likely complementary and possibly synergistic, so that individual benefit increases with increasing community mask use.”
The CDC calls for further research to expand the evidence base for the protective effect of cloth masks and especially to pinpoint the combinations of materials that maximize both their blocking and filtering effectiveness, as well as fit, comfort, durability, and consumer appeal. It adds, “Adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and adequate ventilation.”
20 February 2022
This morning we came together at 10 am for Matins. Battling through the high wind which was the tail of Storm Eunice, we discovered that the Yew tree next to the church had lost some branches, but no other damage, and everyone was safe, for which we gave thanks.
As is usual at Matins the readings were in the King James version of the Bible. The set psalm was 104 vv 1 to 15, and the Choir sang the Benedictus in the setting of C V Stanford in C major. They also sang an anthem , 'Ye Servants of th'all Bounteous Lord' by Samuel Webbe Jr.
Father John was with us for this service and he preached the sermon, firstly introducing himself and telling us about his fascinating work in the Church of England before he retired, then he went on to discuss the two readings, the first from the book of Job which he recommended as worth reading, and then the passage from the Acts of the Apostles where St Paul performs a miracle, we can use our talents for Gods work in the world too.
There was coffee after the service, don't forget to sign up for the Treasure Hunt on the 19th of March, and also the Lent course will be held on Wednesday evenings in the rooms, we will be following the diocesan course this year, the first meeting will be on the 9th of March, as we have not been able to do this for 2 years we hope many people will join us this year in preparing for Easter.
8am Holy Communion
Revelation 4
A reading from the book of Revelation.
After this I looked,
and there in heaven a door stood open!
And the first voice,
which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said,
“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
At once I was in the spirit,
and there in heaven stood a throne,
with one seated on the throne!
And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian,
and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald.
Around the throne are twenty-four thrones,
and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders,
dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning,
and rumblings and peals of thunder,
and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches,
which are the seven spirits of God;
and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
Around the throne, and on each side of the throne,
are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
the first living creature like a lion,
the second living creature like an ox,
the third living creature with a face like a human face,
and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
are full of eyes all around and inside.
Day and night without ceasing they sing,
“Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks
to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne
and worship the one who lives forever and ever;
they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Luke 8:22-25
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples,
and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”
So they put out,
and while they were sailing he fell asleep.
A gale swept down on the lake,
and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.
They went to him and woke him up, shouting,
“Master, Master, we are perishing!”
And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves;
they ceased, and there was a calm.
He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another,
“Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water,
and they obey him?”
10am Matins
Job 28:1-11
1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
Acts 14:8-17
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
13 February 2022
On a cold and blustery morning we met today at 10 am for a Parish Eucharist. we were delighted to have with us again Father Luke the Archdeacon as the celebrant. One of the advantages of being in Interregnum and being blessed with help from different clergy with our services is to experience the different approaches and strengths of the individuals to the celebration of the eucharist, each with their own personal way and spiritual gifts to us as the congregation. We are blessed to have such help and do appreciate it.
The third Sunday before lent sometimes called Quinquagesima, reminds us that we are approaching the season of Lent and we turn towards the events of Holy week and Easter. The Archdeacon spoke about this in his sermon, and discussed how the Word of God made manifest in our Lord, is present in our lives through the Eucharist, and it is the hunger for this love of god that directs our lives.
The Choir sang the Alleluias of St James as the anthem, the Sunday School children joined us for the communion and sang the last hymn with us.
There was coffee after the service in the rooms.
Next week Father John will be with us for both the 8 am and the 10 am service, we look forward to welcoming him.
Please give your magazine subscription to the Church Wardens, or pay directly into the Bank as instructed in the magazine.
If you would like to join in the Treasure Hunt on Saturday the 19th March at 2pm, please tell the Church wardens, £2 for an individual entry, £5 for a family, in aid of the bird boxes for the church yard. The treasure will be hidden some where in the Church or Church Yard, solve the clues an spell out the place to look!! Bring refreshments, and there will be hot and cold drinks available in the rooms!
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians
If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then Christ has not been raised;
and if Christ has not been raised,
then our proclamation has been in vain
and your faith has been in vain.
We are even found to be misrepresenting God,
because we testified of God that he raised Christ—
whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised,
then Christ has not been raised.
If Christ has not been raised,
your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have died.
Luke 6:17-26
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
He came down with them and stood on a level place,
with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people
from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.
They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
And all in the crowd were trying to touch him,
for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven;
for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."
06 February 2022
This morning at 10 am we had a Parish Eucharist, celebrated by Father Roger. Our thoughts were very much with Her Majesty the Queen on this the anniversary of both the death of her father and her accession to the throne. Later in the year we will celebrate her 70 years of service, but today we were focusing on the 25 year old newly ascended Queen. Father Roger and Janet our Church warden had put together an exhibition of memories and artefacts from 1952 and 1953. They had been in Primary School at the time and had vivid memories of the events. They shared their experiences during the service, and Father Roger told the children something of his memories when they joined us for communion and the end of the service.
The Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by Sir Edward Elgar as the anthem. After the blessing we sang the National Anthem.
There was coffee after the service. On a showery morning we headed home in the brief dry moments.
Next week we will have Father Luke, the Archdeacon with us.
If you have not yet paid your subscription for the Parish Magazine, please do so either by giving cash to the church wardens, or by direct bank transfer details in the magazine. If you would like to receive the Magazine please contact the Church Wardens.
We are hoping to make some additions to the church yard, in the form of bird boxes, part of an initiative to encourage more wild life. There will be a fundraising event to help buy the materials for the boxes on Saturday 19th March. This will take the form of a Treasure Hunt in the Church Yard. There is a box of Pirate Treasure to be found!! Families or individuals can enter, and if the weather is nice bring a picnic tea, hot and cold drinks will be available in the rooms. The entry fee is £5:00 for families and £2:00 for individuals. Solve the clues and find the Treasure!!
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| Glorious flowers, memories of the time |
Revelation 21:22-27 22:1-5
A reading from the book of Revelation.
I saw no temple in the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God is its light,
and its lamp is the Lamb.
The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
Its gates will never be shut by day—
and there will be no night there.
People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
But nothing unclean will enter it,
nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood,
but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
through the middle of the street of the city.
On either side of the river is the tree of life
with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found there any more.
But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him;
they will see his face,
and his name will be on their foreheads.
Luke 22:24-30
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Chrsit acording to Luke.
A dispute also arose among the twelve
as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
But he said to them,
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them;
and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
But not so with you;
rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest,
and the leader like one who serves.
For who is greater,
the one who is at the table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one at the table?
But I am among you as one who serves.
“You are those who have stood by me in my trials;
and I confer on you,
just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom,
so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Address
On Wednesday 6th February 1952, exactly 70 years’ ago today, King George VI died unexpectedly. Princess Elizabeth became Queen. She was away in Africa at the time but returned to England quickly. The Coronation took place the next year on Tuesday 2nd June 1953. We were still then having rationing after the war. Today we are focussing - not on the whole of the Queen’s 70 years, - but on memories of the beginning, in 1952 and 1953, when Janet and I and others were 8 or 9 years old.
Memories of 70 years’ ago from Janet our Churchwarden:
I was 8 years old when King George VI died. I remember that the announcement came on the wireless as I and my classmates were taking part in a Music and Movement lesson. The broadcast was interrupted by the solemn voice of John Snagg. This is London. It is with the greatest sorrow that we must make the following announcement. His Majesty the King has died peacefully in his sleep at Sandringham House. The other classes joined us in the hall, and we sat cross-legged on the floor and quietly watched as the flag on the church opposite was lowered to half-mast. Our teachers had hankies to their faces, and their grief was palpable. As the days and weeks followed, our thoughts began to turn towards our new Queen and her Coronation.
My parents ran a County Council home for about 20 children in Winchester, and they decided that we should enter a float for the procession to be held on Coronation Day in the city. The title would be: The old woman who lived in a shoe - that is the one, who had so many children she didn’t know what to do. We certainly had the numbers for that!
My father set about constructing the ‘shoe’ to sit on the top of a flat-top lorry. He used chicken wire for the basic shape and covered it with canvas painted white. Meanwhile my mother and her staff of ‘aunties’ began thinking about costumes for everyone.
When the day finally came, I remember that it was very cold! We had to use a step ladder to climb onto the lorry, and then we were driven to the army barracks parade ground where we waited until we were able to join the procession. Given that there were 20 children trapped on board, and the cold weather, it was fortunate that my mother, practical as ever, had remembered to bring a chamber pot!
The most exciting part of the day was slowly travelling down Winchester’s High Street. (This would not be possible today as it is now a pedestrian precinct.) We were awarded a prize, and a photograph of our float was on the front page of the special supplement of the local paper.
As with all such events, it was over in a flash, but the memory of that day stays with me still.
From Roger:
When we came to the Coronation, my Father, who worked for the Armament Department, obtained some surplus flags and went to some lengths to stretch a very large Union Jack high up across the front of our house. A certain little boy, who had studied these things deeply in the Cubs, then pointed out that the flag was actually upside down – a sign of great distress, - so Father had to do it again. A neighbour then arrived to advise that one of our most colourful flags meant that the Sovereign was actually in residence, so action was again urgently needed.
News arrived on Coronation Day that Mount Everest had been climbed for the first time, just before, on 29th May.
Our house was at the top of a cul-de-sac, so the stage for entertainment and the street party were close by. I was dressed as a Pearly King for the fancy dress competition.
A large important man from the Town Council, came to the School to bestow a commemorative Coronation cup and saucer upon each child. When I approached his table, I saw a dodgy substandard cup at the top of the box. ‘He’s surely not going to give me that one, is he?’, I wondered. But, oh yes, - although I felt that I had better not argue!
Many people got their first, rather primitive, television to watch the Coronation with their neighbours. Christina’s family did that, but mine was not in that league.
A new edition of the Book of Common Prayer was published around that time, with Queen Elizabeth’s name in the prayers. My parents gave me one at Christmas 1952 as my first service book.
On 15th June 1953, shortly after the Coronation, great numbers of the Navy’s ships lined up between the shore and the Isle of Wight and were lit up in the evening for the Queen to review. My family and many others watched from Stokes Bay.
Three months’ later, on 7th September 1953, Neville Duke, who had been a fighter pilot in the War, set a world air speed record. I was 9 years old and saw the picture in the paper but had no idea then that I would be the priest leading the famous man’s funeral 54 years later at Tangmere in 2007.
Around Coronation time I was given an innovative plastic money box. Plastic light switches and radios had been made of brown Bakelite, but now we could have shiny blue marbled hard plastic. We might reflect on where hard plastic has brought us in 70 years!
Today seems the time to say something about authority. Whether it be in the State, the Government, or the Church or in other institutions. There is, firstly, institutional authority. Someone has an appointment, a position. Great. But something else needs to coincide, which is moral authority. Where we feel that they are up to the job, they know what they’re doing, they care about those they serve, they are a good person and trying hard: they earn our confidence and our respect.
If you have someone in a post who doesn’t also have moral authority – disaster. But you can have someone like Jesus, who had the moral authority – but no normal institutional position at all. He was not trained or ordained as a Rabbi, but was recognised and followed because he knew what he was about.
We have had a Queen who inherited the job, which has a Christian content, and who happily also embraced it and measured up to it. There is no guarantee that successors always will. Institutional authority and moral authority need to coincide. And even when appointments are by election, it does not always work.
There are other things that need to coincide too - glory and holiness. Jesus at the Transfiguration is seen as glorious. But he was fundamentally holy, - the holiest. Glory is not something to seek, it only properly comes as a result of holiness and Godliness. There are those, like Hitler, and some other political leaders and some unfit royals who seek glory, but are lacking in holiness, and that spells disaster. Any glory must follow on from holiness, or it is spurious and dangerous.
Our readings remind us that the only very true and genuine kingship and community will be in the heavenly Jerusalem, and that the mark of monarchy and leadership, in Christian terms, is service, not the seeking of glory and privilege.
Fr Roger
30 January 2022
Today we met at 10 am on a beautiful sunny winters day to celebrate Candlemas and Christingle. It was a family service, which we would normally have on the first Sunday in February, but nex week we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.
Father Roger took the service, the children and their families sat in the transepts and the rest of the congregation and the choir were in the nave. We continue to wear masks and take covid precautions.
The children were given the christingles and we sang the christingle hymn. Father Roger explored the story of Candlemas and the history of the Christingle, both telling of the Light of Christ being in the world.
The Choir sang the Nunc Dimittis in the setting by CV Stanford in C as the anthem.
We were joined by Father John, who is coming to do some of our services and give a hand while we wait for a new Vicar to be appointed.
There was coffee after the service.
As mentioned above, please come along to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Queen next Sunday.
Malachi 3:1-5
A reading from the book of the prophet Malachi.
See, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me,
and the Lord whom you seek
will suddenly come to his temple.
The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—
indeed, he is coming,
says the Lord of hosts.
But who can endure the day of his coming,
and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;
he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and he will purify the descendants of Levi
and refine them like gold and silver,
until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
will be pleasing to the Lord
as in the days of old and as in former years.
Then I will draw near to you for judgment;
I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers,
against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely,
against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages,
the widow and the orphan,
against those who thrust aside the alien,
and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Luke 2:22-40
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
When the time came for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord
(as it is written in the law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),
and they offered a sacrifice
according to what is stated in the law of the Lord,
“a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;
this man was righteous and devout,
looking forward to the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death
before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him what was customary under the law,
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
And the child’s father and mother
were amazed at what was being said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary,
“This child is destined
for the falling and the rising of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be opposed
so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—
and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
There was also a prophet, Anna
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was of a great age,
having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
She never left the temple
but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.
At that moment she came, and began to praise God
and to speak about the child
to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had finished everything
required by the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favour of God was upon him.
Address
Two things today. We will be thinking about the story we read. And thinking about these strange things – the Christingles.
But first, another little story. The space adventures, Star Trek, began many years ago, and long ago I saw a very strange episode, where the heroes couldn't see things correctly, and life was quite impossible for a while. They had landed to explore a strange planet. As they walked around, they tried to avoid the things that would trip them up, - but they tripped up anyway. Not very nice! Eventually, they realised the problem. All the things they could see on the ground, and were trying not to trip over, weren't actually there! And all the things that were there were invisible. So they tripped over them. If you can't see and understand what's what, life is pretty tough! We'll come back to that idea.
Today we have our story about baby Jesus, when he was six weeks old. And after today we will put the Crib away, until next year, and think about Jesus when he was older. A few things are supposed to happen for a Jewish baby boy, and Mary and Joseph wanted to have everything right. When Jesus was a week old he would have been be given his name. 'Jesus' is really the same name as 'Joshua'. Have we got any Joshuas? The name means something like 'God saves'.
Then, when Jesus was six weeks old, Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple in Jerusalem for the first time. The idea was that your first baby boy belonged to God. So, in a strange way, you had to buy him back from God. Pay five shekels at the Temple. Our Treasurer shouldn’t even think about it!
Then one last thing. When a baby was born, their mother had a break from going to the synagogue and the Temple, and from social occasions, for six weeks. Then, after six weeks, life would get back to normal and the parents would make another offering at the Temple. This time, it wasn't money, but a lamb and a bird. (Which was a dove or a pigeon). Lambs were expensive, so the rules said that if you were poor, you could take two birds, instead of one expensive lamb and one bird. Joseph and Mary were poor, so that's what they did.
When I was six weeks old, I was probably in our air raid shelter to avoid bombing in the Second World War. That was because Hitler was seeing things all wrong, wanting to control big parts of the world, and hating some groups of people and trying to kill lots and lots of them, and far too many people were going along with his ideas, causing a lot of trouble. We've heard the story already of baby Jesus being taken to Egypt for a while, because the very nasty King Herod wanted to kill him. Herod was another of those leaders seeing things all wrong and causing huge unhappiness. Herod even murdered many of his own family.
Well, Christingle. It was invented about 250 years ago by a church leader in Moravia. That is somewhere between Germany and Poland. Christingles are rather odd really, but the different parts mean things, and they are trying to say some important things to us.
We have the round orange to remind us of the world. We know that the world is like a big ball, and the man in Moravia in 1700s knew the world was like a ball. But in Jesus' day, of course, they would have thought that the world was pretty flat. If we were inventing the Christingle now, I don’t think we would choose an orange! We know now that if we went into space and looked at the world, it would look like a mostly blue and green ball, with some white icy areas. Perhaps the hot Sahara Desert would be orange. But an all-orange world of hot deserts would be a disaster!
Lighting the world up, we have the candle, making us think of Jesus the Light of the World. The four little cocktail sticks in the orange are about the four seasons of the year. The raisins or sweets on the sticks are to remind us of the crops we get at different times of the year.
At the Temple, Jesus and Mary and Joseph met some old people, who’d been waiting a long time for God to do something special for the Jewish people - to send someone special. And now they are very happy, because they realise that baby Jesus is the one. The old man Simeon says that Jesus is a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. That means that Jesus is to be a light for everyone, those who are not Jews, and those who are. Jesus is the one that God has sent to help the whole world to see and understand things right! Simeon said some famous words about that, and the choir will sing them later on.
We need help to see and understand things rightly, and its not always easy. One of parents’ jobs is to tell children to keep out of trouble. And so they should. But not necessarily when they are grown up. Jesus didn’t.
The red ribbon right around the orange, right round the world, is about God's love for everyone right round the world. But the ribbon is red, the colour of blood, because when God came to help us in Jesus, Jesus was hurt and killed, before he rose again. Jesus did not get into trouble because he messed up, but because he got things right. So, we can see that following God and being loving, might cause us trouble. But it can still be the right thing to do, and it can end well. When we’re grown up, real success is about following God, even if it means trouble. Not about keeping out of trouble at all costs.
Fr Roger
23 January 2022
This morning we met at 10am on a dull and overcast day for our Parish Communion service. We continue our Epiphany readings and today the Gospel recounted the story of Jesus teaching in the Synagogue, which Father Roger reflected on in his sermon, you can read the lesson and the sermon below.
We were delighted to welcome back Joanna and to sing with the organ. The Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by Gounod as the anthem, visit our Music Blog to find out more about this piece of music and its composer.
Unfortunately we had no children in church today as the local school has seen an outbreak of corona virus.
There was coffee after the service.
Next week we will be celebrating Candle mass, with christingles, If you have a Children's Society box please bring it along. We will be joined by Fr John Hall, who is going to help us during our interregnum, along with Fr Roger and Archdeacon Luke. Fr John is retired and lives in Chichester, and has kindly offered to help us. We look forward to seeing him.
The following week, the first Sunday in February, We shall be having a service of thanksgiving and celebration for the 70 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the Second to which all are welcome.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,
so it is with Christ.
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.
If the foot would say,
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,”
that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear would say,
“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,”
that would not make it any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye,
where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing,
where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is,
God arranged the members in the body,
each one of them, as he chose.
If all were a single member, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many members, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,”
nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
On the contrary,
the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and those members of the body that we think less honorable
we clothe with greater honour,
and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect;
whereas our more respectable members do not need this.
But God has so arranged the body,
giving the greater honour to the inferior member,
that there may be no dissension within the body,
but the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it;
if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ
and individually members of it.
And God has appointed in the church first apostles,
second prophets, third teachers;
then deeds of power, then gifts of healing,
forms of assistance, forms of leadership,
various kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets?
Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
Do all possess gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
But strive for the greater gifts.
Luke 4:14-21
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit,
returned to Galilee,
and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
He began to teach in their synagogues
and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up,
he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day,
as was his custom.
He stood up to read,
and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
And he rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Then he began to say to them,
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Address
The tale is told that Archbishop Michael Ramsey, when he was old, went to the Church where he had been baptised, and was much moved to see the font where his journey had started. Some years’ ago, I was asked to take a funeral of someone I’d known since childhood in Gosport. In fact, it was the man who’d worked in the Portsmouth Harbour Master’s Office who had planned the mooring positions for the large number of naval vessels in the Solent for the Queen’s Review of the Fleet shortly after the Coronation. This funeral put me back in touch with the Church where I grew up in 1940s and 50s, and had been a Cub and a server, and they asked me to preach there, after of an absence of nearly forty years. Happily, we were able to see the old font, but only in the nick of time, as they were to remove it to install something more trendy.
So, we read that Jesus returned home for a Jewish Sabbath morning service, on the Saturday. Our own Sunday eucharist is a game of two halves, and this story of the synagogue service might remind us of how we got the first half of our service. Our second half is clearly the stuff of Jewish meals, the Last Supper and the Resurrection. But our first half, is based on the synagogue service with its readings and sermon and prayers and hymns.
In New Testament times at the synagogue there probably wouldn’t be a Rabbi about. There would be a Caretaker, who doubled as the Schoolmaster teaching the local boys at the synagogue school during the week. At that time, they had not quite got round to educating the girls in the Law, and in Hebrew.
For the Saturday service at the synagogue, they would look up the correct reading from the Torah for the day, bring the right scroll from the special place at the front of the synagogue and read it. That would be from the first books of our Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, - the Law. For the second lesson, they were more flexible. They would find a man there who seemed to have a clue, let him choose a passage from the books of the prophets, let him read it, and then he would sit to speak about it. So it was, that when Jesus was gaining a reputation as a teacher, and went back to his home synagogue at Nazareth, it was pretty inevitable that he would be called on to choose a passage, read it and speak.
He would sit to speak. That was the custom. Jesus, later, would sit in boat near the seashore to speak to those on the shore, - sit where they couldn’t jostle him. From this we get the idea of the bishop’s chair. The bishops won’t always use them much these days, for instance to confirm people, as they probably did when some of us were confirmed. But diocesan bishops always have their special seat in their cathedral, and the word ‘cathedral’ means ‘where the bishop’s seat is’. The bishop’s chair is perhaps ‘a seat to teach from’, rather than a throne! Some new bishops ask to be ‘installed’ not ‘enthroned’.
The Epiphany season is when we are meant to be discovering whom Jesus is. He caused a lot of controversy when he chose the Isaiah reading at the synagogue. “God’s promises in Isaiah are now being fulfilled, with me, - now”, he claims! What follows is, that those who reckon Jesus does have something very special to offer, say, “we’re his old neighbours, if he’s amazingly important, we demand special benefits, because we knew him first.” Jesus then replies to the effect: “No chance, - it doesn’t work like that. God is even-handed, you don’t get priority!” Things then got rather nasty, and Jesus left.
The first half of our service has obviously moved on from the synagogue service, although we might well still use their hymns, - the psalms. For the readings, we have gained the Christian epistles, Acts, Revelation and so on… and especially the Christian Gospels. The Gospels are central for us, rather than Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
So what about the Jewish readings, from the Law and the Prophets? We can have up to three lessons on a Sunday, but usually have less, and no Old Testament reading at all, although sometimes that might have had more interest than the epistle that day. Many parishes do more, and that ought to be under review by a new priest here. Jesus’ life and background and vocation, and the conflicts he met, were all rooted in the Old Testament, and we lose a grip of that to our detriment. This could, of course, be also addressed with Bible study groups. In Wales, I objected that Readers, licenced lay ministers, in their training, studied no Old Testament at all, which was bizarre. The leader of the course was promptly promoted to Archdeacon, and I was in the doghouse yet again! But a minority is not necessarily wrong.
Looking back to the women in my family long ago, one thing they seemed to like was remnants. Cheap left-over ends from expensive rolls of cloth. Remnant is a theme in the Bible. The future very often seems to lie with a minority. Nearly 4000 years ago, at the start of the People of God, Abraham was one ageing man from a small, and not very advanced nation. “How odd of God to choose the Jews”, as the saying goes. Later, it was often a lone prophet who had the right idea.
When the Jews had their 12 tribes, the northern 10, the majority, were eventually lost to the main story, overrun by the Assyrians. Only the minority, the two southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah, around Jerusalem’ became the focus. And when they went into exile in Babylon, only a remnant of them returned to Jerusalem. And Jesus was the ultimate remnant of those.
So, God can work through remnants and minorities, and majorities at meetings do not necessarily have the answers. A vote at a meeting doesn’t decide the will of God! The 39 Articles of Religion are encouraging when they ask us to accept, not just that church meetings can be wrong, but that they sometimes have actually been wrong.
But when a lone individual does take a lead, it has to be discerned whether it is because they are in tune with God, who is urging them. Or, less happily, whether they are led by a wrong vision, personal ambition or concern for power.
In the end, God’s activity in the nearly 2000 years of Old Testament times, became focussed in Christ, who was sometimes very much alone. But when light is focused by a lens to a point, it will immediately start to spread out widely again, which is what we in the Body of Christ are meant to be about and need to have a vision of where we have come from. And that has to mean knowing the Old Testament.
And we still have important remnants – very possibly minority figures in the Church who have the right way forward. The role of a parish priest is not just to have some of the answers, but also to be to be able to spot them when others have them.
Fr Roger
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