Looking back to look forward

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

St Paul’s letter to the Christians in Colossae begins with prayers for the church there and reminders of its story of faith and those who were significant in that story (Colossians 1.1-8). In his prayers for the Christians in Colossae, he says that he always thanks God for their faith in Christ Jesus and the love they have for all the saints. He reminds them of the hope laid up for them in heaven and of how they heard of this hope in the gospel that has come to them. Just as the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has also been bearing fruit among them from the day you heard it and Epaphras, a beloved fellow-servant, has been a faithful minister of Christ on their behalf.

It is helpful and encouraging for us to look back to the story of faith in our church and Parish, as Paul encourages the Christians in Colossae to do here. Sometimes, when we look back, we can do so from a negative or deficit perspective lamenting what we feel we have lost in the present but which was present in the past. That isn’t what Paul is doing here. Instead, he is looking back in order that the Colossians see that God is working his purposes out in the present, just as did in the past.

Anniversaries can provide us with helpful moments to look back and celebrate God’s faithfulness and constancy in our lives and Parish. Last year, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of a church being opened on this site. Next year, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the opening of the current St Catherine’s Church. As we look back, let us give thanks, as St Paul did, for the faithfulness of God in bringing people to faith and, despite the challenges involved, sustaining Christian witness in this part of Essex.

Looking back also enables us to remember and give thanks for specific individuals, like Epaphras, who have been significant in our lives or in this Parish. Here, such people may include those who have a shared place in our lives and faith journey such as David Loman, who was a much-loved Rector in the Parish and who was also my Diocesan Director of Ordinands who sensitively and helpfully prepared me for selection and for ministry or Paul Trathen, a curate in the Parish when Philip Kearns was Rector, who is also a good friend of mine and someone I met during ordination training meaning we have accompanied each other through our respective ministries. I wonder who the people are in your past who have supported and encouraged you on your faith journey. Take a moment now to bring them to mind and give thanks to God for their ministry in your lives.

Individuals from the past may also provide inspiration for the present and the future. Recently, those who established the exchanges with St Paul’s Wickford in Rhode Island have encouraged us to renew that link and begin preparing for the visit next year of Fr Spencer Reece, the current priest at St Paul’s Wickford. Richard Feldwick has encouraged me by telling me stories of Revd Roy Thomas, who developed cultural initiatives in the Parish, as we are currently doing with the cultural programming here at St Andrew’s and more generally across the Parish. Roy’s initiatives included dance, music and visual arts, involving youth work and a programme of speakers from Christian organisations.

This Saturday, there is an Open Day at St Mary’s Runwell – I encourage you to go along. It’s an opportunity to see inside that beautiful church, view Parish records from the recent past, and learn something of the fascinating history of that significant church. One of the past Vicars of St Mary’s who is an inspiration to me, as we try to minister across compassion, culture, commerce and congregation, is Henry Kingsford Harris (Rector from 1891-1912). He oversaw a significant restoration of the church building in 1907 which included essential structural remedial work on the south aisle, including underpinning the massive piers, and the rebuilding of the chancel. He was also a considerable electrical engineer and a notable feature of his time in the Parish was the ringing of the bells by electricity, and the electric lighting of the church. He built an orphanage and the children served as his choir. He also built several cottages in the parish and St. Andrew’s Mission Church, Chalk Street, on the northern edge of the parish. He also set up the first Parish Council in Runwell. You can find more about his ministry at St Mary’s in the church history book that will be on sale at the Open Day. In that way, you will see how he is an inspirational figure from our past in ways that inform and encourage us to persevere with the approaches we are using now in the present.

Who is there among the clergy that you have known that have impacted or inspired you on your faith journey and ministry. Take a moment now to bring them to mind and give thanks to God for their ministry in your lives.

As we look back, let us, like St Paul, in our prayers always thank God for this Parish and its people, their faith in Christ Jesus and the love they have for all the saints. Let us be reminded that, just as the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has also been bearing fruit among us from the day people in this Parish first heard it until today and also give thanks for all who have been faithful ministers of Christ on our behalf. Amen.

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Roger McGuinn - Light Up The Darkness.

Those who humble themselves will be exalted

Here's the sermon that I have shared at St Mary's Runwell and St Peter's Nevendon today: 

One of the things I did during my holiday was to watch a film about the life of the guitarist and rock star Eric Clapton. In part, this was because he experienced a conversion to Christ, about which he has written in some of his songs.

Clapton knew significant trauma in his life being brought up by his grandparents as his mother was unable to look after him as a child and did not bond with him later in life. Additionally, later in life, his four-year-old son, Conor, died in a tragic accident when he fell from a window in a high-rise apartment. The film was particularly interesting because of a radical difference in the way he responded to the painful issues he experienced in his life in his early and later years.

Clapton found fame, wealth and adulation as a young man because of his musical talents but finding those things, when combined with his early traumas did not bring joy and contentment. Instead, they led him into drug and alcohol addition which was focused on his own desires, needs and wants, including desiring a relationship with Patti Boyd, the wife of his best friend, the Beatle George Harrison. Once out of control, through excessive drinking, he also found himself making racist statements on stage that he later regretted because his career was actually based on discovering the blues, the music of Black America.

So, his selfish and self-centred behaviours, which derived in part from early experiences of pain and hurt as a child, had the effect of destroying his and other’s relationships while leading him to say and do many things that, when sober, he regretted. At a key moment in his attempts to kick his addictions, he cried out to God for help and felt that he was answered. Getting sober and finding faith meant that when the rebuilding of a new life was rocked by the tragic death of his young son, he didn’t revert to his former absorption in drink and drugs instead he committed to living in a way that honoured his son. The film ended with Clapton as a happy family man who has set up a charity providing support to those who could not otherwise afford the help needed to get free of their own addictions and using his talents and those of his friends to raise funds to support that vital work.

Our Gospel reading today (Luke 14: 1, 7-14) sets up similar contrasts to those we find in the life of Eric Clapton. The context is a party, something that would have been very familiar to Clapton in his hedonistic days, and the question Jesus poses is how should we enter. In his early years, Clapton would have become familiar with being the star, the one who turned heads when he walked in the room, and would have become used, as a result, to being given all he wanted and desired, even if it did him harm.

Jesus commends the reverse of entering as the star. He encourages us to be the one who takes the last and lowest place at the table. One of the problems, as Clapton discovered, with being at the head of the table is that the only way from there, at some stage, is down. But, as Jesus notes, if you are in the last and lowest place, the only way is up. Jesus is famous for prophesying that, in the final reckoning, the first shall be last and the last first. This is a part of what Clapton discovered in later life as he changes from a life centred on his own needs and wants to one centred on others – his family and those seeking to be free from addictions.

His understanding of this change shows up in his songs, particularly a song called ‘Broken Hearted’, where, in the context of looking forward to heaven, he writes:

‘there's a place where we can go
Where we will not be parted
And who alone will enter there?
Only the broken-hearted’

We live in a world where leaders are increasingly focused on self-promotion – constantly creating narratives about how wonderful they are and how awful their predecessors were – and are advocating policies based on selfishness, particularly by blaming the problems faced by nations on those who have or are migrating from issues and situations most of us can’t imagine and couldn’t cope with. Placing the blame for the issues we face on those travelling to different countries ignores all the other problems our countries face and seeks to portray those who are actually victims of violence or oppressions as invaders. The inherent selfishness that is at the heart of such policies is that of saying we must keep all our resources for those that we see as being the same as ourselves instead of being willing to share – ‘sharing is caring’, as my grandchildren are rightly taught at their school.

How should we respond to our changing and self-centred world, as those who are told by Jesus to take the last and lowest place at the table? The answer is to be found in today’s Epistle (Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16):

‘Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’

Christian love – taking the last or lowest place - involves showing hospitality to strangers, remembering those who are in most difficulty or distress as though we are experiencing the same ourselves, being faithful to those closest to us, and living contentedly with what we have, not chasing after material wealth, in order that we trust God for his presence which means more than all we might otherwise gain.

Jesus is clear that those who live self-centred lives are on the wrong path, as all who exalt themselves will be humbled. As we have seen from the story of Eric Clapton’s life that is also what he discovered as he came to see it was a path of destruction, both for himself and for those around him. He wrote in his autobiography: ‘From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for life, and most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do.’

Each of us, however, has to come to that realisation for ourselves, if we are as individuals or as nations are to change tack and, as Clapton also did, learn the lesson of Jesus’ parable and the value in God’s eyes of taking the last or lowest place. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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Eric Clapton - Broken Hearted.

True love of our neighbour means that we receive as well as give

Here's the sermon that I have shared at St Mary's Runwell and St Peter's Nevendon today:

We all know the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10. 25 - 37), don’t we? And we all know what the story is about? It’s very clear, isn’t it? It’s a call to kindness, a call to care, a call to help others, unlike those who passed by on the other side. We know all that, don’t we? So, there’s really no point in my reiterating what we already know and therefore I can just leave you to reflect on the calls to kindness that you experience in your daily life. How do you meet those? How do you respond?

There isn’t really anymore to say, so I’ll just leave it at that for today. Or, is that actually the case? Is there perhaps something more to this parable that isn’t generally spoken about? Might there actually be an aspect to this parable that is generally overlooked?

Let’s think for a moment about the hero of the parable – a Samaritan. Samaritans were contemptible people, as far as the Jews of Jesus’ day were concerned, considered as social outcasts, untouchables, racially inferior, practicing a false religion. While Samaritans claimed that they were the true Israel who were descendants of the "lost" tribes taken into Assyrian captivity. The Samaritan’s had their own temple on Mount Gerizim and claimed that it was the original sanctuary. They also claimed that their version of the Pentateuch was the original and that the Jews had a falsified text produced by Ezra during the Babylonian exile.

Samaritans were of mixed Jewish and Gentile ancestry, claimed descent from Jacob and worshipped the God of Israel. So, Samaritans were close to the Jews in their birth and beliefs but they were also different in significant ways, a volatile combination in any era. As a result, Samaritans and Jews engaged in bitter rivalries, which in Jesus’ day could lead to political hostilities that, sometimes, required intervention from the Romans.

Both Jewish and Samaritan religious leaders seem to have taught that it was wrong to have any contact with the opposite group, and neither was to enter each other's territories or even to speak to one another. Jews avoided any association with Samaritans, travelling long distances out of their way to avoid passing through a Samaritan area. Any close physical contact, drinking water from a common bucket, eating a meal with a Samaritan, would make a Jew ceremonially unclean - unable to participate in temple worship for a period of time – this may be part of the reason why the priest and Levite don’t stop to help.

The artist Dinah Roe Kendall painted a version of the parable of the Good Samaritan which set the story in South Africa at the time of apartheid. Doing so, seems to me, to be an accurate parallel with the kinds of emotions and cultural practices that were at play in the relationship between Jews and Samaritans and it shows up clearly the twist in the tail of Jesus’ story.

Jesus, as a Jew, didn’t illustrate his point - that people of every race, colour, class, creed, faith, sexuality, and level of ability are our neighbours – by telling a story in which a Jew was kind to someone else. Instead, he told a story in which a Jew receives help from a person who was perceived to be his enemy. The equivalent in Kendall’s painting is of the black man helping the white man, who represents the people that have oppressed him and his people.

So, Kendall’s version of the story brings out part of the twist in the tail that Jesus gives this story; the sense of receiving help from the person who is your enemy. What her version doesn’t deal with, however, is the idea that the enemy who helps is someone of another faith. The Jews were God’s chosen people and a light to the other nations and faith, so what would have been expected from this story would have been for the Jew in the story to bring the light of faith to the Samaritan. But that is not how Jesus’ story unfolds. Instead, the person who is one of God’s chosen people receives help from the person of another faith.

For Jesus to tell a story in which a Samaritan was the neighbour to a Jew was, for the reasons we have been considering, deeply shocking. We can sense this in the story as recorded for us by Luke, as the lawyer in the story is unable to bring himself to utter the word ‘Samaritan’ in answering Jesus’ question. The story is doubly shocking because the Jews in the story, the Priest and Levite, do not act as neighbours to the man. And trebly shocking, because it was probably their expression of devotion to God that prevented them from being neighbours. Priests were supposed to avoid impurity from a corpse and Pharisees thought that one would contract impurity if even one’s shadow touched the corpse. It was safer, therefore, not to check than to risk impurity.

Perhaps we can get a sense of how shocking this was by asking ourselves who, in our own day, are we least likely to think of as neighbours? Who do we think of as those least like us? Who do we think of as enemies? Who do we think of as contemptible? The point of the story is that Jesus says our neighbour is not our own people but those we think of as enemies or as contemptible because of their birth or beliefs. The least likely people, the people least like us, these are the people that Jesus calls our neighbours.

To find a contemporary equivalent for this aspect of the story, we have, perhaps, to think about relationships in this country between Christians and those of other faiths, and within those relationships, recognise that relationships between Christians and Muslims are often those which are currently most conflicted, with some Christians believing that Islam represents a threat to the Church and Western civilization. Within this context, the parable of the Good Samaritan challenges Christians as to what we can receive from those of other faiths and, particularly, those who we might view as enemies. Jesus says to us, through this parable, that loving our neighbours is not simply about what we can give to others but also about what we receive from others.

Our neighbours, understood in this way, are those to whom we should give – “go and do likewise”, Jesus said to the lawyer - and they are those that we should love as we love ourselves. They are also those from whom we should receive because it was the Samaritan in the story who provided help, not any of the Jewish characters. So, we need to ask ourselves how we can receive, grow, learn from and be blessed by those we think of as enemies or as beneath contempt because of their birth or beliefs.

You see, if our focus is just on what we can give, then we are in a paternalistic relationship with our neighbours or enemies. If our focus is just on what we can give, then what we are saying is that we hold all the aces and we will generously share some of them with you. In other words, we remain in a position of power and influence. Immediately we acknowledge that we can receive from our neighbours or enemies, then the balance of power shifts and we make ourselves vulnerable. In this parable, Jesus says that that is where true love is to be found and it is something that he went on to demonstrate by making himself vulnerable through death on the cross.

We often protect ourselves from the need to engage with, learn from or show love to those who are different from us by using aspects of the Bible to justify our lack of contact or compassion. But Jesus rules this approach out for his followers by giving us the examples of the priest and Levite. George Caird has written that “It is essential to the point of the story that the traveller was left half-dead. The priest and the Levite could not tell without touching him whether he was dead or alive; and it weighed more with them that he might be dead or defiling to the touch of those whose business was with holy things than that he might be alive and in need of care.”

This is religious rule-making justifying a lack of compassion. Caird says that, “Jesus deliberately shocks the lawyer by forcing him to consider the possibility that a semi-pagan foreigner might know more about the love of God than a devout Jew blinded by preoccupation with pettifogging rules.” Who do we, as the Church, stay away from because we are afraid of contamination or defilement? What aspects of scripture do we use to justify our lack of contact?

Jesus told this story in order that we reach out across the divides and barriers that people and groups and communities and nations construct between each other. He told this story so that Christians would be in the forefront of those who look to tear down the barriers and cross the divides. To the extent, that we fail to do this we are more like the priest and Levite in this story that the Samaritan who was a neighbour to the person in need.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, where the sting is in the tail, the deepest point is that one of God’s chosen people receives help from his enemy who is of another faith. Jesus is taking us deep into the heart of love and saying that we will not truly love our neighbour until we understand and accept that we have much to receive from those that we perceive to be our enemies. In other words, true love of our neighbour means that we receive as well as give.

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Quiet Day: Sabbath

We enjoyed an excellent Quiet Day led by Mike Tricker at St Mary's Runwell today, exploring themes of Sabbath including what the Sabbath is for and Sabbath as resistance.

I wrote the following meditation in the course of the day:

In the cacophony of distractions

In the restlessness of 24-7 consumption
In the cruelty of gratuitous self-centredness and selfishness
In the mindset of me, me, me
In the grasping for power, prestige and position
May an alternative be visioned, voiced 

and enacted and practised
An alternative that is still
An alternative that is gentle
An alternative that is generous
An alternative that is liberating
An alternative that is outpouring and kenotic
An alternative that is sacrificial and salvific
Let justice roll on like a river, 

righteousness like a never-failing stream;
an endless river of righteous living.

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River City People - True Stories From The Revolution.

The Kingdom of God has come near you

Here's the sermon that I shared at St Mary's Runwell and St Catherine's Wickford this morning:

In the National Gallery in 2013 you could find a St. Francis without a head and with a candy-grabber crane that went inside his body and which, if you were lucky, pulled out a T-shirt saying chastity, obedience and poverty; another St. Francis was mounted on a donation box and, when you put money in, he hit himself over the head with a crucifix. Michael Landy’s large-scale sculptures consisted of fragments of National Gallery paintings cast in three dimensions and assembled with old machinery, cogs and wheels, meaning that visitors could crank the works into life with a foot pedal mechanism.

They sound like pieces designed to mock St. Francis and other Saints represented and yet Landy is an artist who is fascinated by the renunciation and kindness that Saints like Francis have shown through their lives. Landy is best known for two works. The first being an installation in a former C&A store on Oxford Street, where over a two week period, he destroyed all his possessions except for the clothes in which he stood. The second being ‘Acts of Kindness’ where Landy asked members of the public who had witnessed or taken part in acts of kindness while travelling on the tube, to write about them. So, as at least one of the art critics reviewing the show at the National Gallery, has noted while enjoying the jokiness of the lucky dip St. Francis, “you also sense that Landy thinks Britain could do with a little of St Francis’s spirit.”

St. Francis lived out his faith and that is what today’s Gospel reading (Luke 10. 1 – 11, 16 – 20) is all about. This passage from Luke’s Gospel gives us Jesus’ inspirational team talk just before sending his disciples out to be his advance guard preparing those in the towns and other places to be visited by Jesus shortly after. He gives his disciples a message to share – “The Kingdom of God has come near you” – but his main focus is on the behaviour and attitude of his disciples; the way in which they live and act.

He instructs them to live simply (“don't take a purse or a beggar's bag or shoes”); to be focused (“don't stop to greet anyone on the road”); to be peace givers (“whenever you go into a house, first say, ‘Peace be with this house.’”); accept hospitality (“stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you”); bring healing (“heal the sick in that town”); share your message (“say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’”); and move on when not accepted (“the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you”).

These instructions of Jesus became a model for itinerant preachers throughout Church history including St. Francis and his followers. The words “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words” are often attributed to St. Francis but, while certainly reflecting something of what he said and did, that is not a phrase he actually used. ‘Francis did focus on proclaiming the word in deeds – as well as in words. And if you have ever read any of Francis’ own writings it is easy to see that Scripture is infused everywhere in his words, his life and his being – and his actions. It is easy to see where the oft-quoted phrase came from; for example, the Legend of the Three Companions’ includes this inspirational team talk from St. Francis:

“Calling together the six brothers, Saint Francis, since he was full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, predicted to them what was about to happen. “Dearest brothers,” he said, “let us consider our vocation, to which God has mercifully called us, not only for our own good, but for the salvation of many. We are to go throughout the world, encouraging everyone, more by deed than by word, to do penance for their sins and to recall the commandments of God. Do not be afraid that you seem few and uneducated. With confidence, simply proclaim penance, trusting in the Lord, who conquered the world. Because by his Spirit, He is speaking through and in you, encouraging everyone to be converted to him and to observe his commandments”’ (http://friarmusings.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-if-necessary-use-words/)

But what has all this to do with us, as we are generally not being called by God to become itinerant preachers? The answer is very simple, that our actions, as well as our words, speak powerfully about our faith. Negatively, this is the reason why Christians are often criticised as being hypocrites; others look at what we do and complain that we aren’t practising what we preach. When our actions and our words come together, however, then our witness is powerful; to see that we only have to think of examples provided by Saints like Francis or more recent followers of Christ like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jnr, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero, Desmond Tutu, among others.

This is also one reading of the message which Jesus gave his disciples to proclaim. Do you remember what it was? It was not quite the message that we might have expected or anticipated. The disciples weren’t given the message that ‘God is love’ or to ‘repent and believe’; instead they were told to say that “The Kingdom of God has come near you.”

What did that mean? The disciples were the heralds for Jesus’ imminent arrival in that place, so it would certainly have meant Jesus is coming and the Kingdom of God arrives where he arrives. But, because the disciples were also living out their faith in practice, as those bringing peace and healing into the communities they visited, it also meant that the Kingdom of God could be seen in their lives and examples too. This can still be true for us today. Doing good, for Christians, is not about our salvation – it’s not about earning God’s love – instead it is a consequence of our salvation; because God has loved us so much, we then want to love others and, as we do, the Kingdom of God comes close to those we love, help and heal.

That is the challenge of this passage for us today and so, in the words of St. Francis:

Dearest brothers and sisters let us consider our vocation, to which God has mercifully called us, not only for our own good, but for the salvation of many. We are to go throughout the world, encouraging everyone, more by deed than by word, to do penance for their sins and to recall the commandments of God. Do not be afraid that you seem few and uneducated. With confidence, simply proclaim penance, trusting in the Lord, who conquered the world. Because by his Spirit, He is speaking through and in you, encouraging everyone to be converted to him and to observe his commandments.

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Big Star - The Ballad Of El Goodo.

Travelling Light: A Service for the Third Sunday after Trinity | The Church of England

Here's the reflection that I shared in today's national online service for the Church of England:

Cliff Richard once sang that he had no bags of baggage to slow him down, no comb and no toothbrush, nothing at all to haul. He was travelling light because he just couldn’t wait to be with his baby that night. I wonder whether Eugene Peterson had that song in mind when he translated this reading in ‘The Message’, his version of the Bible in contemporary language. His version of Jesus’ charge to his disciples starts like this: “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.”

Travel light. Jesus was calling the 70 to an itinerant ministry (Luke 10.1-11, 16-20). Their focus was on going ahead of Jesus to prepare people for his coming and his message. So, they took nothing unnecessary with them, they weren’t distracted by small talk along the way, they welcomed hospitality when they received it but they simply moved on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. No distractions, just a clear focus on their task and their message.

We also need to travel light in our individual lives and our corporate Church life in order that we are focused on our core task of sharing the good news about Jesus in actions and words. But there is also a second reason for travelling light which is to do with the footprint that we leave on the world. By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them, the 70 imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are still struggling to realise the consequences.

John V. Taylor's book, ‘Enough is Enough’, kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement. ‘Live more simply that others might simply live’ was their slogan and it is one that Eugene Peterson sees as coming out of the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples before he sent them out on their mission: “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment,” he writes, “Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns – get a modest place and be content there until you leave.” Keep it simple. Travel light. These are the key messages of Jesus’ instructions.

Why? To keep us focused on our message and mission and to tread lightly on the earth as we do so.

Travelling light / without / a purse / without / a bag / without / shoes / without / equipment / you are / the equipment / you are / all you need

Travelling light / no / special appeals / no / luxury hotels / no / looking / for the best / cooks / keep it / simple / keep it / modest / be / content

Travelling light / don’t stop / to make / small talk / with those / on the road / move on / reach / your destination / the harvest / is great / but the / workers / few

Travelling light / do stop / to bless / the homes / in which / you rest / for all / you receive / give thanks / and peace / don’t create / when made / unwelcome / shrug / your shoulders, / wipe / your feet / move on

Travelling light / don’t / fill your barns / simply / to eat, / drink / and / be merry / don’t / store up / riches / simply / to rust / and decay / don’t / store up / riches / simply / for others / to steal / your heart / will be / where / your riches / are

Travelling light / do / store up / acts / of love, / hope / and faith / do / store up / the things / that remain / do / store up / treasures / in heaven / your heart / will be / where / your riches /are

Here's the earlier service that we recorded at St Andrew's Wickford in January:

My recorded sermons for the Diocese of Chelmsford's Weekly Sermon series can also be viewed below.

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St Martin-in-the-Fields - Morning Song.

A Service for the Third Sunday after Trinity | The Church of England |

This Sunday, the national Church of England online service comes from St Mary's Church, Runwell. Check out the trailer above. An earlier service recorded in the Parish can be viewed below.

My recorded sermons for the Diocese of Chelmsford's Weekly Sermon series can also be viewed below.

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St Martin-in-the-Fields - Morning Song.

A Path with a Heart: Seeking inspiration from the Nazareth Community

 

On Day 2 of our HeartEdge event weekend in the Parish of Wickford and Runwell, a Quiet Day was held at St Marys Runwell. Entitled 'A Path with a Heart: Seeking inspiration from the Nazareth Community', it was led by Revd Catherine Duce, Assistant Vicar for the Companions of Nazareth, St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Before the Quiet Day, a Contemplative Walk, also led by Catherine, took place at Wickford Memorial Park. This was an opportunity for us to open our hearts to God’s presence in creation, in the local neighbourhood and in one another. The walk can be viewed on our Facebook page here (https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE/). 

Session 1 of the Quiet Day was 'Silence: the path of contemplation': Silence and contemplative prayer are at the very heart of the Nazareth rule of life. We are formed by this silence. As we enter into silence, we place ourselves in the presence of Christ. We create the place and space for a deeper listening to God, the longings of our own souls and we grow in a deep compassion for the world. In this session we will delve deeply into silent prayer and carve space to listen to the Spirit at work in our lives.  No experience necessary. Come simply ready to rest in the presence of God. 

Our Midday Prayer was led by Revd Moses Agyam (Billericay Methodist Church and Christ Church United Reformed & Methodist, Wickford).

Session 2 of the Quiet Day was on 'Service: the path of contemplative care': In simple acts of giving and receiving and face to face encounter we discover Christ in those we meet. We recognise Christ’s presence especially among those most in need and fearful at this time. In this session we will reflect upon our own acts of service and explore themes of reciprocity and what a path of contemplative care might look like in your life. 

We ended the day with an Informal Eucharist to give thanks for God’s presence and refreshment in the gift of the sacrament. 

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Contemplative Walk - Wickford Memorial Park.

The Holy Spirit as our advocate

Here's the sermon I shared at St Mary's Runwell this morning:

Matryoshka dolls, also known as Russian nesting dolls, are hand-painted wooden dolls that stack inside each other, with smaller figures nested in progressively larger ones. The number of dolls typically ranges from three to ten, but can reach 50 or more. Words with multiple meanings are a bit like matryoshka dolls, as there's always something more to discover. Like the many beautiful facets of a diamond, there's always something more to admire or appreciate.

The word Jesus uses to speak of the Holy Spirit in today’s Gospel reading is like that (John 14.8-18). He describes the Holy Spirit as an advocate, a term derived from the Greek word "Paraklētos", which means "one who comes alongside to help". “This word appears five times in the New Testament: once in 1 John, where it refers to Jesus as the advocate before the Father on the behalf of sinners (1 Jn. 2:1), and four times in the Gospel of John, referring to the Holy Spirit.”

Paraklētos or advocate signifies the Holy Spirit's role as a divine helper, teacher, comforter, intercessor, and counsellor who works to guide and empower believers. Each of these names or different translations is like a new facet bringing added depth to our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So, the Holy Spirit is the “one called alongside of” us to aid, exhort, and encourage. He is, remarked the Jesuit priest and poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, one “who stirs up, urges forward, who calls on … what a trumpet is to a soldier, that a Paraclete is to the soul…” 

As our Divine Helper and Teacher, the Holy Spirit assists us by teaching us about God and illuminating our understanding of the Scriptures. In John 14.28 we read “But the Paraklētos, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Through his teaching, we become aware of who God is, who we are, and what God is calling us to be.

As our Comforter, the Holy Spirit provides counsel and encouragement, especially during difficult times. Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth … You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” “resides within those who have been baptized; he is, as the Creed states, the “giver of life.” The life he gives is the divine life of God, who is perfect love—an eternal exchange of divine love: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “Whoever loves me,” Jesus told his disciples, “will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Filled with the Trinitarian life, we are made temples of the Holy Spirit.” 

As Intercessor, the Holy Spirit intercedes on behalf of believers, praying for them according to God's will. “Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a season when you just weren’t sure how to pray? Possibly a season of trial when you weren’t even sure how to articulate what was on your heart? Isn’t it a relief to know that the Holy Spirit helps us in the midst of these seasons by interceding on our behalf and making sense of our messy prayers? Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes in prayer for us. He aligns our requests with the will of God and transforms our minds to begin thinking and praying in accordance with God’s plan and character.” 

The Greek word was used in legal settings to refer to an attorney making a defence in court on behalf of someone accused. As our Defence Attorney, the Holy Spirit defends us against the accusations of the devil and reminds us of our identity as God's children. The Holy Spirit strengthens those who belong to Christ, standing beside them in support as they battle temptation, endure the trials of this world, and rebut the accusations of the devil, “the accuser” (Rev. 12:10). ()

Perhaps most significant of all, is Paraklētos as Counsellor. We all know what a Counsellor does in our society but in the New Testament we get a different sense of the word. What does ‘counsellor’ mean here? It means ‘one called alongside.’ The Holy Spirit comes alongside us to replace Jesus, who previously came alongside us to be with us.

This gets to the heart of the wonder of the Incarnation. In coming to earth, taking on human flesh, and living an ordinary (if not poverty-stricken) life, Jesus came alongside us to be with us. Some people talk as if God is remote but, in Jesus, God came to be with us in all the mess and the confusion of everyday living.

The Holy Spirit comes as Counsellor to be with us and to replace the Counsellor who is leaving, namely Jesus. That is one of the reasons why it is significant that the Bible uses the word Paraklētos for both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

“Pentecost is therefore to be seen as the moment when the personal presence of Jesus with the disciples is translated into the personal power of Jesus in the disciples; because Pentecost signals the mode and means by which [Jesus] is putting his new authority into operation … The disciples, filled with the Spirit, begin the work of Jesus’ sovereign and saving rule over the world, whose Lord he now is, by their shared common life, their works of healing, their proclamation of him as Lord and King, and their bold witness against the authorities who try to stop them. And that just about sums up the whole book [of Acts], all the way to when Paul arrives in Rome and announces God as King and Jesus as Lord right under Caesar’s nose, openly and unhindered. So Pentecost is about the powerful presence of Jesus with his people; about the implementation of Jesus’ healing, saving rule through his people; and thirdly about the anticipation, in and through that work, of the final day when heaven and earth shall be one.” 

The Holy Spirit is our paracletos. Our ‘comforter’ or ‘helper’ (providing whatever is needed to fulfil God’s plan), ‘advocate’ (one who will speak up for us), and ‘intercessor’ (one who will pray and mediate between us and God). The Holy Spirit can be all of these things for us. Jesus has sent the Spirit to us and so we can ask for his comfort and help in our need, for his advocacy with God when we need to repent, and for the Spirit to give us the words to pray to God when we don’t know what to say. Jesus knew that life would be tough for the disciples after he returned to the Father, so he provided for them at their point of need and does the same for us too.

The Spirit is Jesus with us and in us forever, as well as the one who continues to reveal Jesus to us. As the disciples found after Pentecost, when we have the Spirit of Jesus in us and reminding us of all that Jesus did and said, we are increasingly able to live as Jesus did. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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O breath of life, come sweeping through us.

Hope: The light of the promised future that is to come

Here's the reflection that I shared during Reflective Evening Prayer this evening at St Mary's Runwell. 
The readings were Lamentations 3:19-33 and 'Hope' is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson.

Disasters are frequent occurrences, “some natural, many more due to man’s ham-fisted neglect of the planet or our inability to get by without recourse to violence.” “The result is always the need for a new start, and how we respond and rebuild colours an uncertain future more than ever. Yet, for all the carnage and chaos that catastrophes bring, an odd truth is apparent: disasters do give us the chance to shape things differently.”

As a result, as Terry Eagleton writes in Hope without Optimism, “the most authentic hope is whatever can be salvaged, stripped of guarantees from a general dissolution.” It is whatever survives a general ruin. This is where we find the writer of Lamentations; bowed down with the reality of exile, yet trusting that it is in the nature of God to bring a new beginning from this disastrous affliction which is “wormwood and gall” to him. Similarly, Emily Dickinson claims that, hope is heard most sweetly in the Gale, “the chillest land” and “on the strangest Sea”.

Hope, Eagleton writes, “is to be found in the unfinished nature of the actual, discernible as a hollow at its heart.” “Potentiality is what articulates the present with the future, and thus lays down the material infrastructure of hope.” Hope is about a vision for a future that is different from the present; one which therefore requires imagination and vision. For Christians that vision is of the kingdom of God; which has begun to be realised but is still to come in its full reality.

As a result, in Theology of Hope Jürgen Moltmann argues that “Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world, for the goad of the promised future stabs inexorably into the flesh of every unfulfilled present. If we had before our eyes only what we see, then we should cheerfully or reluctantly reconcile ourselves with things as they happen to be. That we do not reconcile ourselves, that there is no pleasant harmony between us and reality, is due to our unquenchable hope. This hope keeps man unreconciled, until the great day of the fulfilment of all the promises of God.

The Church, then, is intended to be “the source of continual new impulses towards the realization of righteousness, freedom and humanity here in the light of the promised future that is to come.” Our hope should “provide inexhaustible resources for the creative, inventive imagination of love.” It should constantly provoke and produce thinking of an anticipatory kind in love to humanity and the world, “in order to give shape to the newly dawning possibilities in the light of the promised future, in order as far as possible to create here the best that is possible, because what is promised is within the bounds of possibility.” “Thus it will constantly arouse the ‘passion for the possible’, inventiveness and elasticity in self-transformation, in breaking with the old and coming to terms with the new.” The Christian hope should always have “a revolutionary effect in this sense on the intellectual history of the society affected by it.”

“Wherever that happens, Christianity embraces its true nature and becomes a witness of the future of Christ.”

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Van Morrison - These Are The Days.

A God who entrusts us with things of enormous worth

Here's the Stewardship sermon that I shared at St Catherine's Wickford and St Mary's Runwell this morning:

Many of Jesus’ parables are set in the world of work. They concern masters, servants and slaves, as those were the primary work roles at the time and, because Israel was an agrarian culture, they often relate to farming. Ours is a very different context but, despite the many differences between the working life of Jesus’ day and time, the universal nature of the stories that he told, means that they still have much to say to the work practices of our own day and time.

One person who has specifically explored the implications of Jesus’ parables for the workplace is Will Morris who is both PwC’s Deputy Global Tax Policy Leader and a priest in the Episcopal Church. In his book ‘Where is God at Work?’ he devotes five chapters to exploring the Parable of the Talents or Pounds (Luke 19.11-28).

He notes firstly that this is story about workers and work. In the story people at work are ‘entrusted with vast sums of money and expected to use them in commercial ways’: ‘People are given assignments, they have responsibilities, and they have to report back to the boss, who then assesses them and rewards them with further work responsibility – or punishes them with demotion (or the sack). The relationships are business relationships. There is one worker who obviously has real commercial smarts, another who is not quite as high-powered but still does pretty well, and then there is the one who has no commercial savvy at all, and who lets his employer’s money sit in the ground doing nothing. So we have the successful risk-taker and the conservative, risk-adverse colleague who’d much rather do nothing than try anything. And there’s a hierarchy. It really is just like a workplace.’

He makes three key points. The first is that this is not directly a story about God-given abilities (a pound or talent was a measure of money, not a skill or gift). It is ‘rather a story about the entrustment of something of great price to various individuals.’

‘Second, the sums of money – the pounds or talents – are something given, entrusted by the master when he leaves and required to be turned back over when he returns.’ It is about ‘something entrusted to us which we are expected to work with – fruitfully – and then return to the person who gave it to us.’

Third, there is the size of the gifts. One talent is sixteen years’ wages, five is eighty years’ worth. ‘That’s a lot to entrust to a slave ... Slaves, those way down the pecking order, were here entrusted with huge wealth. The master didn’t entrust the talents to his fellow owners or to his friends, but to his slaves.’ In that sense, ‘this parable is more about equality, at least of opportunity, than it is about inequality. Slaves, if they can handle it, are as worthy of being trusted as the leaders of society.’

This parable ‘upholds commercial activity – even ... banking’ and, more specifically, ‘Jesus does indicate that – in the right settings – using money to make money is completely acceptable.’ ‘For Christians in the workplace that is welcome and affirming.’ Despite this, ‘the parable doesn’t tell us that money is good, or that we will be doing God’s work if we earn more talents for Him by any means we wish as long as we end up increasing the amount.’

However, ‘done well, done properly, these activities will validly contribute to the building up of the kingdom. As a result, we must be open to the possibility that God has placed them there for us to use in this way. If we approach the workplace with the idea, the preconception, that good cannot possibly be achieved there, then the chances are that it won’t be. But if, in part thanks to this parable, we are open to the possibility that God can work through instruments such as money and in the workplace, then who know what might happen? ... God can turn up and do amazing things in the most unlikely places.’

How will we respond to the challenge of Jesus’ parable? In the story, the faithful workers are those that accept responsibility and act on it. The unfaithful worker is the one who does nothing, who does not act. Are we faithful or unfaithful workers? Are our lives dedicated to working for the benefit of others and our world? It is important to also note that in the parable we have been given the resources needed for this responsibility. In the parable the master gave out resources (the ‘talents’) alongside responsibilities. In the same way, the Holy Spirit has come to empower all of Jesus’ disciples.

We are currently in Stewardship month, an annual reminder to us that that is so when it comes to the contribution we make as Christian disciples; when it comes to the money we give back to God, the talents we use in his service, the community contribution we make and the environmentally-friendly actions we take.

Our Parish needs a whole series of contributions at present as we need new volunteers across the whole range of our ministry. We are looking for a new PCC Treasurer, members of our District Church Councils (the DCCs) and Parochial Church Council (our PCC). We would value musicians and singers, people who could work with children when they come to our services, and people who can volunteer at the foodbank. We always value help with administration, pastoral visiting, prayer ministry and with our publicity (website, social media etc). The packs that you have been given include more information about Stewardship and response forms to help you think more about the ways you give currently and what might be possible in the future. The packs include a form you can fill in to offer your help.

The ‘parable of the talents is not about the unequal handing out of skills and about the punishment of the weak. It is about whether we try to be the best we can be, working with God to build His kingdom, heal His creation, including the workplace – which, like everything else, will be perfected at the end of time. It’s about being ourselves, not trying to be people we’re not. It’s about doing only what we are capable of doing, but doing it very well. It’s about a God who entrusts us with things of enormous worth – the possibilities of being His co-workers – and who will love us for what we have done unless (and only unless we hide the gift, don’t ask Him for help using it, and then turn around and tell Him it was all His own fault anyway). Our God loves us. He really does. And all we have to do is love him back.’ That’s what Stewardship is all about.

So, do we recognise that each of us has much that we can give; that we are all people with talents and possessions however lacking in confidence and means we may sometimes be? We all have something we can offer, so how can we, through our lives and work, benefit and develop the world for which God has given humanity responsibility? What resources - in terms of abilities, job, income and possessions - has God given to us in order to fulfil our responsibility to benefit and develop the world? These are questions that Stewardship month encourages us to ask.

As we ask those questions together, we also want to affirm all the many ways in which people here give to St Mary’s and to the Parish is many different ways. We are very grateful for all you do and for all that is done to maintain and grow this church and its ministry. Thank you for all your contributions currently and in the past. Will you continue making those contributions or will there be changes going forward. Stewardship month is the time to have that conversation with yourself and God.

Jesus challenges us as to whether we will be faithful or unfaithful servants? How will we respond? If we accept the responsibility we have been given, we should then pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but we ask that its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us for the sake of Christ’s kingdom come, on earth as in his heaven. Amen.

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David Ackles - Berry Tree.

Unveiled programme, Max Blake exhibition, Quiet Days, and HeartEdge event

Check out the programme of great events in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry over the summer term including Unveiled, our fortnightly Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church (7.00 – 9.00 pm, 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN), an exhibition entitled 'Adventures in Joy' by Max Blake, our programme of Quiet Days, and a HeartEdge 'Living God's future now' event:

Unveiled Summer Programme 2025

• 2 May (7.00 pm) - Exhibition viewing evening. See ‘Adventures in Joy’, an exhibition by Max Blake and hear Max speak about his work.
• 9 May (7.00 pm) – Hear Ken Porter, author, historian & Chair of Basildon Heritage, give an illustrated talk about blue plaques in Basildon borough.
• 30 May (7.00 pm) – – Poets Tim Harrold & Jonathan Evens share a selection of poetry and prose. Tim is a poet who creates images of profound challenge and change. Jonathan’s poems & stories have been published by Amethyst Review, International Times & Stride.
• 13 June (7.30 pm) – Open Mic Night organised with John Rogers. Everybody is welcome to come along and play, read, sing or just spectate. See you there for a great evening of live performance!
• 28 June (7.00 pm) – The Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields in concert. The Choral Scholars sing for services, concerts and other events at St Martin’s, exploring a huge range of repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day.
• 4 July (7.00 pm) – An evening with Neil Tye. Hear British-born and Denmark-based artist Neil Tye speak about his work; paintings that entice the viewer to be immersed in their colours, shapes, and movement, where hidden images, feelings, or meanings can be revealed.
• 18 July (7.30 pm) – Eva Romanakova and Andrew Palmer in concert. Hear Mezzo-Soprano Eva Romanakova and pianist Andrew Palmer perform a wide selection of music including musical theatre, classical, opera, pop, jazz, folk and songs from the movies.

See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html and https://basildondeanery.co.uk/index.php/news/ for more information.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs.

Adventures in Joy: An exhibition by Max Blake, 2 May – 25 July 2025, St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

View the exhibition and hear Max speak about his work at ‘Unveiled’, the arts & performance evening at St Andrew’s Wickford, Friday 2 May, 7.00 pm.

St Andrew’s is usually open: Sat 9am-12.30pm; Sun 9.30am-12 noon; Mon 2-3.45pm; Tue 1-4.30pm; Wed 10am-12 noon; Fri 10am-1pm. https://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html

“Adventures in Joy” presents the most recent work produced by artist and cleric Max Blake. It includes some of the work he has developed though his studies of Icons, as well as his experiments in a more abstract and surreal direction. Max explores his own deep imagination, which is fed by his wide knowledge of religion and reflections amongst other things.

As a man of faith, much of his work expresses an exploration of the Christian faith. Over recent years, Max has studied Byzantine and Coptic Iconography and he has used this study to develop his own interpretations of the icon. Much of Max’s work is highly detailed and the viewer can find many hidden details, people, faces and shapes in his work. This creates a joyful adventure for the eye through bright and vivid worlds. Max uses a range of media including oil paints, inks and coloured pencils.

Max Blake was born in East London in the early 50s and then grew up in Basildon. After graduating as a teacher, Max taught art in secondary schools across south Essex. He also worked with children with anxiety and children with special needs. He was ordained deacon followed by priesting in the early 2000s. Although he is now retired, Max still works as a retired priest with Permission to Officiate in the United Benefice of Horndon, Orsett and Bulphan.

As well as artwork Max has also illustrated book covers and books for children. He continues to exhibit his vibrant work in various locations, including the Well House Gallery in Horndon on the Hill and St Catherine’s Church in East Tilbury. https://www.wellhousegallery.co.uk/art/max-blake

Our churches in Wickford and Runwell are places to enjoy cultural programmes including concerts and exhibitions as well as being places to see art and architecture.

Living God's future now

You are warmly invited to join us at the Living God Future Now event, presented by
HeartEdge and with performances from The Choral Scholars of St Martins-in-the Fields.

Join us for one or both days, as we explore new approaches to mission. There will be a wide
range of ideas covered, so we hope you will find something inspiring to take home.
Friday 27th June will be hosted by St Andrew’s Church, Wickford and will begin at 9:45am.

Author Sam Wells and other inspiring guest speakers will share their insights and explore
The 4Cs, (Commerce, Compassion, Culture, Congregation). There will be opportunities to
share ideas, connect with your colleagues and be actively involved in our Being With
workshops. We’ll also discuss music in mission and enjoy live musical performances.

Saturday 28th June will be hosted at St Mary’s Church, Runwell and in contrast this will be a
Quiet Day. We’ll begin the morning at 9:00 am with a contemplative prayer walk through
Wickford Memorial Park. This will be followed by input from Catherine Duce, of The
Nazareth Community at St Martin-in-the-Fields, drawing on their seven spiritual disciplines,
in particular the significance of silent prayer and service in listening to the Spirit at work in
our lives.

We all have something to bring to the church and this inspiring event will help us recognise
this value. Leave with your imagination sparked and your heart singing!

This is a Diocesan event supported with SDF funding. Refreshments will be provided but
please let us know if you have any dietary requirements, allergies or additional needs.

Find out more about the event and register for it here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/living-gods-future-now-an-event-by-heartedge-tickets-1319715016139?aff=oddtdtcreator

Quiet Days

Our Quiet Days enable people to reflect in the beautiful and historic surrounds of St Mary’s Runwell and St Nicholas Rawreth. St. Mary’s is often described by visitors and by regular worshippers as a powerful sacred space to which they have been drawn. St Nicholas provides times of quiet and reflection in a beautiful setting.

Themes for 2025 include: Rogation Days; A Path with a Heart; Sabbath; Our Lady; and Lancelot Andrewes (at St Nicholas).

All are 10.30 am – 3.30 pm. Runwell Rd SS11 7HS/Church Rd SS11 8SH.

• Wednesday 28 May – Rogation Days: Rogation Days precede Ascension Day. Traditionally, they are days of prayer and fasting observed with processions and 'beating the bounds’ when God’s blessing is asked on agriculture and industry, and were. Led by Revd Sue Wise.
• Saturday 28 June – A Path with a Heart: Seeking inspiration from the Nazareth Community - Silence and Service are at the very heart of the Nazareth rule of life. Led by Revd Catherine Duce, Assistant Vicar for the Companions of Nazareth, St Martin-in-the-Fields.
• Saturday 12 July – Sabbath: Explore Sabbath as both a day of rest and the coming kingdom of God. Led by Mike Tricker, LLM.
• Wednesday 13 August – Our Lady: Reflect on the experiences, inspiration and support of Our Lady, the Mother of Jesus. Led by Revd Sue Wise.
• Saturday 27 September – Lancelot Andrewes: Discover the influence and example of Lancelot Andrewes (who lived in Rawreth) who helped define Anglican doctrine, translate the Bible, and shape the liturgy. Led by Revd Jonathan Evens & Revd Steve Lissenden. To be held at St Nicholas Rawreth.

Cost: £8.00 per person, including sandwich lunch (pay on the day). To book: jonathan.evens@btinternet.com / 07803 562329 (28/06, 12/07, 27/09) or sue.wise@sky.com / 07941 506156 (28/05, 12/07).

Parking available: Church Hall (Runwell) or Village Hall (Rawreth). Nearest station: Wickford (for Runwell) or Battlesbridge (for Rawreth).

http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/

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The Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields - Great Sacred Music.