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Parish Magazine Letters from 2010

The Magazine Committee is pleased to announce that once again there will be no increase in the cover price of the Staplehurst Parish Magazine for 2010. This is the fourth successive year that we have been able to keep the price at just 90p per issue. However in keeping the price down we are relying on existing subscribers to continue to support the Magazine in order to cover our anticipated costs for 2010.

In a time of recession it is important to look at things in terms of value for money and we believe that the Parish Magazine remains extraordinarily good value for 90p! You can make it even better value by paying an annual subscription of £9.00 for all twelve issues - that's twelve for the price of ten. To qualify for the reduced rate you must pay before the end of February; after that you will have to pay the full price of 90p per issue. Please pay by cheque if possible - it makes it easier and safer for all concerned and we will know exactly whose money we are handling.

Cheques should be made payable to “All Saints Staplehurst PCC” and handed to your distributor who will ensure the magazine treasurer receives it.

If you are not already an annual subscriber, but would like to take out a subscription, just contact Roy Barclay on 01580 890247 and he will arrange for the Magazine to be delivered to your door each month.

Thank you, and we look forward to your continued support in 2010.
The Magazine Committee

Clergy Magazine Letter - September 2010

Dear friends,

Recently I heard a story from another parish in our diocese which really made me think.

A corner of a country churchyard had become a rubbish dump. For generations the flower ladies, as those tending graves had thrown dead flowers into this far corner and there were little poly bags of dog mess there and all kinds of paper and plastic rubbish. The growing heap had almost reached a number of children's graves.

So the members of the church organised a working party to level and seed the site, plant some rose bushes and place a new bench to face the beautiful view.

Shortly after this purge, one Friday morning, the handful of people attending morning prayer found a small tent pitched in precisely this corner. It belonged to a young man from the nearby town whose life had fallen apart. He had lost his job, his partner, and his young son, and needed some time to reflect before moving on to find a new life elsewhere. It was agreed with the community warden that he could stay over the weekend. We'll call him “James”.

That Sunday happened to be the Annual Parish Church Meeting followed by a bring-and-share lunch. James was invited. He came and talked to lots of people. He returned for choral evensong, sharing in the singing and listening intently to the sermon. Afterward one member of the congregation invited him home for a shower. She and her husband had a friend coming to supper. James joined them and was given a warm, comfortable and dry bed for the night. He was profoundly grateful and on Monday morning packed his tent and left the village.

What a wonderful story of Christian acceptance and hospitality. But sadly that wasn't the end of the story!

At the next PCC meeting all hell broke loose. There was talk of children's graves being desecrated; local people being put at risk, and especial outrage that the rubbish heap that had just been banished from the spot was replaced that weekend by James and his tent.

How often we churchgoers lose sight of what we are here for, and indeed, of the “good news” we can talk about so easily, but don't always exhibit by the way we live.

No wonder Jesus told that story with the punch-line - “For when I was hungry you gave me food; when thirsty you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home; when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help and when in prison, you visited me. Truly I tell you: anything you did for one of my brothers here, however insignificant, you did for me”.

Do we practice what we preach?

With much love

Gill

Clergy Magazine Letter - August 2010

Dear friends,

As I write this letter to you I am caught between worrying about last week and worrying about next week. Maybe you know the feeling? You see, there are all sorts of things that have cropped up in the last few days which are cause for concern and need my response. Then, there is also a pile of papers on the floor of my study which need sorting and reading before my trip to York tomorrow for what looks like being one of the most challenging meetings of our General Synod. And, of course, on my return there will be the church fete to get ready for, and... and... and... !

I wonder how many of you find your waking hours are spent mostly worrying about what has happened or worrying about what will happen. I have the feeling I am not alone. Those of us of an anxious disposition often seem incapable of fully engaging with the here and now. Even those who are not quite so anxious probably spend a good deal of their lives looking backwards or forwards, with pleasure or regret.

Maybe people like me, need to be reminded every so often of Brother Lawrence. Nicholas Herman of Lorraine was born of peasant stock in 1614. Poverty and despair drove him into the army, where he was assured of board and lodging. The sight of a winter tree bereft of leaves brought about his conversion when he was 18 years old. Then, leaving the army disabled from an injury, and seeking more of God, he entered a monastery in Paris as Brother Lawrence. He was set to work as a skivvy in the cookhouse, and later the sandal repair shop.

Of course the monastic life revolved around the rhythm of organized prayer times, but Brother Lawrence revolutionised this idea. He found a new way of praying which has become known as “Practising the presence of God in the present moment”. He said, “The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

So for us, he suggests prayer isn't just the attending of the Sunday Eucharist or a hurried morning or evening prayer. It is a continuing commentary on all that we see, hear and experience each day. Sometimes its just holding out to God for a second or two, the thoughts or people running through our minds. I am reminded of one retired parishioner who said she said her prayers of intercession as she watched the needy places and people on the TV screen. And what about the spontaneous hymn of praise when you see something of real beauty. Some experiences might evoke a comment to God about injustice or we might just want to have a moan to him. Maybe we can't let go of something we said or did and a quick prayer of penitence could clear the air.

St. Paul said that we should pray without ceasing. That sounds impossible, but maybe it isn't if we follow Brother Lawrence's approach. Savouring the moment and holding it out to God sounds a much wiser way of living than constantly worrying about the past and the future.

With much love

Gill

The Pastoral Letter - July 2010

Dear friends,

Being given the opportunity and privilege of writing the monthly letter for the Parish Magazine is not one that I would have anticipated even a few years ago. The reason I am doing so lies in the fact that, if all goes according to plan, on the 18th July I will be licensed by Bishop Trevor in the Cathedral as a Reader in the diocese.

For the last three years I have been studying, writing essays, attending seminars and tutorials, all those things that I had thought I had long put behind me, to gain the necessary diploma. I will admit, it's been a struggle at times, but I have been wonderfully supported by Gill and my local group drawn from the congregation.

So, as Lesley enjoys what we all hope is a long and happy retirement on the golf course and in the wee church at Pitlochry, I shall be trying in some way to continue her role in the teaching and preaching ministry, which is what the office of Reader is all about.

On Sunday 6th June, D-Day, there was a Service of Remembrance for the airmen who operated from Staplehurst Advanced Landing Ground in 1944, and an official unveiling of a memorial commemorating them. The fields adjacent to Chickenden Farm were home to men from Squadron Nos. 401, 411 and 412 RCAF and 363rd Fighter Group 9th USAAF in the run-up to D-Day. The creation of the memorial is the work of a team led by Ted Sergison, to “provide a focus for pilgrimage and remembrance for years to come.”

And it is right that those who travelled thousands of miles and laid down their lives to defend the freedoms that we all too readily take for granted, should be remembered and honoured “before endeavours fade”. Every year we pay homage with wreaths laid in St. George's Chapel on Remembrance Sunday, but it is very fitting that this permanent memorial dignifies the now peaceful place from which they went forth.

“Greater love has no man than this”, Jesus said, “that he lay down his life for his friends”. As Christians, we believe that Jesus laid down his life for all of us, to free us from tyranny, not the tyranny of a perverted ideology, but the tyranny of our own selfish natures.

A few weeks ago, I was very privileged to meet another airman who took part in that conflict, Stuart Sendall-King. If you were to ask the average person which was the world's busiest airline, I very much doubt if you would get the correct answer, which is MAF, the Mission Aviation Fellowship; yet, on average, every three minutes, somewhere in the world, a MAF light plane takes off carrying vital medical supplies, personnel and cargo to “reach the unreachable”. Stuart, you see, was one of a number of Christian airmen who had the vision and the call to use their skills, born in conflict and destruction, to “beat their swords into ploughshares”, to use aircraft to reach and aid people in hours in situations where the time of delivering help was previously measured in weeks, owing to impassable jungles, mountains and swamps. His book, “Hope has Wings” is a wonderful account of that mission. You should read it.

Peace be with you,

Kevin

Clergy Magazine Letter - June 2010

Dear friends,

Last month, I spent ten days staying in a friend's flat on the south coast of Brittany. The flat overlooks the tiny fishing harbour of St Jacques with a suntrap of a balcony. It was a real holiday or “holy day” - a time set apart for doing nothing much, except for recharging rundown batteries.

For many hours each morning we lounged on the balcony and did practically nothing. We watched. We listened. Sometimes we felt the intense warmth of the sun and sometimes the chill of the breeze. I am reminded of St Benedict's instructions at the beginning of his “Rule of life” for his monks, “Listen my child, with the ear of your heart”.

We spent time watching the sky, monitoring the tides, listening to the halliards rattling against the masts of the myriad of tiny craft moored below us. When the tide was out, we watched the shrimpers and people scavenging all over the rocks in their waders, hunting for shell fish. When the tide was in, we watched the crew of the little fishing boats emptying their crab and lobster pots.

Picking up my reading material seemed like a really energetic exercise! But whilst there I read a story which spoke to me then, and continues to speak to me in the busyness to which I have now returned. Maybe it will speak to you.

At a Metro station in Washington DC, a man started to play the violin. It was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During the rush hour it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station. After three minutes a middle aged man stopped for a few seconds and then hurried on. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip tossed into the box by a woman without slowing her stride. A few moments later someone leaned against the wall to listen, but after looking at his watch began to walk quickly on his way. The one who paid most attention was a three year old boy. His mother hurried him along but the child stopped in front of the violinist. Reluctantly the boy was dragged away looking back all the time.

During the 45 minutes that the musician played, only six people stopped and stayed for a while. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one applauded him or showed any sign of recognition. The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the world's finest musicians. He had played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million. The event was organised by “The Washington Post” as part of a social experiment about perception, and the priorities of people.

I have a feeling I'm not the only one who, in our frenetic multi-tasking world, needs to stop, to look and to listen if we are to hear the beautiful music all around each one of us. What a gift!

Have a good summer

Gill

If you would like to look at previous Clergy Letters see below: