| Deanery Newsletter - 28th July, 2010 |
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Dear all, I hope you are all well! Last Wednesday Bishop Mark came to dedicate the re-ordered parts of St. Mary's Barnard Castle. As he travelled between the different parts of the church to pray a dedication prayer - the chapel, aumbry, font, nave, labyrinth, servery and vestry he was met at each part by representative people from the congregation. For example, when he went to the font he was welcomed by people associated with the 4 O clock service at which baptismal families are encouraged to attend, and at the new servery by the people on the coffee rota, at the labyrinth by the working party etc...you get the picture! This I thought was a novel and engaging way of doing it. A good congregation which included the Mayor of Barnard Castle celebrated this important event in the life of the biggest church in our Deanery. The next day........250 children from Green lane CoE primary school packed into St. Mary's Barny. They had already done a project on the labyrinth the week before and were really excited to get going and use it. They all used it in the end and enjoyed themselves immensely. Wings for worship - Another plug! This is an exciting series of workshops that will be seeking to equip and give confidence to our people to read, lead intercessions, lead worship and generally enrich our worship experience. Our Deanery is launching this venture in cooperation with Darlington Deanery. The venue will be Gainford church and the dates and programme will be as follows. All start at 7pm. There are five modules. If you think you would benefit, you don't have to come to them all - you can choose just one or two if you like but because the modules build on each other we would prefer that you could sign up for them all if possible - and we ask you must register so we know exactly who and how many are coming. I am attaching the flyer to this email but you should be getting them in your churches soon anyway (One date change in November). Wings for worship has a "flying" theme and the five modules are as follows; They will be practical and participatory
Monday 11th October - preparing for take off Monday 1st November - Getting airborne (Note this is changed from a previous given date of the 8th November) Monday 10th January - Being the co-pilot Monday 7th February - Flying solo Monday 7th March - Breaking the sound barrier.
If you would like to register please do so via St.Andrew's church office, Haughton Green, Darlington DL1 2DD; phone 01325 468142 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You had the main leaflet attached last week so now I’ve now attached the booking form to this email as well but they should also be available in your church soon anyway. Next Sunday's gospel reading - Luke 12: 13-21 I know some of you have variant OT readings and some don't have the Epistle - all according to local tradition, and some have a psalm and some don't, so usually I'll just comment on the gospel reading unless something really grabs me. And even then next Sunday you may be marking St James instead and you won't have this one either! Still, Plough on regardless. This particular gospel reading this week tackles one of the hardest and most contentious areas that we have to deal with if we are to follow Christ in our modern society. It puts us at odds with just about the most central motor of modern society - the pursuit of Money and possessions. Everything in our modern globalised economy is geared towards making money. If we are not growing we are shrinking. Growth and the increase of Gross Domestic Product are the arbiters of national well being and success and happiness is calculated in monetary terms and we are all a part of that prevailing culture. Though to be fair I don't think people were much different in Jesus' time either. Life then was a continual struggle and the gap between rich and poor was a real chasm and the poor were perhaps much more obviously exploited. There could be a tendency to consciously or unconsciously, find ourselves measuring people's worth by how financially successful they are, but if we catch ourselves doing it we should note that this is profoundly un-Christian. Two of the main planks of Jesus' teaching is that economic and social justice is a priority and a person's worth must not be equated with how wealthy they are. But on the more general subject of money and possessions, let me be frank. I want money. I want security. I want exotic holidays. I want a big house, I want an off road car, I like eating out in restaurants. I want those things - don't you as well?. I haven't actually got any of them but I still want them - and I would be lying if I said otherwise. The question is......can I be content without them..... and can you? Jesus says here today "Take care. Be on your guard against all kind of greed, for ones life does not consist in the abundance of possessions". Here as elsewhere Jesus directly criticises wealth/possessions. Elsewhere he is even more direct and pronounces woes upon the rich and blesses the poor. In today's reading wisdom and wealth definitely do not go together, and Jesus equates wealth with folly. As I say - a serious challenge to our culture. Does wanting a lot of money make me a bad Christian? Possibly. But in my defence I definitely don't think that wealth has any correlation with worth. And while I'm happy to admit to wanting money and possessions, I hope I can say that it has never entirely shaped and dominated my life. After all its about priorities isn't it? How we use our wealth is also important. Generosity is very important. With Justice being a dominant value in the Bible, I would say that wealth gained at the expense of other people, and thinking that the rich are innately better because they must have been blessed by God is quite abhorrent and Jesus says so in no uncertain terms - God shows no partiality.. Jesus apparently said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven yet it is far from certain if Jesus was opposed to wealth in principle or only in so far as it becomes for us a snare that catches and corrupts us - makes us insular, self satisfied and selfish. After all Jesus attracted rich people to his way. While he may not have had many possessions himself his wandering ministry was doubtless supported by people of means - usually women. As I say, in the end I suggest it is surely a matter of the priorities we have in life What really truly consumes and fires our life - now there is a question! Yes I want wealth but the injunction is to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". In this little matter of money I fully understand why the title "Israel" means literally "struggle with God". Let battle commence! Although our human appetites may be insatiable for life, love, experiences, money, power, possessions etc... we also know that however much we get we never seem able to satisfy our desires anyway. This appears to be the human condition, so I'll leave the last word to Karl Rahner who put it wonderfully. "In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we come to understand that here, in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished" A motto for life. The lighter side! This quote from an excellent article in last week's Church Times was making a serious theological point but the images just made me laugh; "Contrary to the popular prejudice that the Almighty can do whatever takes his fancy, there are actually all sorts of activities that are beyond his reach. He cannot join the Girl Guides, comb his hair, tie his shoelaces or pare his fingernails". And some more wit and wisdom from American comedian Steven Wright... * Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect * I bought some batteries but they weren't included * Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time * My theory of evolution is that Darwin was adopted * It's a small world but I wouldn't want to paint it Thought for the day. This is not mine (too short - Ha ha) but is by Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma means "Great Soul". The seven social sins; Politics without principle Wealth without work Commerce without morality Pleasure without conscience Education without character Science without humanity Worship without sacrifice The Prayer for Today is quite apt when considering what I was saying about money. It is by the mystic Julian of Norwich (1342 - 1416) Lord thou knowest what I want, and if it be thy will that I have it, and if it be not thy will Good Lord do not be displeased, for I want nothing which you do not want. Love and Peace Martin
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