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Broken or Blessed? I recently had the experience of spending two nights in Stranraer hospital after a fall, being knocked out and having an intra-cranial bleed and concussion. The care I received at every level was excellent, from the student paramedic who meant me feel I was in safe hands; the A&E doctor who sorted me out with a CT scan, ECG and chest X-ray, all within a few hours; the cleaning staff who spruced up the ward on both days; the nurses who woke me up throughout the night to take observations. The only slightly iffy part was the salt porridge but if that’s the extent of my grumbling, then I’m not grumbling. However, politicians, commentators and journalists are regularly telling us that the country is ‘broken’. The NHS is ‘broken’, the welfare system is ‘broken’, the immigration system is ‘broken’ and now the prison service is ‘broken’. Such negativity is wearing and, I think, does a disservice to the people working in those institutions. Problems – yes; the need for more funding – yes; inefficiencies – yes; pressures – yes. But broken? The UK has the fifth largest economy in the world, the 6th largest average Gross Domestic Product, protects its citizens through huge welfare and heath budgets, an independent judiciary and a free press, parliamentary democracy and – apart from aberrations such as at the Manchester synagogue – the right to worship (or not) without recrimination. Broken or Blessed? It strikes me that politicians and commentators use that word to either dramatize a story, or to present a narrative from which they can then charge in like shining knights to fix, having blamed the previous government or the institution itself. Church often talks in terms of ‘brokenness’. An ongoing theme in theology is that we are all broken, we are all sinners, we are all a bit rubbish in relation to God. I don’t buy it. In my view God did not create us to feel a bit rubbish, to feel broken. In John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (New International Version) On the whole we are Blessed, not Broken. Problems – yes; pain – yes; hunger – for some at times; abuse – appallingly, yes, at times; joy – yes; friendship – yes; kindness – yes. We need to acknowledge what we are good at, what works well and deal with our difficulties better. Then maybe with a narrative of Blessings rather Brokenness, we can move away from a culture of blame and criticism. Peace and prayers, Rev. Joe Cant
Dear Friends! I think it must be a sign of getting older, but time seems to be flying by. It wasn’t that long ago that we were in the dark and cold months of the year, and here we are in late Spring heading for mid-Summer and the longest day! I love the light nights and warmth of Spring and Summer days and of the natural things that these seasons bring; new leaves and blossom on trees, seeds growing and lambs and bird song. These are some of the things I enjoy and which give me life and hope; renews and refreshes my spirit and lifts me up on my journey of life and faith. The natural world is also reflected in the Bible readings we have in the month of May, with lots of references to lambs and sheep and Jesus as the Good Shepherd and of journeys and visits made. All spiritually uplifting and with Bank Holidays and VE Day celebrations on the 8th May. Hopefully these will bring you some time of refreshment with things to do and to prepare for and enjoy as well. All this thought of renewal and refreshment has got me thinking about spiritual renewal as well and of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. In this post Easter time and Ascension, I think there is a tension between new life and hope and enjoyment, of spiritual awakening and awareness with that of waiting, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost. I wonder does this ring true for you as well? Before Pentecost though, right at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles we read of Jesus’ Ascension and of the disciples waiting around. Not much ‘acting’ and renewal going on it seems, with the disciples just standing around looking heavenward, wondering what to do next; that is until a couple of angels remind them of what Jesus told them to do. They were shaken out of their reverie, told to go back to Jerusalem and to get on with the planning and preparing for the doing of God’s kingdom; to continue the work started by Jesus. We might be forgiven for thinking and wondering what this might mean for us too as we wait for the time of Pentecost to arrive. So, there’s some waiting around for something to happen, but how does one plan to prepare for celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and on into the year? You may well be jolted by words from the angels to ‘go’ and ‘do’ to prepare to celebrate the sending of the Holy Spirit. As the writer of the Hebrews says: ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing that some have entertained angels without know it.’ But if you are like most people, I guess you may not have a clue and just wait around! If so, then take heart you are not alone! Julian of Norwich, whose festival also occurs on 8th May, spent 20 or so years pondering the meaning of visions she’d had revealing aspects of God’s love. She was a wise one and many came to her, even royalty, to seek her wisdom and her telling of God’s kingdom and of the ‘doing’ and ‘being’ of our faith in following Jesus Christ. She wrote about it all in the ‘Revelations of Divine Love’. One of her quotes from these writings gives me hope and encouragement (as I hope it will for you too), in moving to a more spiritual awareness in times of waiting and doing. She said: ‘all will be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’ These simple words still offer hope and encourage positivity today, especially in the atmosphere in which we are all currently living. Be Blessed Charles (PTO in the Uttoxeter Area).
Rev. Trevor Williams is spearheading a new project at Christ Church called Faith in Later Life and he would now like to take the ‘next steps’. The first of these is to gather together as much information as possible on what already goes in in Tean by, for or with older people. Trevor is happy for people to contact him with information on 07939 517354 or trevorjdw@icloud.com
