We can do nothing without Jesus

Here's the sermon that I shared this morning at St Andrew's Wickford: 

Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.” (John 5. 17-30)

“God wants to communicate with humanity, and … Jesus represents the essence of that desire to talk,” says Mike Riddell. As God’s Son, Jesus was in a constant conversation with both God the Father and with God the Spirit. In these verses and others, the Son claims that he hears from the Father and speaks just what the Father has taught him (John 8: 26 – 29). He also claims that his relationship with the Father is not just one way, rather the Father also always hears the Son (John 11: 41 & 42). Similarly, he says that the Spirit will not speak on his own but only what he hears (John 16: 13). The Spirit is sent, like the Son, by the Father, but comes in the name of the Son to remind the disciples of everything that the Son said to them (John 14: 26 & 27). This interplay or dialogue within the Godhead between Father, Son and Spirit can be summed up in the words of John 3. 34-35: “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God; to him God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.”

Stephen Verney calls this interplay between Father, Son and Spirit, which he believes we are called to enter, ‘the Dance of Love.’ He writes: “”I can do nothing”, [Jesus] said, “except what I see the Father doing”. If he lays aside his teaching robes and washes the feet of the learners … it is because he sees his Father doing it. God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, is like that; he too lays aside his dignity and status as a teacher. He does not try to force his objective truth into our thick heads, but he gives himself to us in acts of humble service; he laughs with us and weeps with us, and he invites us to know him in our hearts through an interaction and an interplay between us. It is this knowledge that Jesus has received from the Father, and in the to and fro of this relationship he and the Father are one. They need each other. That is the pattern of how things potentially are in the universe, and of how God means them to be”.

Just as Jesus does nothing on his own but does everything together with the Father and the Spirit, it is to be the same for us. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to leave them (as happened at the Ascension) and then that he would send the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, the comforter and advocate, to them (as happened on the Day of Pentecost). The Spirit speaks to the disciples whatever he hears from Jesus; both the many things he wanted to say to them but which they could not bear at that time and also the things that are to come. Earlier, he also said that the Spirit will teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them. The result will be that they will do greater things than him.

Jesus said many amazing things that people still repeat regardless of whether they follow him or not. But his farewell discourse to his disciples must be among the most amazing, because in it Jesus says that those who follow him will do greater things than him and will be led into all truth. When you think how amazing Jesus’ own actions were, it is hard to imagine how people like us could do greater things than that, and, when you think how profound his teaching was, how could we be led into deeper or greater truth than that?

But Jesus was articulating something that all good teachers think and feel; the sense that all the time he had spent with them and invested in them was not so they would be clones of him, simply repeating the things he did and said, but instead that he had equipped, empowered and enabled his followers to follow him by using their own gifts and abilities and initiative which would inevitably mean that they would do and say different things from him but still with his Spirit and based on all they had learnt from him. He was saying that each one of us is a unique combination of personality, abilities and potential and, therefore, each of us can make a unique mark on the world. His followers can do greater things than Jesus because they will do different things from him in his name and Spirit – things that only they can do for him because they are that unique package of personality, ability and potential.

As Jesus put it, the Spirit will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus said so that we intuitively do those things on an improvisational basis. The Spirit comes to remind Christians of all that Jesus did and said, so we embody it in our lives. In this way we can do greater things than Jesus because we will do different things from him, but in his name and Spirit. Like him, we can do nothing on our own, but only what we, through his Spirit, see Jesus doing. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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Inner City - Unity.

Visual Commentary on Scripture - Lent Stations: Community

For the season of Lent the Visual Commentary on Scripture will share 14 selected artworks and commentaries on the theme of Community, introduced below by VCS Director Ben Quash.

Click below to visit the first Lent Station, titled 'You Shall Eat the Plants of the Field':
Station 1: You Shall Eat the Plants of the Field

Lent Stations: Community

One of the traditional Christian practices in Lent, along with prayer and fasting, is almsgiving. It’s easy to read the giving of alms as a mere financial transaction; more specifically (and worse) to see it as nothing more than rich people patronising poor people with their money. This has also infected some of our reactions to the word ‘charity’. We hear this in the understandable protest: ‘I don’t want your charity!’. Surely justice would be better; a fair chance for all.

But the full sense (often forgotten) of charity has its roots in the Latin word caritas, and this means something to which justice is just as central as mercy. Properly understood, charity means living in love and in right relationship with one’s neighbour. It means being in community. The Lenten practice of almsgiving sits in this wider context of practices that strengthen the bonds of community.

Indeed, in some cultures, the giver of alms is required to deliver their gift upwards into the hand of the recipient—a hand which is held over theirs. This makes the giver humble and dignifies the recipient. It opens a whole new perspective on ‘giving up’ something for Lent!

This year’s VCS Lenten series of artworks and associated commentaries is centred on the theme of community, something as urgently needed as ever in a fractured world.

Anyone subscribed to the VCS 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗪𝐞𝐞𝐤 will receive Lent emails twice a week, directly to their inbox. Click on the link to sign up now: https://thevcs.org/sign-vcs-emails

My first exhibition for the VCS was 'Back from the Brink' on Daniel 4: 'Immediately the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men, and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.' (Daniel 4:33). In the exhibition I explore this chapter with William Blake's 'Nebuchadnezzar', 1795–c.1805, Arthur Boyd's 'Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Tree', 1969, and Peter Howson's 'The Third Step', 2001.

My second exhibition was 'A Question of Faith' and explored Hebrews 11 through the paintings of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon. McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Over 45 years, his work encompassed many themes, subjects and styles, from landscape to figuration to abstraction and an innovative use of painted text. His adaption of aspects of modernist painting to a specific local situation and his intense engagement with spiritual matters, mark him out as a distinctive figure in twentieth-century art.

My third exhibition was 'Fishers of People'. This exhibition uses Damien Hirst's 'Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding (Left) and (Right)', John Bellany's 'Kinlochbervie', and Paul Thek's 'Fishman in Excelsis Table' to discuss Matthew 4:12-22 and Mark 1:14-20. These artworks give us what is essentially a collage of the kingdom whereby we are invited to imagine the kingdom of God as a body of water in which Christians are immersed and through which they are raised.

My fourth exhibition was 'Before the Deluge', a series of climate-focused commentaries on Genesis 6 looking at 'The Flood' by Norman Adams, 'Noah in the Ark and a Church' by Albert Herbert, and 'Noah's Ark' by Sadao Watanabe.

My fifth exhibition reflects on 1 Thessalonians 2:17–4:12. It is called 'Establishing the Heart' and includes works of art by Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly and Stanley Spencer. This exhibition explores how pleasing God in our everyday lives - by living quietly, minding our own affairs, and working with our hands - leads us to see life, work and art as prayer.

For more on the artists included in these exhibitions click on the following links: Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly, Stanley Spencer, William Blake, Arthur Boyd, Peter Howson, Colin McCahon, Damien Hirst, John Bellany, and Paul Thek.

The VCS is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art. It helps its users to (re)discover the Bible in new ways through the illuminating interaction of artworks, scriptural texts, and commissioned commentaries. The virtual exhibitions of the VCS aim to facilitate new possibilities of seeing and reading so that the biblical text and the selected works of art come alive in new and vivid ways.

Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three art works, and their associated commentaries. The curators of each exhibition select artworks that they consider will open up the biblical texts for interpretation, and/or offer new perspectives on themes the texts address. The commentaries explain and interpret the relationships between the works of art and the scriptural text.

Find out more about the VCS, its exhibitions and other resources through a short series of HeartEdge workshops introducing the VCS as a whole and exploring particular exhibitions with their curators. These workshops can be viewed here, here, here and here.

The VCS has a daily email exploring the Bible through art. Through concise but vivid day-by-day encounters, Bible and Art Daily will take you on a series of journeys through the world of Scripture and the history of art. The VCS have spent the last year bringing together experts in theology and art history to carefully curate a treasury of week-long series, each exploring a particular theme, an artistic medium, or a biblical character. Find out more and subscribe here.

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Forty Days and Forty Nights.

A future that's bigger than the past

Here's the sermon that I shared today at St Mary’s Langdon Hills and St Catherine’s Wickford:

St Paul states in Philippians 3:20 that ‘Our citizenship [as Christians] is in heaven.’ Pause for a moment to reflect on how transformational those words are; ‘Our citizenship is in heaven.’ Paul literally shifts the centre of the universe, from this existence and our daily reality, to the realm of essence, the things that last forever, the habitation of God and of those whom God has called to share the life of eternity. Rather than earth being the source and testing ground of truth and coherence, the measure of all things becomes heaven. So, when we’re assessing whether something is right or wrong, when we’re determining the current state of the Church, the question to ask is, does it stand the test of eternity? Will it abide with God forever? Or does it belong to the world that is passing away?

I want us to follow Paul today and start to concentrate on where we’re going. We’re going to heaven – where there is more than enough love for all, more than enough joy, more than enough truth, more than enough space for everyone to flourish. When we do so, we arrive at a new definition of the Church: a bunch of people who all come from different places but are all going to the same place. We’re a people pooling our resources for a journey we make together to a place none of us have ever been. There are no experts, because we’re all citizens of a country we’ve never visited and longing for a home we’ve never known.

How do we prepare for that journey? We look at the glimpses we have in scripture of heaven, including our Gospel reading today – the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17.1-9). In speaking of that story Sam Wells says: “There’s glory – the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. There’s the pattern of God’s story in Israel and the church, a story that finds its most poignant moments in the midst of suffering and exile. There’s the loving, tender, presence and heavenly voice of God the Father – a voice that for the only time in their lives, the disciples hear and understand. And there’s the extraordinary realisation that, even though all this could have gone on without them, the disciples have been caught up in the life of the Trinity, the mystery of salvation, the unfolding of God’s heart, the beauty of holiness.”

Up until this point, “the disciples know Jesus does plenty of amazing and wonderful things and says many beautiful and true things, but they still assume he’s basically the same as them.” It’s only as they go up the mountain with him that the veil slips and they’re invited in to a whole other world. A world in which “Jesus is completely at home,” “even when the Father’s voice thunders from above.” “And more remarkably still, it seems there’s a place for them in it, hanging out with the likes of Moses and Elijah. They’ve been given a glimpse of glory. It’s a glory that’s faithful to the story of Israel, a glory that has Jesus at the centre of it, a glory that has God speaking words of love, a glory that has a place for them in it, however stumbling and clumsy they are, and finally a glory in which Jesus touches them tenderly in their fear.”

The glimpse of glory that they are given is a glimpse of heaven. In the glimpse of heaven they are given they first see Jesus with his face shining like the sun. The light of the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus. God is seen – seen, not heard - in Jesus. What the disciples see of God in the Transfiguration is demonstration, not proclamation; the light of God seen as it is lived out in the life of his Son.

Second, they see Jesus in conversation and in relationship with Moses and Elijah. Moses, Elijah and Jesus are together in community, communing one with the other. The letter to the Hebrews speaks about a great crowd of witnesses in heaven made up of the prophets, saints and martyrs who have gone before but with whom we are in relationship. We see here, in the Transfiguration, a glimpse of that community of saints of which we are part.

Third, we see that such glimpses are currently temporary while they encourage us to yearn that they become permanent. Peter responds to the Transfiguration with the hope that Moses, Elijah and Jesus can tabernacle together (or live together in tents) just as God tabernacled (or dwelt in a tent) with the Israelites in the wilderness. Although, he yearns for a longer, more permanent experience, Peter has to accept the temporary nature of the Transfiguration in his present reality. A cloud overshadows the disciples and, when they look up, Jesus is alone again.

As citizens of heaven we are given glimpses of heaven in order that we begin to live as if we were already there. What do the glimpses of heaven that we see in the Transfiguration show us about how to live as if we were already in heaven?

First, the light of God was seen as it was lived out and demonstrated in the life of Christ. The church, therefore, should be about modelling and making possible forms of social relationship not found elsewhere. The church should seek to shape communities whose habits and practices anticipate and portray the life of God’s kingdom. Our role in mission is to cultivate assets and thereby foster and advance abundant life. Social engagement isn’t an add-on to the core business of worship; it’s a form of worship, because in the kingdom disciples are humbled, moved and transformed as they stumble into the surprising places and come face to face with the disarming people in whom the Holy Spirit makes Christ known. Christianity caught on in the second and third centuries because it created institutions that gave people possibilities and opportunities the rest of the world had yet to imagine. That’s what Christianity originally was: a revolutionary idea that took institutional form. That’s what it needs to become again. The church must model what the kingdom of God means and entails in visible and tangible form.

Second, this modelling and demonstration of God’s future now will be centred on community. The Transfiguration shows us Christ in communion with the prophets, saints and martyrs. The chief end of humanity is, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it, to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Heaven is all about relationships; enjoying God, each other, ourselves, and Creation. Therefore, Christianity must take the present opportunity to be what it was always called to be: an alternative society, overlapping and sharing space with regular society, but living in a different time – that’s to say, modelling God’s future in our present. It’s not enough to cherish the scriptures, embody the sacraments, set time aside for prayer, and shape disciples’ character in the ways of truth, if such practices simply withdraw disciples for select periods, uncritically then to return them after a brief pause to a world struggling with inequality, identity, and purpose. Rather, what we need is to become and to model communities of ordinary virtues, but ones infused with grace: thus trust, honesty, politeness, forbearance, and respect are the bedrock of such communities, while tolerance, forgiveness, reconciliation, and resilience are among its abiding graces. What I’m describing is the transformation of churches into dynamic centres of abundant life, receiving, evidencing, dwelling in and sharing forms of social flourishing and being a blessing to their neighbourhood.

The Lent Course that we will shortly begin explores the question ‘Who is my neighbour?’ in terms of: being waited on by Angel Neighbours; being a neighbour to those close to us; giving hospitality to strangers; standing up for the oppressed; carrying another’s load; and being a neighbour to those on the road. That course will, therefore, provide an opportunity for us to explore together how to become and how to model being a community of ordinary virtues infused with grace.

Third, we recognise the temporary nature of our community whilst longing, like Peter, for a more permanent experience of heaven on earth. That reality is implied by the phrase ‘The future is always bigger than the past.’ In essence, we don’t know, but we’re learning. We haven’t arrived, but the journey’s great. We’re not sure exactly where we’re going, but it’s getting better all the time. We’ve had some wonderful experiences, but the best is yet to come. So, we pray for the kingdom to come in future, on earth as it is in heaven, while seeking to create temporary signs of that kingdom in the here and now.

The experience of what it’s like to feel as though we’re already in heaven is what we call the kingdom of God. Entering in to that experience of glory is where we’re going. God invites us all to be in heaven, not because any of us have a right to be there, or because God is trying to set straight a historic injustice or present imbalance, but because God chooses never to be except to be with us in Christ, and that being-with is not a for-some-people thing but a for-everyone thing, and it’s not a for-now thing it’s a forever thing. We prepare for that reality by learning to live with everybody now and receive their unexpected gifts with imagination and gratitude in recognition that these are the people with whom we’ll be spending eternity, lucky and blessed as we all are to be there. So, we’d best use these earthly years as a time for getting in the mood of heaven. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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Barratt Band - My Spirit's Free.

The sin of counting and trusting our own material resources

Here's the sermon I shared this morning at St Andrew's Wickford:

Our Old Testament story from 2 Samuel 24: 9-17 seems a rather strange one. David has the number of fighting men is Israel numbered but then realises that he has sinned in doing so and the punishment for this sin is a pestilence that kills 70,000. In our day and time when census’ and statistics are commonplace, we see no sin in counting people and certainly struggle to comprehend why doing so should result in punishment.

The issue would seem to be that becoming aware of the size of one’s army is likely to reduce trust in God and increase trust in one’s own resources. David’s early career was entirely based on trust in God as he went up alone against the most powerful of the Philistine soldiers wearing no armour and carrying only a slingshot yet, through trust in God, triumphed against the odds. Now, though, he feels the need of the reassurance that 800,000 men are available to form his army.

Like David, the Church of England has become obsessed about numbers. In the past, when the Church of England trusted in Parish ministry and Parish priests, there was no need to count the numbers attending church services because Parish ministry meant that everyone in the Parish was a Parishioner regardless of whether they attended Church or not. At that time, the Church of England trusted that God was at work within the lives of Parishioners whether they were to be found in Church of not.

Now, the Church of England has lost that sense of trust in God and in the parish system, becoming instead obsessed with numbers in Church services on a Sunday and pouring vast amounts of money into initiatives that try, generally unsuccessfully, to significantly increase the numbers to be found in churches on a Sunday.

As a result, a Parish like ours which impacts people in the community seven days a week through Schools ministry, Care Home ministry, pastoral visiting, social action, wellbeing and cultural initiatives is overlooked and underfunded by the central Church, while money is instead poured into initiatives that set up new churches in existing Parishes.

One of the key factors in this change of practice and emphasis was the decision, like that made by David, to begin counting our people. Not only did this run the risk, which has now clearly come about, of focusing on our own resources or their perceived lack, rather than focusing on God and his provision, but it also had the effect of undermining our understanding of parishioners as everyone within the Parish by focusing our statistical attention on those in church on a Sunday. The latter is a congregational focus, rather than a Parish focus, and ignores or overlooks or obscures all the ongoing ministry with which a Parish like ours in engaged.

Trust in God is not engendered, as many within the Church of England currently seem to believe, by large numbers of people attending services or supposedly being converted – as is the focus of many mission conferences and agencies. Instead, trust in God is most clearly found in initiatives, where like David facing Goliath, the resources we have seem pitiful and meagre – inadequate to the task – and yet achieve impact because God is with us.

God is not only with us when material resources are poured out in abundance or when large numbers are to be found in services. God is with us in every situation and circumstance within our Parish because God’s Spirit is at work within every part of and person in our Parish. As we engage with our community, we see that truth realised in each place to which we go and each person we meet. That is what true Parish ministry involves and it is undermined when, like David and the Church of England centrally, we begin numbering our resources in order to trust in what we have, rather than trust in God alone.

The challenge of this strange story is to place our trust when it should always be – in God – rather than in the human resources available to us. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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MercyMe - Even If.

Church Times - Music: A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music at the Foundling Museum, London

My latest exhibition review for Church Times is on A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music at the Foundling Museum:

'The Foundling Hospital played a significant part in the treasured place that Messiah holds among choral societies in the UK. Handel conducted performances annually in the chapel of the Foundling Hospital from 1750 onwards and, as a result, Messiah’s reputation as a work linked to charitable causes spread, and it began to feature regularly, and as a finale, in the music festivals that began springing up regularly across England in this period.

This exhibition is not only engaging and interesting in its own right, but also marks the beginning of a new three-year programme focusing on music and care, which will investigate the impact music has on us as individuals and as a society.'

Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here, those for Seen & Unseen are here, and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Handel - Messiah.

The best tutorial in citizenship and good neighbourliness

Here's the Stewardship sermon that I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The Christian life is so much more than how we gather together on Sunday; 98% of Christian disciples spend 95% of their time not in church. Everyday faith is all about how we express our Christian faith every day, in everyday situations, Monday to Saturday, not just on Sunday. It is about where and how we encounter God as we go about our lives and how we express that to others in our words and actions. It is found in our joys and cares, in our challenges and conflicts, in our work and rest, in our workplaces and homes, in our friendships and relationships as we lean into God’s presence and guidance.

Our faith connects with the wider community through our everyday lives and commitments. Whether because of our paid work, our family roles, or our community or political involvements, we are all intimately involved in the wider community. God calls us to do so as people of faith.

God knows each one of us intimately and prepares us for our calling before we are born, so we need to trust that our interests, skills and talents are gifts from God to be used for his glory. Then, as St Paul wrote to the Colossians, whatever we do, in word or deed, we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever our task, he wrote, we are to put ourselves into it, as done for the Lord (Colossians 3.23). The poet George Herbert wrote that this way of thinking is the “famous stone / That turneth all to gold.” So, this is where we begin with our calling, looking carefully at our natural interests, abilities and talents and putting them to use where we are doing what we do in the name of the Lord Jesus and for his glory.

Then, we develop and grow how we act as Christian people in our everyday lives. Living as a Christian is like getting undressed and then dressed again. The picture we are given in Colossians 3.12-17 is of taking off our old clothes (our old way of life – our vices) and putting on new clothes (a new and different way of life – Christian virtues).

This is something that we have to consciously choose to do. Getting dressed is not usually something we do without thinking about it. We take time when shopping to find clothes which we think suit us and generally we do not just put on the first thing that comes to hand with whatever the next item is. Instead, we match items until we are satisfied that we will look as we wish.

The new clothes that we are to put on as Christians are compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. That implies that the old clothes we take off would be their opposites; hatred, unkindness, pride, roughness, and impatience. Also implied is the idea that compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience do not come naturally to us, so we have to make a conscious change. Tom Wright has said that “the point about “vice”, the opposite of “virtue”, is that, whereas virtue requires moral effort, all that has to happen for vice to take hold is for people to coast along in neutral: moral laziness leads directly to moral deformation (hence the insidious power of TV which constantly encourages effortless going-with-the-flow). The thing about virtue is that it requires Thought and Effort . . .”

So, change begins with a conscious decision, not a magical or instant makeover. St Paul writes in Romans 12. 2, “let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.” We know this is so because we only make changes in our lives when we break bad habits and form good habits. Tom Wright, again, “The point about the word “virtue” – if we can recapture it in its strong sense – is that it refers, not so much to “doing the right things”, but to the forming of habits and hence of moral character ... All behaviour is habit-forming … we [can] use the word “virtue” and “virtuous” simply to mean “behaviour we have had to work at which has formed our character so that at last it becomes natural and spontaneous to live like that.”

We can use a different illustration to see how this works in practice. Tom Wright says, “The illustration I sometimes use is that when you learn to drive a car, the idea is that you will quickly come to do most of the things “automatically”, changing gear, using the brakes, etc., and that you will develop the “virtues” of a good driver, looking out for other road users, not allowing yourself to be distracted, etc.; but that the highways agencies construct crash barriers and so on so that even if you don’t drive appropriately damage is limited; and also those “rumble strips”, as we call them in the UK, which make a loud noise on the tyre if you even drift to the edge of the roadway.

“Rules” and “the Moral Law” are like those crash barriers and rumble strips. Ideally, we won’t need them because we will have learned the character-strengths that St Paul lists for the Colossian Christians and will drive down the moral highway appropriately. But the rules are there so that when we start to drift, we are at once alerted and can take appropriate action – particularly figuring out what strengths need more work to stop it happening again.”

So, to sum up, Christian virtue comes “as the fruit of the thought-out, Spirit-led, moral effort of putting to death one kind of behaviour and painstakingly learning a different one.” When the Spirit is at work in us in this way, “we become more human, not less – which means we have to think more, not less, and have to make more moral effort, not less.”

What habits do we need to break and what habits do we need to build as a result of what we have thought about today? “So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience … and to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity.”

The final week of our Stewardship month is to do with our community involvements. The Five Marks of Mission include: Tending - responding to human need by loving service; and Transforming - seeking to transform the unjust structures of society. Our Stewardship Pack suggests many things we can do to transform our community including:

• Volunteer with Project 58.7 or another voluntary organisation.
• Help at the Gateway Project.
• Pray regularly for your work and community.
• Make creative suggestions in your work.
• Write to your MP and/or Councillors about issues of international, national and local concern.

Can you commit to doing any of these or others mentioned in the pack? When we do, we are having a ministry of presence and engagement. Presence is what we often talk about here as ‘Being With’:

“The word ‘presence' points to our incarnational theology and the word ‘engagement’ to our pentecostal theology ... Presence can be largely passive, a simple acceptance that this is where we are, without any meaningful recognition of the relationship between our presence, the presence of others and the real presence of Christ who seeks constantly to bring human beings into relationship with each other in love. But the Spirit of God is constantly seeking to move us on from the fact of presence to the action of engagement – engagement as a public sign of our commitment to the wellbeing of the world and to the discovery of the Kingdom in the midst of the places where we are present.”

Jonathan Sacks has said: “Religion creates community, community creates altruism and altruism turns us away from self and towards the common good ... There is something about the tenor of relationships within a religious community that makes it the best tutorial in citizenship and good neighbourliness.”

David Ford has expanded on the opportunities that community engagement provides including the: “Opportunity to learn more about other human beings around us, especially those sincerely engaged in seeking God. Opportunity to present our Christian understandings of God by the lives we live and the words we speak. Opportunity to contribute to the common good and above all, opportunity to learn more about trusting in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” We can grasp these opportunities as we take up the challenge of our Stewardship Pack to be involved transforming our community and as we follow St Paul’s advice do everything that we do in the name of the Lord Jesus.

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Bob Dylan - What Can I Do For You?

Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry Autumn church and community events

This autumn we've had a series of great church and community events and series in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. These have included:

Exhibition: 'Trials and Tribulations: Modern Interpretations of Iconography', 13 September to 20 December 2024, St Andrew’s Church - 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN. The arts programme at St Andrew's Wickford has continued in the autumn with an exhibition by Leigh-on-Sea-based artist John Paul Barrett called 'Trials and Tribulations'. The exhibition runs from 13 September to 20 December 2024 at St Andrew's Wickford. John Paul Barrett specialises in mixed media paintings, using acrylics and oil pastels on paintings that range from symbolism to landscapes and portraits. This exhibition focuses on his modern interpretations of Eastern European religious iconography. More information about him and his work can be found at https://www.jpbarrettart.com/.

Basildon Heritage displays - we have shown two heritage displays prepared by Basildon Heritage. Following on from our Unveiled talk about Depeche Mode, 'Sounds of Basildon' is on the Basildon music scene over the year's. The other display, linked to our Local History Day, was on 'Wickford's churches'.

Underfret gave us a great fundraising concert at St Andrew's Wickford. Underfret are a six-piece ukulele band, playing music from the 1960's onward - https://www.instagram.com/underfret/. Their concert raised funds for St Catherine’s Wickford (where subsidence has caused cracks in the walls requiring underpinning).

A joint Eucharist for all our three congregations included a guest preacher from A Rocha. A Rocha UK is a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment. Our preacher was Rev Andy Jowitt, Community Engagement Officer for A Rocha's Foxearth Meadows nature reserve. View the service at https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE/videos/516931424415753/?locale=en_GB

Difference Course - we ran this course which “explores what it means to follow Jesus in a complex and divided world, seeing transformation through everyday encounters”. Each week included films of stories from Christians facing conflict, Bible study, interactive exercises, prayer and discussion. RLN Difference is a part of the Reconciling Leaders Network. Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Ministry.

Our Quiet Day at St Catherine's on The 7 S’s of the Nazareth Community enabled participants to consider Silence, Sacrament, Scriptures, Service, Sharing, Sabbath, and Staying as a personal Rule of Life. The Nazareth Community is based at St Martin-in-the-Fields and its growth through the Companions of Nazareth. 

Our Local History Day at St Catherine’s Church enabled those attending to view our registers (baptisms, weddings, burials etc,), meet re-enactors from the Napoleonic Association, see a display on Wickford’s churches from Basildon Heritage, tour the church and churchyard, take part in a Scavenger Hunt, support our fundraising appeal, and enjoy refreshments in our Church Hall. Visitors saw our: Commonwealth War Graves; War Memorial for Wickford; William Butterfield reredos; 15th century font; Medieval chancel ceiling; and Stained glass commemorating local characters.

There were substantial Harvest donations and displays at our three churches. A lovely Harvest Service was also held at St Catherine's Wickford for Wickford Church of England School. The very generous harvest donations went to the Food Bank in Wickford - https://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/gateway-project.html .

Our latest art workshop for children from Abacus Primary School also took place at St Andrew's. Current exhibiting artist John Paul Barrett showed the children his paintings and shared the early stages of his work: drawing with a grid; using a wash to create areas of light and dark; and mixing a gel to create texture.

Our first Craft Fayre was held at St Andrew's in October and proved very popular. A wide range of handmade crafts from a variety of different stalls were available, along with refreshments. 

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Underfret - Hallelujah.

The new Basildon Deanery website

The Basildon Deanery is a group of Church of England churches in the Basildon, Billericay and Wickford areas. Our 19 churches are grouped in 10 parishes and have great community activities, enjoyable cultural events and artefacts, beautiful environments, and fascinating heritage.

A new website for the Deanery flags up some of the most interesting aspects of our churches as well as other interesting places to visit in Basildon Borough. The Deanery website covers Community, Culture, Environment, Heritage, Contacts and News. Key features and initiatives in our churches are highlighted in relation to the four themes of Community, Culture, Environment, and Heritage. These four themes have been chosen as they are aspects of life, leisure and community which are of interest many people within the wider community whether they are people of faith or not. As such, they are potential points of contact with people who might not normally attend church.

On the site we explain why these four themes are of interest to churches:

• Churches offer their local communities wellbeing opportunities at every stage and situation of life. The Community page lists some of the community initiatives provided by or supported by our churches.
• The Arts are central to church life. Many of our activities take place within beautiful buildings which our services combine drama, literature, music, poetry and visuals. Our churches are also places to enjoy cultural programmes including concerts and exhibitions as well as being places to see art and architecture. Immerse yourself in the cultural heritage of Essex churches, where art, history, and architecture converge. Explore the rich tapestry of these sacred sites through the Culture page.
• Churches are intended to be close to nature as the creation stories in the Bible tell us to tend the earth and care for it. The Environment page highlights some of the beautiful settings of our churches and initiatives to raise awareness of the climate emergency.
• The Church of England’s church buildings form the nation’s largest “estate” of built heritage. A village, town or city's church is often its oldest building still in continual use, as well as its largest and most visited building. Churches are also often an area's most architecturally complex and archaeologically sensitive buildings. In all cases, they were constructed for the glory of God, for worship and mission, and stand as repositories of our shared history. Explore the rich heritage of Essex, where history, culture, and legacy intertwine. Discover historic sites, museums, and cultural landmarks that define the region.

Our overall aim is to create greater awareness of the churches in the Deanery, drive more traffic to parish websites, and encourage more people to visit our churches. Do let us know what you think of our new website.

https://basildondeanery.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559317704238

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The UK Blessing song featuring Billericay's church buildings.

A conversation that explores how we shall now live and who it is that is our neighbour

Here's the sermon I shared at St Andrew’s Wickford this morning:

St Paul began a discussion when he stood before the Areopagus and spoke about an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god’ (Acts 17.22-31). The Areopagus was the rock of Ares in Athens, a centre of temples, cultural facilities and high court, and also the name of the council that originally served as the central governing body of Athens, but came to be the court with jurisdiction over cases of homicide and other serious crimes. In speaking to the Areopagus Paul was giving a guest lecture, whilst also being, in some senses, on trial.

Pope John Paul II likened the modern media to the New Areopagus, where Christian ideas needed to be explained and defended anew, against disbelief and the gold and silver idols of consumerism. Understanding how St Paul did so in the original Areopagus can assist in understanding how we might initiate or contribute to debate and dialogue in our own day and time, whether virtually or in person.

Paul began where people were by referring to the altar to an unknown god which was to be found amongst the cluster of temples around him. He didn’t criticize those to whom he was speaking. Instead, he commended the breadth of their engagement with religion. He didn’t tell them they were wrong by suggesting they were pagans worshipping the wrong god or gods. Instead, he overaccepted their religious story fitting it into the larger story of what he believed God was doing with the world. Nor did he dismiss their culture. Instead, he made it clear that he had heard and appreciated their poets by making connections between those poets and the message he had come to share. In these ways, he began a dialogue with them about the nature of faith and its engagement with their lives and culture. We read that some scoffed but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this’, and some joined him and became believers.

Paul was able to be in Athens because he had a trade – tentmaking – which enabled him to be supported financially as he travelled and which opened doors and provided contacts that might not otherwise have been open to him. In each place to which he travelled he formed new congregations led by those who came to faith. In each place that he visited he went to the synagogue and sought to speak with those at the heart of the Jewish community, but also welcomed those who were on the edge, often Gentiles, slaves and servants.

Over the past year we have been making use of the HeartEdge model of mission in this parish. It’s called the 4Cs – compassion, culture, commerce and congregation. It is a pattern for ministry that we share with other churches throughout the UK, and the world, through the movement to renew the church that is called HeartEdge. HeartEdge is about churches developing these 4Cs. Generating finance and impacting communities via social enterprise and commerce. Culture, in the form of art, music, performance, that re-imagines the Christian narrative for the present. Congregations that develop welcoming liturgies, worship, and day-to-day communal life while also addressing social need and community cohesion. Nurturing each of these is essential for renewal of the church.

HeartEdge churches are seeking to begin and develop a conversation with our communities and nations, as Paul sought to do in Athens. As one example, St Mark’s Church in Pennington, within the Diocese of Winchester, used their churchyard hedge as a site for yarn bombing to focus the attention of their community on Holocaust Memorial Day, Holy Week and Easter, and the VE Day anniversary. Organising online community events and services combined with the organisation of knitting and crochet work for the different yarnbombs placed St Mark’s at the heart of their community while connecting many who were isolated because of the Covid-19 lockdown. St Mark’s demonstrated that the boundaries of ‘church’ should be much more porous than they had previously imagined. Rachel Noel, the Vicar of St Mark’s, said she hoped that we will all get so used to worshipping with, and being led by, a variety of people, that we will always seek to find ways to include and value diversity and richness.

As with Paul in Athens and HeartEdge churches like St Mark’s Pennington, we are seeking to connect compassion, culture, commerce and congregation to draw all engaged in those forms of community into a conversation that explores how we shall now live and who it is that is our neighbour.

What we have done over the past year has begun a conversation where the ‘good news’ of community compassion and culture, with church at the heart and on the margins, can be heard and is being valued. We are inviting others to join that conversation, to have their say, so that the margins can speak to the centre that we might encounter God in everyone.

As we do so, we will together find a story which connects a series of otherwise inexplicable circumstances, begin to live in that story and then act our part within it. In this way, like those who joined Paul in Athens, we, too, may discover it is the story of what God is doing with the world that reveals where we are and what we are to do.

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Pissabed Prophet - Waspdrunk.

Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry update

Over the last few weeks we have been updating the website and A Church Near You pages for the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. Our website can be found at http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/index.html and the A Church Near You pages at https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6704/benefice/. Do take a look and let us know of any ways we can further improve. 

The churches and congregations of St Andrew’s, St Catherine’s and St Mary’s supported by the Ministry Team form the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. We are seeking to be churches, and a Team of churches, that are at the heart of the communities of Wickford and Runwell, while also being with those on the edge.

We want to explore what that might mean for you and how we can best share the riches of current practice and past history within these churches in ways that engage the wider community more fully, whilst also seeing the ways God’s Spirit is at work in the area and joining in. We are looking to see where the energy and life of God’s Holy Spirit is already at work in Wickford and Runwell, so we can get more involved in all that God is already doing here.

As a result, we have begun consulting with our congregations and the wider community on what people value about the area, issues to be addressed, and how churches should engage with the community. Would you be willing to give us your views? If you would, please complete either our our Church survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QGSJJG5 or our Community survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QGDCM3F. We would be very grateful if you could share your ideas by completing the survey by Friday 9 September 2022.

We have also begun livestreaming Morning Prayer from our churches on the following days: Tuesdays - St Andrew's; Wednesdays - St Catherine's; and Thursdays - St Mary's. These services can be viewed at our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE. To see the latest Morning Prayer go to https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE/videos/1114296376161806.

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Ho Wai-On - Blessed.

Beginning tomorrow: Fields of Vision - A Human Atlas Projection

 

5, 6, 7 March (18:00 – 20:00)

Fields of Vision is an immersive exterior projection created by Marcus Lyon in collaboration with St Martin-in-the-Fields. The work, covering the whole church façade, explores concepts of freedom, service and community in our modern world through oral histories, large scale portraits and ancestral DNA mapping, with music by Brian Eno. The piece weaves together the narratives of 28 extraordinary individuals from across the globe, chosen by their own communities, to tell a deeper story of our interdependence and the extraordinary power of collaboration.

Marcus Lyon says: 'We create our Human Atlas projects to inspire new generations to see the power of social change – each large-scale portrait, inspirational oral history and DNA map allows the audience to witness the extraordinary vision of those who answer the call to serve our communities across the globe.'

30-minute shows from 18:00 – 20:00 in the St Martin-in-the-Fields Courtyard. Start times 18:00, 18:40 and 19:20. Admission Free.

Sacred Space and Fields of Vision

On Sunday 6 March, Sacred Space will be held in the courtyard from 7.10pm and will incorporate the 30 minute Fields of Vision projection installation by Marcus Lyon. There will be a liturgy created to top and tail the viewing of the projection.

See my preview piece on Fields of Vision for Artlyst and my Artlyst interview with Marcus Lyon which can be viewed here. See also my survey of art at St Martin-in-the-Fields here.

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Brian Eno - Prophecy Theme.

humbler church Bigger God - w/c 23 January 2022

We're looking forward to welcoming you to an exciting new HeartEdge programme for 2022 and hope you will be able to join us, whether at online events or at our in-person events around the world. You can find all our events on our website — and if you're a HeartEdge partner, you can upload your own events through the members' area.

Last year, we launched Living God's Future Now, an online festival of theology and practice. We hosted workshops, webinars, spaces to gather and share ideas, lecture series, and more. This year, we're continuing our programming with a new theme — humbler church, Bigger God. We hope this reflects the lessons we've learnt from the past year: still trying to live God's future now, re-imagining our faith and our calling as a Church in a changing world. Thank you for joining us for the journey — we can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Sunday

Theology Group

Zoom,
Sunday 23 January, 19:00-20:00 GMT
Register here.
The St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge Theology Group provides a monthly opportunity to reflect theologically on issues of today and questions of forever with Sam Wells. This month, the chair will be Wendy Quill and we will explore how we might bring Mary into theology in a way that celebrates rather than ignores her vital role in the life of Christ.

Monday

Church History course
Zoom
Monday 24 January, 19:45 - 21:00 GMT
Register here.
This course provides an introduction to and an overview of church history. If we are to see a humbler Church and a bigger God, we need to deal with the history of the Church to understand where we are now, and why? With Ruth Gouldbourne, who has been a Baptist minister for more than 30 years. Week 1 Introduction; why church history?

Tuesday

Sermon Preparation workshop with Sally Hitchiner and Sam Wells

Livestream
Tuesday 25 January, 16:30 -17:30 GMT
Live streamed on the HeartEdge Facebook page here.
A live preaching workshop focusing on the forthcoming Sunday's lectionary readings in the light of current events and share thoughts on approaches to the passages.

Wednesday

Community of Practitioners workshop

Zoom
Wednesday 26 January, 16:00-17:00 GMT
Email Jonathan Evens on jonathan.evens@smitf.org to take part.
This is a space for practitioners, lay and ordained, to reflect on theology and practice. Each week, we alternate between 'Wonderings' and discussion of a theology book. This week we will be discussing 'The Hidden Wound' by Wendell Berry.

Thursday

Pioneer Practice
Zoom
Thursday 27 January, 20:00-21:10 GMT
Register here.
In our four-part webinar series, Jonny Baker will be joined each week in conversation with guests to explore on-the-ground practicalities of pioneer ministry. Come along if you’re thinking of starting a new congregation or initiative, want to brainstorm practical solutions to problems in pioneer ministry, or just want to learn more about pioneering.

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Delirious? - Stare The Monster Down.