June ServicesPlease click link for poster of June 2024 services(filename Church_Services_June_2024)Click here to view - Old Hills Malvern Diary for a calendar of services looking further ahead.
June 2024 Pastoral Letter Dear Friends, Towards the end of John’s gospel there is a long section known as Jesus’ ‘final discourse’. It is a deep section of text with Jesus explaining what life is going to be like in the future without his actual bodily presence. You might have heard it read and preached at Pentecost last month. There will be times of deep sadness which will be overtaken by feelings of deep joy. At the time though, it must have seemed almost impossible that the disciples could feel joyful in the difficult circumstances of the present, and in the future when they were warned of difficulties and persecution. This joy came from the transforming power of the gift of the Spirit that gave the disciples a joy that could not be suppressed. The present times we live in may not seem so joyful or certain, perhaps. Or do we face a God given opportunity? How can we each possibly deal with the calamity of global warming, how will our vote in General election (remember to register for a postal vote of you are going to be away on the 4th July 2024) make a difference to those in need, and what about the clarion call for peace in our world? If we let all of these issues get to us, we may feel a sense of despondency if we are not careful. How do you respond? How would you define or describe your own spiritual lives in Christ? I tried discussing that with the children at Callow End last month. It is a challenging topic but does boil down to some basic ways of living, loving in faith and hope. Jesus invites us to participate with him in doing his work until we are called into eternity with him. That participation is to be undertaken in good times or bad just like the first disciples and is intended to be an experience of joy no matter what the circumstances. This is of course a lot easier said than done, but joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. That joy can grow and flourish when we attach ourselves to Jesus as part of the vine that he spoke of in John’s gospel (John 15.5), and our joy, he promises, will ultimately be complete in him (John 15.11). How can this be that Jesus gives us a joy that cannot be taken away? We often confuse happiness with joy. Our joy may come when we complete a seemingly endless task with which we have had to persevere and struggle, or when someone does something that makes us feel special. That joy is heightened when we know something good has been given to us by the God of the universe and the whole of creation. Somehow, we are known so personally. I am blessed to feel that way by ministering in these five villages, four churches, three schools, two care homes as one benefice of faith hope and loved. I see acts of loving kindness - do you? We do have some good things to look out for over the summer. We have weddings (including two at Guarlford) and more baptisms, visiting history groups interested in our church history - a visit from Historic England at Powick. We also will gather to commemorate the D-Day landings 80 years on with a service at the war memorial at Callow End. If this letter gets to you on time, go join in and support the Madresfield Village fete at Madresfield Court – and support the church stall too. Later this month, we will be looking at our churches’ environmental footprint, burden and legacy. We might feel that it has nothing to do with us, but we all have a place in God’s creation for a purpose and we must all strive to do our best to honour, respect and protect it. And in our prayer life, too, we join in Christ’s intercession for the world, praying for others that their joy may be complete whatever struggles they face now. Jesus promised his disciples his joy would be in them and would be complete. So too, the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah said, ‘it is the joy of the Lord who is our strength.’ (Nehemiah 8.10) . Every blessing ……Rev Gary
Vicar’s Pastoral Letter - May 2024 Racing across the World … Benefice… Churches Dear Friends, Summer is almost upon us again – but perhaps the weather is not helping us get into the mood. At the end of this month, my family and I will go to Pembrokeshire to a spot that is indeed very special to us. The phone/Gmail will be turned off. I hope that you are able to think about the refreshment that comes from holidays at some point this year. Many of you of a certain vintage like holidays a lot - perhaps that’s why I haven’t seen you in church for a while! Maybe you worshipped in a church whilst you were away? What did you learn from their welcome, ministry and worship? Can we learn a few lessons from your travels? Are you watching Race Across the World on TV at the moment? I think it’s an interesting idea of travelling without flying, within a limited budget and no internet or mobile phone. Just a map, opportunity to travel with a companion and may be work with them and a wallet of local currency. I wonder if the producers got their inspiration from The Acts of The Apostles? As you journey through Eastertide, our Biblical journey is a cruise through the various exploits and challenges faced by the developing church. And it most certainly was a Race Across the World. Seen through the lens of some of the earliest travel writers (the apostles and deacons), we learn such a lot about being prepared and ready, being resilient and up for a challenge. Peter was a great traveller and he most certainly clocked up the miles considering the numerous journeys he took to spread the gospel. Most of his journeys were far from comfortable. He even got ship-wrecked in Malta. Indeed, I think he endured three ship wrecks on his travels. The reception he got at many of the places where he visited could hardly be described as an ‘all-inclusive leisure holiday.’ He was beaten, stoned and got imprisoned at some of them. None of these stopped him. He persevered with his mission. He tried to finish the race. He knew whom he believed in and was convinced that He is able to guard what he had entrusted to him until the end. The task God has given to each and every one of us can hardly be described as an ‘All-inclusive holiday’ at times. There are days we will feel tired, despondent and even sorry for ourselves because we think the load of life, or even within our churches, is becoming too heavy. Our Annual Meetings will be taking place this month. How many will stand up to take on the roles we need covering to carry our churches forward on their journey? How many old stalwarts on our church committees will call it a day and stand down for very good reasons? Are we seeing anyone new coming to the fore, or are we in recycling mode? There is a phrase called multitasking in Management but perhaps the church takes this to the extreme. With some many challenges out there, not least safeguarding and domestic abuse training and the imminent need to register our PCCs with the Charity Commission, it is mightily easy to all want to give it a break and take a holiday instead. Jesus says, ‘His yoke is easy and the load He will put on us is light.’ (Mathew 11:30). Our load only becomes heavy when we stop looking at the divine power of Jesus and focus on our physical strength. What’s more, He has left us with a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide and guard us - and we celebrate that fact this month too - first through the Ascension and then Pentecost. Do not grow weary running the race. Stay in the race if you can but if you have to pull up, don’t feel ashamed. Call on Him daily to grant you the strength and wisdom to keep up His good work, may be in surprising or just other ways. ‘He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1Corinthians18) God bless - Rev Gary
An Easter Celebrity!As we journey through March, there is so much going on. After a dark, dismal, and wet winter, the mornings and evenings are getting lighter, and the spring flowers are blooming! Yes, that ring of Daffs and crocuses are on the vicarage lawn all too soon.Our Lenten journey is underway - thank you to those that are journeying through Lent with me and especially those exploring faith through the Lenten study. Sadly, there will not be a Daffodil Sunday on Mothering Sunday because of the weather, but there will be Palm Sunday to look forward to - with our Benefice procession in Madresfield, and this year, two Priests will work together to herald the start of Passiontide.Very soon, we will have Easter upon us. If I asked, during a sermon slot, who is the most famous person "out there” at the moment, who would you say? Go on, check through your newspapers, flick through the daytime TV or radio stations, look online. Who is: out there" right now? Who was out there last year, but hasn't been seen since?We increasingly live in a 'celebrity culture'. Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame; notability or even notoriety will do. Social media, magazines, newspapers, and television game shows all have their tame or not so tame celebrity to call upon. A celebrity culture is very enticing and the public acclamation we afford to others is very revealing. It says something about what we value - image, money, recognition, youth, power. More than that, it says something about human identity, about who we think we are, and who we would like to be.The word ‘celebrity’ comes from the Latin root, 'celebrem' which has connotations with both 'fame' and 'being thronged'. And if you read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the day we have come to know as Palm Sunday, you might easily imagine that Jesus was a sort of first century celebrity: "The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna!' 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' 'Blessed is the King of Israel!'.The ‘Feast' was the Passover when over 2 million people gathered in Jerusalem and this great crowd, fuelled by reports of the raising of Lazarus, heard Jesus was coming and so they acclaimed Him as their King, the one who would lead the rebellion against the Roman occupation of their land. Consequently, the crowd were full of nationalistic and messianic fervour. However, He came not on a warhorse but on a donkey; to defeat not the Romans but the power of sin and death. This was to fulfil what had been foretold hundreds of years earlier by a prophet; “called Zechariah: “Do not be afraid, O daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.”; a King who would proclaim peace to the nations and whose rule will extend to the ends of the earth. Thus, Jesus’ triumphal entry showed that His Kingship was non-military. He would be crowned upon a cross of sacrifice through which He will achieve freedom for His worldwide subjects who put their faith in Him. He is the King of peace through whom we can have peace with God, but to achieve this He needed to ride on in lowly pomp to die. I sometimes wonder how many of those who cried ‘Hosanna’ on Palm Sunday cried, ‘Crucify’ on Good Friday?You see, Jesus knew He was about to die, despite the acclamation He received. He knew that the crowd would soon be shouting ‘crucify him!.’ However, Jesus’ death was not to be a tragedy, but rather a triumph. For by going the way of the cross, by His supreme act of obedience unto death, He first had to endure the suffering before the glory, the cross before the crown, and all that that entailed – the pain, the humiliation, the false accusation, the agony, and the burden of bearing the sins of the whole world. He endured all of this for you and for me - He perished so that we don’t have to - hence, the day we remember His death is GOOD FRIDAY and why Jesus is GOOD NEWS for sharing. A new life for all of us. Life from Death, light overcoming the darkness.Scratch the surface beneath the other modern-day icons of Easter - no, not the celebrities this time - I mean the chocolate eggs and bunnies, Easter wreaths and gardens, and you still unearth something quite profound about the need we have for new life. Eggs and bunnies both represent new life which is exactly what Easter signifies for all Christians. Recently online I saw a post featuring a sign from a forest in Central America that said, “Here in this rainforest there is no death, only life in transition.” This notice was speaking of the endless cycle of death and rebirth in the natural world. That same line might have been written by a theologian because what the resurrection of Jesus tells us is exactly the same message for human beings. It is a universally applied quality owned by us all simply by being part of the same created order as that rainforest. “In him was life and that life was the light of all men” as it says in John’s Gospel Turn on a light in the middle of the night, or light a candle in a darkened church to see what I mean – light is greater than darkness – good is greater than evil – and life is stronger than death.Easter is the greatest ever story of hope! Despite what is going on in the world, and perhaps in our own lives right now, the message of triumph of life over death, light over darkness, love over hatred, peace over anxiety, and joy over grief remains unchanged. So let us celebrate His victorious resurrection and all that it means to be ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven!With every blessing for a great Easter Feast - Rev Gary
February 2024 Pastoral Message Dear Friends, This year Ash Wednesday and Lent follows hard on the heels of Christmas and Epiphany – we have just two Sundays between the 2 seasons. Often this can make us feel a little bit rushed. No sooner have we celebrated the birth and manifestations of Christ during Christmas and Epiphany (and put our decorations away), then we are focusing on a season of self-denial and discipline, prayer and study, culminating in Christ’s death on Good Friday and resurrection at Easter. I remember being asked this very profound question from a child in one of our schools- "did they take Jesus straight out of the crib and put him on the Cross?” We could be forgiven for thinking the same. And although the nearness of Lent and Easter to Christmas can be unsettling, perhaps the proximity of these seasons and festivals this year can be to our advantage. Maybe for an unchurched society they make no connection – but there is a really important connection. Maybe we need to find ways to recognise that it is the same person, God incarnate, who is lying in the manger, and who has his arms outstretched upon the cross. Perhaps we can remember, like this: Perhaps we will remember more clearly that the child of Bethlehem whom angels, shepherds, and wise men adore is the same person who is crowned with thorns and whom the crowd of Jerusalem disown and condemn to die. Perhaps the depth of God’s love will be revealed more fully to us as we connect together the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ to new life as a promise and gift of God to all his children. Perhaps there is real symbolism in keeping your Christmas tree, rather than taking it to the dump for recycling and fashion it into a Cross. We often do that at Madresfield church. It is good when we make such connections in our Faith: when we remember as individual Christians, or as our churches, and take these messages to heart. Let’s use the coming of Lent to get ready - get ready to dedicate ourselves to prayer, read the Scriptures, ‘giving things up’ (aka fasting) for God and supporting those in need. Are our Lenten observances a bit faded or stale? Perhaps our Lenten observances need re-thinking and re-imagining each year. How many of you remembered to keep out a Christmas ornament on show – and plan to keep it out, despite the temptation to put it away? Will you do the same with your palm cross later in Passiontide, I wonder? Who will have a palm cross available at Ascensiontide? I often meet people who give up the same thing, and do the same thing, during Lent, year after year. Why not try something different: a Lent course, study the Scriptures with a commentary, come along to Lenten prayers or use my Lent Prayer book. Maybe, give up something different and costly and give the money you would have spent to the church or to charity. Of course, for some these dots between Christmas and Lent and onwards to Easter have already been joined. For some others, none of these things I have written about in this letter may speak to you, but as we enter into Lent I hope and pray that this season may be a time of spiritual refreshment and growth for each and every-one of us. Every Blessing, Rev Gary
Christmas 2023 Pastoral Letter Dear Friends, The events of the first Christmas were strange and wonderful. That was the experience of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men. For them, the first coming of Jesus was disturbing and awesome. But too many of us have lost the awe. We tend to receive the account of the first Christmas with familiarity. For some of us, the Christmas Message of Hope is well and truly lost on us. We prefer to be lost in a myriad of TV adverts, the annual return of Christmas specials or I’m a Celebrity , cheesy celebrity soundbites, secular Christmas concerts , family rows or disagreements about where Uncle Percy will stay this year (“is it our turn again?”) or a good works night out. Are you in need of more awe this Christmas? The claim of Jesus, the gospel writers and letter writers of the New Testament, is that the creator of the universe was born in Bethlehem that night. Is that not awesome? The “heavenly risk assessment” for Jesus’ first months must have run into several pages. Born of an inexperienced young mother on a long journey to an overcrowded town. With powerful enemies soon intent on killing him: dangerous journeys across the desert as a refugee family. Do you not wonder at the rollercoaster ride that was Jesus’ arrival on this earth? It is rather awesome. Jesus was born into an unfashionable, ordinary, family with what we could describe as “marital issues”. Circumstances caused his birth to be in a cattle shed because they were most certainly not from The Inn Crowd. Jesus’ visitors, came (eventually) to worship him: from the roughest of locals to the smoothest of foreigners all guided by a celestial light show. They were all filled with awe. Most people missed it, even though it was the working out of a plan that had been conceived at the time of the first humans and revealed over many centuries. There are not many places in our community to find a suitable expression of this joyful awesomeness but the Church is one. There are not many places that allow you to enjoy this kind of awe at Christmastime. But your churches in Powick, Callow End, Madresfield and Newland are indeed such a place. Why don’t you come? Please see our website (www.oldhillsmalvern.co.uk) or our Facebook and X posts for more details. We are all going on a Walk of Wonder around Madresfield on Sunday 10th December (with carols and readings – meet at the church at 10.30am) and carols with the Chase Brass Band at Penny Close in Guarlford (you can’t miss it – just follow the lights!). We are having a display of nativity scenes at Guarlford too (like a few other local churches). Instead of Nine Lessons this year, we are having a service with a gospel edge led by VoxRox from Upton on Sunday 17th December at Powick at 6pm. We have crib services at Callow End and Madresfield on Christmas Eve, followed by The First Communion of Christmas services at Powick and Guarlford too. You could even delay the Turkey or Nut roast or the new cracker game (the hunt for the missing Gift receipt) by coming to church on Christmas day, too (11am – Powick or Madresfield). The first Christmas was awesome. This time round too, let’s encourage ‘more awe’. With Festive greetings this Advent and onwards to Christmas Rev Gary
Dear Friends,November is a month to remember. And we remember not to take things for granted. Not taking things for granted helps us have better focus, and promotes better priorities in our life.On Remembrance Sunday 12th November 2023 at 10.50am, for the first time in the time I have been your Priest, church services at Guarlford, Madresfield & Powick worship together at the same time for the national silence at 11am (I hope with the clock changes, everyone remembers!).Remembrance Sunday is a good opportunity to express publicly the much-needed intention not to take peace for granted. Next year, we commemorate 80 years since D-Day and in 2025, the ending of the Second World War. Psychologically, many of the younger generations might well be thinking such war will never visit us. We can all too easily take peace for granted.The Gaza/Israeli conflict and resultant humanitarian crisis, and the war resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, remind us not to take peace for granted. Devastating war is closer than we think: in the case of the current conflicts - less than four hours’ flying time separate our peace from armed conflict and humanitarian strife. Remembrance Sunday helps us remember.Jesus taught very clearly that this age, in which we live, will see wars. He was not the sort of humanist who believes that humankind is getting better in all ways, and such bad things are going away. Not at all. Jesus said ‘there will be wars and rumours of wars’ right up to the time of his second coming. He warned us so that we can be ready to face up to the challenges of our times, and to work for peace, and to be ready for war. Many of the Ukrainians are Christians and this has helped them to be resilient in the face of terrible warmongering. We need to remember the civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel too and the aid agencies trying to help in hard circumstances. We want to be resilient. Being resilient is helped by good remembering.On Sunday 29th October 2023, we had our annual Parish Memorial Services. The services on that afternoon brought back to church many family members that your village churches have supported over the past two years with funeral ministry. We gathered together to remember loved ones who are no longer with us and to give thanks. I hope that this annual gathering was indeed helpful, as we all come to terms with our own loss, and it also helps us to value our close friends and family. A shared experience of expressing our family grief reminds us how much we value our loved one’s memory, and helps us not to take our remaining family and friends for granted. Remembering helps us value people and cherish people.Whilst we remember or hold deep routed remembrances, we need to give thanks too. We remember that all we have comes from God’s generosity. As we approach the end of the Church’s year at the end of the November, we do need to anticipate and look forward to God’s plan for us as a group of churches, moving forward. We mustn’t dwell, too much, on the Diocese’s Transformation and Change agenda, in the purely organisational and church bureaucracy way, but look for the signs for how Gods is transforming us. Being thankful for our parishes’ presence, prayer and persistence to help others in spite of the challenges we face is important. Offering thanksgiving is a marvellous antidote to taking things for granted.November is a month to help us remember and give thanks for all have achieved. Come and remember and so be ready and focussed on the things that really matter.Every blessing Rev Gary
Vicar’s Blog August 2023 Be still, Be Present, turn off the Gmail (don’t forget the Speedo’s) I remember, when I was a child, the school summer holidays seemed incredibly endless – amazingly, the days seemed to stretch out and to go on and on – a time of lazing around and enjoying not having particularly much to do. Now, as an adult, father and Vicar, with the schools closed for the summer after the fun and farewells associated with the end of the school year, the six week stretch will seem to just fly by and will be almost over as soon as it’s begun. Thankfully the Deanery and Diocese slow down too over the summer. Perhaps they are enjoying a break too! However, I am fortunate in that I will be having some time off with my family and the chance to go on holiday and to get away from it all. These opportunities are really important – to be able to spend quality moments with Alison, Jessica and Issy (Harriet might come along too): for us all to be able to relax away from all the pressures of work and of school; and to be able to enjoy one another’s company without the demands of work and study hanging over all the time. The weather may not be great but it’s still a change of scene and routine. That said, we need to be back for A level results day…… Whether we go away on holiday or simply enjoy time relaxing at home, it is important for our mental and physical health to have times of rest and relaxation. It is also, I believe, important for our spiritual health as well. On a recent Deanery walk around Guarlford, we have talked a lot about the important of making time to be still and to reflect, and of making space for God and listening for God’s voice. In the busyness of our daily lives, the still, small voice of God can often be drowned out; and it is often when we are on holiday or just enjoying a break from our daily routine, that God is finally able to get a word in edgeways and we can benefit from more time to pray and read the Bible and to focus on God’s love and desire for us to experience life in all its fullness. During his earthly ministry, Jesus made it a priority to escape the demands of the crowds – even the demands of his own disciples – and sought out places of quiet where he could pray and be alone with God. The Gospels are full of verses describing Jesus doing this; and if he, the Son of God, needed opportunities for prayer and rest, how much more do we! So, whatever you are doing this Summer – whether you are going away or enjoying time at home or even giving thanks for the lack of emails from me; let us pray that each one of us will be able to find moments to be still, to be peaceful and to listen to God’s voice of love speaking to us and surrounding us with kindness, mercy and grace. Every blessing - Gary
Old Hills Malvern ChurchesVicar’s Pastoral Letter - July/August 2023Dear Friends,Three reasons to be happy: 1. The sun is shining but rain is on the horizon that should dispel the mugginess2. For those of you into your sport - armchair or by spectating, we are still (at time of writing) in with a chance with the Ashes (both Men’s and Women’s) and Wimbledon is just around the corner. If you are not into Sport, Glasto has been a blast on the TV – and Cindy & Lauren have returned to Eastenders! 3. School holidays are soon to begin. Lifepath was a success at The Great Malvern Priory and our Collective Worship Assembles for parents were well received. Leaver’s Bibles all bought and signed - thanks to those of you that donated. It’s all looking good!Three reasons to be apprehensive:1. There are record temperatures being recorded across the world. Then I heard this at a wedding rehearsal - “Can you have a word with the big guy so that it doesn’t rain on the Big Day?” To which my response was inevitably something like, “well, God’s in a tough spot here, because while you’re praying for it to not rain, the farmers and gardeners might be praying that it will rain!”2. There is still war in The Ukraine and other troubles in Russia are rearing their ugly head. 3. The cost-of-living crisis means that many families will be looking at the summer holidays with trepidation – how to feed the kids this summer time and keep them entertained. Mortgage rates (and rents too) are going up (may be some of us with some modest savings will benefit from increases in savings rates).However you choose your own three highs and lows, I am sure your neighbour or friends will have a different set or a different way in interpreting them - even if they are the same three things. We all have different ways of interpreting what is happening. And we do that regularly with the Bible too.But isn’t that often the way? Things are getting better for some, but others might be facing new struggles. Life carries with it complexities, and we find ourselves wandering through the thick of it.As we go about our daily lives never know what the people around us are going through. The man in the café staring at his cup of tea while it goes cold. The couple embracing in tears by the bus stop. The child sniffling at the back of the class. The family laughing at the pub. Even just the person we pass in the street. We can be sure that however our days are going the people around us will be experiencing a range of different emotions: joy, delight, worry, fear, grief, anger. The whole gamut of human experience plays itself out on our villages and in our community every day of the year.In the midst of the rich tapestry of life and experience it wouldn’t do us harm to be kind. Nothing more radical than that. To be prepared to ask, “are you okay?” To be a sign to others that they are not alone.Throughout it all, the good and the bad, one thing we can take comfort in, is that God journeys with us through it all. God is never on holiday. That’s not to say that we should just stop moaning and get on with things, but that as we do go about our lives, we can know that we’re not alone. While that doesn’t mean the hardships will always pass, there is solace to be found in knowing that we don’t walk the road alone.Enjoy the coming Summer - as we journey through these coming summer months, whatever the weather or opportunities or hardships – be blessed, and as you are blessed, seek to be a blessing to others too. Rev Gary