Parish Life in Wadworth with Loversall

Advent Reflections with a difference: The story of a poorly Vicar!

2012-01-07T11:41:00.001Z

On Sunday 4^th December Jane and I were sat relaxing after tea, eating chocs when I started getting a mighty pain in my right year. Sleep was erratic but OK.

On Monday morning I was well enough to go exploring Retford with Jane, but a planned Shoe shopping expedition for me was cancelled (not my favourite job when I am in tip top condition and if you saw my feet you would know why!). I slept on the sofa and even went to a church meeting at Warmsworth in the evening.

I slept well and went to Amy’s school on Tuesday morning to see their production of Alladin. During the panto I got some discharge from my ear (all together now EGHHH). Jane arranged a docs appointment, he thought I had a boil in my ear, give me drops and antibiotics and I went home. Did some paper work, even took on the Tax returns. Then around 7pm I started feeling really unwell, got a shocking headache went to bed. Had a shocking night sleep.

I briefly got dressed on Wednesday but was soon back in bed. Jane called the GP in the afternoon when I was screaming in pain and had a temperature. The GP arranged for me to go the Ear, Nose and Throat ward for them to assess me.

I was admitted and to be truthfully I don’t remember a great deal until Saturday when my pain was got under control. I was sick a lot! I was also very aware of the prayer that was going on for me and the family. I cannot put into words the spiritual comfort I received. Somehow I could feel the prayer. This also shows the power of the prayer chain as I believe people in New Zealand were praying for us.

The Doctors were fairly mystified as to what was going on with me but on Saturday some results came back which showed I had a blood infection (septicaemia) and I was started on antibiotics straight into my blood stream. This did at least start to get my temperature down from 39+ it had been running at.

On Monday I was taken down to clinic to see the Consultant Mr Dugar, who with the aid of a very fancy ear microscope cleaned up my ear and without hesitation said I had “Bullous Myringitis”. He explained the details and the features on my ear drum with great care to the Senior Registrar who was with him as she had not seen it before. He said it was only the fourth time he had seen it in 10 years but is usually caused by a virus so the source of my blood infection was still unknown.

The next day Mr Duggar came bounding up to my bed looking very pleased with himself. He told me that he had done some further reading and found that “Bullous Myringitis” can be caused by a bacteria and he was now happy that this is the source of my blood infection. He also said the intense pain I had was because the blisters I had were on my ear drum and this causes a disproportionate level of pain. I should expect the pain to require painkillers for many weeks.

I continued on the antibiotics and was sent home on Saturday 17^th December having spent 11 days in Hospital.

I am slowly recovering but must be careful not to do too much

I did manage to do some services over Christmas but a huge thanks to everyone who helped keep “everything” going at a very busy time of the year.

I very big thank you to all who offered support to Jane and the family.

My licensing service at Balby obviously had to be re-arranged and indeed this happened on Wednesday at Balby church. I meant to announce the new date at the Christmas service but only remembered on the Christmas morning service. Many thanks to those who were able to come along. Sorry to those who did not know about the service.

So I start as planned in Balby Parish on New years Day and I believe this is going to be an exciting year for both parishes.

Tis the Season to be …..? Jolly!

2011-12-04T12:04:00.002Z

The familiar words of the song echo through the shops Deck the halls with boughs of holly!!! Historians tell us that the holly was a Pagan symbol adapted by Christians…the spiky leaves remind us of the thorns used to make a crown for Christ, the berries are as red as his blood and so on, we hear it year after year. The next line is perhaps not so thought about, Tis the season to be jolly! Is it? Are we jolly in the Christmas Season? What is the Christmas season? In the Church calendar it is quite clear, we have 4 weeks of Advent and 12 days of Christmas, easy. Not so in the secular calendar.

Christmas starts sometime in the middle of summer. The supermarkets clear their shelves of BBQ things, have a small section for Halloween, but all the time slowly introducing the puddings and crackers.

Not so many years ago Christmas was a very special time, not just because Jesus was born, but because it was the time when people spent ages choosing a single gift to give to somebody, when children looked forward to a new penny and a tangerine in their stocking….when meat was eaten even though it wasn’t Sunday and it wasn’t stewed or minced from Sunday! Various treats were carefully saved for…such things as the Co-op 4d club meant that mothers would spend ages deciding which little luxury would be on the Christmas day tea table. …..the one big theme of Christmas (other than Jesus birthday ) was anticipation and unusual little treats.

Where is the anticipation today? We are told that as much as a third of the food we buy is wasted…if this is the case in the average week then what must the figure be at Christmas? As we walk round supermarkets we see trolleys groaning with the weight of food, groans that are almost as loud as those of the credit card holder in January when they realise that perhaps Scrooge had the right idea…bah humbug!

The posters that have been up in and around church tell us that however we dress it up Christmas begins with Christ. Does it? ~Sadly for most people no it doesn’t, yes the odd hour for a carol service, a Christingle, and of course the Midnight Mass but only if it fits in with the other Christmas stuff.

So this year my question is “How Jolly are you?” How happy, how at one with the our family and friends and neighbours? How Christ filled is your life…how Christ filled is MY life? The Christmas story happened a long time ago but much of the situation is still real today, the homeless teenage mum, the refugee, the people persecuted for their faith in some cases even to death…as we know there is nothing new in this world, we just get better at trying to pretend it is not there and to blank out the horror and misery by applying a layer of bling and glitz…Let’s stop, let’s try to regain some of the loveliness of the season that does not cost money…perhaps it is too late for this year, the rollercoaster is already on the move…perhaps next year? What will the season be? Jolly, less materialistic? Less wasteful? If Christ is at the beginning of it then it will automatically be all of these things….Just put the humbugs away, even Scrooge saw the good in Christmas.

From all at the Vicarage

Memmories and Remembrance

2011-10-30T07:39:00.000Z

November is the month of remembering. All Saints’ Day celebrates men and women in whose lives we have seen the grace of God powerfully at work. It is an opportunity to give thanks for that grace, and for the wonderful ends to which it shapes a human life; it is a time to be encouraged by the example of the saints; and it is a chance to recall that sanctity may grow in the ordinary circumstances, as well as the extraordinary crises, of human living. We celebrate with Communion at St Katherines at 7pm on 1^st November.

There are many countries in the world today where Christians are martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan are facing death threats; Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are other places in the world such as North Korea where acts of persecution take place, but we don’t see or hear of it.

On the first Sunday, 6^th November, it is the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians and we will mark the day with a special service in the morning at Wadworth and the All Age Sunday School at St Katherine’s at 3pm will look sensitively at the lives of Christian Children throughout the world. This is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

The following Sunday is of course Remembrance Sunday and we shall be altering the service times for this day. There will a Holy Communion Service at 9am at Wadworth followed by an Act of Remembrance starting at 10:55 at Wadworth memorial. In the afternoon at St Katherines we have our annual memorial service for those loved one who have died. We will also remember those who have died in the service of their country at this service.

Sunday 20^th marks the start of Prison Week when we have several services focused on Prisons and the Justice system. We have 4 Prisons in Doncaster and a large population of ex-offenders. One of the most serious aspects of being in prison can be the sense of isolation and even abandonment; and one of the most effective witnesses that can be given to prisoners is the assurance that they are not forgotten. ‘When I was in prison, you visited me’, says Jesus and this tells us two things – that Jesus is already with those in prison, as he is with all who live in loneliness (including the loneliness of self-reproach or self-hatred); and that he is waiting for us there.

St Katherine spent considerable time in prison before being executed. St Katherine’s day also falls during Prison week on 25^th November. So we are having all evening Prison Week service at St Katherine’s. On Friday the Church will be open from 10-12 in the morning for those who wish to come and look around. Refreshments will be served. In the evening at 7pm there will a service of Holy Communion with liturgy rich in reference to St Katherine. There will be drinks and refreshments afterwards.

November 27^th is the first Sunday of Advent was we start our preparations for Christmas. All Age Sunday School Christingle will take place at 3pm at St Katherine’s.

Come and remember with us!

Alun

“Giving Poverty the Boot”

2011-10-02T08:35:00.000+01:00

Some of you have asked for more information about “Giving Poverty the Boot” campaign by FARM-Africa which we are making central to Harvest Celebrations this year.

Well during the last 20 years there has been a chronic lack of investment in agriculture. Yet over 80% of people living in remote or rural areas of Africa rely on the food they grow and the animals they keep to survive. Faced with harsh conditions and poor access to essential resources, subsistence agriculture can be a constant struggle.

FARM-Africa provides the training and support that poor rural communities need, to identify and implement appropriate solutions to many of the key problems they face. Families are directly supported to help work themselves out of poverty through improved ways to manage their crops, livestock, forests and access to water.
"FARM-Africa can play an important role by being able to work at the local level, but with an eye on impacts at national or regional level. We need more of this kind of innovation and learning - finding out what works well and where. FARM-Africa is more strategic in their thinking that most small development organisations, in terms of how to get the maximum impact from a limited budget" Derek Byerlee, co-director of the World Development Report 2008.

FARM-Africa work with a wide range of small-scale farmers and herders through our country programmes in eastern Africa.

In Ethiopia, FARM-Africa is working to reduce poverty and raise the living standards of the country’s small-scale farmers and herders through improved management of their natural resources.

FARM-Africa helps rural Kenyans develop innovative ways to manage their natural resources and ensure they have a role in shaping the policies that affect their lives.

FARM-Africa is helping communities living in Southern Sudan to develop sustainable ways to earn a living based on livestock and agriculture.

Working with pastoralist and forest communities in northern Tanzania, FARM-Africa is helping to change policy and increase productivity.
FARM-Africa’s goal is to reduce poverty by helping rural Ugandans develop innovative ways of managing their natural resources.

FARM-Africa’s work specialises in support for three groups of people:

1          More than 80% of rural Africans are smallholder farmers and most rely on less than an acre of land to support their families.
However, with access to the right tools, training and services such as animal healthcare, farmers can dramatically improve their economic position.
2          Many pastoralists live in harsh environments, reliant on rearing livestock to sell for food and other essentials. Frequent droughts and disease outbreaks make this way of life ever harder to sustain.
FARM-Africa helps pastoralist communities to form their own plans to improve their livelihoods, and access the finances to realise them.
3          Eastern Africa's natural forests are fast disappearing. FARM-Africa is working with forest communities helping them to reduce their reliance on timber products to earn money and develop sustainable forest management plans.

So please come along and support our Harvest celebrations this year.

Alun

The Vicar is Leaving his Day Job

2011-08-26T16:55:00.000+01:00

I always get asked the question why I have not left my day job and become a full time vicar. I have always said that God had never called me to leave work but had called me to be a vicar. I have always loved being a scientist in the NHS and if God wanted me to stop working the NHS then he would need to stop me liking it so much. Well this has finally happened.

I remember going on a careers tour of the local hospital labs and just loved it and knew that’s what I wanted to do. So as 16 year old I went to work in the NHS. That was in 1976. For 34 years I enjoyed it, loved my job but in the last year or so I stopped enjoying a job I had always loved. It was almost like God was loosening the ties so I could be free to be a full time Vicar. Through mine and others prayers, I soon came to realise that was what God wanted. So from January 2012 I will be a full time vicar, staying in this Parish but also working in Balby Parish.

Some of you will know that Balby church has a different style of worship than Wadworth or Loversall. Some would describe it as “Bells and Smells” a phrase that refers to the extensive use of incense and the ringing of bells during the service. That does not mean that I will be introducing this style of worship at Wadworth or Loversall. Neither will I be seeking to change Balby church and remove the “bells and Smells” I see beauty in diversity, and hope that through very different services at the three churches we will have something for everyone.

Of course some of you will also know that Mary the mother of Jesus also has a higher prominence in the way the Christian faith is expressed at Balby church. I also know this will worry some of you.

I recently went with Balby church to Walsingham, where there is a shrine to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Although Mary is held in very high esteem, a more Christ centred place you would not wish for! Mary always points to Jesus, every story in the Bible that mentions Mary, focuses our thoughts on Jesus. It is important to realise we do not pray to Mary but ask Mary to pray on our behalf. The church does not consist purely of those alive now but also of those who have died and are in heaven. Just as we ask a friend to pray for us, we to can ask Mary to pray for us.

Likewise it is important to realise that statues of Marys although much-loved are simply a focus for devotion - a visual aid - and not something to be worshipped in itself.

I enjoyed the 4 days immensely made new friends but also had an intensely spiritual time. Balby church go to Walsingham every year, perhaps you would like to join us in July 2012 and see for yourself.

War then and now

2011-08-04T18:44:00.000+01:00

I am indebted to Russell Eastham for much of the information in this months article. Russell is currently training as a lay minister in the Church but has a keen interest in history. He has recently been researching the archives to find out more about the war memorial at Wadworth but has found a number of interesting facts.

Russell noted how one family had all their children baptised before daddy went off to war. Daddy did not return. Despite all the years in between, a different War, different circumstances, some wishes do not change and I have baptised several babies in the last few years before daddy has gone off to War in Iraq or Afghanistan; thankfully all these daddies returned. But the comfort daddies receive from the knowledge their children are baptised does not change.

Russell has also found the magazine from when War broke out in 1914. Revd Blumhardt, wrote:

“The Great War cloud that for years past has hung over Europe has burst, and the whole world stands aghast at the horror and infamy of it all. This is not a time for words, except for those addressed to God in prayer. Every Wednesday a short service will be held at 2pm, this hour has been fixed as most suitable for the women. The men must work in the fields and in the pits, the women must pray, the women must work too and they have begun in earnest.”

A latter magazine gave the following Church announcements:

1. Role of Honour with list of names

2. Injured with List of names

3. The Ladies Knitting circle will meet in the vicarage on Wednesday night at 7 o clock.

What ever happened the knitting circle continued to meet, (actually they were knitting socks for the war effort).

Russell also went this year out to France for the 95^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme to participate in the remembrance events. At one service 2000 people joined hands and the Lord’s prayer was said in three languages. Russell said:

“The many French were first, then those from the UK, finally a single German voice prayed. Many hairs stood to attention on the backs of necks”

It is easy to forget “the other side” in all the suffering and the fact that the Germans thought God was on their side. Each German buckle contained the phrase “God is with us”. If God is anywhere in War, God is with the suffering, the displaced, the landless.

Through the information Russell has gathered we hope to have a small temporary display in church about the War memorial in Wadworth and how it was commissioned and built. Russell is hopeful that he can identify where all those remembered died and are buried. Perhaps some of your relatives were involved. Perhaps you have some information passed on to you by members of your family. We would love to know what you know.

I know no better way to end but with…

“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them. Amen”

So there's a God, what to do about it..................

2011-06-30T17:02:00.000+01:00

I am always surprised when I hear the results of surveys that consistently show around 70% of the population believe in God. I wonder how much people who assert in such surveys the presence of God, have thought about the implication of their answer. God’s existence must surely elicit a response of more than passive acceptance. If any single fact should make you sit up and want to know more, then acknowledging God’s existence must be the most supreme of stimuli.

So what should be our response to acknowledging there is a God. The existence of something completely outside our understanding? What else can we do but worship….that surely has to be our first response, the response of mortal humans to a vast eternal God must be to show that we respect and cherish God’s existence.

Yet so many want to just nod in God’ direction, give a passing glance and carry on as if nothing had changed. Hang on a minute, you’ve just acknowledge the existence of someone who is powerful beyond your understanding, is time it’s very self, is the universal constant behind the whole universe and you’ve just carried on living as nothing had changed? Let’s put it another way.

I love my science fiction, and of course a common theme in lots of movies is the visit to this planet of a lifeform not as we know it, a lifeform that is more powerful than us, a lifeform that is cleverer than us, a lifeform that will destroy humanity. What is the usual response, well it is defiantly not a vague nod and life carries on, it is usually panic on a mass scale when we realise there is someone around that is more powerful than humanity!

So why, when we acknowledge the existence of God, who is even more powerful than any alien species, do we carry on as if nothing has changed? Should we not at least be trembling at the knowledge that God exists? From there should we not be moved to show that we respect and cherish God’s existence.

There was a point in my life when I did not believe there was a God but when I changed and realised there was a God, my first response was to bow down and worship because what else could I do? In the face of a vast eternal God what else can you do……..

Acknowledging God’s existence is not a private matter it must be a public declaration of thanks. Christians have always done this by gathering together and worshiping together. Offering our praise and thanks to God for our very existence.

Think of it this way. If you fell in a river and were drowning and someone rescued you. What would be your response? If you had an operation that saved your life, what would be your response? If you had a heart attack and someone revived you, what would be your response? In all these examples my response would be overwhelming gratitude. Big thanks are usually public affairs. A desire to shake their hand and ask could I do anything for them? Yet these acts are nothing compared with the gratitude we must have for our existence! Every day we should remember the gift of life that God has given and we should be grateful.

I urge everyone reading this to think deeply if you believe there is a God and if you do, think even more deeply what your response must be…… Alun

June Something for everyone......

2011-06-03T20:15:00.000+01:00

During June we see the Church Season of Easter draw to a close as we celebrate both Ascension and Pentecost. We shall be using Book of Common Prayer for our Ascension Day celebrations at 7 pm on the 2^nd June at St Katherine’s Church Loversall. It will be trip down memory lane for many as we celebrate Ascension day with a Choral Evensong and Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion. The Singing Group who have formed to sing at Weddings under the watchful direction of Ted Wetton have been practicing hard for this service. So it would be great if you could join us and for those who have never experienced it, a chance to see how we worshiped in the past.

During the period between Ascension day and Pentecost we will be doing 4 prayer walks. Each will take an hour. Is there anything local you would like to pray about? Don’t know how? Come and join us, we can help! You may have thought it was only possible to pray when you are kneeling or sitting, but the Christians have always prayed when they are on the move.

Rogationtide is an ancient festival to invoke a blessing on fields, stock and folk which involves praying while walking the parish boundaries. It is commonly been called “beating the bounds”. It also helped everyone to remember the boundaries before maps were commonplace. Along the way prominent trees often became places for preaching and were called Gospel Oaks. Locations of various landmarks - stones streams, hedges, ponds were impressed upon the children.

The rogation days traditionally fall on the four days from the fifth Sunday after Easter but we are going to alter this ancient custom and walk around parts of the parish on 4 days.

5^th June 2:15 Walk from Woodfield Plantation to St Katherine for 3pm service. Kids welcome. Meet outside shops.

6^th June 7:30 Woodfield Plantation Meet outside shops

8^th June 7:30 Alverley Meet outside shops

11^th June 2:00 Wadworth Meet outside church

A packed June continues when, once again, both of our lovely churches will be open during the Heritage Inspired Weekend. Both Churches will be open on:

Saturday 18^th June 2 - 4

Sunday 19^th June 1 - 3

Then we finish a busy June the following weekend when we celebrate St John the Baptist with what the church calls a patronal festival.

Friday 24^th June 7:30 Wadworth Community Centre

Sing a long a Show….stopper

Saturday 25^th June 2pm Wadworth Church Community Centre and Churchyard

Garden Party with all your favourites Lucky Dip, Tombola, Raffle, Books.

Sunday 26^th June 9:30am St John the Baptist Church

Holy Communion and celebration of St John the Baptist

Last month I mentioned commemorating the 95^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Details are still being finalised but there will be a short act of remembrance at 11am on Sunday the 3^rd of July.

June has something for everyone and I hope you can join us for at least one of the above events.

Alun

War Memmorial, St George and persecution

2011-04-26T21:22:00.000+01:00

I am reliably told that the War memorial at Wadworth is unusual for the speed with which it was erected post war and its size relative to the population of Wadworth. I wonder if the relative of anyone still living was involved with erecting the memorial, perhaps there are some photos that still exist? It would be good to capture the story for posterity. Are you from one of the families who paid for the memorial? Please come forward, I am sure many would be interested in hearing the story of how the memorial was paid for and erected.

The 95^th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme takes place at 7:30am on the 1^st July this year. I am told that both Wadworth and Loversall villages had men killed at the battle on this first day. We will hold a short memorial service at 7:30 pm on the 1st July by the War memorial in Wadworth. All welcome.

As a Welshman I am proud of my national identity. St David’s day in Wales is always a big celebration. Yet in England more attention seems to be paid towards St Patrick (perhaps largely due to some clever advertising by a notable brewery which has Irish origins). What about St George? As ever this years celebrations were not a grand event. In fact as the traditional date was during Easter weekend, the actual date was transferred to the 2^nd May, adding to the confusion. Perhaps we need to think now about a better a celebration next year. Is this what people want? There is a need to celebrate being English without the need for it to be an expression of racism, which is the reason I expect current celebrations are so muted.

England has so much to celebrate, does it really need a Welshman to show you how to do it? If as Vicar I can co-ordinate to get something going next year than I happy to do so. Your views please.

Recent unrest in many Middle East countries has highlighted the ongoing persecution of Christians in these countries. It might surprise some readers that Christians still make the ultimate sacrifice and die for their faith throughout the world each year. Many more are tortured, beaten imprisoned and abused. The parish has, through an organisation Open Doors, had information displayed in church about persecuted Christians for many years. However, over several months, I have been moved by prayer and reflection to suggest that we set up a more prominent area in church to focus and enhance our prayer response for our fellow Christians who suffer because of their faith in Jesus.

Some will notice, the small altar has been moved back to the position in front of the organ. As this is next to the window dedicated to the first Christian martyr, St Stephen, this area seem to be an ideal setting to collect and display information on current Christian persecution throughout the world. Focused services could also take place in this area. We will be discussing this at PCC soon so please make your views known.

When is it going to be Easter this Year?

2011-04-09T18:22:00.002+01:00

A little known fact about the year 1928 shows that the date of Easter has been a topic of debate in the past as well as now. Believe it or not a law was passed in 1928 allowing the date of Easter to be fixed as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. However the Churches in the UK have chosen not to enact the legislation.

The last 3 years have shown that perhaps this needs to be reconsidered with Easter falling on 22^nd of March in 2008 and 24^th of April in 2011. This does cause an lot of problems in diaries for schools and hospitals. A March date for Easter also casue the church calendar to be fairly cluttered after Christmas.

So why does the date of Easter vary, you may ask? Let us start with the Spring Equinox which is the 21^st March. Then let us take the next Full Moon after the 21^st March, which is the 18^th April. Easter Sunday is then the next Sunday, 24^th April.

Easy isn’t it?

All this messing around with the date of Easter can easily distract from what it really is all about…the resurrection of Jesus.

Before we get to Easter Day we follow the drama of Holy Week, the story of how Jesus ends up being killed on the cross for us.

The week is full of characters and incidents all revolving around Jesus. Betrayal by Judas, Sentenced by Pilot, Denied by Peter, Arrested by religious leaders, a last supper surrounded by his friends.

The drama starts on Palm Sunday (17^th April) with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a Donkey, then on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm St Katherine’s we will have 3 services of reflection as we follow the story and drama of Holy week.

That takes us to Maunday Thursday and 7pm Wadworth as we move through the highs of the Last Supper and the lows of the Garden of Gethesename. We will continue after the service with an extended time of pray.

We pick up the story at St Katherines on Good Friday at 2pm for the last hour as Jesus dies on the cross. At 7pm we have a service of darkness at Wadworth, as we reflect on the death of our Lord.

Then we move to Easter Day, when we celebrate the point that human history changed, death was defeated, Jesus - risen, triumphant and victorious. We celebrate at 9:30 at Wadworth with Holy Communion and at 3pm Loversall with an Easter Praise Services as we explore the events of the resurrection of Jesus.

If you are reading this and wonder what all the fuss is about? Why so many services, then come along and experience for yourself Holy Week. Enter into the services, but be careful it may change your life for ever.

What shall we give up?

2011-03-05T12:57:00.000Z

Sermons are a bit like meals, rarely remembered but if you go without them you soon loose weight – spiritual weight. Sermons feed the soul, spure the thought process and sometimes, just sometimes change our lives. There are few meals I can remember with exact detail just like there are only a few sermons I remember with any detail. Often a smell wafting buy rekindles the memories of a long digested but memorable meal. Likewise reading a piece of the Bible jolts us back to a sermon preached on the passage.

As Lent approaches I draw to mind some of memories of Lenten seasons from the past. Most urge the absentenace of something as a discipline. Sales of chocolate are reputed to fall during Lent. Giving something up for lent challenges our imaginations and we somehow often fail the test. What does God really want us to give up?

Two sermons during lent from past years come to mind. One by Sue Hope circa 1997-8 and one by Jonathan last year, both on the temptations of Christ, neither of which I can remember in other way, apart from I felt heartly fed afterwards!

In a world that propels us to be upwardly mobile, where success, power and wealth are held in high regard, Jesus turns his back on the temptation to be, as Henry Nouwen once put it “powerful, relevant, and spectacular”, and not fall for the great allure of Satan himself, as we humans often have and will………

One Lent, I gave up bringing paper work, home. How would I cope at work I thought? And yes, did I get everything done that I should? NO. Did it matter? NO. Did the jobs get done eventually? YES. It was a liberating period in my life. It was not my idea, it came from God. All too often we decide what to give yet we should ask God what to give up. Some Lents I don’t give anything up because I don’t feel called to do so.

Some pointers as to what you like to offer to God as a Lent discipline are:

Anything we feel you must do. Anything you depend on but do you real need it? Perhaps you need a break from something?

I feel God is calling us to give up something this Lent as a Church. The Peace. Instead of sharing the Peace with everyone. Lets stay in our pews and continue straight into the offertory hymn.

Sometimes it is just as important to start doing something in Lent as to stop doing something. Ask God to prompt you. What have you put off that you should really have done?

This Lent let us avoid the temptation to try to be “powerful, relevant and spectacular” and instead focus as the letter to Philippians puts it “on taking on the nature of a servant”.

St David's Day and Service for Hospice

2011-01-26T17:21:00.000Z

27^th February 2011

3 pm St Katherines Loversall

We celebrate St David and also remember the work of St John's Hospice and those who they have helped.

Many Welsh people wear one or both of the national emblems of Wales on their lapel to celebrate St. David: the daffodil(a generic Welsh symbol which is in season during March) or the leek(Saint David's personal symbol) on this day. The association between leeks and daffodils is strengthened by the fact that they have similar names in Welsh, Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek").

We plan to fill St Katherines Loversall with Daffodils for the service. We invite those who have been touched by the work of St John’s Hospice to come along to the service. During the service there will be an opportunity to rember people who have died at the hospice. We hope those attending will bring a bunch of daffodils and during the service we will assmbe a display using these daffodils.

We will make a collection at the service for the work of the Hospice.

Seek God First: worry about answers latter!

2011-01-02T07:26:00.000Z

Epiphany is a word which is little strange to the modern ear. It is not a word in common usage, and unlike Lent and Easter is not immediately recognisable as a season in the Christian year. Even to those in the Church of England it is perhaps the poor relation of other seasons coming after the almost exhausting celebration of Christmas and the austerity of Lent. Blink and it can be missed. Yet Epiphany is there to make us focus on something really important in our faith….. the appearance of Jesus in the world.

Epiphany starts with the wise men seeking the birth of a King and finding the baby Jesus. The wise men travel a long way, it is a declaration that Jesus is coming for everyone, not just those in Israel. The wise men had read in ancient prophesies of a King who would come and who would change everything, they had seen in the skies a strange star and then went seeking this King, to pay homage. The wise men were trying to understand their world, just as we try to understand our modern world, and there would be appear to be no shortage of theories and explanations for everything. There is some truth in the idea that humanity is getting too clever to seek God. This is especially true if we seek God by issues. How can there be a God if there is so much suffering? I cannot believe in Adam and Eve and therefore I cannot believe in God? I remember being in this place, a rational scientist who had rationalised God out of existence. My life changed when I had an Epiphanal moment, when I sought God without any questions, without any conditions, without any preconceived misconceptions. For a moment in my life I suspended the rational and explored what I saw as the irrational and found that God existed.

Epiphany also sees us celebrate the Baptism of Christ, when God publicly acknowledges Jesus as his Son. God is too big to understand that is why he sent his son Jesus, so through Jesus we can start to understand God.

Why does it matter you may ask? What is the point of believing in God, searching him out? I am happy as I am, you may say. Well that was me also, I thought I was happy, I thought I was doing OK. But you know there are our plans and then there are God’s plan for us. This is the 3^rd part of Epiphany, the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana, transformation. God wants to transform our lives, and through us this broken world.

Wondering what I am talking about? Want to know more? Want to ask questions? Have you had an Epiphanal moment? Did you ignore it and just carry on? Do you have other questions? Do want to seek God and park all the other questions? Well we are having an open evening on the 11^th January at St John the Baptist at 7 pm. Come along ask your questions, you may even get some answers! Cannot make it that night, then tell me when you can, and we will have another evening.

Happy Epiphany!

Alun

Vicar loses Pony Tail

2010-12-19T18:03:00.000Z

After this mornings service the Vicar had his Pony Tail surgical removed by hair dresser Pauline. His wife gave the final blow as the the Pony Tail was severed.

So far £895 has been raised so far.............can you add to this?

Vicar to lose pony tail!

2010-12-12T12:36:00.000Z

St John the Baptist Wadworth has been in existence since at least 1180. However there are many features that suggest the church was more likely around in Saxon times. Either way the church is important part of the History of the Doncaster area.

The best way to keep a church building maintained and repaired is to keep it open and alive with use! Our ancestors obviously did not need the toilet as often as us in modern times so toilets were never put in churches. Neither did our ancestors seem to worry too much about disabled access.

We are currently raising money to put a toilet in church and also improve disabled access.

The toilet will be an eco-friendly trench design involving lots of worms.

To raise money I hope you will sponsor me to cut off my pony tail. If you want me to shave my head then help me reach my target of £1500.
Please give via this link
http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/alunprice

Christingle Cancelled

2010-12-04T15:27:00.000Z

Due to the weather, access to St Katherine's Church Loversall is very difficult. Tomorrows Christingle Service is therefore canceled and will be arranged for another date.
Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.

The Comfort of the Nativity

2010-12-01T20:19:00.000Z

We find the nativity scene a comforting place, a familiar picture. A woman gives birth to a child as women have been doing since time began. Joseph has witnessed that birth and there is nothing different about it, unless it be that it occurred in abject circumstances, in a cave in which animals are kept in cold weather. Joseph has had his dreams, he has heard angelic voices, he has been reassured in a variety of ways that the child born of Mary is none other than the Awaited One, the Anointed, God’s Son. But still belief comes hard. The labour of giving birth is arduous, and so is the labour to believe. Mary has completed this stage of her struggle, but Joseph still grapples with his.
The most prominent figure in the scene is Mary. Orthodox Christians call her the Theotokos: God-bearer or Mother of God. Her quiet but wholehearted assent to the invitation brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel has led her to Bethlehem, making a cave at the edge of a peasant village the centre of the universe. He who was distant has come near, first filling her body, now visible in the flesh.
We see angels who are worshiping God-become-man. Though we ourselves are rarely aware of the presence of angels, they are deeply enmeshed in our history and we know some of them by name. This momentous event is for them as well as us.
The three wise men who have come from far off, whose close attention to activity in the heavens made them come on pilgrimage in order to pay homage to a king. A king who belongs, not to one people, but to all people, not to one age but to all ages. The wise men represent the world beyond the Jews.
Then there are the shepherds, the simple people summoned by angels to respond to Christ’s birth. Throughout history it has in fact been the simple people who have been most uncompromised in their response to the Gospel, who have not buried God in footnotes. Not the wise men but the shepherds were permitted to hear the choir of angels singing God’s praise.
The portrayal of Christ’s birth is not without radical social implications. Christ’s birth occurred where it did, we are told by Matthew, “because there was no room in the inn.” He who welcomes all is himself unwelcome. From the first moment, he is something like a refugee, as indeed he soon will be in the very strict sense of the word, in Egypt with Mary and Joseph, at a safe distance from the murderous Herod.
We return at the end ,to the two figures at the heart of the nativity. Mary, fulfilling her destiny, has given birth to Jesus Christ, a child who is God incarnate, a child in whom each of us finds our true self, a child who is the measure of all things. It is not the Messiah the Jews of those days expected — or the God we Christians of the modern world were expecting either. God, whom we often refer to as all-mighty, reveals himself in poverty and vulnerability. Christmas is a revelation of the self-emptying love of God.
In our culture, a sense of the presence of God is increasingly rare, and many people see Christ as a long-dead, myth-shrouded teacher who lives on only in fading memory. Yet even skeptics celebrate Christmas, at least in a limited way. The problem of miracles doesn’t intrude, for what could be more usual than birth? If Jesus lived, he was born, and so with little or no faith in the rest of Christian Understanding we can celebrate his birth whatever our degree of faith. Perhaps in the end this feast will lead you back to faith in all its richness. Will you be rescued by Christmas?
If you feel you have been rescued by Christmas and have questions, we are running the “Y” course again in January. If you are interested then either ring the Vicarage or email me on fatheralun@hotmail.com.
Alun

Creation, Harvest and other matters...

2010-11-01T07:42:00.000Z

As I write, we have just had a very successful Harvest time at church, involving Wadworth School, Wilsic School and Loversall Nursery. It was a community event with over 500 people in church over the 4 days. Many thanks to all those who helped in the preparation, the taking part and distribution of food afterwards.

During this Harvest I felt moved by God to reflect on God’s gifts to us, but also, by extension, what our response to God’s gifts should be in our worship. Through the Christian year we don’t have a specific focus on Creation and our response to God’s gifts to us. Bible readings direct our sermons in the direction of Creation or Thankfulness but it is just at Harvest and the other odd Sunday through the year.

Originally an Australian idea, that has caught on in other parts of the world; is to designate a given 4 week period during September or October to a Creationtide season. This seems an eminently good idea to me, during which we can incorporate the traditional Harvest Sunday but also allows the theme for the words and prayers we say in church to be around Creation for a 4 week period. More pray and planning is required before this becomes a reality but I would welcome people’s views around the idea of a Creationtide Season.

There were other promptings that came my way during Harvest and thinking around Creationtide. These were that the whole church’s activity should reflect a reverence and care for creation. Others churches have done this by becoming “A Fair Trade Church” and by thinking about the environment through the “Shrinking the Foot Print” campaign

Becoming a Fair Trade Church means committing to use only Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits for all services and meetings in church and to move towards using Fair Trade products e.g. fruit wherever possible.
There is also a requirement to have Fair Trade stall in church and to promote Fair Trade during Fairtrade Fortnight and through the year when ever possible.

The “Shrinking the Foot Print” campaign makes the church think about how it interacts with its environment but also includes some concrete plans by the national Church as an organisation:

• Carbon reduction target of 80% by 2050, with an interim target of 42% by 2020
• Annual carbon and energy reports for all parishes and dioceses by 2016
• All church buildings to have carbon footprints calculated and recommendations made by 2012
• Advice for all parishes on choosing green energy tariffs by 2010
• ‘Eco-twinning’ between UK and developing world parishes, faced with early effects of climate change
• New Climate Justice Fund offering aid to churches in the developing world

During the next few months I would welcome your comments about the above as we think as a Church about our day to day interaction with God’s Creation.

Alun

September Musings

2010-09-08T08:19:00.000+01:00

Summer holidays are over and minds inexorably start to think about Christmas! I guess Tescos and the other supermarkets will soon have lots of Christmas stuff to sell. But hang on minute or several, there is 4 months to go before Christmas, at church we have many an event before we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. So what’s occurring…….

Well September is a month packed with goodies and we start on Sunday 5th September with a morning service (9:30 Wadworth) focusing on the World Church and in particular to those Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith, while this sounds like a dry subject, come along and hear some of the brave stories of faith from around the world. Afterwards please join us as we write letters to those imprisoned for their faith in Jesus.

In the afternoon at 3 PM (Loversall), we have our monthly All Age Sunday School when we continue our series of “Who were they?” by looking at who was Joseph? Come along, shake a tambourine, bang a drum, learn who Joseph was, and even have a drink and biscuit afterwards.

On Thursday 9th September we start 4 days of when the church is open as part of a national initiative called “Heritage Open days”. We have 2 fascinating churches in the parish, come and look at the history in your midst.

Both services On Sunday 12th will focus on our Christian heritage, at 3 PM (Loversall) we have a very traditional service with a sung Evensong and Communion. The ladies who sing at Weddings have been practising so we will be admirably led vocally with Ted Wetton playing on the organ. At this service we will also celebrate St Katherine, some of you will realise this is a bit early but I thought it would make a splendid occasion.

A new house group will start on Tuesday 21st September 7.30pm at the Vicarage. We will be following a course about “What’s so Amazing About Grace” All are welcome to join. Details from Jane or Alun.

We finish September on the Sunday 26th with the 9:30 service (Wadworth) devoted to “Back to Church Sunday”. What’s all this about you may ask? Well for various reasons some people stop coming to church, this Sunday is focused at particularly on those people who want the opportunity to return.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it takes the son a long time before the son realises he would be better off with his family. Some times it takes awhile for us to realise we have Prodigal Hearts and really want to return to worshiping God but that journey back, even if it is just up the road or up the hill, can be difficult

If you have a Prodigal Heart, one that yearns to find out there is more to life, one that recognises there a God but does not know how to respond,, this could be your moment, follow the urges of your Prodigal Heart, come to church, come to worship God, we will help you, God will help you.

The service will be very user friendly, so if you have stopped coming then please come along. If you know someone who has stopped coming then bring them along with you. We want you back! Let your Prodigal Hearts guide you.

Robin Hood in reverse

2010-07-22T20:40:00.001+01:00

In the recent Budget, Overseas Aid was one budget that was left uncut. However you may be staggered to know that more money leaves poor countries than they receive in aid, investment or debt cancellation. The techie term is ‘illicit capital flight’ and the numbers are staggering. The European Network on Debt and Development puts the figure between $500 and $800 billion a year – one dollar from us to them, seven dollars back.

It leaves governments of poor countries without the means to pay for basic services, like clean water, primary schools and basic healthcare. Money also leaves poor countries through corruption and criminal activity - that probably accounts for about 40%.

But it’s the rest – the 60% of money flowing out of poor countries illicitly via tax dodging by unscrupulous businesses operating internationally.

Multinational companies are really good at finding new ways to make money – that's what they are there for. But some go to unethical, even illegal, lengths.

By reporting just a fraction of the profits they make in poorer countries, and hiding the true amounts offshore, these unscrupulous businesses reduce their tax bills – and cost the developing world billions.

However, the cloak of silence under which so many corporations are able to operate means billions of dollars leave developing countries without anyone noticing.

Some of the world’s largest and richest corporations are investing in some of the world’s poorest countries, reaping the benefits of world high prices in commodities, cheaper labour and access to raw materials. And yet poor countries aren’t sharing in the wealth and profits generated by these companies.

In just one form of tax dodging – trade mispricing – the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose members are the world’s richest economies, puts the cost to the developing world at at least $100 billion.

To put a stop to tax dodging by unscrupulous multinational companies - there needs to be greater transparency about how much profit, and tax, multinational companies pay in the countries that they operate in. Christian Aid has started a campaign called “Trace the Tax” to raise awareness of the problem.

One way to do increase tax transparency this is to change accountancy laws to make country-by-country tax reporting a legal requirement. Country-by-country tax reporting would mean that every company has to announce how much profit it makes, and how much tax it pays, in each country that it does business in. It would stop money being taken out of poor countries like Zambia and poured into rich tax havens such as Switzerland.

Greater transparency of companies’ tax payments will give poor country governments the ability to ensure companies pay what they owe. It will help them clamp down tax dodging. And greater tax revenue will mean more money to spend on basic services that will transform and even save people’s lives. There is:

Enough to reach the UN millennium development goals several times over.
Enough to save the lives of 350,000 children aged five or under every year.
Almost twice the amount poor countries receive in international aid.

Please add this campaign to your prayers.

Alun

This summer will you Blow the Whistle... on Persecution?

2010-06-20T16:58:00.000+01:00

This summer the world will be watching. 32 teams in 8 groups, 64 matches in 10 stadiums but only one winner. By the time you read this the World cup will be well under way. But in some countries fans won't get a chance to follow their team.
North Korea, Algeria and Nigeria all appear on Open Doors list of 50 countries where persecution of Christians is hardest. What is Open Doors you may ask?
The ministry of Open Doors began in 1955 when God called a young Dutchman to act on the basis of Revelation 3:2: "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die." He went to Poland and discovered a church under threat behind the Iron Curtain, and desperately longing for the Word of God.
So Brother Andrew became God's Smuggler, taking suitcase after suitcase of Bibles to the persecuted church, facing great danger, but determined to bring encouragement and hope. He has never forgotten the words of one believer: "Your presence here with us is worth more than your ten best sermons."
Right now millions of Christians are at risk of persecution around the world. Open Doors is active in around 45 countries, supplying Bibles, leadership training, Scripture-based literacy programmes and support for Christians suffering for their faith. And they want to continue to encourage the church here in the UK to play its part: that means not only responding to the needs of the persecuted church, but also learning from their experience of what it means to follow Jesus.
Just to highlight what is going on in these 3 countries playing in the World Cup. This is the current state of play for those Christians living in North Korea, Algeria and Nigeria.
NORTH KOREA has a population of 23.9 Million and is the most hostile place on the
planet for Christians, up to 70,000 Christians are held in labour camps.

Kim Jong-il’sregime controls everything. In September 2009 Kim Jong-il called a ‘100-day battle’ to strengthen the economy. Everyone had to work actively for the state. Anyone found on the street without a valid reason was sent to a labour camp. The North Korean regime especially targeted secret Christians. They have arrested and tortured Christians, reportedly using some for testing biological or chemical weapons.

NIGERIA (NORTH) has a population of 154.7 Million Twelve northern states in Nigeria follow Shariah (Islamic law). There have been repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence killing many people.

More than 100 Christians were killed during 2008. In November, violence in the city of Jos saw six pastors killed, 40 churches destroyed and 369 Christians seriously injured.

In March this year Muslim Fulani herdsmen with machetes attacked three Christian villages near Jos, leaving over 300, mainly women and children, dead.

ALGERIA has a population of 34.9 Million. Evangelical Christians are still seen as a
danger to the country. Persecution actually decreased in 2009 after international
pressure following the closure of a number of evangelical churches, but many church leaders believe persecution may increase once international attention lessens.

In December, 50 Muslims stopped Christians from attending a Christmas
service and threatened to kill the pastor in protest at a new church building in their
neighbourhood.

If you want to know more about Open Doors speak to myself or Jane Redden or go to www.opendoorsuk.org/blowthewhistle to watch a film you will not see on SKY, ITV or BBC this summer.

Our fellow Christians need our help please pray for them.

Vicarage Garden Party

2010-06-14T07:24:00.005+01:00

Come along to the

Vicarage Garden Party

Vicarage Drive, Wadworth

Saturday 19th June 2010

to be opened at 2.00 pm by Wadworth May Queen

Church open for tours from 12:00

Bring your favourite Teddy to join the Picnic – you could win a prize!!

Stalls include

Cakes, Bric-a-Brac, Books, Tombola, Games, Raffle, Lucky Dip.

Refreshments including:

Strawberry Cream Teas

Admission 50p

Taxing Matters!

2010-05-28T19:28:00.001+01:00

As I write this we have a new government. A Coalition government! Whether you are happy or sad at the result is not going to change what occurs over the next few years. One thing that is for certain in my view, is we will need to pay more tax in one form or another.

Tax has always been an emotive issue, as far back as the idea was conceived! Even in the time of Jesus 2000 years ago, Tax was a sensitive issue, the Roman’s taxed their conquered territories to pay for the lavish lifestyles of the imperial court in Rome.

Jesus annoyed a lot a people, largely because he stood up against hypocrisy and the abuse of authority. Jesus' enemies kept watching him closely, because they wanted to hand him over to the Roman governor. So they sent some men who pretended to be good. But they were really spies trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong. The spies said to him,

"Teacher, we know that you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?"

Jesus knew that they were trying to trick him. So he told them,

"Show me a coin." Then he asked, "Whose picture and name are on it?"

"The Emperor's," they answered.

Then he told them,

"Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God."

Jesus' enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer and kept quiet.

So what belongs to God?

I think we owe God enough time and space each day for prayer, meditation, contemplation, so that we are always in communion with God. We owe God (and ourselves) a prayerful contemplative spirit. Many of us are on roller coasters of job, busyness, compulsive activity that do not allow us the time for God that we need, and God deserves. Many of us need to get off our own roller coasters.

Listen to God in Isaiah: "I am the Lord; there is no other." God wants to be at the centre of our lives. We need to spend a lifetime naming and rooting out of our lives the subtle idolatries that keep us from God.

I think God wants us to have a passion regarding our relationships -- our families, our co-workers and neighbours -- the stranger with whom we are not supposed to have eye contact.

We owe God to live in a spirit and posture of praise and thanks. All is gift -- all is grace. All has come to us freely from God. With the Old Testament psalmist, constantly we should praise God for life. St. Paul begins his letters with prayers of praise for the people that he worked with, and subsequently wrote. Each person in our lives, even difficult people, is a blessing, a grace. God deserves praise for these gifts. In fact, it would be good if we let people know how grateful to God we are for them.

What is God's? I do think God wants us to become holy. What is holiness? It is : prayerfulness, a discerning spirit, a critical awareness, a passion for relationships and communion, servant hood toward each other and the world, a reconciling spirit.

In holiness, let us give to God what is God's.

Birthdays, a concert, a very long cycle ride and 10 days of prayer

2010-04-20T23:21:00.001+01:00

May promises to be a busy month with Birthdays, a Concert, 10 days of prayer and ten days of cycling as we see the launch of our “Give a Penny to Spend a Penny Appeal”.

From 1st May to 13th May, Church Warden and keen cyclist, Duncan MacKenzie, is going to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for Wadworth Church! He will cover a 1000 miles in 13 days.

“IRON MAN” Duncan says
"We had one pinnacle blown down onto the roof and there are other restoration works needed now. Not only that but we would like to put in a toilet and give better access to the church for all. This costs money. How about sponsoring me a penny a mile?"

You can give by seeing Duncan or going to
http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/duncanmackenzie

Also in aid of the Church Restoration Project, we have a concert on the 8th May at 7:30 PM in St John the Baptist Wadworth by Tickhill & District Male Voice Choir. Please come along it should be a good evening.

Now birthdays come and birthdays go, but May is always a good Birthday month in the Vicarage with both me and Jane being May babies! This year the vicar hits the BIG 50. The other big birthday in May is the Churches’ Birthday which we celebrate at Pentecost.

Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit afresh on the Apostles in Jerusalem with a force and power which kick started the Church and propelled the belief in Jesus Christ as God’s son and saviour of the world from just a few followers in Jerusalem to 2000 years later, a third of the population of the planet, several billion people.

We celebrate Pentecost on the 23rd May this year. The previous ten days we are answering the Bishops of Sheffield call to 10 days of prayer for a renewal of vision, resources and blessing on the churches in our area.

Locally we are answering the call to prayer in a number of ways and events which are given later in the magazine. I would like to call you attention to one or two of them now.

Since Pentecost in 2008 I have felt God asking us as a Parish to focus on the book of Acts and we have done this by reading through and studying the Acts in our afternoon services. During the week of prayer we shall be using Acts as our theme for worship.

We have a total of 7 events in the 10 days, starting on Ascension Day on the 13th May. Throughout the 10 days we shall add different pictures about the events in Acts at each service building to Pentecost Sunday where we can see the whole story of Acts in Art.

In particular on the evening of the 18th May we shall have a prayer workshop, with different ideas to help people pray. This will include different pictures to help people reflect further on the stories and events in Acts. During the evening we shall have short prayers and reflective music to assist people in their prayer. Basically you can come and do your own thing and explore different ways of praying. So even if you don’t normally come to church then come along an explore with us. People can come and go through out the evening as there will be natural breaks for people to leave discreetly.

On Wednesday the 19th May we are taking the prayer on to the streets of the Parish with a prayer walk around Woodfield Plantation, you can either pray your own prayers or cards will be provided. We will be meet on Wellington Road at 6:30 PM.

On Friday night at St Katherine’s Loversall we are going to a have service with a difference, again based round the book of Acts. If you think church is boring and not for you, then come along and see how different a church service can be but still retain our Christian Heritage.

So come along and help us pray for Renewal of Vision, Resources and Blessing.

Alun

He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

2010-04-09T14:09:00.000+01:00

Jesus' death and burial are carefully documented. Jesus is actually dead. Jesus' disciples are sure of it. They have seen the soldiers finally pierce his side so that water and blood run out. They have handled his lifeless corpse. They have anointed it and wrapped it carefully and laid him in a tomb blocked by a heavy stone. The Gospel writers give us this detail so that we can know with certainty that Jesus' resurrection is no error, no mistaken identity, no fluke.
It is no wonder then that the disciples were frightened (in the upper room together), running away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. They were down cast, tired, weary and frightened. Their leader, Jesus was dead, horribly and painfully executed. We, who known what happened, approach Easter differently. If you are like me, Easter is eagerly anticipated, there is no apprehension, just joy as we celebrate the Resurrection.
However, we can use how the disciples responded to a dawning understanding of what was happening around them to good effect in helping our own confidence in our faith as we live our life.
The empty tomb at Easter reminds us that nothing is able to separate us from God's love — not even death. So many of us find absence difficult, yet the fact that Jesus was not present led some of the disciples “to see and believe”.
Thomas on the other hand, reminds us that it is ok to wrestle with our own personal faith, to have doubts ,to seek, but unlike for Thomas, absolute proof 2000 years later is an unattainable truth. The disciples at the tomb believed because there was nothing in the tomb, Jesus was missing. Thomas believed because he could see and feel the holes in Jesus's flesh. What convinces us, emptiness or presence?
Faithful disciples travelling from Jerusalem to Emmaus had just seen the Lord. Before they recognised Jesus, they had been just as despondent as their Jerusalem counterparts, who were hiding in a locked room. The faithful Emmaus friends ran immediately back to Jerusalem to break the pall of despair: "Jesus is alive!" While they were speaking, the living Lord appeared to confirm that their faith had not been in vain.
The weary faithful travellers on the road to Emmaus remind us that in our weariness we find Jesus there, at the table, breaking bread with us. We find Jesus in the most unexpected places.
Through the Sundays of Easter, let us use the stories of resurrection to remind us of our faith and that we belong to a cloud of witnesses that grows every year.

There continue to be many despondent disciples hiding behind locked doors, waiting for an encouraging word, waiting for some way to know that their faith has not been in vain. The Easter season is a time for us to encourage one another with words of faith and testimony: The Lord has risen indeed! Alleluia!

Give a Penny to Spend a Penny Appeal Launched

2010-03-29T15:21:00.005+01:00

1000 miles in 13 days

From 1st May to 13th May, Church Warden and keen cyclist, Duncan MacKenzie, is going to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for Wadworth Church!

Duncan says
"We had one pinnacle blown down onto the roof and there are other restoration works needed now. Not only that but we would like to put in a toilet and give better access to the church for all. This costs money. How about sponsoring me a penny a mile?"

You can give by going to
http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/duncanmackenzie

Mothers’ Union News!

2010-03-22T08:00:00.001Z

NEW VENUE
Mothers’ Union meet the second Thursday of every month at 7.15pm. From April the 8th meetings will take place in the Parish Room at St John’s church Wadworth. The meeting is a way of keeping up to date with various activities, both in this parish, and further afield. There is usually a speaker…the topics being varied and interesting. Please contact Miriam Taylor 01302 854291 if you would like more details.

NEW EVENT
Starting in may the Mothers’ Union will be holding an informal “Coffee & Chat” for pre school children and their parents or carers…The meetings will be held in the community centre at Wadworth, between 9am and 11am The first one will be on Wednesday May 26th and then monthly on the last Wednesday.

Y ?

2010-03-10T21:18:00.001Z

We are well into Lent now and many of you will have, as is tradition, given something up for Lent. However, Lent is also a time for reflection and questions. Life can often seem beyond belief sometimes, doesn't it? Totally outside our control or ability to understand. So we keep our heads down and keep moving. So much so that many struggle with any concept of a God who can be really known.

But supposing - just supposing - there is a bigger picture. One that made sense of all we think we know already. One that could help us fulfil our deepest longings. Could there be more outside the frame, a bigger picture you've never seen? Is it possible the 'God' who many call on when things go wrong might really exist? And could this even be the key to making sense of everything else? Now many have a deep faith and a personal relationship with God, but many do not. Even the faithful have questions, in fact a questioning faith is a strong faith in my view.

During Lent we are running a course which helps reflection on life’s bigger questions. It is calls the Y Course, and it runs for eight weeks tackling the questions that really seem to occur again and again

Is there more to life than this?
If there's a God what could he be like?
If Jesus was so good why was he executed?
What happens when we die?
Can anyone really know what God is like?
Why so many religions and so much suffering?

A shape like the letter Y was used centuries ago to symbolise God. And The Y Course recognises that life's great issues cannot be addressed on a human level alone. The Y course carefully, but with great insight and often humour, takes the reader on a journey of discovery of the clues that reveal that there is definitely more to life than this!

Come along, be yourself there'll be no embarrassment through being asked to do anything strange or religious. It should be a stimulating experience. Enjoy a thought-provoking talk on a big issue – followed by a lively discussion in a small group. Everyone is free to participate in the discussion or if they prefer simply to listen. Each participant is free to express their opinions, doubts or questions ; we do insist that everyone questions and views must be treated with respect and try to ensure that no one hogs the discussion!

The first session is Tuesday 2nd March at the Vicarage, so come along!

Wadworth Tower

2010-02-06T15:59:00.002Z

Just discovered that the tower at Wadworth Church is one of only 5 from Sheffield diocese (the others are Conisborough, Fishlake, Sprotborough, Thorne and Tickhill) that make it into total of 221 recognised "Great Church Towers of England" in a book published in 132 by FJ Allen. Not a lot of people know that!

Parish Changes - An Update

2010-01-30T08:54:00.002Z

Early January saw sudden snow falls which plunged most parts of the country into chaos. How one of the most complex and sophisticated societies could be brought to a halt by something as small as a snow flake should make us all think. Small things that come in great numbers can cause much chaos, whether it is the little pig flu virus or the small delicate snow flakes.

One of the victims of the weather was the first of the new mid week services at St Katherines. This was a shame but we re-arranged for a later date in the month. Some of you may be wondering what effects the changes we made to service times and strategy as we started to implement “Towards a Mission Shaped Parish”.

Compared to previous years, the first 3 months saw higher attendance if all services were included and this was with a snow hit carol service. The number of communicants were lower but only returning to numbers common a few years a go. Most pleasing were the high number of people attending church who do not normally attend.

Numbers of course, do not paint the whole picture and it has been very sad that some of the congregation find the 9:30 service too early to be able attend. The PCC was asked to consider a time between 9 and 10 am and opted for 9:30 on the advice of those receiving and giving lifts. Why it was OK one week but not later, I do not understand, particularly when the same people managed to make 9:30 services at St Katherines. Clearly the journey between Wadworth and Loversall is more than one mile in peoples hearts and minds.

Given the levels of persecution that some Christians in the world face, times of service seem to be futile points of conflict. When people walk miles to attend services, the distance of a mile should be a humbling distance. Given that in some parts of the world, members of a congregation are missing not because they cannot have a service at their time and place, but because they are in jail, hospital or murdered for their faith.

I also need to slay a few myths that are circulating about the reasons why we are implementing a “Mission Shaped Parish”. The document that was discussed by PCC can be read for yourself either by downloading a copy or by requesting one from me in writing.
Myth 1: I have heard it said that the changes have been made because we need to save money. THIS IS NOT CORRECT
Myth 2: The Vicar is too lazy to do 2 services on a Sunday morning. Of all the accusations this seems the most ridiculous. Those who know me know that the least of my sins is laziness. SO THIS IS NOT CORRECT EITHER
Myth 3: The Vicar intends to close St Katherine church. This cannot be further from the truth, the changes have been undertaken to sustain St Katherine and make services more accessible to greater parts of the community.

I have no regrets over the changes that have been implemented, I am disappointed in the behaviour of some members. All I will say is that come and join us in the many services that still take place at St Katherines and help us tell the stories of Jesus to new people.

Snow, toilets and other things

2010-01-10T08:12:00.002Z

The heating is now working very well at St John's

The week has been very disrupted by the snow this week. We had to cancel the Epiphany service on Wednesday. We will arrange another mid week communion towards the end of January.

Many still turned out to clean out the area behind the organ and the at the back of church. I can now for the first time see how a toilet might fit into church. We also now have extensive storage space behind the organ.

The probation service have made very good progress in the first week but there is extensive scafolding in church.

A Christmas Story

2009-12-10T20:41:00.000Z

The story of the baby born in a manger is one that annually inspires celebration, giving and excess. One wonders why the simple story of a homeless peasant family has evolved into the complex celebration we call Christmas.

The characters of the story reveal some of the eternal attraction that draws us into the drama. Fathers are drawn to Joseph, who tries to protect his pregnant wife. He desperately searches to find somewhere they can rest. He sees the anxiousness on his wife’s face, he knows by the lines of worry that the time for the child to be born is soon. Place after place has no room for them, but at last they have a stable, a place to rest. Mary gives birth, Joseph looks on , proud; but then come the travellers with warnings. So as with all fathers, the desire to protect urges Joseph to flee with Mary and baby to Egypt.

The Shepherds come first. They help us share in the hope of the birth of the baby. Shepherds would have struggled to pay the bills, struggled to bring up their families, money would have been tight, many of them were regarded as “undesirables“. The Shepherd life was a difficult one. It is one that many can relate to in these time of “credit crunch”. The shepherd represent the hope we all feel and want to feel at the birth of the child.

The wise men arrive, probably when the baby is now a toddler, they seek understanding. They are rich, intelligent but that is not enough, they seek to understand what is going on! Their wealth is not enough. They know there is more than just our earthly existence.

Mothers relate to Mary, every mother will know the worry of a Childs birth and then imagine that you are not at home, you are in a strange place and you cannot find anywhere to sleep for the night. Your baby is due and you want the best for your child. You are frightened about child birth, it is your first, and neither your mother nor any of the women in your family are close to you. You are worried and your deliver your baby in a manger in a stable. Mary remembers the promises that the angel Gabriel gave nine months ago, the hope and expectation that Mary has, but who visits firsts? Kings, princes, rules, no lowly shepherds.

So most have someone to relate to in the Christmas story, Fathers, Mothers, the rich the poor, the hopeful those seeking more about life and perhaps God. All big surveys suggest a large proportion of the population believe in God. But how do we get to know God? Well the answers is the person at the centre of the Christmas story, the baby. Not just any baby but the baby Jesus, God’s own son. But why? But why would God come into the world as a lowly child in a peasant family? Because God knew we all struggle to know God, he sent his son to live and breath with us, to feel the trial and tribulations with us, to know what it is to be tempted, betrayed, scorned, wrongly accused, loved.

However we are drawn to the Christmas story, the person we need to be drawn to more than anything is the baby, Jesus. So if you want to know God, get to know his son first, after all God’s son said “Believe in God, believe in me also”.

Happy Christmas
Alun

November - a time the Remember

2009-10-24T18:02:00.000+01:00

Perhaps the defining moment of this decade, the first of the new millennium, happened very early, on the September 11th 2001. The Terrorist attacks in America have shaped the whole decade with the resulting global “War on Terror”. The cost has been stark:
Afghanistan
865 Americans, 11 Australians, one Belgian, 219 Britons, 131 Canadians, three Czech, 25 Danes, 21 Dutch, six Estonians, one Finn, 35 French, 30 Germans, two Hungarians, 20 Italians, three Latvian, one Lithuanian, four Norwegians, 13 Poles, two Portuguese, 11 Romanians, one South Korean, 26 Spaniards, two Swedes and two Turks.

IRAQ
4,352 Americans, two Australians, one Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, five Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, three Latvians, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, one South Korean, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians

This year alone, at the time of writing, 84 service personnel have died. What should we do? How can we respond? There is sadness, there is despair, there has been heroism, there is hope. But what can we do?

During November we have Remembrance Sunday, this year by the cenotaph in Wadworth, there will be a sea of crosses, to represent these deaths this year and perhaps to bring home the human cost of the “War on Terror”. I make no judgement on the rights and wrongs on why we are where we are but we I feel the need to recognise the bravery of our forces.

I remember reading when the death toll for Afghanistan that reached 217, those 217 soldiers is exactly the number of aircrew in 31 Lancaster or Halifax bombers of WWII which could be lost in just one night in a raid over a heavily defended target. RAF bomber aircrew knew that the odds of surviving a tour were less than 30% but they always held on to the belief it would not be their aircraft that was lost.

In WWI on a quiet day on the Western Front, British casualties were around the 2,000-mark each day.
That does not diminish anyone’s death or sacrifice in the current conflict, indeed the whole point of Remembrance Sunday is to remember everyone that has died in armed conflict and not to forget.

Therefore this year I am pleased we are correcting a mistake and rectifying an omission in our services. When I came just over two years ago, I was mystified that at my first Remembrance Sunday there was no roll of honour at Loversall. I didn’t read any name and no one asked any questions as to why I didn’t read any names. Then during the big clean up at Loversall before Easter in 2008 I found a Roll of Honour, weeks later, a woman approached me while I was in church to point out that that the wrong brother was listed as dead on the roll of honour. During storage the Roll of Honour had also become a bit “worse for wear”

Now Russell, our reader in training, has an interest in all things historical, and with a bit of research on his part, we now have identified the right brother that was killed. Russell has also identified where and when the soldiers died and were they now rest.

So for this Remembrance Sunday we have produced a revised roll of honour with more details and will be putting it in the Memorial book bought in Remembrance of Garth and Nan Collin. I will be used at the 9:30 service AT ST KATHERINES ON THE 8TH NOVEMBER. SERVICE AT THE CENOTAPH IN WADWORTH WILL START AT 10:55.

Changes are afoot........

2009-09-25T22:50:00.004+01:00

Jane the children and I have been in the Parish for just over 2 years. In one of my early sermons I talked about the mission of the Parish and remember describing how the motorway junction formed a cross in the parish. During the first 2 years, I returned to the theme of God’s mission in the Parish and we have done some work to more fully understand the parish within which we all live.

Some will remember previous magazine articles about exactly where our parish boundary ends, some will remember putting pins on a map at Pentecost showing where they lived, some will remember me then adding where all weddings and baptism and funerals were all from. Soon after we started a register of who was attending church. You may remember another article about who came to church and were they lived.

Over the first two years I have prayed, read and sought God’s guidance on what all the information means and what we are to do next. At the PCC meeting in September we discussed a document I had written “Towards a Mission Shaped Parish” which brought together all the work that had been done and added some discussion. There was a broad acceptance of the document with a minority unhappy about some of the conclusions.

Key decisions are:

1 Have one morning service at 9:30 at St John the Baptist which will be the focus of traditional Anglican worship in the parish
2 Have the afternoon service at St Katherine’s, within which over time, we will look at alternative worship styles and forms which will appeal to wider and different parts of the population
3 A midweek communion service at St Katherine’s will be held at least once a month
4 Re-organise our money into a parish account

I know not everyone will be happy at these decisions but they must be seen in the wider context of God’s mission in the parish. If you want a copy of the whole report then please ask me,

All churches talk about attracting more people to church, especially the younger age groups, but we often fail to remember the huge cultural changes that have taken place in the last 60 years.

We live in “Changing Times”
• Sunday has changed
• How we relate to others has changed – neighbour and network
• Culture is now diverse and church is often not central in the mixture
• Christian faith is less known
• Spirituality is in, Religion is despised
• Often today we have to start at the beginning
• Greater fragmentation & mobility
o so no one kind of church will do
• A network society with “place” and “territory” weakening
o From “where” to “how”
• Christendom is over
o So the Jesus story is not known
o Culture doesn’t bring people to our door
• Post-modernity
o Tolerance is tops, over personal convictions
o Most agree Modernity is over
o Choice, feeling, experience are in
So religion is seen as choice

Several recent reports/books/pamphlets argue:
1. The existing parochial system alone is no longer able to deliver its underlying missionary purpose
2. We need a mixed economy – no longer promoting one way of being church
3. There are only expressions – previous and fresh
4. All churches need re-shaping in this light

That quote …
“We have to ask whether we are capable of moving towards a ‘mixed economy’ church, recognising church where it appears and having the willingness and the skill to work with it”
The Archbishop of Canterbury in the General Synod, July 2003

Mixed Economy means growing a mixture of inherited and emerging expressions all of which are becoming Mission-shaped

Society has changed – so must we

• UK is becoming more diverse – in many ways
• To be a Church for the nation is a call to embrace the diversities
• No one form of church will do
• Shift from monopoly to diversity

Learning to be a “mixed economy” Church
• We don’t stop all we are doing
• Existing ways, done well, can reach the nearest 40%
• AND
• Creating new ways to connect with the furthest away 60%
• A “Mixed Economy” Church is traditional and fresh expressions all facing outwards

We are therefore concentrating on what we do well, and trying to do other things better and differently. These are exciting times and I hope you will join me as we explore God’s mission in the parish and reach out to all.

Alun

Back to Allsorts

2009-09-04T08:58:00.000+01:00

As I write this, supermarkets have just changed their marketing focus from summer holidays to “Back to School”. As you read this, parents will be cheering as very soon the marketing promise will become reality and children will be going back to school. Children, Teachers and support staff may not be cheering as loudly if they are cheering at all.

For some this will be a new experience, whether as pupil starting out in class or teachers taking up their new posts. Some will be moving schools; some will be starting examination years. For some it will be their final year in school.

Our first Sunday in September we focus on education in our prayers and services. All age Sunday School at 3 PM at St Johns Wadworth continues our theme of looking at the Christian perspective of songs fm the musical Mama Mia. This time we look at “The Winner Takes it All” and how in apparent defeat with death on the Cross, Jesus rose victorious on Eater day. After All Age Sunday School all will be encouraged to attend the Great Big Tea Party in aid of persecuted church world wide.

Few people now realise the Christian influence in the formation of our education system. All denominations in recent centuries working tirelessly to enable the dream of all being able to read and write. Much is unappreciated in pure Heritage terms of our Historic Churches. The second weekend in September from Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th we are taking part in a national initiative of the English Heritage. On Thursday 10th, Friday 11th and Saturday 12th Wadworth St John the Baptist will open in the morning 10-12 and Loversall St Katherine will be open 2 – 4. Refreshments will be available, as will members of the congregation to highlight some of the churches history. On Sunday 13th both Churches will be open simultaneously from 3 to 5 and will be followed by a short act of worship. So please come along and discover the great history on your doorstep.

We can all learn much from the church history and the variety of problems church has faced. Many Christians world wide face persecution daily and this is nothing new. Ever since the church was born at Pentecost, Christians have faced persecution.

In the 3rd century after a particularly brutal persecution under the Roman emperor Diocletian, Christians were ordered to turn over their Scriptures to Roman authorities. Some had obeyed this order. whilst others had refused altogether and suffered torture or death as a result. Many did something in between, such as hiding or fleeing. After the persecution ended, the church had to decide how to treat people--especially bishops--who had turned in their books or fled to avoid persecution.

If a bishop had complied with the order or fled, could he still serve as a bishop once the danger was over? Or if he had lost his authority as a bishop, should he be deposed? Should he be retained but made to do penance? And the sacramental acts he performed afterwards--were they valid? If he had ordained a priest or helped consecrate another bishop, were their orders valid? The church was split over this, especially in North Africa.
The central question was whether the authority of a bishop depended on his personal holiness and conduct, or on the office conferred by the church. Bishop Donatus (hence this heresy is known as Donatism) and his followers had argued that the personal holiness of individuals was what validated an office. A lapsed bishop or priest, therefore, no longer kept that authority.
A famous Bishop of the time, Augustine, on the other hand, took the view that church authority conferred in the consecration and office of a bishop held true, even if the bishop’s personal purity fell short of ideal. Such a bishop ought to do penance, but his acts as bishop were valid and carried the church’s full authority. And the orders and authority of anyone ordained or consecrated by such a bishop were valid. Augustine won the argument and this view is still the official church position today that a Deacon, Priest or Bishops actions are not in validated by their subsequent lack of personal holiness as they duties are carried out for God as officers of God’s church. God’s Church and we must remember it is God’s Church not ours, is bigger than any individual, whether it be Deacon, Priest or Bishop.
That does not mean Vicar, Priest, Deacon or Bishop can do as they like but it does mean that their actions as officers of the church still stand if they do go “bad”.
I started this article with a “Back to School” theme and I end it with a “Back to Church” theme as the last Sunday in September is “Back to Church Sunday”.
For Many of course church attendance is mere history itself and there are many reasons why people have stopped coming to church but if you used to some to church and have stopped, then think again, we want you back!
If the church has offended you in the past then please accept my apologies on behalf of the church. No human should stop anyone going to church, whether it is their past actions or ongoing hurt. If a vicar/priest/deacon/bishop has done something then come and talk about it and let’s try and sort out the problem.

Getting Married in Church

2009-08-11T20:16:00.005+01:00

For many years it has not been easy to get married in the Church of England. As the population has become more mobile, more and more children do not live where they were born and where there has been a family association with the local church.

This has caused a lot of frustration and tension within families. Now recently the law has been changed to make it easier for couples to get married in a particular church. So you can now get married in a church if one of you:

was baptised in the parish concerned or
was prepared for confirmation in the parish or
has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:

has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents or grandparents:

was married in the parish

Phew that was a long list!

Now the other thorny issue around marriage is if you have been divorced. Will you be able to get re-married in Church. Well in this parish possibly. I have conducted marriage services when one or both couples have been divorced, even when they have been divorced on more than one occasion. I do not automatically say yes and will need to ask a series of questions to establish certain facts.

Some of the reasons I am open to remarriage of people who have been divorced is the following:

A husband kills his wife, confesses and spends 15 years in prison. When he is released he meets another woman and wants to get married. If either of them fits the criteria earlier in the article then I am duty bound to allow the couple to marry.

A couple wish to be married and neither have been married before, but have both been in previous significant long term relationships with other people during which children have been born. If they again fit the criteria mentioned earlier then I am duty bound to allow the couple to marry.

Yet, a man marries his childhood sweet heart and they are married for 20 years but both have strong careers and they grow apart and get divorced. I am NOT duty bound to remarry either of this couple.

Many whom come to be remarried were not married in church previously.

I believe in a God who forgives all our mistakes, all our sins.

I am glad I have remarried couples, the repentance I have seen, the relief I have seen, the happiness I have seen, has been remarkable. Seeing God’s love flowing in people’s lives makes me happy to be part of the couples road to happiness

I suppose a divorce is often a time of great sadness, pain mixed with relief that it is all over. But a divorce often leaves a person yearning for healing and to whole again. I believe that often remarriage in church is one step of many that helps people to find wholeness again.

Sea Farers Sunday

2009-07-12T08:22:00.000+01:00

Well this is my first Blog ever! I hope this will become the easy way to discuss happenings in the Parish. Today I will announce that Russell Eastham has been accept as a Reader in the Church of Enlgand and will preach today SeaFarers Sundays about his experiences working for the Mission to Seafarers.
I am excited about this development as I am sure Russells ungoing work with the Mission will enrich the Parish and enhnace the colloborations we have with the Prison Service.
Time for me to go to church.

Alun