The text of the previous Kingswood Circuit News -December 2007, can be downloaded here
The Superintendent writes:
Dear Friends
THE CHURCH – INSIDE OUT!
Times seem to have changed in Wales since the great revivals of the last century! There is a story told of a young man who was asked whether he “was Church or Chapel”. “I don’t really know”, he said after long deliberation, “but I suppose it’s the church I avoid going to!”
If you look at the statistics, the majority of the population around us “avoid going to church AND chapel”! For those of us who believe in the saving love of Jesus, belonging to the fellowship of believers is so important that we are saddened by this truth.
It may be just coincidence, but with the decline in the numbers of those belonging to a church there has been a rise in many of the problems that mar our social life. You only need to think of crime, alcohol and drug abuse, marital breakdown, mental illness, debt problems, and global warming to begin to see what I mean. Society and the environment are in a mess! The Government gets the blame and tries to come up with explanations and solutions. Money is poured in! (Am I being unduly cynical if I say maybe only for a short time until another problem hits the headlines!) Sadly, often there is little change. People’s behaviour stays the same! So what can be done? Do the Churches have a role?
Within the Methodist community in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, the Leadership Teams of the Circuits and Churches, and many others, are busy with the merger of the Five Bristol Circuits. It is vital to realise that this it not first and foremost just an administrative exercise!
The merger may have been precipitated by our declining congregations and resources, but we are not going in to this with the aim of prolonging an inevitable decline! The merger is about growth and therefore it is about mission.
Many of you by now will have seen and read the Mission Group Report. (If you have not got a copy, please ask me or pick one up at your Church). This Report is a basis for action – and that action will involve YOU and YOUR CHURCH!
We need always to remind ourselves that the Church is not ours – it is God’s. We are called into it by His love and held together in love by His Spirit. Because the Church is God’s, we are here to do His will and that will, we believe, is to help to bring in His Kingdom. What does that mean? I like the definition of the Kingdom of God as “creation healed”! When we think of even some of the
problems I mentioned earlier, we realise that the task of helping God to heal creation is enormous. So where do we start?
I believe that we start with God! That means prayer, prayer and more prayer! Listening to what He is telling us is essential. What are you and your Church planning to do to take this seriously? Sadly our corporate prayer life, if there is any at all, is often seen by the majority of our congregations as a thing for the few enthusiasts. How do we structure our church life so that prayer becomes central and not an optional “add on”?
Our worship, too, must be an exciting way of meeting with God and thanking and praising Him. I believe that the days of one person leading the service from the front, praying, reading the word, announcing the hymns that are only known to the faithful and sung to tunes that most of the population have never heard of, cannot go on!
How do we enable worship to “come alive”? None of these are new questions. They are always facing the people of God, who is always moving on ahead of us. When we truly seek for answers then, I believe, we will inevitably be lead to move away from a “club mentality” that sadly church people may easily fall into. We will become dynamic living Christian families with Jesus at the centre.
The merger will turn our Circuit and our churches inside out! This may seem uncomfortable for us at first because it will mean change. However, the good news is that if God is in it, the change will bring growth and new life! If you think about it the fact that we are being turned “inside out” has an interesting effect. It will also mean that we are being turned to enable the outsider to come in to our fellowship!
I know that this is already going on in much of our Church life, but it needs to be shifted up a gear! When that happens we really will see even more change! New Christians do not carry the baggage of dead tradition, but are often on fire with their new found love for God. Because they know His power transforming their lives and the difference Jesus makes, they want others to enjoy a saving relationship with Him too! They can often teach us more “established” Christians a thing or two about our real priorities!
Our calling is to make more disciples of Jesus. Our new Circuit structures and our transformed Church life MUST have this as our prime objective. I believe that it can and will be done! The merger is the catalyst that God will use to change and renew us. Be excited, therefore!
I pray that we will allow the Holy Spirit to turn us inside out with love and by the power of that love let us enable others who are now outside of our fellowships share in the wonder of His grace!
May God bless all you do in His service.
Your minister and friend
DAVID HARDY
Multiculturalism - good or bad?
by Colin Cradock
When I was a boy growing up in West London in the post-war years, multiculturalism was unheard of, not only as a word but as a concept. The nearest I came to experiencing other cultures was that our next door neighbours were Welsh and there was an Italian family along the street whose teenage daughters attempted – unsuccessfully – to teach me to samba. But a few miles away in Southall, where my father managed a butcher’s shop, there were already signs that we were going to become much more used to seeing people from different races and cultural backgrounds living in our communities. Asian families began to settle in the area, bringing their own colourful traditions, and different religious beliefs and ways of life. This was reflected in other parts of the country – not least here in Bristol, with the arrival of Afro-Caribbean men and women to work in Britain to help us to recover from the devastation of six years of war. Over a relatively short period of time, Britain became a multicultural society.
So what is meant by multiculturalism? It refers to the situation where peoples of differing ethnic origins, cultures and religions get to live side by side. Those countries which have welcomed the opportunities which this mixing of nations creates, have extended principles of equality to those coming from outside.
In recent times there has been an increasing movement of peoples around the world, to better themselves or to avoid political or religious persecution and violence. This has meant that many countries have found it necessary to face the issue of multiculturalism for the first time.
Multiculturalism has become a fact of life and still commands great support when it is taken to be a means of social harmony and enrichment within a society, but it has come under stress lately and has its critics.
Whilst listening to the Radio 4 programme “Start the Week” recently, I was very surprised to hear the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, criticising multiculturalism. He was invited on to the show to talk about his recent book on the subject, where he rejects multiculturalism on the grounds that it leads to isolationism and the destruction of our national identity. Jonathan Sacks suggests that Britain was once like a country house, where people came to stay, and enjoy its hospitality. Now we are more like a hotel, where guests isolate themselves in their individual rooms and never mix. He contrasts us with the United States, where there is a strong national identity, reinforced by such things as Thanksgiving Day and “Saluting the Flag”.
I had lived with the unquestioning assumption, based on both my political and my religious beliefs, that multiculturalism was a good thing. To hear it questioned by the respected leader of an historic world faith was a shock. It set me thinking and, perhaps for the first time, asking questions. It does no harm to look at our “given truths” occasionally, even those which we hold most dear.
The arrival of immigrants into long-established nation states can mean that the cultural balance is upset. Small numbers can be integrated within a society, but with large numbers there is the danger of the creation of ghettoes and even the eventual disappearance of the local culture. We cannot simply dismiss as racist the reactions of those brought up in typical English neighbourhoods when, over a comparatively short period of time, they get to feel as though they are now living in a foreign country. On the other hand, people who are living away from their homeland often form themselves into isolated groups. We Brits have always done it and currently the urge to own ‘A Place in the Sun’ has meant the creation of ex-pat communities in places like Spain where there are local concerns that the newcomers are not integrating.
There has been a policy shift in some countries from valuing multiculturalism and difference to a greater emphasis on integration and national identity. Some people believe multiculturalism has contributed to fragmentation and polarization of communities. In this country the Government seems to want to keep to the principles of multiculturalism but at the same time emphasises the need to recreate a sense of Britishness.
The debate causes deep political division leading to racism and religious hatred. The Daily Telegraph reported in August 2006 that a survey showed that 18% of people in Britain think that “a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone terrorism”. The discovery that the perpetrators of the London bombings were British-born was a great shock. More recently the suspected murder of a teenager after apparently refusing to accept an arranged marriage, and other so- called honour killings, has increased the general public’s concern over this issue. In these latter cases we see the application of alien legal codes which are unacceptable, even repugnant, in a liberal society. If the government wishes to maintain a balance between multiculturalism and national identity across all communities, it will need to be done with care and sensitivity and with a greater awareness than has previously been shown. It is a most delicate issue, because one false move and the door is opened to all manner of extremism on all sides. This is shown in the vehement, though differing, reactions of Christians, non-Christians and Muslims, to statements of the Pakistani-born Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Revd Michael Nazir-Ali. The Bishop believes that multiculturalism has encouraged Islamic extremism. He claims that this is creating “no-go areas for non-Muslims in Britain”, and his forthright views have given credibility to expressions of intolerance, and have also provoked angry responses from moderate Muslims. It saddens me that such a high-profile Christian leader, himself of Asian origin, should apparently be unaware of the extreme damage his widely reported opinions can cause.
However, there are more moderate views being expressed. Professor Sir Bernard Crick, political theorist and author of the book Life in the United Kingdom has said “I see no incompatibility between multiculturalism and Britishness. Britishness must be part of multiculturalism”. He goes on: “Who are we British? For a long time the UK has been a multicultural state composed of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and also a multicultural society…….made up of a diverse range of cultures and identities, and one that needs a continuous process of mutual engagement and learning about each other with respect, understanding and tolerance.”
This is more than just toleration of other ethnic groups and their religions. It is a challenge to get to know one another better and to share the riches of other cultures.
Changes are envisaged in the teaching of Religious Education in this country, to take account of this process. I am myself involved in this through the South Gloucestershire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). “Social-cohesion” is the latest buzz phrase and we are planning a major event this summer called A world of neighbours with hundreds of children taking part, to get them thinking about these issues.
When as Christians we think about our response to these issues it has to be remembered that we are far removed from the religions, culture and politics of the time of Jesus. But a lot of the fundamental principles of his life and teaching remain as relevant as ever because in essence our human frailty sin and weakness remain the same. Christianity is above class, race, politics and nationalism – we are internationalist and multicultural If God is Father then we are all sisters and brothers and this is a principle recognised in the number of other world faiths and according to the Revd. Kenneth Cracknell – a point of contact and understanding in our interfaith relations. (See In good and generous faith – Christian responses to religious pluralism- published by Epworth Press 2005)
It is encouraging to note that the Circuit Mission Group has already begun this work with a well supported visit to the Easton Mosque last year and other plans are in hand to link faith communities in the area.
The Church throughout the world, for which we pray Sunday by Sunday, is in so many ways a multi-cultural multi-ethnic body itself. To be present at an Orthodox Service, a Roman Catholic mass or attend a black Church let alone Armenian or Coptic, can prove a very strange experience at first, yet we are all inspired by the same history and scriptures and the same Lord.
I believe our Faith is one which provides us with the imperative and springboard for a commitment to strive for the best in Multiculturalism and the very best from our British tradition of tolerance and acceptance of others .
Circuit Prayer Meetings
Before she went to be with the Lord, our sister Norah Jones was overjoyed to see growing interest in the monthly Circuit Prayer Meeting. However, right now it is sad to see how little response there is from most parts of the Circuit. The reasons may be:-
Travelling may be a problem for people in outlying areas.
Members may feel uneasy about praying with others.
The choice of Monday evenings may restrict some; would a day-time meeting help?
People don’t know what to pray about.
The present Circuit Leadership Team will be looking at ways to address the above, but we would be open to other helpful suggestions. If you have thoughts on tackling the challenges listed, or can offer other ideas on increasing our “prayer base”, please telephone Adrian or Ros Holt on 9656905.
“Pray continually” – I Thessalonians 5: 17 (NIV)
Dates and places for March-June
10 March at Unity Oldland
14 April at Speedwell
12 May at Potters Wood
9 June at Longwell Green
all at 7.30 p.m.
Circuit Personality No. 12
MICHAEL STAPLETONIf you are looking for somewhere new to go on holiday, Michael Stapleton would be a good person to ask for advice. Travelling has always been a very important part of his life, and he has spent time on all the continents.
He travels with some of his many friends and sometimes with family, and would find it difficult to name just one favourite place. Madeira comes high on the list, as do Bali and Sitges, near Barcelona, but he has spent several weeks in Australia and New Zealand, more recently combining his love of travel with his other interest, cricket, when he went out for the rather disastrous Ashes tournament. The West Indies may well have a visit when the next big cricket event takes place there, and the more usual places, Vienna, Prague and Budapest are still on the list to be fitted in.
Travel has not only been abroad, for Michael is a keen backpacker and has done, among many other things, the Cotswold Way, the Pennine Way and Offa’s Dyke. The Methodist Guild Holidays have also given him the opportunity to explore other parts of the country as well as adding to his very wide group of friends.
Born in Bristol, Michael lived in Ingleside Road, attending Hillfields Primary School and then Speedwell School. Having fun was always more important to him than academic studies, although he enjoyed the school cinema club and the Physics Club.
His interest was always in things electrical and he could be found taking apart the vacuum cleaner and carrying out other electrical repairs around the house, so it was quite clear that on leaving school this would be the path to follow.
By chance John Areskog, a family friend, suggested he should take Michael around the telephone exchange, and Michael loved it so much that on 3 September 1962 at the age of 16, he started his 2 year apprenticeship with what was then the GPO.
As a telephone engineer he trained underground through the coldest winter on record in 1962/63, then worked above ground and finally at the telephone exchange. Study became important for the first time in his life, because there was a purpose to it, and he gained many qualifications both at night school and through day release. Promotion made him first line manager, working on the early computing systems, and then in charge of the computing systems for the modern exchanges throughout the west of England.
Throughout his school and work career Michael was involved in the Methodist Church. His father was the pianist for the Sunday School at Kingswood Wesley so Michael became part of that church family.
Both his paternal grandfather and great grandfather were Local Preachers, but Michael’s church commitment was first through The Boys’ Brigade where he went as a helper and then was talked into becoming a leader.
As a young schoolboy Michael was a scout at Hillfields, but he later joined the Youth Club at Kingswood Wesley and was involved with MAYC weekends. There was also a link with the Youth Club at St.George, and he could be found at Kelston Park helping with the washing up for youth weekends.
In the 1970s Michael decided to buy a cottage in Fishponds, where he still lives today, and although he attended Fishponds Methodist for a time, he was drawn back to his church family at Kingswood, where he has held a number of offices including communion steward and church steward. He has always been involved with the circuit and is now, of course, a circuit steward.
He has always had an interest in motorcycles, but, in common with most mothers, Mrs Stapleton was very opposed to either of her sons having a motor bike. On leaving home, Michael decided this was the time to take up this interest and he has been the proud owner of a number of custom built motor bikes.
In 1992 the GPO became British Telecom and needed to cut down on staff, losing 45,000 a year for 3 years, so in 1993 Michael volunteered to leave. He celebrated this very early retirement by taking an apartment in France for 13 weeks to enjoy another passion, skiing. He was joined by many friends, all eager to make the most of this opportunity. Michael goes skiing every year, often to the French Alps. This year he is going away with his eldest nephew and family of wife and three boys to ski in Vermont, USA , which will be an interesting venture.
Michael enjoys music, especially classical music and jazz and regularly attends concerts at the Colston Hall and St.George’s, Brandon Hill. He reads widely and is a member of the National Trust.
Michael is a firm believer in making time for reflection and prayer and feels that the church would greatly benefit from increased spirituality. He sees the church as a family and really enjoys being part of that family.
His interests reflect his love of meeting people and this is echoed by Stamford Green who has known Michael for many years.
“It’s always interesting and pleasant to be in his company” said Stamford. “He is a happy person and never seems to grumble about anything. He is always willing to help if he can, and he usually “can”. His practical bent in all things technical is extremely useful especially when your computer crashes. His sense of humour enables him to make even church announcements sound interesting”.
A man of many talents whose contributions, often behind the scenes, are greatly appreciated by us all.
GWYNETH DEAN
GWYNETH is also Secretary of our Preachers' Meeting:
The Local Preachers’ Meeting is holding another Sharing Day for anyone interested in learning more about becoming a Local Preacher or Worship Leader.
This will be at the United Church Longwell Green on Saturday 8 March from 11.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.
There will be no pressure and no obligation - just an opportunity to hear what is involved in the training and to meet with Worship Leaders and Local Preachers - especially those who have only recently become fully accredited - and to ask any questions you may have. You may have already received an invitation from your minister or a local preacher, but if not, don’t let that stop you - everyone is welcome.
You might like to bring a packed lunch, because at 2.30 p.m., the Recognition and Commission Service for ANDREW BIGGS, RACHEL CADBY and LARA HERBERT will be held in the Church. This will be an important occasion for the Circuit, as well as for Andrew, Rachel, Lara and their families and friends, and they would welcome your support.
Our Book Review
this issue comes from Colin Cradock.
THE BIBLE - a biography
I want to recommend the religious writer Karen Armstrong and in particular her latest published work The Bible – the biograhy. For a number of years she has produced highly accessible and well written books on religion and occupies a unique place in that genre.
Karen Armstrong has gone against the view that writing about religion isn’t popular. She has single-handedly proved this to be wrong. Her books are the result of massive research (as the extensive bibliographies testify) which is then distilled for the general reader. She makes her subjects appeal to religious believers and non-believers alike, and is in demand all over the world at literary events and academic gatherings.
Having begun by reading A History of God – a story of the evolution of belief and The Battle for God - concerning fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, I am now anxious to read anything she writes and I know I am not alone in this.
The Bible – the Biography traces the development and use of what is in fact a library of ancient texts of various kinds. It deals very fully with what is called exegesis, the art of interpreting and explaining the Biblical text, which preachers seek to do in their sermons. Although not the only way of approaching sacred scripture, it has a most honoured place and long history especially in Judaism and Christianity. Karen Armstrong’s book encourages respect for the Bible in allowing it to tell its own story within its own context and highlights the danger of cherry picking quotations to suit to preconceived religious or political views. We were recently reminded during the Abolition 200 commemoration, that both sides in the slavery debate used scripture to support their opposing points of view and The Bible- the Biography gives other examples including up to date ones like that of women in the priesthood.
Karen Armstrong closes this book, which at 229 pages is a very comfortable length, with an appeal to Christians, Muslims and Jews to turn their backs on the times when sacred scripture was used as a weapon and to begin instead to share those parts of the Bible which promote harmony, understanding and love. She says “Interfaith understanding and cooperation are now essential to our survival. Perhaps members of these three monotheistic faiths should work together to establish a common hermeneutics” - and if the word ‘hermeneutics’ is new to you its meaning can easily be found in the very full glossary – a feature of nearly all Armstrong’s books. It means – ‘The art of interpretation, especially of scripture’ There is also a list of Biblical quotations and a complete index. You will enjoy this book and end up with a clearer understanding of how the Bible began life, how it has been treated down the centuries and its relevance and importance to us all today. I strongly recommend it.
Colin Cradock
* The Bible - the biography is published by Atlantic Books.
Dandelions
Adrian Holt, our Circuit Evangelism Enabler, sends us what he describes as a “Cry From the Heart”
“Is there anything good about dandelions?” I ask myself.
They give me an aching back, they blacken my fingers, they make our lawn look a mess, and worst of all, they seem to have an extraordinary ability to propagate even faster than rabbits!
Have you tried eradicating dandelions from your lawn? Last year I was short on time, so a much needed treatment with weed-killer was not administered in time. The result? Another healthy crop appeared, waving its flower-heads in the April sunshine. The only remedy was to get down on hands and knees and pick off as many as possible before those “clocks” (loved by children) appeared. Believe me when I say that the next time I saw the garden, not only had dozens of the flowers gone to seed, overnight it seemed, but most of the clocks had blown away, leaving little piles of tufted multi-parachutes grinning at me as they worked their way down into the lawn. And who has attempted to pick off a dandelion clock without scattering its innocent-looking means of regeneration absolutely everywhere…..?
The fact is, it’s virtually impossible to rid a garden of a dandelion crop, once established. Dig them out individually (I got an implement for this from LIDL), and you end up with mini-mine-shafts pock-marking the turf. Try a garden fork, and you create the beginnings of a pitch-and putt course. Leave a tiny root behind, and the new shoots begin immediately. Put them in the compost, and they multiply. You’re not allowed to burn them, and in Bristol you have to pay extra for a ‘green’ bin to dispose of them.
Last year, when noting the second crop emerging when I thought I had destroyed the first, I began to ask God: “Whatever use are they, Lord? They’re just a pain!”
Eventually a number of thoughts came into mind as I was tying up plastic bags to take to the tip.
First of all, I was reminded that our sin and wilfulness is like the roots of a dandelion, going down deep into our lives and holding on against every attempt we make to live better lives. Thank God that Jesus, through faith, can set us free (John 8: 36). That is why the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is so powerful.
Then, the empty spaces left when we are delivered from sin are like the pock-marks in a lawn. These need to be ‘re-seeded’ by the Holy Spirit, or they will remain as open invitations to the seeds of the enemy (Luke 11: 24-26).
Dandelions are far from becoming extinct! They have an almost eternal quality to their lives. I say “almost” because although individual plants may die, their seed does not - It just keeps on reproducing. Jesus’ words are interesting:
“I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
His illustration, although applied here to wheat, suggests a great principle of life which was demonstrated in His own death and resurrection (Acts 17: 31), and is echoed in the life of the dandelion. Life comes out of death. As a seed dies, new life is given to its species. As we accept Jesus, we die to ourselves, but we begin to grow immediately into the new (eternal) life which He has promised to all who hold to faith in Him. (Romans 6: 8)
Maybe I shouldn’t get so obsessed with rooting out dandelions. On the other hand, one must consider the neighbours….
Does your religion make you a nicer person?
Lionel Blue, the well-known and hugely popular Reform rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, says that when he decided that he wanted to become a Rabbi, all his mother said to him was
“But Bernard, will it make you a nicer person?”
Her choice of adjective is interesting. Not “better” or “wiser” or even “more religious” – but “nicer”. When I was in Junior School, our teacher, the fearsome Miss McLanagan, sternly forbade the use of the word “nice”. If we were rash enough to use it in what in those days was known as a “Composition”, we had to write out ten alternative adjectives – words which, according to Miss McLanagan, had a proper meaning. Beautiful, fine, pleasant, pleasing, lovely, good, kind, thoughtful, interesting, even tasty - but not NICE! She made us look it up in the dictionary – and of course, strictly speaking (and speaking strictly was what she did) I suppose she was right. Ironically, one less familiar meaning for “nice” given in Chambers English Dictionary is “over-particular and hard to please”, which sums her up very well!
Most of us know what we mean by “nice”, and it isn’t “finicky or fastidious or foolishly simple”, other unexpected definitions offered by Chambers, but just plain likeable, the sum of all those qualities which make people easy to get on with. Ken Doherty, that most gentle and engaging of international snooker players, who has never had the sort of nickname given to some others, like “Hurricane” or “Whirlwind” or “Rocket”, also quotes his mother in this regard. He says that when he was a very little boy she told him “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”, and he has tried to live his life by this wise advice. As a result he is universally liked and respected by fellow players and fans far beyond his native Ireland. Mums know a thing or two!
So why is it so important to be nice, and what does it have to do with religion? I recently saw Jeff Baron’s multi-prizing winning play Visiting Mr Green at the Theatre Royal, Bath. It is the story of the accidental friendship which develops between a cantankerous, 86-year-old widower living in a drab, untidy little apartment in New York City, and Ross Gardiner, a high-flying, 25-year-old corporate executive, brought together by a court order after the younger man almost drives into Mr. Green as he jaywalks across the street.
Mr Green, brilliantly portrayed by Warren Mitchell, who has cornered the market in bad-tempered bigots from Till Death us do part onwards, is an Orthodox Jew who lives a lonely and embittered life following the recent death of his wife, Yetta. Ross, as a punishment for careless driving, is given six month’s community service which is to be spent visiting the old man, who initially goes out of his way to reject any offers of help or kindness.
As the two men get to know each other better, mainly because of the patience and (that word again) sheer niceness of the younger man, secrets are revealed on both sides. Mr Green had claimed to be childless, but admits to Ross that his daughter Rachel had married a “goy” (a gentile), and from that day onwards he had regarded her as dead. Unknown to him, his beloved wife Yetta had, for all these years, secretly kept in touch with their daughter. Ross discovered this when he tidied up the apartment and found some letters Rachel had sent to her mother. She now has three grown up children, one of whom is named Hannah after Mr Green’s mother. The younger man reads Rachel’s letters to him, showing how deeply hurt she had been by her father’s unforgiving attitude. At first he will not budge from his position. What Rachel has done is against his Jewish beliefs, and he cannot forgive her. To him she remains dead. He would not even agree to tell Rachel of the death of her mother.
When Ross reveals his own secret, that he is gay, the relationship almost collapses, because Ross is also Jewish, and Mr Green refuses to accept that this young man, whom he has come to accept, almost to love, (“God sent you to me” he says, in a rare moment of tenderness) has broken the commands of the Torah.
It is after one of his many rants against his daughter and her Gentile marriage, that Ross asks Mr Green if his religion had made him happy. Had it helped him to live his life?
The answer is obvious. His unyielding religious observance has not made Mr Green a nicer person. It has made him a belligerent and disagreeable old man. Only when Ross’s compassion and persistence finally break down the barriers of Mr Green’s stubbornness and pride do we see a glimmer of hope for him. Niceness has succeeded where religion has failed.
So was Mrs Doherty right when she told the young Ken that it is “more important to be nice”? I am sure she was. Religion – Christianity as well as any other - can make us sanctimonious and judgmental. It can make us so sure of our own rightness that we are unwilling to listen to any contrary views. It can turn us into bigots, ever ready to disapprove and condemn. It can make us hard to like and difficult to approach. Christians like this may feel very satisfied and content with their upright moral stance, but their self-righteousness is not going to attract other people into the Christian faith.
Fortunately, there are many more Christians who are tolerant and understanding and who are motivated by love and compassion. Whilst we are right to seek for ways of making our worship more attractive and “family friendly”, we must also make sure that we are attractive and friendly too. What will bring people into our Churches is when we are seen to be welcoming, accepting and, sorry Miss McLanagan, just plain, straightforward old NICE!
Norma Cradock
CIRCUIT MISSIONS GROUP
LENT CHALLENGE
THE ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
'The Earth is the Lord's, and everything in it' - Psalm 24 v1
As reported in the last issue of Kingswood Circuit News a small band of people have been meeting regularly for over a year now focusing on various areas of the Church’s Mission. This Lent the Missions Group has put together a programme designed at helping us as a Circuit to reflect upon issues around the Environment & Climate Change. This links in both with Christian Aid’s “Cut the Carbon” campaign, and the decision of the 2007 Methodist Youth Conference to encourage debate following the publication of the Stern Report. You should all have received on 10 February , the first Sunday in Lent, a leaflet detailing all the special events and opportunities open to you. These include…
The M.R.D.F. (Methodist Relief and Development Fund) course on Climate Change being run in four places around the Circuit
The 'Hope for Planet Earth' event taking place at St.Mary Radcliffe & Temple School on 3 March (7.30pm). Cost £6/£3 - Tel 0845 0944414 for tickets.
A presentation of Al Gore's award winning film 'An Inconvenient Truth' at Speedwell on 11 March (7.30pm)
The Circuit Service at Hanham on Sunday 30 March (6.00pm)
We welcome for this service the District Environmental Advisor, Mark Boulton. Mark is a Local Preacher from Cheltenham who has worked on environmental projects in Africa and Nepal. He is a fair-trader and is actively involved with Eco-Congregation, A-Rocha and Christian Ecology Link. He is also involved in programmes to distribute low-energy lamps and to encourage the use of micro-renewables. Please put the date of 30 March in your diaries and do consider attending one of the Lent Study Courses on Climate Change or any of the one-off special events detailed in this article. This issue is one that demands of us all serious thought and attention, given our Christian responsibility both to care for the earth and to love our neighbour.
Finally, you will note from the sheets you have received that through Lent (6 February - 23 March) we are all being challenged to reduce our carbon footprint through walking / cycling / sharing a lift / using public transport. The target (and I think it is a conservative one) is to reduce our footprint across the Circuit by over a thousand miles. Please keep a record of how many 'car miles' you save and give the reply slip to your minister on Easter Sunday. The total will be announced at the Circuit Service on 30 March. Hopefully for some of us the exercise will lead to a permanent change of our travelling habits.
If you want to know more about any of the events detailed in this article, please speak to your minister or any one of the Missions Team who will be able to give you more details.
Andrew Prout
Our
Bible Studythis Quarter comes from
JOHN CREECH
Isaiah Ch.6 vv.1-13 “Isaiah’s Call “
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
The whole earth is full of his glory.”
The written account of the call of Isaiah is one of the most dramatic moments in Biblical literature, recorded with a beauty and brilliance which clearly indicate the power with which the vision affected him throughout his long ministry. It is probably true to say that in all the literature of Oriental peoples, nothing has ever been found to surpass the grandeur and dignity of this immortal passage.
Isaiah had entered the Temple in a state of some trepidation. During the reign of King Uzziah, Judah had experienced a period of peace and plenty. There was the outward appearance of prosperity and piety, but underneath, and at the very heart of the nation’s life, there was unrest and a pronounced turning away from the worship of the true God of Israel. Meanwhile, abroad, the horizon was already dark with omens of invasion and crisis as the great empire of Assyria embarked upon a period of expansion.
Now Uzziah was dead, just when his considerable talents were needed most, and it must have been with some sense of despair, in view of the difficulties that beset the nation, that the young Isaiah entered the courts of the Temple to seek after the Lord.
Suddenly the awesome vision bursts upon him. He sees the Lord in all his majesty, the celestial train, the mystic seraphim, the shekinah of holiness. Where he had been oppressed with a sense of the forsakenness of the land and the emptiness of the throne in the midst of such a disturbed and uncertain political scene, he now sees the Lord God enthroned on high and the entire power of the Universe at his immediate command. The realisation of the holiness of the God of all the earth makes Isaiah conscious of his own sin and unworthiness. Yet the Lord sets his seal upon him, and from that there is no escape.
Isaiah accepted the challenge of the Lord’s service. Even though it meant bringing to the people of his day a message they would not receive, there could be no going back from the glory of the revelation that he had been given. Thus it was that Isaiah came forth from the Temple with a new vision and a new sense of the mission entrusted to him, and of the office he had now to assume.
I sometimes feel that we have lost sight of the magnitude of God’s greatness and majesty, and as a result we find some difficulty in expressing our adoration and praise. It is one of my pet theories that Christians generally are not very good at offering praise in worship. Indeed, many people seem to come to church with somewhat unclear motives. There is some truth in the humorous verse:
“Some go to church just for a walk;
Some to laugh, and some to talk.
Some go there to meet a lover,
And some the fashions to discover.
Some go there to doze and nod –
But few go there to worship God!”
Could this be due to the fact that we have lost sight of Isaiah’s vision of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe? The Jews have always been conscious of the might of God’s power and his sustaining influence in the natural world. The Book of Psalms, in particular, contains some of the most beautiful poetic praise and adoration for God’s majesty as it is revealed in Nature.
And we today have an even greater knowledge of the beauty and complexity of the Universe, as a result of space probes, photo-graphs of planets and stars, discoveries in molecular science, DNA and so on.
So if we dwell on the mystery of Creation, and consider the Entity who lies behind it all, we are filled – or we should be filled – with a sense of AWE: the recognition that we are in the presence of an Entity so vast, so transcendent, so powerful. This is what we mean when we refer to the holiness of the Lord.
We ascribe to God superlative qualities: he is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. He is, as the Jews describe him, “Yahweh-Elohim”, the Lord God, and engendered by our sense of awe, we respond in worship.
Again, the Jews had an expression for it. They spoke of “the fear of the Lord”. Perhaps that word “fear” is misleading in our modern English usage. It does not mean to “be afraid of”, but to show a deep respect or reverence for the Almighty – not in grovelling self-abasement - yet recognising his awesome greatness.
It is certainly true, however, that Isaiah became acutely conscious of his own sin and that of the people when faced with the unutterable holiness of the Lord, in the same way as every one of us is convicted of our state of sin when we are confronted by the Lord. Our God is a terrible God, in the root meaning of that word – not nasty or unpleasant, but truly great, formidable.
When we are truly aware of the immensity of God – as Isaiah became aware in the Temple – we may find it easier to express our adoration and our worship.
Yet despite all this, God is not remote, or too lofty to be concerned with us mere mortals. We also worship his because he has come to us, made himself known to us, and shared our human existence with us, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We respond to him in praise for the salvation he has provided for us through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, and we rejoice that he is permanently with us in the person of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
The purpose of Isaiah’s vision in the Temple was two-fold. Not only was it to manifest the greatness of God’s majesty and assure him that there was One in control over all, but it was also to call him to the Lord’s service. In this regard it ranks with the vision of Moses at the burning bush, and Saul’s vision on the road to Damascus.
Isaiah did not hesitate in his response. “Here am I,” he said. “Send me.”
The message which Isaiah was given was not an easy one. Because of the people’s perpetual blindness and hardness of heart, the nation will be utterly devastated. And yet a promise is held for the future - that a “holy seed” shall remain.
It is important for us all to be aware of the service to which the Lord is calling us, and to respond to that call in the same manner as Isaiah. It may be no easy task. We cannot pick and choose what we shall do for the Lord. As far as I am aware, God has never negotiated with his servants what they were to do.
The first necessity, of course, is to be in a state of grace in our relationship to the Lord. Isaiah was conscious of his sin and had to be purged from it before he was fit for the Lord’s work. We, too,
must divest ourselves of the encumbrances of our own sin through confession and accepting the pardon which is provided for us in Christ’s name. Like Isaiah, and all the prophets, we must make ourselves available to God’s indwelling Spirit, that he may speak through us and act through us in whatever way he chooses.
I have been stressing the Majesty of God today, as I believe it is something we so easily overlook if God is simply introduced to us as “Heavenly Father”, and it is so wrong to neglect this awesome aspect of God. But thank God that this is not all; for He is not just an awesome Power, remote and unapproachable. We praise God indeed that He, Sovereign Lord of the Universe, made himself man.
As St. John profoundly proclaimed in the prologue to his Gospel: “and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory…..full of grace and truth.” And we praise Him for the reason why he manifested himself in human form - to break the power of sin and death and provide salvation for all.
The Lord God, manifested to us now in the Holy Trinity, is even greater than Isaiah could have comprehended when he had that vision of the majesty of the God of Israel. Yet that vision in the Temple had a profound effect upon him which was to influence his life and message from that moment on.
Let us learn the lessons that Isaiah gained from his experience, and may they aid us also in becoming effective messengers of the need to turn back and respond with a proper sense of awe to the Lord’s holiness – in this twenty-first century world where the precarious political and social conditions so closely resemble those of the days of the prophet. For without his guidance, control and blessing, even our best endeavours will only be in vain.
JOHN CREECH
The Editor of the CIRCUIT NEWSLETTER, Mr Colin Cradock, is always grateful for news from around the Circuit.
Please send him items for the June Circuit News not later than 1 May 2008. Copy sent by email or disc is particularly appreciated.