It’s September and I’m beginning to raise my eyes to the horizon to the great pattern of services and activities that have already begun to take shape as we head towards the end of the year.But before that we’ve got lots of exciting things going on in September and October. Special events, special services and lots of ways to engage.Looking towards September, in Madeley between the 6th and 7th of September we’ll be welcoming the Extreme Tour, a group of nearly a dozen musicians who will spend the weekend popping up in different places around the parish, singing songs and chatting to whoever they encounter.And then at the end of September and on into October All Saints’ will be hosting PrayerFest2025, celebrating 1050 years since a Royal Charter granted land to be used in Madeley for a church and monastery. 1050 years! That’s amazing, I’ve never found a record that the monastery ever got built, but that is an extraordinary bit of history there! To celebrate there will be a whole host of events taking place in Madeley and also in Betley too.On Saturday 4th October between 10:00am-4:00pm Sadie Blankley and I will be hosting a Quiet Day with a Harvest Theme. It will be a wonderful day with opportunities to step away from the busy-ness of the world and to pause.I’m praying that as the leaves start to change colour that new rhythms might begin to emerge, rhythms of peace and prayer, that as we gear up after the relative quiet of summer (unless you have children at home!) we might all step into helpful patterns that carry us forwards.Tim
As you are reading this letter, relaxing into summer I wanted to take this opportunity to mention a few things on the horizon for later in the year.Firstly, as I write in early June, we are exploring partnering with a fantastic organization called The Extreme Tour in putting on a weekend of music in Madeley on the 6th and 7th of September. Details are still to be firmed up, but we’re hoping this will be a really exciting weekend for the church and wider Madeley community! Watch this space for more details…Also, at the end of September and on into October we will be hosting PRAYER FEST ’25. Between Sunday 28th September and Sunday 5th October 2025 we will be celebrating our history of prayer. In 975AD a royal charter granted land at Madeley with plans to build a monastery and a church. We've not found any further record of a monastery actually being built at Madeley but it is amazing to think that 1050 years ago this place was dedicated to prayer. Between the 28th of September and 5th of October there will be a number of special prayer events. The Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith will be preaching at our 11am Holy Communion service on Sunday 28th of September. This is sure to be a very special ten days of events, so please save the dates in your diaries.I hope you all have a wonderful summer.Rev Tim
Today is a day of smoke.And the smoke matters.Today is the 8th of May.There was nearly smoke in the vicarage kitchen this evening when some of the bolognese sauce I was cooking spilled on the hob. But that’s not the smoke I’m thinking of.Today I drove all over the parishes and as I did my car belched out its unseen smoky fumes.Today there was a trail of (admittedly) unseen smoke in the air as a formation of WWII RAF planes flew over the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire in commemoration of the 8oth anniversary of VE Day.Today was a day when black smoke poured out of a particular chimney in Europe, but hours later sighs were replaced with jubilant cheers as white smoke poured out of the same chimney in the Vatican at the news that a new pope had been selected, Pope Leo XIV. As well as white smoke, there was hope and anticipation in the air.In the last day fresh smoke began to rise from various attacked sites in India and Pakistan as the tensions between the two nations grew and became increasingly worrying.Meanwhile smoke from bombed out buildings and the fumes from tanks and vehicles of war continued to rise upwards from Gaza and Israel. While in Ukraine a 3 day cease-fire is believed to have been violated up to 734 times... and so in a time when the skies should be clear, the smoke continues to rise.Tonight, as hundreds of beacons will light up the skies of our nation, I will light a candle and pause for a moment. Following the ancient tradition of burning incense in church and watching the dancing smoke ascend, as if prayers going up to heaven…And I’m reminded of that verse from Job 5:7 (King James) - Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upwardIn this world, we see the smoke ascend. Some might bring good news, some might come as a reminder of difficult times and so much of that smoke speaks of human suffering. In these days, may our prayers rise up to heaven like sparks and like black and white smoke. Amen.BlessingsRev Tim
Ascension Day takes place on the 29th May this year. And for the last few years between Ascension Day and Pentecost we’ve been trying to mark this time by joining in with the Church of England’s Thy Kingdom Come initiative which tries to make the 10 days between these two important Christian festivals a time set aside for prayer.One of the focuses of Thy Kingdom come isn’t just to pray generally about things (though that’s a good thing to do!), but to focus our prayers on those who do not yet have a living faith in Jesus.This year, across Betley and Madeley churches we are running a “5 for 5” scheme. The idea is very simple. Choose five people you want to pray for and commit to praying for them for five minutes each day with a simple focus:“pray for 5 people for 5 minutes each day, that they may encounter Jesus in their lives and come to a living faith in Him”. You’ll be able to collect a little pocket-sized reminder card from St. Margaret’s and All Saints’. The card easily fits in a wallet or purse and will hopefully act as a reminder to pray for the five people you have chosen.Let’s commit this special season to God in prayer as we journey on with God as God’s resurrection people.Rev Tim.
