Discussing leadership with Year 3 children

On Tuesday I was interviewed by Year 3 children at Aldborough E-Act Free School as part of their project about leaders. This is how I tried to introduce my role:

"My role is to be the Vicar of St John’s Church in Seven Kings. That means that I lead a group of Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is God and who are trying to follow the teachings and example of Jesus by serving others. 

My role is to help them do this in two ways. The first is to encourage them in their faith. To gather them together for Church services where we pray to God, sing worship songs, read from the Bible and talk about the meaning of what we read. Getting together like this encourages people to do these same things - pray, worship and the read the Bible - when they are not at Church. 

The second part of my role is encourage people to serve others. At St John’s we do this in three main ways. First, we let groups in the community use our building for things like dance, karate, maths, yoga, singing as well as for groups like playgroup, lunch club and brownies. Second, we organise activities and groups ourselves. We have a Pram Club for children under two, a Contact Centre for children whose parents have separated and a project helping people set up new businesses. Third, we get involved in local campaigns to improve the area. So, we helped get a new library for Seven Kings and to re-open the toilets in Seven Kings Park. At the moment we are helping try to lifts installed at Newbury Park Station and to keep the A&E Department at King George Hospital. 

St John’s is part of the Church of England, which is the national church. The Church of England is there for everyone in the country, not just those who are Christians or who come to Church. 

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Graham Kendrick - The Servant King.

Seven Good Joys

Knitted nativity at Parkview Court

 

Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight below

This week at St John's Seven Kings we have: sung carols at Parkview Court and along Devonshire Road; hosted a Christmas performance by Aldborough E-Act Free School; held a Christmas Assembly for Downshall Primary School; had a Youth Group Christmas Party; and, tonight, held our Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight. Here is the cribbed homily I gave during the latter service:

‘The Seven Joys of Mary’ or 'Seven Good Joys' is a traditional carol about Mary's happiness at moments in the life of Jesus, probably inspired by the Seven Joys of the Virgin in the devotional literature and art of Medieval Europe. I’ve come across this carol only recently, as it is included on Kate Rusby’s excellent Christmas album While Mortals Sleep.

The carol has a simple, repetitive but beautiful structure:

“The first good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of one
To see her blessed Jesus
When He was first her Son.
When He was first her Son, Good Lord;
And happy may we be,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
To all eternity”

That structure is repeated for all seven joys. There are different British and US versions of the carol which taken together give more that seven joys but the basic joys of Mary of which the carol speaks are to see her own Son Jesus: suck at her breast bone; make the lame to go; make the blind to see; read the Bible o'er; bring the dead alive; upon the crucifix; and wear the crown of heaven.

These seven joys take us from the nativity of Christ (suck at her breast bone) through his ministry (make the lame to go; make the blind to see; read the Bible o'er; bring the dead alive) to his death (upon the crucifix), and on to his resurrection and ascension (wear the crown of heaven).

Part of the reason this carol resonates, besides its beauty, is that it links Christmas with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It even dares to list the Crucifixion as one of Mary’s joys, an incomprehensible idea unless viewed with the eyes of faith.

So the singing of a carol like this can help us more fully explain the meaning of Christmas and save it from mere sentimentality because, as the carol describes, Christ is born into our world to save us by his life, death, and resurrection. This is the ultimate lesson of every true Christmas tradition and the source of all our joys as Christians, as well as those of Mary.

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Kate Rusby - Joy To The World.

Christmas at St John's (1)

We had our All-Age Christingle Service and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by candlelight today at St John's Seven Kings. Also above are photographs from our Youth Group's Christmas Party and our Christmas Bazaar plus our Christmas Tree. During the week we have had both the Aldborough E-Act Free School and Downshall Primary School in church for Christmas shows and assemblies. New opportunities this year have included the link with the Free School and a Carol Service held at a local supported housing complex, which has led on to a monthly service also being requested. Tomorrow will find us carol singing in the parish, while on Tuesday we have our Carol Tea.

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Solomon Burke - Silent Night.