Dear friends

Week eighteen. Two weeks ago I mentioned that my third grandchild, Toby Noah, was born to Rachel (our daughter) and Dan. I got to hold him recently and here’s a photo of him aged 12 days:

For once, I’m lost for words.

I have just received the next plan (September – November) as we begin to resume services in our churches – some weekly, some fortnightly, some not yet. It’s going to feel odd, even uncomfortable for a while, just as it is when we go shopping or visit a garden centre. But it is important that we remind ourselves how important our belonging to the church actually is.

I was talking to Rev Tony Falcon who is the Roman Catholic chaplain at HMYOI Aylesbury and he was concerned that some of his people may choose not to return to church once we are fully back worshipping. He wonders if some will have lost the habit of regular attendance at church, others have found new freedom with the use of Sunday to visit family and friends, whilst others might be fearful of gathering in large numbers with Covid19 still lurking.

My response to this is twofold. Firstly, as I have said elsewhere, this Pandemic has given us an opportunity to have a good look at how we function as a church. We need to be honest and assess if we are “fit for purpose” going forward in a changed world. We certainly are not if we have some our people burdened with duty that leaves them feeling neglectful of family or fearful of risk to their health.

But also we need to remember that the Lord has called us to be his disciples in the world and by “being Church” together, we find encouragement and solidarity as we face the challenges of tomorrow.

Tony shared the following story that he found in a publication called The Church – Catholicism made simple:

“Once upon a time there was an island, and word got back to the Bishop on the mainland that the church on the island was dying and no one was going to Mass. So he decided to visit the island and see what was going on. He arrived on the Monday and spent the whole week going round talking to everyone, but when Sunday came no one came to Mass. So the next day he went out and rang a bell in the main square of the island, and when a large crowd had gathered he said to them, “before I came here I was told that the church was dying. Well now I can see that it is dead. And if it’s dead, we should bury it. So I invite you all to the funeral of the church next Friday.”

By the time the next Friday came round everyone had heard about it and the Chapel was crowded out with people. At the front there was an open coffin, and the Bishop stood up and said, “we are here for the funeral of the church. She has served us very well for nearly two thousand years, and as a mark of respect I want you all to file past the coffin and view the body for the last time.”

So they did. They all processed up the aisle and walked past the coffin, and as they did they looked in. And there, on the bottom of the coffin was a plain mirror. As each person looked in, all they saw was their own face looking back out at them. In that was the Bishop taught them what, or rather who, the church really is.”

This reminded me of a “Wayside Pulpit” poster back in the 1980’s that asked:

CH CH

What’s missing?

UR

My prayer is that we, the church, you and me, can rise up following the pandemic and find new ways of engaging with our communities, providing today and handing on tomorrow a church that enriches souls and provides a spiritual home to new lives like Toby.

With kindest wishes

Grandad FredThis week’s Devotional

Read: Matthew 14: 13-21

Read: I danced in the morningWhen the world was begun,And I danced in the moonAnd the stars and the sun,And I came down from heavenAnd I danced on the earth,At BethlehemI had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

I danced for the scribeAnd the pharisee,But they would not dance And they wouldn't follow me.I danced for the fishermen,For James and John They came with meAnd the Dance went on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

I danced on the SabbathAnd I cured the lame;The holy peopleSaid it was a shame.

They whipped and they strippedAnd they hung me on high,And they left me thereOn a Cross to die.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

I danced on a FridayWhen the sky turned black It's hard to danceWith the devil on your back.They buried my bodyAnd they thought I'd gone,But I am the Dance,And I still go on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

They cut me downAnd I leapt up high;I am the lifeThat'll never, never die;I'll live in youIf you'll live in me -I am the LordOf the Dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

Listen and watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCFQXis4eKc

Pray:Lord, we pray for a church that is open and honestThat is ready to confess when it makes mistakesThat is ap lace where everyone who enters its doorsIs always aware of the warmth of its welcome.

We look for a church that cares for the hurting and the broken.

Lord, we look for a servant church, one that has a heart for the homeless, the unemployed, the sick and the bereaved, and seeks to reach out to those who have lost hope and purpose in their lives.

Lord, we look for a church that is at the heart of the community and one that refuses to be side-lined or ignored: for a church that is the conscience of the nation and speaks prophetically the word that must be heard.

May the church of JesusAlways live to honour him.

Lord, we pray for a church that is focussed on missionAnd whose purpose is that all may believe;For a church that preaches the gospel and demonstrates its truthThrough the lives of its people at home, at work and in the world;A church committed to mission and outreach in ways relevant to today.

May the church of JesusAlways live to honour him.

In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father,Who art in heaven,Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily breadAnd forgive us our trespasses,As we forgive those who trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation,But deliver us from evil.For thing is the Kingdom,The power and the glory,For ever and ever. Amen.