bath & wells: the bath & wells 'grapevine'
march 2008
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Be witnesses for the Kingdom
of Heaven is everywhere
Lent thought from Bishop Peter Maurice
“The Kingdom of Heaven is only twenty minutes down the road, for Christ’s sake.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is in a movie theatre as the old woman dying of cancer gets up to leave, shaking popcorn crumbs out of her lap.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is there as the fat man whose son is living with HIV/Aids goes driving by in his pick up with a bumper sticker that says ‘Jesus loves you’ that he can’t believe in.
Kingdom Builders
“The Kingdom of Heaven is in the eyes of love and longing and blessing that we raise to look at Him as though he is a rainbow in the sky.”
These words of Frederick Beuchner jumped into my mind as I sat with over a dozen lay people who are working as Authorised Lay Ministers across the Diocese.
They work with the homeless and the forgotten in Somewhere To Go in Weston.
They journey alongside children and young people in schools, in clubs and on street corners as they try to make sense of the world in which they live and grow.
They work in the rural communities of our Diocese supporting rural life in all its glory and pain and opening our eyes to the beauty and fragility of God’s world, and they walk with and stand beside those who live in the poorest of our Urban communities inviting them to believe in a God who continues to say: “whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”
They are all kingdom workers, kingdom builders because, of course, the Kingdom of Heaven is everywhere and at least not more than twenty minutes down the road.
They also remind us that proclaiming the Kingdom and witnessing to the Kingdom is given to all of us who have been signed with the cross at our Baptism.
As many of you will know, the English word Lent means spring, but to observe many a Christian you would not necessarily think so.
In my understanding spring is the time when the world around us begins to come back to life, when everything awakens from the long dark sleep of winter.
So, as we move towards the events of Holy Week and Easter, rather than thinking of sackcloth and ashes, perhaps we should be looking to make it a time when we open ourselves more deeply to the life giving power of God that will bring us more fully to life and enable us to see the Kingdom of Heaven in the people and the places where we live and work.
Prayer
“We thank you Lord for the door of your grace, which makes us sharers in your Kingdom. God of all, we thank you for the opportunity which you offer us every single day to open ourselves to your Spirit, to delight in you and to serve you in newness of life.” Women’s World Day Of Prayer 1988.
Bishop’s message from the March 2008 edition of The Grapevine, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Bath and Wells
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New site for environment
action plan
The go Zero environmental project at Chew Magna is among examples of what Churches are doing for the environment flagged up on the website launched by the Diocesan Environment Group.
The site, linked to the Diocesan website but able to be accessed independently, includes information and resources and is built around the Diocesan Environmental Action Plan with its commitment to Changing lives - - for a changing world.
The section Our Commitment, the statement adopted by Diocesan Synod in March 2007, is supported by pages explaining what it means and including a Vision For The Future, word picture of a possible eco Diocese in 2015.
There is information on the scale of problems faced, which opens up theological themes to help face the problems and describing the relationship between simplicity and spirituality.
Go Zero is in the final section with resources to help do things differently: study courses, books, organisations, advice source, including that helpful in worship and prayer, and 30 tips on getting started.
The material can be downloaded as pdf files and reproduced, viewed using an Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free download. Pages will be regularly updated. Also available is the group’s Diocesan Ecology Link bi monthly electronic newsletter with up to date local and national environmental news.
Visit the website on: www.bathandwellsenvironmental.org.uk
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Grant turns a dream
into reality
A CHURCH's dream to transform a piece of overgrown wilderness into a beautiful community space is to come true thanks to a £10,000 grant from a trust run by a landfill company.
St. Stephen’s, Bath will use the money to buy tools and safety equipment and employ a coordinator to drive the project and recruit and support volunteers.
“We will work with volunteers aged between 16 and 25 to transform a piece of overgrown wilderness next to the Church into a community wildlife space,” said Parish Priest, Revd Jonathan Lloyd.
“Our vision is to create a beautiful community space, with native plants and bird boxes, to repair dry stone walls and fences and open up the space to the local community.
“The volunteers will get a sense of achievement and we hope they can link their new skills to other programmes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award.”
The Church has been awarded the grant by the Sita Trust for a 12 month GreenPrints Flagship Project and also £400 for two community open days to be run by the British Trust For Conservation Volunteers.
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LET THEM EAT CAKE SAY THE YOUNG MODEL MAKERS
GINGERBREAD MEN were obviously not enough of a challenge for eight youngsters who decided instead to create a gingerbread model of their Church - Bath Abbey.
The seven girls and one boy and their leaders began by measuring the oven to decide how big a piece of cake they could bake and assessing the dimensions of the Abbey to work out the scale.
Once the pieces of cake were cooked they were iced together and the Abbey constructed, beginning with the tower. Stained glass windows and the Abbey’s angels were added.
By the end of the day everyone had eaten enough gingerbread so the Abbey was taken to a Parish Communion service next day and served to the congregation.
Pictures show the youngsters and their model
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Fund raisers add the extras
A PATRONAL Festival at St. Bridget’s, Chelvey had something extra special to celebrate - fund raising that exceeded all expectations.
It was announced that not only had the £100,000 needed for tower repairs and other vital work to structure and fittings been achieved within the year but an extra £42,000 had been raised.
Money is still coming in.
The announcement was made at the Festival supper and the extra cash raised will be used for a toilet and catering and storage facilities.
The main restoration work begins in the spring, with new building starting once planning approval has been given.
Archdeacon Andy Piggott of Bath preached at the Patronal Festival Service.
A new organ, part of the Appeal, was played for the first time.
“The total raised reflects the enormous help the Church has received from a huge number of people and organisations, particularly the local community,” said Appeal Chairman, Tony Stirratt.
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It was service as usual
A THREE-in-one occasion at St. John’s, Kenn caused some logistical headaches but in the end everything at the Family Service went well.
The interior of the Church was a forest of scaffolding as it was in the middle of a ceiling painting project - but this was decorated with balloons;
the congregation was celebrating Plough Sunday complete with ancient plough and other farming artefacts;
baby James John Hayzen was being Baptised and had brought many of his family along.
The Church was packed and so many stayed behind for coffee the hot water ran out.
The picture shows some of the congregation waiting for the service to begin.
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M is for Mothers’
Union our help indeed
AN ACROSTIC composed by a prisoner at Cornhill Prison, Shepton Mallet has thrilled Mothers’ Union volunteers working there.
It was presented to them by the men attending the Cornhill Classics meetings.
The Diocese’s Mothers’ Union has had links with Cornhill for over ten years with members originally running a creche in the visits room.
And for the past couple of years volunteers have been part of the Cornhill Classics group run mainly for men over 50 as part of their resettlement programme.
The acrostic extols the work of the volunteers for the men and includes:
S is for Sharing their time with all gathered here;
U is for United and unified in their beliefs;
N is for Now everything is worthwhile.
And the first letter of every third word in each line spells out MOTHERS’ UNION.
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School of Formation
No treading water in Mudford
by Brian Pearson
THERE WAS a time when a parish vacancy meant pressing the pause button. The general expectation was that of everything going on hold until the new CO arrived. Thankfully, especially given the length of some vacancies, those days are past. Now, with a sense of uninhibited liberation, some parishes grasp the opportunity to push out the boat rather than tread water.
Take Mudford for instance, a little north of Yeovil and one of a group of five parishes. Faced with a vacancy, its lay leaders wondered not only how to manage the months ahead but how best to make use of them. Could those months hide a real opportunity waiting to be grasped? Enter, by invitation, the School of Formation team, not on dashing white chargers but appearing alongside to help not direct, to support not prescribe.
Progress
The help provided at this stage was marked by an emphasis on listening and discerning, and certainly not offering prepacked answers. The distinctiveness of the group of parishes, and within that the individual parishes, was never compromised and so began, and swiftly developed, a relationship built on trust and understanding.
The team employed a mix of mentoring and training and progress became evident both to the leaders directly involved and then to others. With worship as a focus growth in both competence and confidence became apparent in leading, speaking, taking prayers. This was clearly becoming a vacancy with a purpose.
But what then? What about the arrival of the new Incumbent? Would that see a new broom sweeping aside all that had been achieved?
If that was a fear, it would prove to be ill founded. Indeed what the new Priest In Charge discovered was a Benefice with momentum and more Church members prepared to play their part.
Significant Shift
Now no one in and around Mudford is going to admit that they have cracked it. But they are suggesting that the significant shift in their way of ‘being Church’, and the transition that brought about that shift, was down to a highly effective local partnership, with the School of Formation acting as a catalyst.
And, listening to their story, the clear message I was left with was: “We are not done yet.”
Picture shows Brian Pearson
THE SCHOOL of Formation offers over 80 short courses for Church communities and is running four leadership courses for clergy, Readers and lay leaders. Brian Pearson is Publicity Officer for the School.
For details contact Dawn Hickman at The Old Deanery on 01749 685106.
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Now the good news –
we’re growing
THE MISSION focussed Church in Bath and Wells is showing an increasing number of people returning to regular worship.
And Bishop Peter Maurice has linked the increase to the Changing Lives, Changing Churches for Changing Communities programme saying: “It helps people think differently about being Church today and to seek new ways of meeting the needs of the present day.
“This was given real impetus by the DVD made by Bishop Peter Price in which ordinary people tell their extraordinary stories of changed lives, and which has been used in many parishes for study groups.”
Church of England statistics show the average Sunday adult Church attendance in the Diocese went up from 19,800 in 2005 to 21,200 in 2006, the latest figures available, and Sunday attendance by those under 16 went up from 2,600 to 3,200.
The statistics also reveal a changing trend in Church going, with many attending midweek instead of Sunday, taking the average weekly adult attendance up from 21,700 to 23,300 and young people's attendance up from 3,800 to 4,800.
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MOTHERS’ UNION ON DISPLAY
A LARGE box opened out into the shape of a cross and there displayed were some of the projects Mothers’ Union members are involved with in Bath and Wells and overseas.
It was all part of Taunton Deanery’s Mothers’ Union Wave Of Prayer Service at St. Michael’s, Galmington, combined with the monthly Songs Of Praise.
A large congregation included Diocesan President Barbara Stratton and members from Tone Deanery.
Banners from each branch present were processed during the singing of the first hymn and received by Team Vicar of Wilton Team Ministry, Revd Colin Snell, who handed them back as the final hymn was sung.
There were prayers for the Link Dioceses of Bida and Kabba, Nigeria, Lampala, Uganda and Lebombo and Niassa, Mozambique and for Bath and Wells.
The picture shows the cross with its displays.
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Single spark again
heralds the
Light of Christ
by Cathedral Precentor, Patrick Woodhouse
One of the best loved occasions in the Cathedral year is the celebration of Holy Saturday night. It begins with the cathedral community, together with our many visitors, gathering to stand in stillness and silence in the tomb-like darkness of the Nave to “await the risen Christ” .
As we wait in hope at the end of the great silence that has lasted from three o’clock on Good Friday afternoon, the stillness is punctuated by brief readings recalling God’s “saving deeds in history” . . . but these readings are preliminaries only. In the words of Thomas Merton: “the first voice that speaks in the silent night is the cold flint. And out of the flint speaks fire. The fire, making no sound, is the most eloquent preacher on this night that calls for no other sermon than liturgical action and mystery.”
And so Christ’s victory over death is given dramatic symbolism:
a taper lit from the spark of the flint is placed against the dry wood;
flames of the new fire leap up in the darkness;
light spreads throughout the building,the Cathedral’s Easter celebrations begin.
As the flames grow, scattering the darkness, the Paschal Candle is signed, blessed and raised high by the Deacon, who, moving forward into the darkness of the vast space, sings triumphantly three times: “the Light of Christ!”, to which all respond in a great roar of sound: “Thanks be to God!”.
And then, to a powerfully moving setting of Psalm 32, the whole procession of choir, clergy and people, each bearing their own candle lit from the flame of the fire, moves slowly down the nave, round the retroquire, and into the south transept, where, at the ancient font, the Easter proclamation is made, the Exultet is sung, the Easter Gospel is read, and Baptismal vows are joyously renewed as all are sprinkled with water.
It is an occasion of huge joy as the different languages of the liturgy – silence, words, movement, music and symbolic action – fuse together in a simple but compelling act of affirmation.
Join us at 8.45pm on Saturday March 22nd. The service begins at 9.00pm.
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Ready, steady, toss
THE EXCITEMENT mounted as pupils at East Harptree Church of England Primary School waited their turn with adults to toss pancakes through the village streets on Shrove Tuesday.
And then it was time for the off and, as villagers lined the route, the children began running and tossing the pancakes.
Jenny Cruse organised the event for East Harptree Women’s Institute and a collection was held for the Playground Fund.
The pictureshows Reception Year children racing.
photo: Ros Anstey.
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Street pastors team
ready for launch
A GROUP of Christians is in the process of recruiting people to bring a practical expression of their faith to the night time streets of Taunton.
Taunton Christians Together, uniting about 30 Churches of various denominations, and other Independent Churches, are to set up a Street Pastors scheme modelled on that of other towns, including Weston super Mare.
Police and local authorities have endorsed the scheme and a Steering Group is arranging for registration and for training for volunteers to offer support for those out and about at night.
Founder of Street Pastors, Revd Les Isaacs, has met steering group members.
“Street Pastors is a fast growing scheme and such towns as Weston super Mare have found the crime rate has fallen as non judgmental care, support and understanding is offered by trained Christians prayerfully engaging with the night time clientele,” said Steering Group member, Adrian Prior-Sankey.
“It is our belief that this practical expression of Christian love in action will result in greater witness to the community and nurture better relationships between the different Church traditions.”
The group wants to hear from any local Christians over 18 willing to be trained as street pastors and also wants to recruit a Coordinator.
Anyone interested should contact Adrian on 01823 322714 or 07973 252346, email: Adrianjps@aol.com
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FRESH EXPRESSIONS
Never mind the cleaning follow the star
IT WAS meant to be a time of spring cleaning at Wells Cathedral but everything had to stop for the arrival of 200 youngsters from all over the Diocese intent on enjoying the annual Children’s Festival.
Follow The Star was the theme and to keep it in mind the children sang We Three Kings to begin the day with a time of worship. Bishop Peter Price, Dean John Clarke and Preb. Elsa Van Der Zee processed in and gifts were received for the Mothers’ Union’s refugee charity.
The children were lead to each activity by a Cathedral guide bearing a star and they made stars, gift boxes and pot pourri bags.
There were games, some magic and a story and also a chance for face painting and drum playing. And, in the midst of all the activity, they reflected on giving and receiving.
“And who will forget the sight of the bouncy castle in the Nave?” said Jane Whitcombe, Diocesan Children’s Adviser.
The day closed with worship,where snow magically fell, and gold coins were waiting to be collected at the west door -and then it was back to the spring cleaning.
Picture (1) shows Bishop Peter, Elsa and the Dean in procession at the Festival.
Picture (2) shows A bouncy castle in the Nave of Wells Cathedral caused great excitement for children from throughout Bath and Wells taking part in the Follow The Star Festival there.
It’s a woman thing
OASIS IS a new group set up exclusively for women to give more opportunities for them to meet informally and socially outside Church.
Woman behind the initiative is Jane Street of St. John’s, Peasedown who said she hoped the women would get together and “be inspired to live lives more closely walking with Jesus.”
Oasis is open to women of all ages living in the local area.
Over the next year the group hopes to invite speakers to cone and talk about their experiences and the first was Grace Turner from the Christian missionary organisation Firelighters.
“The talks will largely be from members of the congregation who can share how God has used them and I hope to get speakers from some of the charities we support to show how the Church’s giving to outside organisations is being used.”
Oasis meets on the last Tuesday of each month in St. John’s Vicarage.
For details contact the Church Office on 01761 420862.
Invited to have fun
A NEW after school club launched at Peasedown St. John for children at the local primary school aims to “explore Christianity in a fun and exciting way.”
The club, called SJ’s, is a joint venture between the local Parish Church and the school and organisers hope it will become a popular weekly event.
It is run by Children’s Worker for the area, Sarah Warren, who said: “We play games, do puppetry and craft, drama and many other things.
“This first term we are exploring God’s Big 10 Rulz, the Ten Commandments, and we are teaching the kids important values that can help them in all aspects of their lives.
“We have been running a similar thing at Wellow since September which has proved a great success.
Parish Priest, Revd Matthew Street, said: “I am so pleased that Peasedown Primary School has accepted our invitation to run an after school kids’ club.
“I know from talking to the children in Wellow that SJ’s in Peasedown will go down a treat”
The picture shows Sarah with Maisy at the club.
Heaven’s angels take to the road
MISSION IS taking to the road on motorbikes in Bath and Wells.
The Christian Motorcyclists Association is an organisation set up by bikers to reach bikers and, because there were branches in Bristol, Devon and Cornwall but none locally, a ‘twig’ has been set up to cover Somerset and parts of North Devon - SAND.
“We can’t become a branch just yet,” explained chairman Grant Lewis.
The CMA bikers are committed Christians and members of Churches of various denominations.
“We meet socially for rideouts and other events but our main aim is to reach others with the Word and the love of Christ,” added Grant.
Members meet the third Monday of each month and will be going on rideouts, taking part in Church services, visiting bike shows and other events throughout the Diocese.
Anyone interested in joining, finding out more or inviting members to an event should contact Grant on 01823 451201.
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