A note from our priest

Monthly Reflection

May 2024

St Just-in-Penwith is the westernmost church on the UK mainland. The original foundation was in the fifth century, the first of four churches on the site. Today’s building dates from the fourteenth century. At the entrance to the churchyard is a much-weathered Celtic stone cross with an image of Christ crucified carved over a thousand years ago. Inside is a fifth century carved stone and a door lintel formed of the traditional intricately carved stem of an eighth century Celtic cross.

Why might this be of any interest to readers in Edale today?

First, this ancient building in the remote far west of our country is a house of prayer. You can feel it as you enter and spend time in the sacred space, as I did on holiday recently. The stones resonate with faithful Cornish worshippers’ prayers from over the millenia: they began some four hundred years after Jesus’s death and resurrection, and have continued to the present day.

Second, the many visitors to Edale Church often comment on the special sense of peace that they experience on entering. Our church, although incomparably younger than St Just-in-Penwith, is nevertheless a significant house of prayer. This space was set aside many years ago as our community’s sacred and holy place: it still fulfils that function today and we hope this will continue not just for years but for centuries.

Last, this sacred space is a living space, used regularly by many Edale residents along with our visitors. It continues to develop and to inspire. You may have noticed evidence of this liveliness in the changes that have happened over the last few years. These include a new roof along with improved access and a toilet. There is a hospitality/welcome area including heritage and teaching information and other more hidden work.

We are holding a service of celebration for all the works that have happened at Edale Church over the last few years: you are all invited. It is at 10am on Sunday 19 May.

Best wishes, Simon.

April 2024

Happy Easter. This edition of Ringing Roger comes to you as Christians throughout the world celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. And a great celebration it usually is, with much feasting following the fasting of Lent.

But the key event is, of course, the example of the new life of the Risen Christ. This encourages us all to remember that new life comes from death, darkness is followed by light. In gardens throughout our country, we are seeing this as fresh shoots emerge from the driest of bulbs and roots. Old friends who have been lying dormant all winter, apparently lifeless, appear and grow once again.

Another celebration is taking place in Ireland this year. It is the 1500th anniversary of the death of St Brigit who is now Ireland’s ‘matron saint’, alongside its patron saint St Patrick. Like many Celtic saints, in Brigit’s story it is hard to pin down what is fact and what is legend. She was legendary for her connectedness with nature, her gift of hospitality and her ability to turn bathwater into beer! This prayer, attributed to her, points us to celebrate Easter fully and joyfully:

I would wish a great lake of ale for the King of Kings;

I would wish the family of heaven to be drinking it throughout life and time;

I would wish the men of heaven in my own house;

I would wish vessels of peace to be given to them.

I would wish joy to be in their drinking;

I would wish Jesu to be here among them.

Alongside hospitality and celebration, Brigit was also renowned for her peacemaking skills. In some ways, violence is easy. Being committed to peace and reconciliation with those from whom we are estranged is exceedingly hard. True peacemaking involves understanding and acknowledging the pain of the other person. It cannot ignore or underplay differences between people, particularly when those differences go back centuries and generations and involve bloodshed, mistrust and injustice.

As we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection this Easter, perhaps we can all pray for new shoots of peace to emerge throughout our world.

Best wishes, Simon.

March 2024

With more snow forecast, deepest February is perhaps not the best time to be reflecting on light here in Edale, despite the best efforts of the snowdrops and hellebores to cheer us up. Daffodils are peeping their shivering heads up too, along with tiny cyclamen.

All of which set me thinking about the wonderful sunrises and sunsets that we so often get in this valley in brighter months. Those reds and oranges and purples reflecting off layers of cloud or brightening a clear sky are regularly spectacular. But have you ever tried to describe one of these events in words for someone living miles away or with impaired vision?

One of my friends became a wine merchant after discovering that he has a ‘nose’. This means that he can sniff or taste a wine, discern numerous flavours, and then describe them in words. What a gift! But can words truly paint the picture of a sunset or a football match or a relationship or a fine wine?

The catch is that some of the things that really matter in life are very hard to put into words. Poet T.S.Eliot discovered this, noting in his poem Burnt Norton:

Words strain,

Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,

Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,

Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,

Will not stay still.

Saint John the Evangelist, perhaps the greatest Gospel writer, had a similar problem trying to capture in words ‘the Word’, the living gift of Jesus Christ:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

Words have limits which in turn limit our understanding. So much of great significance for each of us, from football to faith, from dark winter days to spring light, has to be lived and experienced in our hearts rather than understood in our heads. As we journey through Lent, past Mothering Sunday and the Spring Equinox, I pray that the light of God’s Word, however mysterious, will be alive in each of our hearts.

Best wishes, Simon.

February 2024

Following last month's poem focusing on praying for peace throughout our fragile world, February brings us back down to earth and more mundane matters.

As I write, the snow is falling and many roads in the High Peak are closed. Birds are searching for food, sheep look generally disgruntled at this interruption to their routines, and our hens took one look outside and headed straight back into the warm [?] confines of their coop.

But the big decision of the last few days has been around Christmas trees. Big thanks to Blythe House Hospicecare who have collected, chipped and sent for composting some 800 trees locally raising over £8000 for patient care throughout the High Peak and Dales: thank you and well done.

The big decision generating much discussion was: when should we take down our decorations and our tree? Of equal significance before Christmas was: when should we put up our Christmas tree and decorations? Spoiler alert: there are no definitive answers to these questions.

Most people get everything up some time in the four weeks leading up to Christmas itself. These four weeks are called Advent in the church year and traditionally, centuries-ago, Advent was a time of fasting, equivalent to Lent, and so without decorations. This gave added importance to the twelve days of feasting and celebrations which followed, starting at dusk on Christmas Eve. These ended at dusk on Twelfth Night, the evening before Epiphany (always on January 6th) which commemorates the three wise men arriving to pay homage to new born Jesus.

Leaving Christmas decorations up after 6th January has been said to bring bad luck: this is a contemporary myth. Some people take them down on Boxing Day, others choose to leave them out until Candlemass on February 2nd.

Whatever your decisions regarding decorations, it is important not to lose sight of the underlying reason for all these considerations: the birth of a baby in Palestine who is revered around the world as God’s son, Jesus. He went on to offer us an exacting example of living at peace with each other and with all creation. To truly follow his example is very challenging but potentially life-changing.

Best wishes, Simon.

January 2024

Happy New Year.

Last month, as we began Advent and the run up to Christmas, I took the liberty of challenging readers of this column. In case you’ve forgotten, the challenge was for the whole of December:

Can each one of us spend a moment in prayer each day for all the suffering in our world and for peace? Whether or not prayer is ‘your thing,’ a few simple words and an intention are all that is needed.

If all humanity took up this challenge, the world would be changed this Christmas.

Prayer of this sort can of course be offered at any time. It still feels as if the world is a fragile place, very much in need of any help we can offer. Prayer is one vehicle for this, arguably the most important, because for peace to break out, hearts have to change so that minds can change.

Those of you who were able to attend the village Carol Service in church may remember that I shared a poem by our good friend, the priest/poet David Scott who sadly died not long ago. This poem, called Ibn Abbad woke early, is printed in full later in this Ringing Roger. It is a cry for peace led by three very different representatives of faith traditions, whose backgrounds are key to understanding the poem’s significance.

Representing Muslims, Ibn Abbad was a fourteenth century North African Islamic theologian and mystic. Rabbi Schmelke of Nikolsburg was born in Ukraine in 1726: he was a Jewish scholar who became Chief Rabbi in Moravia (now in the Czech Republic). Father Louis from America, also known as Thomas Merton, was an influential twentieth century Christian monk whose writings are still widely read.

The poem depicts 11th September 2011 (9/11). These three men, a Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian, are portrayed praying together, willing the world to peace as the ground beneath them shook and their eyes were filled with grief.

Twenty-two years later, the ground still shakes in many places on this planet. As the New Year dawns, perhaps we can all join in their prayer, each day willing the world to peace.

Best wishes, Simon.

December 2023

This year all the busy-ness of preparing for Christmas will be taking place alongside international events that make the world seem exceedingly fragile. Fighting in numerous places, climate change, not to mention pandemic left-overs: all are contributing to unease for many of us. How will it all turn out? How many lives must be lost? Why can’t all people live at peace with their neighbours?

Christmas is, at heart, simply a festival remembering and celebrating a baby’s birth. This birth occurs in squalid conditions away from home because the land is under occupation by enemies who invaded and fought. Not long after being born, this baby [Jesus, God’s son] becomes a refugee in another country to escape a ruler’s persecution.

Does all this sound familiar, similar to some of the heart-rending stories we have been hearing from Europe and the Middle East? It seems deeply sad and ironic that, for many centuries, the place where there has been some of the worst contemporary destruction of lives and communities has been known as the Holy Land.

What can you and I do to be helpful in all this as we enter Advent and move towards Christmas? How can we contribute to making this fragile situation for our world a little better? There are of course many possible responses such as volunteering, contributing money or time, engaging in political debate or action, and so on.

One response is simple, and it is my challenge to each person in our community for the month of December. We know that, at times of extreme difficulty and hardship, almost everyone – whether Christian, agnostic or unbelieving - prays in some form or other. So my challenge is this:

If all humanity took up this challenge, the world would be changed this Christmas.

Best wishes and prayers for a peaceful and refreshing Christmas, Simon.

November 2023

The ancient Japanese art of kintsugi involves repairing broken ceramics and pottery with gold, making them stronger and more beautiful. Invented in the 1400s, Japanese craftsmen started using precious metals, including gold, to bond together pieces of pottery. This drew attention to, rather than away from, the breaks, which in turn had the effect of making the break the most important part of the piece itself.

Translating literally as “golden joinery”, this concept from Japanese history teaches us that imperfections are important. Something broken can still be functional and beautiful. Once complete, repairs can be stronger than the original.

This can be seen as a metaphor for healing and recovery from adversity. Despite being changed forever, a broken object, once repaired, can paradoxically become more robust, more beautiful and more precious than before it was broken.

Similarly, the bible contains many passages concerning pottery. They teach that pots may be chipped and worn, but still functional; that broken pots can still be useful; and that clay may need to be re-worked before a pot can be made.

Both kintsugi and the biblical stories illustrate the significance of imperfection, fragility and brokenness. All these are inevitable components of the life of each one of us at some stage.

November is our month of remembering. We come together first for Remembrance Sunday (12 November) with our annual Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial. The brief outdoor ceremony involves familiar words and a two-minute silence. This begins with The Last Post and ends with Reveille played on a bugle: music reminding us of life’s fragility and the generosity of previous generations who gave so much so we can live peacefully.

On Sunday 26th November, there will be a Service of Remembering in our church. This is for anyone who has lost a loved one at any time, recently or not so recently. However imperfect, fragile or broken we may feel, this will allow us to come together, reflect, and remember. There will be words, music, readings, and silence. We will light candles and say some prayers.

Even if healing and recovery seem a long way off, simple activities like these two events can be helpful. You are all invited. Best wishes, Simon.

October 2023

Francis of Assisi is a patron saint of Italy. He lived at the end of the twelfth century and was renowned for his simple way of life. There are many stories of his hospitality and generosity. Although he and his friends deliberately possessed almost nothing, he often gave away what little they had to other people who were in need: he once gave away their only bible.

Why did Francis have this generosity so deep within him? One answer is that he saw all life as a gift. Everything on earth was, for Francis, God’s gift, whether human, animal or inanimate. As a result, Francis saw the world through a lens of thankfulness: thankfulness for the gift of being created, and thankfulness for the gift of sharing creation with everyone else and everything else.

This sense of all life as gift for which we are called to be thankful meant that Francis was always aware of being blessed. His constant greeting to anyone whom he met was ‘May the Lord give you peace.’ In other words, ‘may God’s love and peace enter your heart and inspire you to share that love and peace with others’. This blessing continues to inspire many people today, both Christians and non-Christians.

One definition of a blessing is to wish someone well and to turn that wish into a prayer, and hence an action. How might we do this in our own lives? Perhaps by sharing something of Francis’ sense of all life as a gift calling us to be thankful. Perhaps also by praying a blessing on all those we meet, as Francis did? Best wishes, Simon.

September 2023

There is a lovely Hasidic tale of a poor farmer who is coming home from market when a wheel comes off his cart. Stuck in the middle of a forest, it takes him some time to fix the wheel. When he re-focuses, he realizes he hasn’t said his prayers.

Hasidic Jews are known for following the letter of God’s Law very closely, including praying three times a day at specific times.

Unfortunately, the farmer in our story had left home that morning without his prayer book. Knowing that his poor memory would let him down if he tried to recite the psalms without the text in front of him, he made a quick decision: he would recite the alphabet five times and leave it to God to put the letters together to form the words that he couldn’t remember.

The tale ends in heaven where God says to the angels ‘of all the prayers that I have heard today, this one was undoubtedly the best, because it came from a heart that was simple and sincere.’

Saint Francis of Assisi was active in the thirteenth century when many people were illiterate and so struggled to participate in communal prayers. Francis gave them permission to say the Lord’s Prayer [the ‘Our Father’] several times instead of reading the set words for the service.

It can be difficult to know what to say when we want to pray. These two stories suggest that our precise words are not crucial. Instead, it is our intention to pray that is central: if you’re not sure, just pray!

There are a hundred and fifty Psalms in the Bible. Each one is a heartfelt prayer of one sort or another. Sometimes these are prayers of joy and thanksgiving, sometimes of praise. Alongside these are prayers expressing anger, despair, sadness and other unhappiness. Additionally, there are prayers asking for help and blessing.

The example of the Psalms suggests that we can pray about anything that is important to us just now, personally or for others, locally or internationally. Again, if you’re not sure, just pray!

Best wishes, Simon.

August 2023

Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, lived in the twelfth century. He is well known to students of Italian literature for writing the first poem in vernacular Italian, rather than the Latin usually used at the time by writers and scholars. This poem is The Canticle of the Creatures and here are some of its verses:

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,

Who is the day and through whom You give us light.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars in heaven.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy

and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give

sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and

humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and

governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

There is a long history of people finding spiritual nourishment in all aspects of the creation that we have been given to inhabit. Francis found a sense of beauty and love in all that he saw around him and from it he learnt something of life’s deepest meaning. In the poem, we see him giving thanks to God the Creator for the divine work of making all that is.

Today, numerous people who do not believe in God also find deep spiritual meaning in creation all around, particularly in the beauty of the countryside. Musicians and poets throughout the ages have known this too. When we play instruments or sing or listen to music of any kind, or read poetry, we have the possibility of hearing at many levels, including in our deepest being. Francis would label this listening and hearing as God’s divine word speaking in our hearts.

However we describe such moments, they are significant for our journeys through life. In getting to know creation deeply and intimately in our countryside or elsewhere, we draw near to the deepest parts of our selves.

Best wishes, Simon.

July 2023

A select company of villagers undertook the Boundary Walk a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to all who made the walk happen, both beforehand and on the day.

The tradition of beating the parish bounds dates back to the fifth century in Europe. In England, it is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon times in the laws of Alfred the Great, of burnt cakes fame. He died in 899. There were civil/administrative reasons for making this walk and also religious ones.

In the days before maps were made, walking the boundary gave local people a mental map of their parish. This was important administratively to establish who should contribute tithes to whom, or repair the church, or have the right to be buried in the churchyard. It also stopped potential encroachment by neighbours, such as onto shared fields.

From a religious perspective, beating the bounds offered an opportunity to pray for the protection of the community. Hymns would be sung and prayers said at regular intervals during the walk.

There were boundary stones to mark the parish jurisdiction. The story goes that small boys were taken on the walk as eventually they would be the longest surviving members of the community: to help them remember, they would be whipped along the way or dropped on their heads on each boundary stone. Readers can be reassured that this tradition has not survived in Edale!

In contrast, the tradition of a feast at the end of the walk has happily been continued in this parish in the form of drinks and prize giving at the Rambler. Well done to the winners of the Millie Heardman trophy.

Having circumnavigated our parish along the various hills and ridges, it is hard not to speculate that ours must be one of the finest parish boundaries in England. While we did not stop specifically to say prayers or sing hymns, there is no doubt that the scenery inspires wonder at God’s great gift of creation. That is truly something for which to give prayerful thanks.

Best wishes, Simon.

June 2023

Three aspects of last month’s Coronation Service struck me amongst the pomp and prayers and wonderful music.

First was the initial formal greeting to the King inside Westminster Abbey, starting the process of coronation. This came not from a Duke of the Thistle or some other fine personage, but instead a small boy said: ‘Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God, we welcome you in the name of the King of Kings.’ The King replied ‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve’.

This exchange was a new inclusion to the traditional coronation service. It seemed to set the tone: one of the youngest and most junior members of the British public spoke to the most senior of all, who replied that his role is to serve. Behind all the pageantry was this deeper message. Our King committed himself, through prayers and oaths, to follow Jesus Christ in a life of loving service as our Monarch: living for others, serving and seeking the well-being of the whole community.

Second, before receiving any of the regalia of kingship [sword, sceptre, orb], the King was given a bible, reminding all of us that he is called to govern with good conscience in the sight of God. It also emphasised that the bible’s teaching is the historical foundation of so much of Britain's culture and ethics.

Third, in a tradition dating back to King Edgar in 973, the King swore an oath. New wording used in this service committed him to fostering an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely in our country.

As a result, there was another innovation. Leaving Westminster Abbey, the King received a greeting from representatives of major non-Christian faith traditions: Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and Buddhist. In this greeting, they united with the King and people of all faiths and beliefs in acknowledging the value of public service, in thanksgiving, and in service for the common good.

May God bless our King and Queen as they begin this historic new phase in their lives and in the life of our nation.

Best wishes, Simon.

May 2023

May 2023 will go down in history as the month in which we had our first coronation for 70 years. King Charles III will be crowned on 6 May in Westminster Abbey in a colourful ceremony, much of it with deep historical roots.

Did you know that there is a tradition of the new monarch having bishops accompanying him or her throughout the service? This dates back to the coronation of Edgar in 973 when two bishops led the King by the hand into Bath Abbey. Since the coronation of Richard 1 in 1189 the Bishops of Bath & Wells and of Durham have assumed this duty, as they will on May 6.

Central to all the pageantry is an underlying call to service. Speaking just after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles pledged himself to this vocation, making a commitment to follow her pattern of loving service with ‘loyalty, respect and love’. We already see many examples of this in his work with charitable organizations such as the Prince’s Trust. The latter is now a global network involving disadvantaged young people.

Queen Elizabeth I adopted the motto Semper eadem – Latin for ‘always the same’. Whatever upheavals are going on internationally or more locally, our sovereign embodies stability and continuity at the heart of our nation. Part of the responsibilities of a Head of State are to foster peaceful unity and to represent our country in international affairs.

It is significant that the coronation of King Charles III falls within Eastertide, as we continue to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like Our Lord, King Charles is called to long term committed servant leadership, rooted in God’s love and peace. Let us pray that he and Queen Camilla will be given the strength and wisdom to lead and govern carefully, with wisdom and justice, in all their many duties.

Let us also take time to appreciate the historical significance of all that we will witness and, importantly, to enjoy our celebrations, both nationally and locally here in Edale.

Best wishes, Simon.

April 2023

March has been full of snow and rain making it a difficult lambing time for our farmers. It has felt like a time of waiting too – waiting for winter to finally depart, waiting for new growth, waiting for those shoots to finally feel the time is right to emerge into glorious colour.

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a ‘mid-winter spring’, as the poet TS Eliot described, ‘when the short day is brightest, … the brief sun flames’: sun and warmth made it feel like spring was already with us. Sadly, this was sent to fool us and we have been sent more waiting ‘in the dark time of the year’.

The poet goes on to ask, from the depths of winter darkness, ‘where is the summer, the unimaginable zero summer?’ Winter drags on, plants die back, wild animals struggle to find food. The nights are long. A time of waiting.

The good news is that, on turning the poem’s page, there are ‘hedges, white again, in May, with voluptuary sweetness’. Spring emerges slowly from winter, new life creeping out from behind the coldest season’s drabness, earth-warmed seeds beginning their gradual transformation.

Lent too feels like a time of waiting, a time of preparation that seems to go on forever. A time of darkness and drabness in the church’s year to match our British weather. Yet the Easter message for Christians is not seasonal, it is eternal: the darkness does not overcome the light, resurrection follows death, new life after the depths of winter’s pause.

The example of Jesus’ transition is from preaching to arrest, untimely and painful suffering and death followed by darkness, from which resurrection springs with new light and life. This is the perennial story of hope, always offering us the possibility of a fresh start, however dark things may seem to be.

May God’s blessing be on us all as we leave our winter waiting behind and begin the Easter season of spring and new beginnings.

Best wishes, Simon.

March 2023

It is a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. At that time, I wrote in Ringing Roger:

Skies darken, missiles fly and tanks roll across Ukraine as this democratic peaceful country is aggressively invaded [unprovoked] by its much larger neighbour. It is hard to believe that since the deadline for the last Ringing Roger, war has come to Europe for the first time since 1945. In some way, it seems to have affected everyone I speak to. Outrage, shock, deep sadness at such blatant inhumanity and evil – just some of the feelings around. …

War makes us look critically anew at everything we undertake, ‘it aggravates the permanent human situation so we can no longer ignore it’, wrote C.S.Lewis. In other words, the inherent fragility of our human existence, along with its frequent triviality, is made apparent by the seriousness of the evil and suffering we are witnessing.

Sadly, at present there is no sign of this aggression and destruction abating.

The word Lent comes from the Old English word for Spring and points us to seeing the weeks leading up to Easter as a springtime with God in which we awake, emerge and are transformed in response to God’s warming love.

Additionally, the Easter story offers us an alternative narrative of hope. Christians believe that the pain and death followed by resurrection recorded in Jesus’ final few days are always evident in human suffering. There is always hope and ultimately there is always new life.

Perhaps we can all use the opportunity of the start of Lent this year to take time to pray each day, if only for a few minutes or even a just a few moments. And as part of this offering of prayer in Lent, please please pray for the sad situation in Ukraine and for the people of Ukraine. Please also pray for all the many other unresolved conflicts raging around our globe.

Such prayer offers the hope that transforming events will take place, and that peace, along with peaceful new life and new beginnings, may emerge very soon.

Best wishes, Simon.

February 2023

One of the ways in which the BBC celebrated the festive season this year was a Sunday Worship marking Christmas in Ukraine. The indestructibility of hope was the theme of the prayers and music which were led by Ukrainians. The climax of the program was a recital of Carol of the Bells, which also featured in our recent Edale Carol Service.

Based on Ukrainian folk songs, this piece first came to global attention in tours by the Ukrainian National Chorus during 1919-1921 and in a performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1922. Initially, the chorus was on tour to raise awareness of the new state of Ukraine, formed after the National War of Independence. By 1922, however, the chorus was in exile and Ukraine had been absorbed into the United Soviet Socialist Republic set up by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

Like so much in life, the history of Ukraine is complicated. The current unrest there demonstrates once again that history has much to teach us, but sadly humanity so often fails to learn. What is clear from all the reports is the courage of so many people in standing up for what they believe is morally right, resisting violent aggression at considerable personal cost.

In the bible’s Old Testament, standing up for what is right is often depicted as the territory of prophets such as Jeremiah. He is on the point of giving up: life is exceedingly difficult for him, he is tired, his early enthusiasm has waned, he is worn down and absorbed in self-pity, and he wants to abandon his calling.

Then comes the voice of God: are you going to quit at the first hint of opposition, are you going to live courageously or cautiously, are you going to live your best by pursuing what is right and excellent, are you going persevere to live a life of purpose? And the story goes on to tell of Jeremiah’s eventual positive response [though it takes him a while].

The Christian message of the Christmas season is one of hope, indestructible hope. The question asked of each of us is how are we going to respond, especially when the going gets tough, as it so often does.

Best wishes, Simon.

January 2023

British historians are going to look back on 2022 as a remarkable year. We said farewell to the longest reigning monarch in the long history of this United Kingdom, our late Queen Elizabeth II. The ceremonies were remarkable, they seemed to unite us all in realising the true worth of integrity, continuity, perseverance, and above all service to this nation.

As you may have noticed, one or two other things took place in the public sphere. We lost two Prime Ministers and gained a third in a few hectic autumn weeks. It has been a chaotic time for our politicians, for our political system, and for the finances of both our government and each of us.

Protestors, including vicars, have been glueing themselves to motorways and other roads because they feel so strongly that humanity is moving too slowly in responding to the challenges of climate change.

And on top of all that, we have had a war in Europe for nearly a year following a peace that had lasted since 1945.

So, all in all, a remarkable year even if we might sum it up as ‘what a mess’.

As we recover from Christmas and the New Year begins, we might wonder how God’s gift of a new born baby can in any way help all this mess around us. How can this infant possibly be the Prince of Peace?

And yet, and yet, …. The promise of the scriptures is of God’s loving presence amongst us in so many unexpected ways. However messy it seems, Christians believe God is there with us, in stable and in palace, in peacetime and in war.

Perhaps the start of 2023 is a good moment to pause and reflect on how each of us can stand up for what is true and right, how each of us can live generously, how each of us can live with integrity, how each of us can persevere in service to each other and our community, and how each of us can live wisely on God’s gift of this wonderful planet.

A very happy New Year to you all.

Best wishes, Simon.

December 2022

November has come to be known as a month of remembering. We celebrated All Hallows [All Saints] and its eve, Hallow’een. Then, like many communities across this nation, we gathered round our village War Memorial to give thanks for sacrifices made by people in previous times so that we can live safely today.

Now December is here and winter is truly upon us. Clocks have gone back, wind is blowing, leaves are dropping, evenings are dark, and fires are lit. Added to these seasonal changes, many of us are concerned for fragility in so much that seemed certain. This includes our planet’s future, wise governance of this and many other nations, along with ceaseless wars affecting so many lives.

For Christians, the four weeks leading up to Christmas are known as Advent, meaning to come. Traditionally it is a time of expectation and preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, whose birth we will celebrate at Christmas with joy and rejoicing at new life and light shining brightly in the world.

Advent also points towards the darkness that we so often notice all around us. This darkness can sometimes be felt in our own lives and others’ lives, perhaps in suffering, wrong-doing, sickness or loss. Additionally, it can be observed in so many situations world-wide.

So this holy season of Advent is a time of preparation in expectation of a coming with new birth, life, joy and light. It is also a time to reflect on our own darkness, and the darkness present in our world, and to try to leave it behind. We do this in many ways, not least by our choices and our actions, undertaken in hope for the future.

‘The future depends on what you do today’ wrote Mahatma Gandhi, encouraging us to proceed actively, expectantly and hopefully, however wintry and dispirited we may be feeling. Saint John, in a well-known passage about Jesus which begins his Gospel, put it like this:

in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

I pray that we will all have a blessed Advent and a peaceful Christmas.

Best wishes, Simon.

November 2022

We are living through a time of political chaos in our nation. Perhaps by the time you read these words, things will have settled…

In this context, the TV chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver gave me food for thought during a recent radio interview when he challenged ‘mean’ government policy on free school meals. Oliver has been truly excellent at highlighting the impact of food policy on children. This is mostly financial policy with direct effects on children’s nutrition, such as not being eligible for free school meals.

The evidence is clear, he said, that children who eat a nutritious breakfast and dinner learn better, achieve more and are better paid in adult life. We could infer from that that these children become capable of contributing more in their own lives and to the life of our society than those less fortunate nutritionally as youngsters.

The chef asked questions along the lines of ‘where is fairness and kindness for vulnerable people in all this?’ Profound questions for us all. It made me think about compassion and its place in our lives, both individually and as a society.

Compassion can be defined as concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others and having a caring response to someone else’s distress. How do we show such compassion for each other in our own families and communities and throughout our national society? What might that look like if we truly lived it?

Christians are instructed above all to love their neighbours as themselves and to show mercy to others. Both these are deeply compassionate actions. They were modelled by Jesus himself in his life [eg Mt 9.36] and now they challenge us to look at how we are living, individually and collectively.

How are we doing compassion together and for each other? What might true fairness and kindness look like both at a personal and at a policy level? Might we need to do things differently?

Best wishes, Simon.

October 2022

I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family to which we all belong, but I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in with me, as I now invite you to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.

These words were spoken by Queen Elizabeth (as HRH The Princess Elizabeth) in a radio broadcast to the whole of the then British Empire from Cape Town on the occasion of her 21st birthday in 1947. She repeated them at the time of her coronation in 1953.

While the word Imperial feels so dated and out of place today, these are striking words for a young woman. To offer one’s life dedicated to the service of a cause [whether this is a nation or a charity or whatever], and then to deliver on that promise for over 70 years, has to be a remarkable achievement. It was undoubtedly helped by the Queen’s deep Christian faith. Her example challenges each of us to think about the causes that really matter in our lives and to review our commitment to them.

What has also been remarkable during the period of national mourning [as Ringing Roger goes to press, we await our late Queen’s funeral] has been the stillness and respect of those who have queued for many hours to pass her coffin in Westminster Hall. This experience seems to have touched many people at a deep level, as any grief and mourning would do. May she rest in peace.

Gracious God, we give thanks

for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth,

for her faith and her dedication to duty.

Bless our nation as we mourn her death

and may her example continue to inspire us;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Best wishes, Simon.

September 2022

On average, 60% of our bodies are made of water, though the percentage is much higher in infants. Hence the heat waves across Europe this summer have had a very significant effect both on all of us and on animals and crops.

Humanity’s need for water has been part of our existence throughout the ages. In desert countries, people live clustered around oases and sources of water. In dry countries, water is piped miles for irrigation. In many places, piping does not exist and water has to be carried to both crops and people.

The writers of the bible knew the significance of water for humans. Of the six days of creation recorded in Genesis [the first book of the bible], four days involve water in some way. John the Baptist baptized people with water in the holy River Jordan to cleanse people of their wrong-doing. Today, we continue to baptize with water to symbolize beginning a new life in Christ.

Many images of journeying through life envisage a river through which we progress, encountering both free-flowing waters and obstacles along the way. While we may come up against flotsam and jetsam from time to time, the spiritual river of life offers plenty of opportunities for renewal and growth.

From earliest times in Derbyshire, dwellings and farmsteads were situated near to springs to ensure fresh water for everyone. Recently, the age-old tradition of well dressing has been taking place in our county. Possibly originating from pagan ceremonies, the earliest recorded well-dressing was in Tissington in 1348. Our near-neighbour Bradwell is a comparative youngster, beginning in 1748 and revived in 1950.

Well dressing has been an annual festival of thanksgiving for centuries. It is a moment when people come together in friendship to work as a community dressing wells with flowers while celebrating the gift of water, and rejoicing in the God-given beauty of this place. Although we may have mixed feelings about heat waves and their effect on our water supplies, we can surely all join in thanksgiving for the summer that is coming to an end.

Best wishes, Simon.

PS For further information re water supplies round the world, see https://www.wateraid.org/uk/

August 2022

People worldwide recently observed Refugee week and Sanctuary Sunday. These called for celebration of, and reflection about, today’s refugees, whoever and wherever they are. They aimed to mark all that refugees bring to their destinations.

UK focus was on remembering this country’s proud history of welcome, along with the many contributions refugees have made to British culture over the centuries. Ironically, in the same week, the UK government promoted and defended its New plan for immigration which, if it becomes law, will reduce many protections that refugees are currently offered.

There is a well-established universal right to seek asylum. The juxtaposition of a week of celebration alongside government sponsored proposed restrictions/reduced protections reflects a tension within many of us as individuals and as nations. It is easy to think in terms of clear cut, often opposing, solutions when responding to the consequences that arise as the world’s population grows, with political issues and climate change leading to movement of people between nations.

For Christians, the imperative is always to love one’s neighbour as oneself. When Jesus and his disciples were turned away from a Samaritan [ie foreign] village, two of the disciples asked if they should command fire to come down to consume the area and its inhabitants. St Luke’s Gospel records that Jesus ‘rebuked them and they went on to another village’: in other words, Jesus was not seeing things as opposites. Instead he proposed a way of tolerance, of live and let live, of friendship offered if not immediately accepted.

Much wisdom of famously polite nineteenth century American President Abraham Lincoln has been recorded. For example, I don’t like that man, I must get to know him better. His political opponents criticized him for being too courteous to his enemies: he responded ‘Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?’

Making friends with those with whom we disagree is a core teaching of Jesus. It moves us on from fixed opposing positions to more nuanced understanding of each other, leading to better relationships. Let’s pray that we can live this out every day, both personally in our own lives and in interactions between nations. Best wishes, Simon.

July 2022

On 6 February 2022, the seventieth anniversary of her accession, Her Majesty the Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. As you know, alongside all the national activities, locally we celebrated in early June with a service of thanksgiving, a village photograph, and a picnic including fancy dress competitions, fizz, and a special cake.

As a young woman in 1947, our queen made a promise to the nation: I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family... But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.

Instead of an empire, a Commonwealth of Nations now draws together countries linked by historic ties to the UK. But what does remain very evident is our Queen’s service to this nation and other nations worldwide, inspired throughout by her Christian faith.

That inspiration has perhaps been based on Jesus’ example of servant leadership: the greatest amongst you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves [Luke 22.26]. We might add other characteristics like commitment, discretion, loyalty, resilience, modesty, humility, integrity and perseverance.

Queen Elizabeth has devoted her life to visiting, encouraging and supporting numerous peoples and causes. She has been a very visible symbol at the centre of our community, reminding us that we are not simply individuals but that we belong. Hers is an example that all leaders throughout our society should emulate.

So we thank God for Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years of loyal and dedicated service underpinned by her deep Christian faith. Paddington Bear put it best: ‘Happy jubilee, ma’am, and thank you, for everything’. Best wishes, Simon.

June 2022. Living in Love and Faith is a course exploring identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage within Christian teaching. We studied this, along with course books and on-line resources, in our 2022 Edale Lent Group discussions. This allowed us to contribute to wider Church of England consultations on these topics.

All around us we see changing understandings of human identity, altering patterns in relationships and families, and varying sexual attitudes and activity. The aims of this course were to help us think deeply and widely about what it means to be human while living faithfully and lovingly, both within a Christian context and outside it.

The bible tells many stories of people who were shaped by the places and times in which they lived: identity is influenced by the relationships, communities and cultures in which we all live. The bible also teaches us of the God-given diversity of all creation: each of us is uniquely different yet we are all loved by God the creator, whether we realise it or not.

Despite agreeing that, in their many diverse identities, all humans are equally loved by God, some people are not able to agree about human experiences in the areas of gender and sexuality.

While setting high standards, Jesus himself was clear: he enraged the religious authorities by crossing boundaries, all people could be his friends, he forgave, he did not condemn. When someone caught committing adultery was brought before him, he responded ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.’ The accusers left. Alone with her, Jesus said simply ‘Go, and sin no more.’

Jesus also instructed that we should ‘love one another as I have loved you’. In other words, we are called to relationships in which we give abundantly to each other, to the extent of being prepared to give all we have, as Jesus did. Following this advice to love and respect each other, while accepting our many diversities, is surely the recipe for peaceful coexistence.

To learn more about Living in Love and Faith, go to: www.churchofengland/LLF

Edale Church is an Inclusive Church, see: www.inclusive-church.org Best wishes. Simon.

May 2022

A statue of Vladimir the Great stands outside the Kremlin. He was baptized in Kyiv in 988AD, leading most Russian and Slavic peoples to become Christians, as is still the case today. Russian Orthodox believers look to Kyiv as the origin of their church.*

In 1930, Russian communist leader Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, one of the most feared and powerful men of his time, travelled from Moscow to Kyiv to promote the atheist teaching of his party. Speaking to a large crowd, he piled insults on the Church and the Christian faith. He appealed to the people of Kyiv to reject Christ and their Orthodox Christian faith.

At the end of this meeting, the local priest stood and calmly dismissed the crowd with the usual Orthodox Easter greeting: ‘Christ is Risen.’ The crowd thundered back the traditional response: ‘He is risen indeed – alleluia.’

All of which increases my sadness at events taking place in Ukraine. Many evil acts with consequent untold suffering have occurred. As a result, at a national and economic level, our world is likely to be changed for many decades, perhaps for ever. More locally, many of us have increased levels of anxiety, fearfulness and pessimism. For those directly involved in defending their country or fleeing from their homes, life will certainly never be the same again.

That these events have unfolded during Lent and over Easter is deeply ironic. The Easter message is that Jesus Christ suffered apparent defeat before rising to victory over the powers of darkness, violence, evil and suffering. He did this, in his dying and in his living, through serving others, prayerful love, self-sacrifice, teaching reconciliation, and faithfulness to God.

In these strange times for our world, the Easter message remains incredibly relevant. So this Easter-tide, please hold in your prayers all those affected in any way by the war in Ukraine, and remember that the events of Easter tell us that the darkness will never overcome light: new life springs up despite the best efforts of death and destruction. Knowledge of this enables us to live through these difficult moments in global history with firm hope.

Best wishes.

Simon. *Thanks to the Bishop of Repton for this history

April 2022

At a similar moment in history – December 1939 – Oxford don and creator of Narnia C.S.Lewis asked ‘What is the use of continuing our placid occupations when the lives of our friends and the liberties of Europe are in the balance? Is it not like fiddling while Rome burns?’ Published as Learning in wartime, his core message was that we should do everything as if on a precipice, do everything only because it is intrinsically worth doing, and all the more so because it might be the last thing we do: from writing for Ringing Roger to defending a city.

While our context is very different from 1939 and we hope not to be defending Edale’s perimeter any time soon, Lewis’ point is helpful as we approach Easter. War makes us look critically anew at everything we undertake, ‘it aggravates the permanent human situation so we can no longer ignore it’, he wrote. In other words, the inherent fragility of our human existence, along with its frequent triviality, is made apparent by the seriousness of the evil and suffering we are witnessing.

The Easter story offers us a timely alternative narrative of hope. Christians believe that the pain and death followed by resurrection recorded in Jesus’ final few days is always evident in human suffering. There is always hope and ultimately there is always new life. We see this in the new life of spring all around us. Let’s all pray for peaceful new life and new beginnings across Europe and throughout all humanity this Easter.

Best wishes. Simon.

March 2022

The funeral of one of the world’s great men took place on New Year’s Day 2022. Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu died at Christmas, aged 90. Brought up in the ghettos of West Transvaal, scholarships allowed Tutu to become first a teacher then a priest. His education was profoundly influenced by monks from Mirfield near Huddersfield and by living in apartheid-free London for two years as part of his training.

Based on his deep Christian faith, Tutu’s place in history is assured. As the first black person to be appointed Archbishop of Cape Town, he became the voice of a voiceless people in the turbulent apartheid years when the leaders of South Africa’s black community were in prison or in exile.

Perhaps his greatest achievement was as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, started in 1995. He led a series of difficult hearings across South Africa, scrutinizing decades of human rights abuses. Perpetrators who admitted to crimes that were deemed to have had a political purpose were offered amnesty.

Emerging from the Christian gospel of repentance and forgiveness, this was restorative justice without retribution. It has since provided a model for ending conflicts elsewhere. While not perfect, it undoubtedly challenged all South Africans to offer forgiveness when needed, thus allowing right relationships to be restored.

Why is this important in Edale as we begin Lent in 2022? The word Lent comes from the Old English word for Spring and points us to seeing the weeks leading up to Easter as a springtime with God in which we awake, emerge and are transformed in response to God’s warming love.

Not long before he died, Desmond Tutu said he would like it to be remembered of him that he loved, laughed, cried, was forgiven, and forgave. This Lent, I pray that, within God’s overwhelming love, we may all be transformed by following Tutu’s example of loving, laughing, crying, being forgiven ourselves, and forgiving others.

Best wishes. Simon.

February 2022

Valentine’s Day will shortly be upon us. Red roses and cards help us to focus on our relationships for this special celebration of love and friendship. To those of you who occasionally forget this occasion, you have been reminded here…

One of the great writers about friendship was a medieval monk called Aelred of Rievaulx. Aelred lived in the twelfth century and was the abbot or leader of the well-known monastery at Rievaulx in North Yorkshire. If you’ve never visited, the ruined remains left by Henry the Eighth’s men at the Reformation continue to be both awe-inspiring and deeply spiritual. Also the local pub has great food and beer!

Aelred wrote a book called ‘Spiritual Friendship’ in which he recorded and commentated on some of his conversations with his friends and fellow monks. Their teaching remains apposite today. Here are a few examples:

· In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship.

· Without friends there is absolutely no pleasure in life.

· He who seeks from friendship some profit other than friendship itself has not yet learned what friendship is.

· One can make a rather easy transition from human friendships to friendship with God himself.

- We must avoid suspicion before all else – it is poison to a friendship – so that we never harbour evil thoughts about a friend, nor give credence to or go along with someone who makes slanderous remarks about our friend.

- A faithful friend is the medicine of life, and the grace of immortality.

- The wise man (Seneca) says that ‘men would lead the happiest life if they would get rid of these two words, “my” and “your”'.

May our loving Father grant us the gift of deep friendship this Valentine’s Day and always.

Best wishes, Simon.

January 2022

The saint we associate with Christmas is of course Saint Nicholas. He was a bishop in what is now Turkey, then in the Roman Empire. Living at the start of the fourth century, he saw Christianity begin to become the state religion for the whole Roman Empire through Emperor Constantine.

At the time, there were big discussions among Christians about Jesus’ true identity. Was he God made man incarnate, as Christians had been taught since Jesus died, or was he some sort of super-angel? The church began to divide over this issue because a priest named Arius argued so forcefully. Nicholas is reputed to have been one of those very robustly defending the original teachings, which Christians still observe today through the Nicene Creed. So our Christmas saint was prepared to stand up for what he believed to be right and true.

After Saint Nicholas died, his reputation grew. He is the patron saint of sailors and children. One story tells of how he rescued three poor girls from slavery by providing money to be offered as dowries for them, which he dropped down their chimney anonymously. In Holland, he became Sinta Klaas, the gift bearing bishop bringing rewards and presents to every child who was good, and punishments for those who were not.

As his legend spread widely, Santa Claus emerged who now visits every child, with generous gifts at Christmas. Eventually, Saint Nicolas, Santa Claus and Father Christmas joined forces, living at the North Pole with toy making elves and reindeer for company.

Three aspects of Saint Nicholas’ life might inspire us as we leave our Christmas celebrations behind and make resolutions to begin 2022.

First, standing up for what is right and truthful seems to be a rather over-looked virtue in our public discourse at present. Perhaps we can each try to live this more fully and hope it rubs off on others!

Second, generosity is central to Saint Nicholas’ legend. St Paul tells us Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and there is definitely truth in the old aphorism that the more you give, the more you are given.

And lastly, Santa Claus has to be one of the most ecologically-aware people around today as he only travels by reindeer power.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year. Simon.

December 2021

As mentioned last month in this column, the season of Remembering this year coincided with the United Nations COP26 conference in Glasgow. Despite all the good intentions and noble words, it was sobering to hear the view of Gus Speth, an American civil servant who has been at the heart of global climate change politics for half a century:

I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address these problems; but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy. To deal with these, we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.

The central problem is our own selfishness: we are unwilling at a personal or national level to sacrifice our own comfort and convenience for the good of others.

This month is dominated in the church calendar first by Advent [meaning to come: the season leading up to Christmas] and then by Christmas itself. At the heart of the Christian gospel is God’s gift of his son Jesus which we look forward to celebrating once again on December 25th.

Arguably one of the biggest spiritual transformations the world has ever seen, Jesus’ birth did not take place at an international gathering of representatives of the world’s nations. It started small, at the back of a pub in a remote town in the Middle East attended by shepherds, not security guards.

To give our world, and hence all humanity, the best gift this Christmas, a transformation is required. This needs to be in the heart of each person and every nation. And it has to include both unselfish national commitments such as some of those negotiated in Glasgow and the small (and sometimes not so small) things that you and I can do in our everyday lives.

God the Father both created all that is and gave us the gift of His son Jesus. As we enjoy celebrating these gifts this Christmas, let us also work and pray for transformation in each individual soul and in every nation.

Best wishes, Simon.

November 2021

A few days we ago we met in praise and thanksgiving for the goodness of all creation seen in the annual harvest season. We sang hymns taking us through the cycle of the growing year with titles such as We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land; Come ye thankful people come; Praise O Praise our God and King; For the beauty of the earth; For the fruits of creation.

Other hymns that are sung at this time point us beyond praise and thanksgiving. All things bright and beautiful … the Lord God made them all. All creation, animate and inanimate, flora and fauna, is pure gift from the Creator. Through our existence, we have been invited to share in this gift and to wonder at the mystery that lies behind creation.

Why is this flower so beautiful today? Why does this view move me to tears? Why does this pattern in the sand touch me so deeply and make question the meaning of my being? But why also has this earthquake damaged so many lives? Why do people continue to destroy the world’s rain forests? So many deep questions are raised by the gift of creation that we have been given.

This month we remember. All Saints’ Day is followed closely by All Souls’ Day, then Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. All are reminders of past people and events, both good and not so good. Why does humankind continue to disagree and then to fight? A peaceful existence of sharing would allow everyone to be fed and cared for.

All these are perennial questions which will not be solved by a few words in Ringing Roger! Nevertheless, this year the COP26 meeting joins our seasonal mix of remembering. This international gathering has the potential to change our relationship with creation for the better and prevent potential untold suffering throughout our planet.

Please hold all those who are involved with this meeting in your prayers. It is no exaggeration to say that its outcome may determine the future of the Creator’s gift, our fruitful and remarkable planet.

Best wishes, Simon.

October 2021

The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare meaning to call. The Oxford English dictionary defines it as a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation with synonyms such as calling, life’s work, mission, purpose, function, position, niche.

For some people this calling comes early in life and they follow it for the rest of their working days. Alternatively, it may come later, after a variety of routes have been explored. Others have a series of callings or perhaps never quite find their true vocation.

There is a lovely story in the scriptures of Jesus being approached by a woman of Syro-Phoenician origin who dares to speak to him. This was brave of a female non-Jew in the very Jewish, male dominated society of the time when Jews called non-Jews ‘dogs’ and did not engage in conversation with them.

The woman asked Jesus for healing for her daughter. He replied to the effect that this was not possible as his calling was to God’s chosen children, the Jews. She replied that the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children’s table, and in this simple phrase she challenged Jesus and earned healing for her daughter.

What we can see in this story is Jesus having his vocation questioned. If there is healing for God’s children, there must be enough left over for others, dogs and non-Jews and others. Up to that time, Jesus saw his vocation as simply ministering to Jews: this encounter turned his view of himself upside down.

All of which leads me to wonder where each of us is up to in our calling or vocation. Is it settled and enjoyed? Might it need to be tweaked or changed? Do we need to have a re-think or re-boot or even to start again? Or like Jesus, is it being challenged and questioned? Whichever of these applies to you, thank God for your many gifts.

Best wishes, Simon.

September 2021

We did the traditional Edale Church Fete differently this year due to concerns about rising infection rates during this phase of the Covid pandemic. It wasn’t the same without the live band and the (timeless?) stalls, but it was nevertheless great fun and so good to be out and about at an event in our community once more.

Other seemingly unchangeable Edale traditions have similarly been postponed or altered since the first lockdown in March 2020: Country Day, the Barrel Race, the Pantomime, Community Fireworks, Edale School Fair, the Carol Service, the Horticultural Show and more. The latter took place virtually/on-line in 2020, an unprecedented change in routine that could never have been envisaged by those who founded the show over 160 years ago.

At a national level, many other events have had to pause or evolve in order to remain safe. Despite this, some traditions seem immoveable when it is clear to many people that they need examining and questioning.

For example, it is tradition that well-being in the nations of the world is measured by continual growth in Gross Domestic Product. But we live on a finite planet, so if we all keep growing, producing and using, eventually earth’s resources will be gone: a terrible legacy for future generations occurring on our watch.

In the same way, the traditional careless dominance of human beings over other species – such as in Amazon rain forest destruction - leaves everyone at risk as gradually more and more become extinct.

All traditions need to be examined from time to time to consider the possibility that change might be needed. The Covid pandemic has made us change so much already: let’s hope we can use wisely the opportunities that have arisen.

The core tradition of the Christian faith is that God is love and we are called to love God and our neighbour along with ourselves. Our neighbour, of course, includes not just humans, but also all creation. If this unchanging tradition was truly observed by all peoples, the world would be more peaceful, safe and sustainable.

Best wishes, Simon.

August 2021

The first literature written in vernacular Italian, rather than Latin, was penned in the twelfth century by Saint Francis of Assisi. Called The Canticle of the Creatures, it is a both a poem and a prayer which Francis, now the patron saint of ecology, intended to be sung. Sadly, the tune that went with it no longer exists though we sing it today as the hymn All creatures of our God and King.

The overall theme of the Canticle is that of thanksgiving. The reader/singer praises God who made creatures and creation beautiful and useful. Both humankind and all created things are instructed to praise God. A sense of intimate joy explodes from the page:

Be praised, my Lord, with all your creatures,

Especially Sir Brother Sun …

How handsome he is, how radiant, with great splendour! …

Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Fire, …

How handsome he is, how happy, how powerful and strong!

The text offers praise and thanksgiving through celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, Stars) and elements (Air, Water, Fire and Earth).

Saint Paul picks up something of this theme in the great prayer of blessing, praise and thanksgiving at the start of his Letter to the Ephesians. We are urged to give thanks for our many blessings.

It is easy to forget to be thankful, especially at the moment given all that we have been through since the pandemic began at the start of 2020. But as our lockdown eases here in the UK, it feels as if this should be at the front of all our minds. Although much has not gone well over the last months, a great deal has also been achieved and there is the strong hope of life returning to a more normal, if changed, pattern.

So while remembering and praying for those who mourn, those who are sick and those whose work still puts them at risk, lets also give thanks as Saint Francis encouraged us all those years ago in the refrain which ends his Canticle:

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Best wishes, Simon.

July 2021

When we re-opened our church after lockdown on 14 June 2020, I noted (Ringing Roger July 2020) that it broke my heart to close our church as I know that it is used by many people regularly, in addition to the various services. … Talking with members of our community, it is clear that our church building means a great deal to a large number of us … for prayer, for worship, for moments of peace and quiet, or to pay respects to those who have died. … There is something special about Edale Church.

New research from York University supports this. More than 5,500 people took part in late 2020. The headline ran Churches have vital role to play in post pandemic recovery. Amongst other things, the report found that 79 per cent of all respondents identified social isolation as a key issue in their community and 75 per cent of non-church members wanted access to churches as places of quiet reflection and comfort.

The lead author commented that ‘One very striking aspect of our findings is how strongly non-church members have been affected by the closure of buildings and activities and the resulting increase in isolation and need at a time of major suffering across all social groups. If there was one clear message from non-church people it is summed up in this quote from the respondent who said: “These places must remain open. They are essential to the community … especially for times such as this."’

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells the mustard seed parable. This tiny seed grows in Palestine to 8-10 feet in height, creating both harvest and shade for numerous birds. Our church visitors’ book contains many comments about how much people appreciate access to the building. What we do not hear feedback about is the long term effect of any small spiritual seeds that may be sown in visitors’ hearts in the sacred space of Edale Church and in this beautiful valley.

As pandemic restrictions lift, please remember all who have suffered in any way from Covid over the last 18 months, for example through poor health, bereavement, financial hardship or isolation. Let us pray that they will receive seeds of hope and of God’s love in the weeks to come. Best wishes Simon.

June 2021

Every great world religion incorporates pilgrimage. Jews head to Jerusalem. Christians travel to the Holy Land where Jesus lived, and to other sites such as Rome, Durham, and Santiago de Compostela. For Muslims, the Hajj journey to Mecca is one of Islam’s five pillars. For Hindus, pilgrimage is traditional, especially along India’s great rivers, Varanasi in particular. Buddhists make pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya where the Budhha was enlightened or Lumbini where he was born.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam – the three great monotheistic faiths – all have their beginnings in the tradition of Abraham being called to leave what was familiar and travel into the unknown. That call goes on. Every person – even if they have become deaf to it - is called to travel beyond what he or she knows in search of a reality that is unknown but of which, being human, each has an intuitive sense.

To be a pilgrim is in some way to go in search of this ultimate reality, perhaps because, through journeying, we sense we may discover more about our life. The mystery of reality (or, if you like, of God - though that language is not essential) has often been revealed in particular places. But pilgrimage can also be understood as a journey into deeper understanding without necessarily physically travelling any significant distance.

All of which might seem a bit of heavy history/theory of no great relevance to today. But it applies to all of us who go out and about - whether in our valley or up into the hills - to find solitude, breathe fresh air, touch beauty, feel freedom and see life differently away from everyday busy-ness, however briefly.

‘I may be a wage slave on Monday, but I am a free man on Sunday’ wrote Ewan McColl in The Manchester Rambler. Walking, like other forms of exercise, is a spiritual endeavour for many people. Christian pilgrimage is walking to a spiritual destination with God at your side.

But you don’t have to bring God into it – try taking the journey anyway and allowing its rhythm to touch you. You could begin with the new Hope Pilgrimage, which starts at Edale Church: more details in our Ringing Roger magazine. Best wishes Simon.

May 2021

The pandemic that we are living through has taught us all a great many things. Along with our politicians, we have learnt the value of experts: our lockdown is easing due to the skill and knowledge of vaccine-developing experts.

But just as importantly, it has taught us who really matters for our everyday living – who has kept everything running despite the many Covid difficulties.

Unsurprisingly, it isn’t wealthy people and celebrities and others who appear so much in newspapers, on television and in the media. No, it is people going about their ordinary work, quietly, efficiently and with dedication: delivering, volunteering, nursing and caring, bringing up children, housekeeping, cleaning, and all the other largely unnoticed work that is so essential for life to go on and which, up to now, many of us had largely taken for granted. Thank you to all of them.

In April, we said goodbye to two significant people to whom we owe thanks. The first was Jill Walker of Lane Head Green. Jill was undoubtedly someone who kept things running quietly and efficiently for others, particularly in our church and at the Peak Centre. The second was the Duke of Edinburgh who was totally dedicated to serving our country in a very public way. We will miss them both.

Death of course is inescapable, the final piece of life’s jigsaw for each of us. As farmers know only too well at this time of year, where there is life there is death. But last month at Easter, we remembered not just the awfulness of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on Good Friday but also the joyfulness of his rising again on Easter Day.

There is no avoiding death’s finality but the hope offered in Jesus Christ at Easter is that a new self is formed, somehow the perishable becomes imperishable, good triumphs over evil, the sting of death is changed. The writer of Psalm 23 put it something like this: although we all, at some point, will have to journey through the valley of the shadow of death, we are all called to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Best wishes Simon.

April 2021

Words: we depend on them. Words of comfort, support, love, hate, used for understanding or instruction or entertainment in poetry, plays, the bible, textbooks. Words are powerful: speech writers, politicians and others know this using words for oratory, fake news, sharing information, bullying, even lying. Words change: dictionaries are regularly revised with new entries such as social distancing and vaccine nationalism.

In depending so much on words, discernment is needed as words have limits. For example: my wine merchant friend has a nose from which he makes his living; her poem painted a picture of the sunset; ‘the music is not in the notes, but in the silence between’ (W A Mozart); the people were suffering. All these phrases try to paint pictures in words but are limited by the boundaries of verbal description.

The famous American dancer Isadora Duncan was asked what her dance had meant. ‘If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it’ she replied.

This Good Friday and Easter we remember and celebrate once again the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Saint John, a master of words, struggles to find the words to describe Jesus as God’s son living among us, the Word made flesh, speaking to us in the only language we can truly understand, that of a fellow human being.

In thinking about the events of Easter, we again come up against the limits of words to enable our understanding. Jesus’ death is confirmed on the cross, yet he appears on Easter morning at sunrise and then makes numerous appearances to his disciples in the weeks that follow. The historical evidence that these events actually occurred is very strong but their description in words leaves much for us to ponder.

‘If you understand it, it is not God’ wrote Saint Augustine. There is so much mystery in human existence from the simple ‘why am I here?’, to describing a sunset, to the complexities of knowing and unknowing in our lives. As followers of Jesus Christ remember and celebrate this Easter amongst nature’s springtime, there is an opportunity for all people to reflect on, and give thanks for, the gift of life and life re-newed this spring season. Best wishes Simon.

March 2021

All of March this year falls in Lent. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Lent in the Christian Church is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, prayer and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays.

The word Lent comes from the Middle English Lenten meaning spring. It started in the fourth century when candidates were prepared over 40 days for baptism at Easter. The last week of Lent was seen as particularly important and came to be known as Holy Week.

This special week begins with Palm Sunday when many churches remember Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey by having processions and blessing palms. Maundy Thursday follows remembering Jesus and his disciples’ Last Supper when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet..

The origin of the name Good Friday, when Jesus’ crucifixion and death are recalled, is uncertain. It may be seen as good, or God’s Friday, because it led to Jesus’ resurrection and his victory over death in resurrection at Easter. Another possibility is simply that Good means holy, a holy day.

The word Easter comes from the Old English eastre, meaning a spring festival in Old English, the language of Anglo-Saxon Britain from c. 450 CE until c. 1150. In Greek and Latin the festival is called pascha from the Greek equivalent to Hebrew’s pesach, meaning Passover. Hence many things associated with Easter are called paschal, such as Paschal Candle.

Observing Lent during this pandemic highlights the strange times we are experiencing as a nation and a human community on our planet. In many ways the world appears to be in a mess. Within this context, the enduring messages of Jesus Christ, encapsulated in the events of Holy Week, are of hope for the future and that we can each make a difference as individuals by our choices and our actions.

So if you haven’t yet given up something for Lent, perhaps you might instead consider taking up offering a few moments in prayer each day until Easter. We all have so much to pray for but also so much for which to give thanks.

Best wishes, Simon.

February 2021

There’s snow, roads and footpaths are icy and slippery, Mam Nick is intermittently impassable: winter is well and truly upon us. And yet, at the same time throughout our world, extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency. These include fires raging uncontrollably, floods destroying whole communities, heatwaves and earthquakes.

Human beings cannot control the weather, which is undoubtedly getting more extreme. All of this is down to the slow warming of our planet caused by human actions that we definitely can control. Climate change is happening around us and is accepted as a fact by most people. Even the leaders of China agree and have a national plan to work towards becoming carbon neutral.

The idea that we should look after this planet is not new but it is, at last, a significant issue for peoples and their national governments. Conferences are being held, ideas are being discussed, plans are being made, countries are even entering into commitments. All of these words are very good, as is the realization that this world has finite limits. But concrete action is needed as we cannot go on using and exploiting these resources indefinitely.

The writers of the bible knew this several millennia ago. Genesis, which begins the bible, introduces stewardship of the earth as a human responsibility. Another early writing, Leviticus, emphasizes sharing of natural resources for the common good. Throughout both Old and New Testaments all creation is seen as gift from God, to be lived alongside, and within, gratefully and respectfully.

We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday (17th February). Traditionally this is a time of preparation, of making ourselves ready, physically and spiritually, for Easter’s new growth and new life. It is a time that we can use for reflection leading to change and action. Perhaps this year, as we look forward to new or re-newed life after this pandemic, we might each use Lent to think about how we could contribute to the well-being of our planet.

Stewardship of all creation is a central part of being a Christian, following the example of Jesus Christ. It is also, I think, a fundamental responsibility for all human beings.

Best wishes, Simon.

January 2021

So here we are beginning 2021 and I suspect our common hope is that this New Year brings us all better fortune than 2020 with an end to the Corona virus pandemic. We’ve never had anything like this before in our lifetimes and let’s hope it never happens again.

Historically, we are unusual in our lack of experience concerning infectious illnesses. Bubonic plague pandemics may have occurred in the Bronze Age and caused the Plague of Justinian in Roman times (541CE). Episodes of such life changing events are also noted in the earliest books of the bible. Exodus alone records plagues of locusts, frogs, insects, boils and hail, not to mention famine.

Following not along after the Great Famine of 1315, the medieval bubonic plague, or "Black Death", killed as many as one-third of Europe's people in three years (1347–1350). There continued to be major plague outbreaks around the world until the early nineteenth century. Locally the plague arrived in Eyam from London in late August 1665. About the same time, the diarist Samuel Pepys recorded being kept awake by ‘striplings’ ignoring the curfew: some things don’t change!

More recently, the Spanish flu after World War 1 killed more people than the war itself: living through a pandemic puts us in good company with our forebears. This time, though, we have the advantage of scientists rapidly producing vaccines. We live in hope that these will allow us to emerge from our lockdowns much sooner than our ancestors could.

As we make our resolutions at the start of this New Year, perhaps the first should be to hold in our prayers everyone whose life has been changed by the pandemic in any way. Particularly those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, so much emotionally, financially or physically.

At Christmas, we celebrate and give thanks for the new life and hope brought by the birth of the Prince of Peace. Another resolution might be that every one of us enters the New Year hopefully and positively. Despite all that we are living through, there is so much for which to remain thankful.

Best wishes, Simon.

December 2020

As we leave November, it is important to remind ourselves that this was the month of remembering. The month began with All Saints’ Day followed immediately by All Souls’ Day. Then a week later we had Remembrance Sunday [see Church Notices below] followed by Armistice Day.

This time of remembering is important in our year. All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days ask us to hold in mind all those who have died. Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day call us to remember and hold before God all those involved in war. This includes those who have served their countries in war time, but also all those affected by wars, persecution or terror over the years. Those injured or killed in their homes, refugees who no longer have a home, those left without family or livelihood, those who live with mental and physical illness due to fighting, and all those who care for them.

This long list is a sad indictment of all humanity and our inability to live peacefully with our neighbours, near and far. Which is why we must never forget. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it wrote George Santayana. Given the number of wars in this century alone, it seems the human race has yet to take this simple point to heart.

Now we enter December, usually a month in which we celebrate. The pandemic is going to give this year’s celebrations a different feel, and at the time of writing it is unclear how this will be for each of us. Nevertheless, the underlying reason for our December celebrations remains our remembering of the birth of Jesus Christ.

It is also important to remember that Jesus was born away from his parents’ home in Nazareth: his family had to travel to Bethlehem for a census on the orders of the despised Roman occupying power. Then, to avoid persecution, they fled to Egypt and lived as refugees, probably for several years. War affected the new family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as soon as he was born.

So as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and the birth of the Prince of Peace, let us all continue to remember. And as part of remembering, let us all live our lives peacefully and pray for peace throughout our world.

Best wishes, Simon.

November 2020

As we continue through autumn, the trees are giving us a spectacular show of seasonal colours, thanks to our dry spring, damp summer and warm September. It is a natural event to enjoy at this interesting moment in the history of our nation and our planet.

In October, we gave thanks for harvest and creation. November brings the time of remembering when we recollect all those who contributed in so many different ways in war time to give us today’s peaceful society.

This year, living through each season has a very different feel because of the Covid-19 pandemic with all its consequences. For our farming community, the cycle of new life, growth and harvest, for both animal and plant crops, has naturally carried on though with some variations. For many people in our nation, the pandemic has not been kind. Job losses and other upheavals have meant no harvest of earnings to allow life to proceed normally.

In some ways, this pandemic has enforced a fallow year on many of us. As a village community, we have also missed so many annual fixtures: country day, fete, barrel race, bonfire night, barn dance and more.

When land has a fallow year, it has time to refresh and renew without growing a crop. It is a time off from the usual demanding routine. Such times have been around for millennia, arguably from the beginning of creation as documented in Genesis when God rested from the work of creation on the seventh day. A more detailed program for fallow time is given elsewhere in the bible (Leviticus 23.33-43).

Whatever its origin, any time of change like this is also an opportunity to re-think and do things differently. Whether or not recent seasons have offered you some fallow time, they have undoubtedly forced unpredicted alterations in lifestyles and routines on all of us. As individuals, we have the chance to use these to vary how we are and how we live. As humans, our planet has shown us a new vision of life with less pollution and more wildlife. I pray that we can use this time and these opportunities wisely.

Best wishes, Simon.

October 2020

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This well known quote is by Irish author Samuel Beckett in his penultimate work, Worstward Ho! It is a source of great encouragement that failing at something, or not doing as well as we wanted, is a normal part of everyday life. While it hurts each time, and certainly doesn’t seem to get any less with increased age, failing and having to try again will always be part of who we are, as it is also part of the natural world.

The bible adds to this. There is the well-known story of Jesus’ response when Peter checks how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him: ‘as many as seven times?’ he asks. Jesus replies that forgiveness should be extended not seven times but ‘seventy-seven times’. This figure of seventy-seven is biblical code for innumerable times.

In the same way that Samuel Beckett instructs us to forgive ourselves and ‘fail again, fail better’ when necessary, so the message is always to forgive others when things are not right. This, of course, can be exceedingly hard to do at an individual level when we feel we have been wronged in some way.

It is perhaps even harder, and more necessary, at the moment in these strange pandemic times. The latest ‘rule of six’ adds yet another layer of complexity to an already very muddled situation of guidelines and requirements which we are all expected to follow. While it is easy to have an opinion about the merits of those currently in government in our country, leading a nation through a pandemic is a hard thing to do.

Perhaps we should take the advice of Theophan the Recluse, a bishop who stepped back from leadership in the Orthodox church to pray and write. He noted that the need to be forgiving is life long and will always be required: friction in everyday life is not going to go away. To cope, he urged patience with ourselves and others, good humour, friendliness, affability, and behaving towards others as if they had done nothing wrong.

Theophan also recommended praying for all involved. This seems good advice just now.

Best wishes, Simon.

September 2020

In the familiar story of feeding the 5000, Jesus went to find a quiet spot, get some peace and say his prayers. The crowd heard where he had gone and followed him. By evening, after a busy day teaching and healing, everyone was hungry but there were only five loaves and two fish to go round. Jesus blessed this small picnic and his disciples distributed the food. 5000 men, in addition to an unknown number of women and children, were fed and there were twelve baskets of left overs.

Why is this familiar tale worth re-telling in Ringing Roger? Firstly, it all comes about because Jesus has been very busy and needs a break to re-charge his batteries and to pray. We are not told whether or not he managed to do this.

Many people are feeling in need of a break like that just now as this strange pandemic wears on. The thought of stepping back a bit, catching up on sleep, and re-energising is appealing. It is also essential. No-one can run on empty for long: part of looking after ourselves is to pause periodically. So please, if you fall into this group, make the space and take a time out.

Secondly, one of the key phrases in this story is: ‘when he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion for them.’ We can be absolutely certain that the ‘great crowd’ contained people from every walk of life: good and not so good, rough and smooth, and so on. And Jesus ‘had compassion’ for every single one, including you and me had we been there.

Compassion means to empathise with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering. In other words, it is more than just feeling for someone. Compassion is about practical action to help and to move things on. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, wrote St Paul. There have been numerous examples of compassion locally and throughout our country during lockdown. It would be great to make this a routine part of everyday life.

Best wishes, Simon.

August 2020

The big news is that we are now allowed to use our church building for worship once more so Sunday services have re-commenced [see News and Notices for more details]. It has been very strange to be prevented from meeting together for prayer, scripture and music as all are core components of worship in the lives of those who try to follow in the way of Jesus Christ. This welcome development is yet another small demonstration that everyday life is getting going again in our own country and throughout the world.

Someone who was staying in Edale remarked the other day that they were ‘looking forward to getting back to real life’ when they returned home. In my experience life in Edale always feels very real, so the observation set me thinking about liminal spaces. These are defined as in-between spaces, waiting areas, transitional times on the verge of something.

Scripture contains many examples of liminal spaces. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel can be said to have been journeying in a liminal state for many years. It took them numerous decades, many trials and many generations before their journey drew to a close. Frequently, they learnt things which they later forgot.

For most of us, the phase we are in now is such a liminal time of transition, of moving back to ‘real life’ after our lock-down experiences. These experiences have been different for each person, as they have for all affected in any way by this pandemic. All of us will have learnt things from this strange time and doubtless there is more that we will have to learn before this viral pandemic fully settles.

The challenge is for each of us to use this liminal transition time to grow. This might involve doing less of some things and more of others. It might be keeping doing some of the new things that the pandemic has forced on us or maybe leaving behind well-established routines. Whatever your experiences over the last few months, this transition back to ‘real life’ offers opportunities for change that might never come again in some of our life-times: grab them!

July 2020

It broke my heart to close our church as I know that it is used by many people regularly, in addition to the various services for worship. The BIG NEWS is that we re-opened on 14th June. We’re not able to have services in the building yet but this feels like a really important first step as the restrictions required by our government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are gradually lifted.

Talking with members of our community, it is clear that our church building means a great deal to a large number of us. Some use it for prayer or for worship, others as somewhere to drop into for a moment of peace and quiet, others come to pay respects to those who have died. Whatever the reason, there is something special about Edale Parish Church, as there is about so many places of worship.

Defining exactly what it is that is special is more difficult. That prayer has been offered in this Victorian building and its nearby predecessors for centuries is part of this. It is a sacred space, a thin spot, in which the gap between heaven and earth is narrower than elsewhere: England and nowhere, never and always, where prayer is valid, as the poet T.S. Eliot memorably put it.

Thin spots, often hills, mountains or deserts, are described in the bible where people go to pray and be alone with God. There are numerous examples of Jesus going on his own to pray in places like these.

We are privileged to live amongst the Peak District hills. They form a defining aspect of this small part of creation that many of us know so well. Walking their familiar footpaths is, for me, both relaxing and prayerful. It allows body, mind and spirit to re-charge and refresh in the presence of God the Creator. Like our church, these local hills are a thin spot, where the gap between heaven and earth is narrowed.

As we move into the next phase of living through this pandemic, let us pray for each other and for everyone throughout our world for whom this is a difficult or sad time.

June 2020

The world-wide Corona virus pandemic is still with us but there are signs that in the UK things are settling down and hints that life is beginning to get back to normal. The dry spring has certainly helped most of us weather the lock-down, apart from those who need rain for grass-growing fields to feed livestock. Here in Edale, visitors are returning gradually and the Penny Pot is open again, hooray – well done Chris and team. Socially distanced coffee is the ‘new normal’, as the latest cliché has it.

Lock-down has been a strange time for many people, so very different to our usual everyday busyness. The inability to see friends and relatives or go out for a meal or to the cinema; being furloughed or working from home; school on-line with the front room as classroom: all these have changed our lives considerably and their on-going influence may alter things for a long time to come.

Such changes in routines can be very helpful. Simply going on holiday often breaks up well-established patterns so that alternatives are found on return. Likewise, taking time out for a retreat offers space for reflection and can allow us time to re-think, to re-set, to create new rhythms and ways of living. The disruption to our lives caused by this aggressive virus provides a similar opportunity to re-shape the mould and try a new beginning.

Throughout history, people have engaged in processes like this while searching for truths and ideals, the best way of being or of drawing close to God. And throughout history these searches have been marked by times of steady routine and times of change, times of finding a route and times of being way-laid. The bible’s Old Testament largely chronicles the people of Israel searching, their ups and downs, their good moments and their fickleness: frequent changes of heart, rebellion and worshipping false idols.

So perhaps this is the right time, as lock-down reduces and we begin to re-establish old patterns and start new ones, to do some reflecting. Which routines might you leave behind? What might you establish in their place? Might this be the point to start afresh and give that long-held ambition a chance? And be assured that, if we search, God is not far from each of us.

May 2020

Lock down in response to the world-wide Covid-19 virus pandemic continues. How is it going for you? It seems some of us are carrying on with life and work pretty much as usual, some are actively enjoying the peace and quiet and change of pace, and others are finding it all very hard.

For all members of churches and faith communities things feel very strange. Easter celebrated on-line via Zoom in our own homes (as in Edale) or Friday prayers undertaken individually rather than with others are just two examples of many. The Christian faith, along with other faiths, is about individuals coming together in community for worship, sharing and mutual support. When these cannot take place, life is altered.

Commentators have suggested that Covid-19 is a great leveller, affecting Prime Ministers and paupers equally, hence bringing us all more together as a society. There are many ways in which this is clearly untrue. For example, the virus affects more severely those with pre-existing health conditions of whom people on low incomes form a high proportion. Additionally, those of us who live in Edale are having a very different pandemic experience to people socially isolating in over-crowded high rise flats or down-town bedsits.

We are made for relationship, not for being lonely or isolated. What has been striking about our national response to this pandemic is the level of altruism and caring that has emerged. People are volunteering to help others, looking out for neighbours is being talked about and lived, concern for our elderly and lonely people has translated into action.

The message of Easter is of despair and death being followed by the arising of new life and growth. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if, when this pandemic fades, new ways of being and relating shape our whole nation and society for the future: if ‘I’ can turn to ‘we’; if living in the same community means awareness, caring, relating and connecting across generations and divides; if concern for our planet outweighs commercial and selfish considerations; if new priorities and ways of working and relating permanently change how we live?

Let us pray for all those affected by this pandemic and that its long term effects will be change for the better.

April 2020

Lent started at the end of February. In this column last month, we considered the difficulty of staying any length of time in a harsh desert environment where life is fragile and tough. We noted that it forces you to think about things such as which priorities are crucial? What really matters in our lives?

Since then, things have been turned upside down [is that too strong a phrase?] by the Covid 19 virus. This incredibly successful little organism has been sweeping across our planet with great speed. The consequences have been called a modern day plague.

Readers of the bible’s Old Testament [OT] will recall that plagues have been around for many millennia. The OT records the journey of God’s people, the Israelites, as they suffer numerous calamities – plague amongst them – while searching for a land they can call home. Here in the UK, we at least have a country we can call home. Nevertheless, our national journey over the last few years, and particularly the last few weeks, has felt spectacularly like a roller-coaster ride.

So as we together ride the roller coaster of living through the many and varied consequences of this modern plague, perhaps we are again being called to re-visit our priorities and to ask ourselves what really matters. That can be hard to discern amongst the fog of everyday concerns and either busy-ness or isolation.

For Christians, central priorities are always love of, and care for, neighbours [locally, nationally, globally] and family and self, all enfolded in God’s love for each one of us. As we come to Easter – the greatest Christian festival and demonstration of God’s love – I pray that we can all act lovingly and caringly to support every person in our community.

March 2020

Around the world and locally, people are worried about the future of our planet. How will it be for us in the coming years? How will it be for our children, grand-children and great-grandchildren? How will it be for those whose lives and homes will be directly affected by changes such as a rise in sea levels? The scientists tell us we are already experiencing more extreme weather events than in the past – how will these change our lives in the future?

A few days ago, we began Lent – traditionally this is a time of preparation and fasting as we remember Jesus’s forty days spent in desert wilderness [or wild-ness] being tempted. Living in the desert brings a person into close contact with God’s creation – silence, day-time heat and night-time cold, clear skies, wind, sandstorms, lack of easy shelter and sustenance and entertainment.

Staying any length of time in such an environment, where life is fragile and difficult, forces you to think about things. What priorities are crucial? Which things really matter? How is your life just now? Might it need to change?

Jesus gave us some help on this in Matthew’ Gospel. ‘Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?’ He goes on to tell us not to worry about food and clothing: ‘your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.’

While he is clear that worrying is unhelpful, he does not say that we should not act: ‘strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.’ For example, work for right relationships between people, and between people and our planet. Live responsibly in caring for all creation and our environment, it is a gift.

Perhaps this Lent is a good moment to take some time out and reflect on these things in each of our lives. Which of our many worries might be unnecessary and can be put to one side? Is there any action we should be taking that we are putting off?

February 2020

One of the great things about Edale School being a church school is that all those involved with the school get support in various ways from Derby Diocesan Board of Education. The board’s strapline is: We seek to offer our children and young people life in all its fullness.

An example of the support offered is a news letter every few weeks packed with useful advice to use in improving the quality of the education we provide locally [available on Derby Diocesan website]. In the latest edition, Alison Brown [Acting Director of Education in Derby Diocese] reported on an interesting statistic, arising from research, that there is a 31% increase in an individual's sense of flourishing and joy if that person deliberately practises gratitude for two minutes a day for 21 days. She went on to challenge her readers to themselves practice gratitude for two minutes a day.

We have left behind behind the Christmas pressures to over-spend and over-consume and be conned into thinking that this will make us happy. Now we are slowly moving from the darkest time of year towards Spring, but it can seem a long and hard journey. The journey feels even harder this year as we have been saying our goodbyes to dear friends who gave much to this community.

Churchill reminded us that human beings might make a living by what they earn, but they make a life by what they give. The things that matter most like love, relationship, connection, trust, wisdom: these things increase as they are shared. The more we give, the more we have.

Jesus is our ultimate example for this loving and giving. But we have to make a start ourselves. So a belated New Year [and New Decade!] challenge to all our readers: practise gratitude and thankfulness for at least 2 minutes a day, alongside generosity of spirit – it is highly likely to help you, which will, in turn, help those around you.

January 2020

A highlight of my time as a chaplain in Italy was contributing to an ecumenical service in Assisi. There are two basilicas and a cathedral in Assisi but we were in the biggest. The service lasted over two hours and involved representatives from most of the different faiths in and around Assisi. These included the local Catholic bishop, the imam and the rabbi, a Copt, a Waldensian and a Baha’i.

You can’t go anywhere in Assisi without spotting that it is the City of Peace. This is proclaimed everywhere, from shopping bags to street signs. We were asked to contribute to the annual Spirit of Assisi celebrations of which our service was the highlight. This three day event of praying for peace throughout the world was started by the Pope in 1986.

For the service, each representative was asked to write a prayer and give a talk explaining the prayer before reading it out. The theme for this year was Putting soul into the economy. I was able to take a little bit of Edale to Assisi by basing my prayer on my last contribution to Ringing Roger in November 2019. Then, I wrote about peace as reconciliation between people and countries, as working towards justice for all people especially those who are poor, and as respect for and stewardship of all creation on our planet. These themes became the following prayer:

Most high, almighty, good Lord, we thank you for the gift of your wonder-full creation. We ask your help as we seek to create sustainable communities of peace which truly demonstrate your extravagant and gracious economy of overwhelming love and value for all you have made.

We pray that your peace may so enter our hearts, and the hearts of all people throughout your world, that we may be inspired to create economies founded on love and equality, prayer and action; economies in which we tread lightly on our planet; economies of giving, sharing, and simplicity; economies that work for the world’s poorest people; economies of active stewardship and public leadership; economies in which the decisions we make today so inhabit Christian values that we have something to offer to the children of tomorrow.

We offer these prayers in the name of the Prince of Peace, your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This prayer feels like a good place from which to begin 2020.

Happy New Year.

November 2019

On the annual International Day of Peace, the United Nations calls on all nations and people to put down their weapons and commit to living in harmony with one another. Many observe a minute of silence at noon local time, resulting in a ‘peace wave’ moving round the globe across time zones.

This year the theme was “Climate Action for Peace” with a clear message: the global climate emergency is a threat to security and stability. Some areas are becoming uninhabitable, forcing millions to seek safety elsewhere. Ensuing disputes over dwindling resources risk fuelling climate-related conflict.

Seen from Assisi, this is a spiritual issue. Saint Francis of Assisi used the greeting Pax et bonum [peace and good] whenever he met someone. Similarly, in preaching he would pray May the Lord give you peace. For Francis, peace had several meanings.

Firstly, peace referred to reconciliation of disputes between people. Francis travelled to meet the Egyptian Sultan to try to end the contemporary crusade. Towards the end of his life, he brokered an agreement between the Mayor of Assisi and the town’s Bishop who had had a long running disagreement.

Another meaning of peace was around working towards social justice. Francis aligned himself with the poor people of his time and nursed lepers who were the diseased outcasts of the thirteenth century. He was not afraid to speak up to the powerful and rich establishment of his age.

Lastly, he saw all creation as a gift of God. Human beings were simply one part of this great gift and so were required to treat all other beings peacefully and with great respect – as brothers and sisters. Hence the many stories such as Francis preaching to birds and flowers, and picking worms off paths to avoid them being squashed. It is this peacefulness and respect for all creation, and the consequent necessity for stewardship of the environment, which led to Francis becoming the patron saint of ecology in 1979.

As ever, the question is what can you or I do to promote peace in our lives and our communities? Francis always started with prayer but he was also a great man of action. Creating peace is for us all and is about both praying and acting, however small our contribution may seem.

October 2019

Manchester is one of the great cities of our nation. It is also the city which Sally and I regard as ‘our own’, having between us notched up over half a century of working in this capital of the north. So the recent 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre felt highly pertinent to us.

The Industrial Revolution made Manchester the world’s first true manufacturing city. Two hundred years ago, the Napoleonic Wars had almost bankrupted the country and poverty was increasing in the north west. The working people of the fast growing industrial towns and cities had numerous grievances but no representatives in parliament – their voice was not heard in the House of Commons.

In fact, the authorities and governing classes were very frightened of an uprising by ordinary people. There were powerful vested interests at stake and the example set by unrest in France was a great concern.

By late morning on August 16th 1819, some 60,000 people – children as well as adults – had marched to St Peter’s Field in central Manchester for a political meeting. They had come together to hear a speech by Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt.

The local magistrates – including two local rectors – appeared to panic in the face of this possible public disruption. They ordered the Riot Act to be read and then sent the local militia into what was, by all contemporary accounts, an entirely peaceful crowd. At least 15 people died and some 600 were injured as drunken, sword-wielding troops rode across the confined space of the field.

Although there were no immediate political consequences of this tragedy, the long term outcomes were numerous. For example, in 1832, Manchester received its first two MPs through the Reform Act which increased the representation of the people in government. Similarly, Manchester became central to the development of the trades unions and co-operative movements. The Pankhurst family, of women’s suffrage movement fame, were Mancunians. And so on.

However we feel about the current political ups and downs in our country and the people involved, it is crucial that we do not forget where we have come from. Our democracy, our values and our sense of community as a nation have been hard won. We must treasure them and pray that we never lose them.

For many of the historical details above, I am indebted to David Walker, Bishop of Manchester.

September 2019

For meteorologists, summer comes to an end on August 31 and autumn begins on September 1. In contrast, astronomers say summer ends on September 22 in the northern hemisphere and autumn begins on Monday, September 23.

Either way, it has been a summer of extremes here in the Peak District. Last year the grass crop was down by 50% and this year it’s up by 50%, so my agricultural advisers tell me. Last year we had a surplus of sunshine - this year, certainly in August, those clear blue skies have been much less evident. Instead the west wind has been having a field day and bringing us a surplus of rain.

This was particularly noticed by the residents of nearby Whaley Bridge when they were evacuated from their homes for fear that the Toddbrook dam, above the town, was going to give way. Despite being up to date with all necessary regular inspections, the dam was found wanting in the extreme weather. Impressively, our local emergency services were not - fully prepared, they rapidly put their disaster plan preparations to good use.

The bible has a lot to say about being prepared, perhaps epitomized by the story of the wise virgins. Of the ten young women, five had taken enough oil for their lamps to last all through the night. The other five were not so well prepared - off they went to get more oil and so missed the big arrival they had been waiting for.

Two questions arise for each of us. Firstly, how prepared are we for the coming seasons of our lives? And if the answer is ‘not very’, how might we put a plan in place and what might it look like?

Secondly, if your house was about to be flooded and you had to leave suddenly, what would you take with you? What would be really important to save? Thinking this through certainly made me reflect on the priorities in my life.

Finally, a further essential response to unexpected or difficult events is prayer. Given the unsettled political season approaching in our country, this seems particularly important just now.

August 2019

At the end of July, we were at Saint Peter’s Church in Hope celebrating Saint Peter’s day and it set me thinking about my childhood and about Peter.

Our grandparents lived in Brixham in Devon, so as children we visited regularly. A strong memory for me is of visiting Granny’s church. Known as ‘the fisherman’s church’, it was dedicated to Saint Peter the Fisherman. It nestled half-way up the steep hillside surrounding the harbour and had a large model of a trawler with all her sails up suspended above the altar.

With a strong fishing tradition dating back to the 14th century, Brixham is credited with being one of the birthplaces of trawling. In the 19th century it was recorded that this fishing port had 270 sail operated decked trawlers employing 1600 seamen making it “the largest fishery in England”. The current fleet works the English and Bristol Channels, landing over 40 species of fish, and making the port’s fish market – which I loved to visit as a small boy - the largest in the UK by value of fish sold.

The descriptions we have of Peter in the bible tell us that he was a man of many different parts. He was a working fisherman who enthusiastically followed Jesus. He became the leader of Jesus’ disciples and it could be argued that he was Jesus’ best friend. He was present at many important events in Jesus’ life, including risking punishment to be with Jesus just before his death.

But Peter also got things wrong a lot of the time. For example, he denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed, he fell asleep when he should have been praying, he tried to walk on water and failed. Peter was a very human, human being.

Despite his flaws, or perhaps because of them, Peter persevered in following the example of Jesus and went on to lead the church that grew up after Jesus died. One of the greatest churches of the world in Rome is named after him.

All of which gives me great encouragement and I hope it might encourage you too. If Saint Peter was not perfect, then we too should not worry much about those times when we are not perfect or at our best. It is normal to have failings because, like Saint Peter, we are human.

July 2019

Edale School is 200 years old this year. It is a remarkable and very significant achievement. This community owes a deep debt to all those who have worked hard [and still work hard] to begin and continue this tradition of education for young people.

The school motto is the way starts here. So our school building has seen 200 years of young people beginning their journey in life. The school website [http://www.edale.derbyshire.sch.uk/] tells us that this is about valuing children as individuals, enjoying and achieving together, and cherishing this community and its environment.

Edale Country Day aims to be the big, little village show – mega ‘well done’ to everyone who helped make this year’s event such a success. Similarly, Edale School has had the big aim – over two centuries – of educating young people to become whole, well-rounded individuals.

Underpinning all this has been the fact that ours is a church school. The basis for all that the school shares is the core Christian value of love. Learning love, and hence respect, for others, whoever they are and wherever they are on their journey in life – whether starting, re-starting [as we so often have to], or simply getting by a day at a time.

The other Christian institution of learning for young people in Edale, the Peak Centre, also celebrates a significant anniversary this year - its half century.

Community living, discovery and growth form the Peak Centre’s strapline [see https://www.peakcentre.org.uk/]. The website notes that living together as a community is a powerful way to shape relationships, providing the opportunity for young people to develop life skills, and to learn more about themselves.

The Peak Centre is part of the Church of England Diocese of Derby. The centre’s vision is that everyone who stays there benefits from the beautiful location, embraces the challenges offered through outdoor pursuits opportunities, and grows together in their own communities.

During this month we celebrated and give thanks for all that has been, for a quarter of a millennium, in these two important institutions in our village and prayed for all that will be for them in the next 250 years.

June 2019

• The best place to start a walk [Ordnance Survey].

• The best place to live in the Midlands [Sunday Times].

• The UK’s hiking capital, offering a warm welcome to tourists [provided they park considerately] [Daily Telegraph].

Yes, Edale has been hitting the national headlines rather a lot recently. Of particular note was the Sunday Times’ assertion that we are ‘a rural community unmatched for fun, friendliness and enthusiasm’, ‘a creative community with a rare sense of humour.’ And of course, if it’s in the Sunday Times it must be true…..?

Well, let’s hope so. But it is just possible that a group of metropolitan London journalists may a] suffer from hyperbole in the interests of good copy to sell newspapers and b] not be fully aware of all the ins and outs and comings and goings of small Derbyshire villages.

Nevertheless, it set me thinking about the meaning of community. What makes community? How do we maintain or grow community in a place like Edale?

Dictionary definitions include ‘a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common’, and ‘the people of a district considered collectively, especially in the context of social values and responsibilities’.

So how do we now, and how might we in the future, ‘do’ community as we share this valley together? Christians start from Jesus’ command to love your neighbour as yourself. Which of course can be hard at times!

For me, love and respect for others go hand in hand, however trying we may be to one another occasionally. Alongside this, working at community includes: caring for each other if times are hard for any reason; participating in and supporting local organisations and events [several were mentioned by the Sunday Times]; welcoming others; and generally being around/present/responsible within this place we share.

If we can do this with fun, friendliness, enthusiasm, creativity and a sense of humour, our community – and all who live in it - should continue to thrive. We might even forgive the occasional badly parked vehicle.

May 2019

What moves you deeply? Why? What is it about some events or places or people or sounds or actions that resonates with our inner being? For most of us, such events don’t tend to come along very often, but when they do, I think we tend to remember them.

The first Easter must have been one of those times for all involved. A Roman centurion – one of the tough men of his times and certainly not a Christian – witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross. The Gospels record that he was moved to praise God and exclaim ‘Truly this man was God’s Son’.

Music has been part of human existence for millennia. For many, a tune or a rhythm unlocks in us something that allows us to feel truly in touch with ourselves. What is it about these moments? Why are they special? What is their significance?

A scientist devoted to post-Enlightenment rationalism will be certain that all can be explained by brain waves and physiology. But such physical explanations can never help us understand ‘why’ all this takes place. These are surely spiritual questions asked of each of us in the depths of our hearts, our deepest and most sacred being.

Certainly music touches many in their depths. Young children get it instantly. People with dementia can often still relate through music. It gives pleasure, builds teamwork and improves the health of participants. Why does it have the ability to move us in our inner being? Perhaps that is one of life’s unanswerable questions, or perhaps it calls us to explore the spiritual side of our lives.

Peter Cropper – a great friend of Edale over many years – dedicated his life to music, both through performing and through educating others. In his memory, his family are organizing five professional concerts in Edale Church during May [see notice later in Ringing Roger]. Everyone welcome – the music promises to touch us all deeply.

April 2019

We are now half way through Lent. Have you given something up or started something new? If so, how are you doing at sticking to it? It can be very hard!

Part of the reason we remember and live out Lent is that the bible records that Jesus went into the desert where he was tempted. It’s an interesting story because it can only have come from Jesus himself as he was alone in the wilderness during this time.

Jesus stayed 40 days and the devil tempted him. ‘The devil’, of course, is one way of viewing things that we see as wrong or evil. Perhaps the language feels a bit harsh to our contemporary ears but in earlier times, many people saw evil as a person and labelled it ‘devil’ or ‘demon’.

Whatever language we use, there is no doubt that – despite the fact that the world is created good - evil is real and potent and can affect both individuals and whole societies. It is also personal – we can each choose whether or not to engage in things or behaviours that are morally or ethically wrong. Evil also can be very hard to spot. It can masquerade as good or ‘least worst’ which makes choosing sometimes very hard and temptations often very attractive.

Jesus was asked to choose or discern three times between good and evil. Eventually the devil gave up and left with the promise that he would return. Temptation and the possibility of evil never go away fully – we may turn them down for a while but other possibilities soon arise. It is a constant battle.

Saint David, patron saint of Wales, is reputed to have coined the phrase ‘do the little things in life right’. Perhaps that encouragement can help each of us to persevere with our choices throughout the rest of Lent. Then the rejoicing and relaxation of our Easter celebrations will be well earned.

The message of Easter is that the risen Christ conquered evil on our behalf. It is thoroughly good news but, sadly, it will not take temptation away.

March 2019

How often do you pray? The answer to that question obviously varies a lot, but most people do pray occasionally, at least. Mainly, we offer short prayers in specific situations. They might be offering thanks, asking for forgiveness, or asking for help urgently for someone or something.

Historians are unsure about how often Jesus prayed. It is most likely, from the bible, that Jesus followed the Jewish pattern of worship three times daily – at day break, in the middle of the day and at dusk. He is also recorded as frequently going away on his own to pray in quiet places such as hillsides, gardens and the desert.

Over the years, patterns of public worship together have varied. In the early church of the first century, people probably met weekly for worship and a meal. By the second century, it is likely that a pattern of private prayer times had evolved [day break; third, sixth and ninth hours; evening and during the night].

By the fourth century, the private prayer times had gone public with morning and evening prayers in the newly constructed churches – in part due to the Emperor Constantine becoming a Christian. He decriminalised Christianity, which became the state church of the Roman Empire in 380.

By the sixth century, Saint Benedict’s monks were attending seven or more services a day including during the night. Away from monasteries, the worship of most churches was probably twice a day with longer services on a Sunday. Currently, some large churches and cathedrals still offer worship three or four times a day.

Here in Edale, we meet on Sundays for worship*. There has been a pattern of morning and evening weekly services for some years. For the next three months, we are trialling meeting every Sunday morning at 10am with no regular evening services. Feedback on this change would be appreciated.

Even if Sunday worship in church is not for you, do consider saying prayers occasionally or regularly – and ask if you need any advice. Many people find personal praying like this extremely helpful.

February 2019

Rites of passage happen to all of us at different times in our lives. They mark a change of status and a joining of a new group. In some societies, this involves withdrawing from everyday life for a while before returning in the new status.

For most of us, examples of such moving on might be going to secondary school, college or university marked by graduation dances, prize giving ceremonies and changes of uniform or ties or scarves. Other examples include moving into a house or flat for the first time, getting married or starting a family. Later in life, the death of a relative or retirement mark equally significant milestones.

Sometimes these changes in status are obvious, inevitable, enjoyable and well-celebrated. Alternatively, they can be times of regret, of opportunities left behind and potential unfulfilled. On occasion, the moving on is less obvious and it may not be until much later that we realise that a key transition occurred.

Recently, we celebrated the baptism of Jesus, a traditional rite of passage. Baptism was used in the Jewish religion, long before the time of Christ, to mark the entry into Judaism of non-Jews. It involved immersion in water from which a person emerged into a new life, leaving behind all their old faults and wrong-doing.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan when Jesus was 30. It marked the end of his work in the family carpentry business in Nazareth and the start of his teaching ministry – a very significant transition and change in life-style. Afterwards, Jesus took time out to pray and reflect.

Many of us will have significant changes and transitions in 2019. Some will affect us deeply, others will be more minor. Either way, taking time beforehand or afterwards to ponder, think, pray and reflect may allow us to fully appreciate the meaning of each event and hence to learn and grow. T.S.Eliot put it like this in the closing words of his poem Four Quartets:

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we first started and know the place for the first time.

January 2019

As Christmastide draws to a close and 2019 begins, we leave behind the season traditionally known for ‘peace and goodwill on earth’. November 2018 was especially important for peace as we remembered the Armistice of 1918 and the end of the so-called ‘war to end all wars’.

The challenge, noted in this column last month, was how to ensure that the love, peace and goodwill symbolized by the events of both 11th November and 25th December are fully present in all that we, and others, do every day from now on?

In true New Year fashion, I have a suggestion to add to your seasonal resolutions. Might we all, in the words we use with each other and the way we talk to each other [and hence think about each other], resolve to be intentionally peaceful?

My musings on this suggestion, which follow recent political events, came from the British Medical Journal. Concern was expressed about the use of the term ‘illegal migrant’ and careful choice of words was urged.

“Some people think those who protest against this phrase [‘illegal migrant’] are siding with migrants in conflict with the law. On the contrary: the idea of an illegal person is incompatible with the rule of law, which is founded on the idea that everyone has the right to due process and is equal in the eyes of the law. Labelling a person illegal insinuates their very existence is unlawful.

For this reason, bodies such as the UN General Assembly … and the International Organisation of Migration, have all deemed the phrase unacceptable, recommending the use of ‘undocumented’ or ‘irregular’ instead.”

The BMJ also noted that “Words have consequences, especially in situations where strong emotions, as well as social and political conflicts, are endemic.”

At the start of 2019, resolving to choose words carefully, so the language we use with each other is intentionally peaceful and truthful, seems like a positive first step in maintaining seasonal goodwill for the long term. Perhaps our politicians might try making this resolution too!

December 2018

November has been the month of remembering. This month we move into the final season of the calendar year as we look towards Christmas. Advent – literally meaning ‘to come’ - is a time of preparation and excitement for many people.

All those advertisements that we started receiving in about July bear fruit across the High Streets of our towns. Trees go up, lights are lit, decorations are rejuvenated for another year’s worth of service.

For many centuries, Advent – the four weeks leading up to Christmas – was a period of fasting, in the same way that six weeks of Lenten fasting precedes Easter. This was followed by the twelve days of Christmas leading to Epiphany on the sixth of January when, traditionally, the Wise Men arrived. These would be twelve holy days or holidays, devoted to feasting at the darkest time of the year and giving everyone a midwinter morale boost.

At Christmas, we welcome the Prince of Peace, born humbly in a stable a long way from home in an occupied and oppressed country. In remembering and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we give thanks that the God of love became human and lives among us. Peace and love inextricably intertwined.

Our remembering of new birth and new life in December parallels our remembering in November. This year, 121 people gathered round the Edale War Memorial at 11am on Sunday 11th November. It was a moment both of giving thanks for the ending of the First World War and also of celebrating the peace of the Armistice.

We were challenged to take this Armistice peace into our lives. How can we ensure that the love and peace symbolized by the events of both November the eleventh and December the twenty fifth are fully present in all that we do every day? How can we ensure that they percolate into the lives of everyone in our own nation and even into the lives of the people of every nation?

The only way is for each of us to truly live love and peace ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi, a man of profound peace, put it like this in a Universal Prayer for Peace:

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth.

Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.

Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.

Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.

May we all take the peace of Christmas into a transformed New Year.

November 2018

November is the month of remembering. This year, both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday fall on 11th November. This is particularly poignant as we will be remembering the centenary of the Armistice signing which ended the First World War.

Remembering is part of being human. I suspect we all want to be remembered in some way, especially by those who have known us. There are numerous examples of people praying to be remembered in the bible. They start with Joseph in the bible’s first book, Genesis, as he languishes in jail, unjustly confined there after his brothers have sold him to Egyptians.

Later, in the New Testament, the convicted thief crucified alongside Jesus prays ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ In this case, we will never know his name.

There is something special and perhaps intimate about knowing someone or something’s true name. It allows us to understand it or them in a little more depth. The names on our War Memorial have allowed research into the fourteen men recorded from WW1. Edale Society have their stories.

Of course, we cannot fully know them or what they suffered and went through. Nevertheless, it remains important to acknowledge them. Their stories give us significant insights into the sacrifices made by so many in the conflicts of the last century. Remembering helps us both to honour them, to learn for the future, and above all to be thankful for the peace that we now enjoy.

Every time the eucharist is celebrated throughout the world, Christians remember Christ’s death. Through this holy communion, we acknowledge the pain and suffering of his sacrifice but we also remember the joy and hope of resurrection and new growth. It is for this joy with hope of renewal and life afresh that Jesus died and that hope for the future is echoed in the sacrifices made in both World Wars.

As the WW1 Armistice is recollected throughout our country and elsewhere this centenary year, let us pray that we will always remember. Only through such remembering can learning take place from which hope, peace, and new life for the future emerge.

August 2018

July has been a significant month for many reasons including sunshine, weddings, new babies and birthdays. The 70th birthday of the NHS on July 5th was of particular note for those of us who have never known life without it, for all those who have received care over the years, and for those many people who have dedicated their working lives to making it all happen. I think that probably includes every single person living in the British Isles.

The NHS remains a national experiment that is admired throughout the world, despite its many faults and niggles. What, we might ask, is its greatest achievement? Providing care on the basis of need and free at the point of delivery was the winner of a recent online poll by the British Medical Journal.

‘Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalized, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community’ wrote Aneurin Bevan, the Health Minister who led the founding of the NHS.

One doctor recalled how, prior to 1948, The London Hospital in Stepney had signs up saying ‘We are voluntary – please help us,’ and ‘We are in hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt.’ Interestingly, one historian noted that many factions of the public were initially ambivalent or uninterested about the NHS.

Another historian wrote that one of the big changes for general practice was that, with the decline in organised religion, doctors had also to become part social workers and part priests. He wrote ‘my father was a Methodist minister. When he went to a new GP in 1947, the doctor refused to take a fee saying “I don’t charge the cloth because I send to you the patients for whom I can do nothing”.’

Times have moved on and better healthcare provision means there are many fewer people for whom ‘nothing can be done’. Underpinning our NHS are deep communal and spiritual values including:

• A national community coming together for the common good of everyone;

• Lifelong care and compassion offered to the whole person;

• A tax-funded service, inherently preferential to poorer people.

All birthdays should be celebrated but this is a 70th we should really be shouting about from the rooftops.

July 2018

My legs are still aching from the exertions of the Edale Parish Boundary Walk on June 16th. About 70 people registered for the walk. I’m not sure how many actually completed the full circumnavigation of the valley but all were creating a bit of living history. Life in Edale is never dull!

The custom of beating the bounds goes back to Anglo Saxon times – it was mentioned in the laws of Alfred the Great and Aethalstan. These days were also known as Gang Days from the old Norse gangr meaning walking. Clergy and people would walk the parish boundaries, stopping at the boundary stones for readings and prayers. Place names such as Gospel Oak and Amen Corner originate from this practice.

If the boundary was long, the walk might take several days. Abolished in 1547 but reinstated by Elizabeth 1 in 1559, the object was to define the parish boundaries and to give thanks to God by blessing fields and homes. The actual stones and line were considered almost sacred. There are reports of a whole procession marching in through the front door of a house built on the boundary line and out through the window!

In the days before maps, a folk memory of the physical boundary was very important. It established to whom tithes were due and which parish authorities had responsibility for the poor, needy and destitute. To make sure young members of the parish remembered the boundaries, tradition tells of boys being whipped with birch or willow and having their heads knocked against each boundary stone. Presumably these practices improved memory retention.

I didn’t notice any forgetful or bruised young people on our walk so perhaps we can leave those particular traditions behind. However, walking the physical boundary of our community did give a different perspective on this valley. It also offered the opportunity to thank God for our life together and for the gift of this small part of God’s creation that we are fortunate to share.

May 2018

Maximillian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar and priest. During the early part of the Second World War, Poland was invaded: Kolbe converted the friary that he led into a temporary hospital and hid some 2000 Jews there as well.

In early 1941, the friary was shut down by the German authorities. Kolbe was arrested and eventually transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner #16670. There he continued to act as a priest despite much violent harassment.

At the end of July 1941, ten prisoners disappeared from the camp. In response, ten men were chosen to be starved to death to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men cried out "My wife! My children!", Kolbe volunteered to take his place. He died some two weeks later and has since been made a saint.

This self sacrifice sprang to mind when I heard about the French policeman, Arnaud Beltrane. During a siege in Trebes recently, Beltrane similarly offered himself in place of someone else, a female hostage, and was killed as a result. There was a certain sad irony that this happened just before Easter when we remember Jesus giving up his life for others on the cross.

Maximillian Kolbe’s example and his deeply spiritual life continue to inspire many people. The place of Arnaud Beltrane in history remains to be seen but his bravery cannot be faulted.

What, we might ask, inspires such intrepid actions which most of us could not hope to emulate?

Reflecting on this, a helpful clue for me came when I read further about Kolbe and his community harbouring persecuted Jewish people in their friary at great personal risk. A brother asked if, as a follower of Jesus Christ, he could in good conscience give bread to the Jewish refugees. ‘Yes’, Maximillian replied, ‘it is necessary to do this because all people are our brothers and sisters.’

There is no doubt that our world would be transformed and significantly improved if all humankind could truly believe and live out this simple statement. The starting point for such an initiative has to be each of us in our own everyday lives.

April 2018

The great thing about having had such a ferociously cold spell in February/early March is that when spring finally arrives, perhaps we appreciate it all the more. The signs of new growth and the expectancy in the landscape are all around us, and the curlews have arrived.

We recently had our 20-month old grandson to stay for a fortnight. It made us realize why humans are designed to have their children while they are young! The constant energy from him, and hence required of us, was a long way from our normal daily routine. But it was also great fun.

I learnt two useful lessons from our small visitor. The first was about living in the present moment. I’ve always had a tendency to be planning ahead and thinking about tomorrow or next week or next month. The problem with that approach to life is that one can miss out on fully experiencing the excitement of today. For someone approaching their second birthday, I’ve been reminded, there is only today. The present is it, and it has to be fully lived.

Secondly I learnt about rhythm. Our grandson has a rhythm to his day. It begins with waking, eating, having lots of energy to work off, then napping for a while. This is followed by a repeat of the cycle before bed time. It took us a few days to tune into his rhythm of life, but it was immensely satisfying as we learnt to live alongside him.

The coming of spring, coinciding with the great festival of Easter, is a reminder of nature’s rhythm. As Storm Emma disappears from our memories, let’s enjoy the present moments of new life emerging all around us in plants and animals alike.

Easter – the most important of the annual Christian festivals – is also about new life. Death on the cross, a time of deep darkness, suffering and winter experienced by Jesus on our behalf, is replaced by the new life and joy of Easter resurrection. This rhythm offers fundamental hope for all of us.

Best wishes,

Simon

February 2018

Some of you may have spotted recent changes in the churchyard at Edale Parish Church. As part of our Heritage Lottery Fund project [which included replacing the church roof], the long-planned garden of reflection and remembrance has been created.

Many thanks to Richard Wainwright and his team for their hard work and skill in laying and levelling the paths, footings and benches along with the planters.

The intention of this space is to encourage locals and visitors alike to spend time in the church grounds and in the church itself. Both are sacred spaces with a long history of prayer and worship. Please take a moment, next time you are passing, to try out the benches as places for reflection and for contemplating the beauty of this valley.

On the planters by the War Memorial are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – alpha and omega. They symbolize the never-ending love of God for you and for all creation. They also represent the position of Edale as the start and finish of the Pennine Way, Britain’s first long distance trail.

During January, there have been many visits by children in Years 5 and 6 of local primary schools [including Edale School] to the Peak Centre for a Retreat. In a day away from school routine, they have explored teamwork, relaxation, prayer and their own uniqueness, while having some fun and appreciating the countryside.

The children’s comments at the end of these days have echoed those found in the visitors’ book at Edale Parish Church. They included gratitude for the peacefulness of this special place and for the opportunity to step aside from the bustle of everyday life for a brief period.

We hope the new garden in the church grounds will offer further possibilities for us all to have more moments of reflection and peacefulness within the hectic schedules that we so often make for ourselves.

Simon

January 2018

Saint Anthony lived alone in great poverty in the desert of third century Egypt:

One of the wise men of that time went to find the holy man Anthony and asked him ‘Father, how can you be happy when you are deprived of the consolation that books can give?’ Anthony replied ‘My philosopher friend, my book is the nature of creatures and all creation; and this book is always in front of me when I want to read the words of God’.

Centuries earlier, psalm writers also knew this:

I lift up my eyes to the hills; ♦ from where is my help to come?

My help comes from the Lord, ♦ the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121

Finding God in all creation has been experienced and written about by all succeeding generations. ‘I cannot show you my God but I can show you His works. Look at his works and praise their maker’ wrote Saint Augustine of Hippo. For Meister Eckhart in the fourteenth century, ‘all creation is the utterance of God and all creatures and creation echo God’.

At the end of November, we celebrated the long life of Nancy ‘Milly’ Heardman, who spent the majority of her 103 years in Edale. She knew this valley and its flora intimately. She loved to be alone in the hills even, perhaps especially, on Christmas Day.

Milly would have understood where Saint Anthony and the other writers were coming from. We can find God in all creation and that is where she went to be close to her maker - her long solo walks were infamous.

She was not alone in this. Many of us encounter God through knowing creation. We do not have to travel anywhere for this knowing – the small part of God’s creation that we have been given in this valley is as good a place of encounter as any cathedral or monastery.

We can journey spiritually in many ways, including through music, prose, poetry, reflection, dance, prayer and worship. A good place to begin this New Year might be through walking in the countryside.

With best wishes for your journey through 2018,

Simon.

November 2017

To be born in Britain is to be given one of life’s silver spoons, even though it may not feel like that at times.

Imagine being a primary school teacher for 18 years when you have to leave your country suddenly. You eventually arrive in the UK with your newborn baby. Five years later, you remain unable to work, stuck in poverty, but desperate to use your skills to make a future for yourself and your child, who is now attending school. The papers you need to settle in this country are progressing at a snail’s pace through the labyrinthine meanderings of the Home Office.

Actually I find this really hard to imagine, but it is true for one of the women who visited Edale in September when we welcomed a group from Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) for a day out and a picnic.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated story – one of the women told us she had been waiting over twelve years. This is because she comes from two countries and establishing officially which one she belongs to in order to process her asylum application has created even more meanderings amongst our esteemed officialdom.

How to respond? Edale Church has made WAST one of our charities for this year and sent a significant donation from this community. The three visits by members of the group to Edale over the last year have been really appreciated. When your funds are very limited, and you lack confidence and knowledge about getting around in a strange country, a day out is a real boost.

Perhaps our own awareness of the difficulties faced by people unfortunate enough to be stuck in such difficult circumstances is crucial. Then we can each decide how we might respond personally to this pain and hardship.

Even if we do not feel called to a specific action or response, we can all hold refugees and asylum seekers, and those responsible for their future throughout the world, in our prayers.

Simon

July 2017

It's been quite a few weeks in our country, as the Queen noted on her birthday. Atrocities in London and more locally in Manchester, and then the Grenfell Tower tragedy, mixed in with the democratic process of electing representatives to the mother of parliaments.

The pain of those events, and of all the people caught up in them, is raw and fresh and very evident in media reporting. How do you live through something like that? How do you move on?

Coincidentally, there was also the first anniversary of the murder of the young northern MP Jo Cox. Across our country people remembered her with dance, music, food, paper doves, picnics, face painting and so on. This Great Get Together was inspired by a passage in Jo Cox's maiden House of Commons speech in 2015. She spoke of her conviction that 'we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us'.

And yet, and yet..... such distress, such upset. Jo Cox's mum said that her family had pulled together since Jo's death but that 'we'll always be broken because there's a piece missing'.

Anyone who has suffered a loss of whatever sort - perhaps someone dying, or the end of a relationship, or leaving a job - knows something of that feeling of brokenness, of having a piece missing in their lives. At the time it feels almost unbearable.

Franciscan writer Richard Rohr defines suffering as 'whenever we are not in control'. So there's a sense in which we all share the brokenness of the Cox family and the pain of those affaected by the great tragedies of recent weeks. Like them we are all sometimes 'broken', and we all have times when we are not in control.

But in the pain of this reality, the Christian faith has words of hope and love. Through the example of Jesus on the cross, we see something of the God of Love who is always present whatever our 'brokenness' and 'out of control-ness'.

As the fourteenth century English mystic, Julian of Norwich, put it so eloquently, this God of Love always 'comes to us in the lowest part of our need'.

Best wishes,

Simon.

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