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.
This month we celebrate Easter. Easter is perhaps the most important festival of the church year. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas and the celebration of the incarnation is important. And Pentecost, the birthday of the global church is important too, but Easter, is absolutely central to the church because without Easter there would be no need for the church.Through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ all things are made new, liberation is proclaimed and brokenness is forgiven.As a global Church we are left to reflect on the “Good News”, the “gospel” of Jesus Christ. And this Good News is proclaimed widely.When we proclaim this Good News we can speak of heaven, of eternal life, words of eternal hope. And as a vicar it is a privilege to be able to speak about these things at the funerals of those who have died. To speak hope to those who mourn. And I believe these things with all my heart.Yet when I think of the fullness of this Good News that is birthed at Easter, it’s not just the heaven-stuff that I want to speak about. In fact, outside of the very precious funeral ministry of the church, I don’t really think about heaven much, I’m not motivated to live out my faith because of it.Rather, for me, at the heart of the Good News of Easter is Jesus’ words articulated in John 10:10“I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” John 10:10 (GNT)What excites me about my faith, and the Good News of Easter, is the desire to live life in such a way as to seek to live with an awareness of God and in fellowship with Jesus and the hope of bringing the richness of that idea into every experience. That through trying to follow the way of Jesus, I might live my life in step with the Spirit. For me, that’s a key part of the Good News of Easter.One well-worn and widely attributed anecdote that sums this up might be said to be, “it’s not about pie in the sky when you die, but cake on your plate while you wait”.Rev Tim
