AREA LETTER – July, 2024Dear Friends,Most of us can’t help but notice that there are some momentous events taking place this month, of either national political or sporting importance, both in this country and a little further afield; the General Election in the UK, the Football Euros Championship in Germany and the Olympic Games in Paris and the Tour de France, just to name but a few. It may be for some that both sorts of events are a ‘turn off’, but for most I expect, depending on the progress of individuals or ‘teams’, then interest is sparked and grows. Whatever your interest, I hope that we all wish the participants well as they seek success.In each of the events we will see emblems or logos, be it the overarching symbol of the event or of individual parties or nations. The Euro logo has the trophy surrounded by an oval of colours, representing the national colours of the participating nations. However, for me, the most striking and enduring logo is the five interlinked circles of the Olympic Games, representing the five continents of the world, and of the motto, which originally was Faster – Higher – Stronger, but since 2021 has added to it -Together. The logo and motto express the aspirations of the Olympic Movement and of its participants.These logos represent a unity of purpose at a national and individual level and whilst individuals will shine, they cannot succeed without being part of a team. Winning is a little hollow if you’re the only person, team or party participating. We see the results of this played out throughout our troubled world. Yes, in competition there will be winners and losers, but that’s all part of being together. I’m reminded of the acronym TEAM, which stands for ‘Together everyone achieves more’ and I believe we can and do this if we are together.It is ‘togetherness’ that is for me the most important aspect of our Christian faith. Jesus had a team of twelve around him, each person different and with different aspirations, but they had a closeness and bond together and Jesus gave them the impetus to go out into the world to preach the good news of the gospel. It is as a result of their efforts that we are here in our time to carry on that work of spreading the good news in our part of God’s wonderful creation. We do that here as the Benefice of the Uttoxeter Area of Churches – Together (this word added like it’s been added to the Olympic motto!). It can seem daunting and at times like treading through treacle, but we are all together on this journey of hope, yes, each of with our individual gifts of the Holy Spirit; but we can’t achieve much on our own - we are part of a team and we need to participate, listen, care, love, build that closeness and bond to grow together to achieve more.In the story of creation in the Holy Bible, we can come to understand that God’s intent was that we should be together in community, in communion with one another, symbolized in the co-existence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which we celebrate throughout the church’s long season of Trinity, but which existed together right at the beginning of time. All this is set in another logo of unity and purpose as well as individuality and togetherness.....Best Wishes and BlessingsRevd. Charles Dale (PTO)
Hello friends, Many of you will know that I am a big dabbler in model railways and over the last few months have been preparing an old shed to move my model railway layout into. Joy of joys the first train ran yesterday although there is still some work to do to make it operate how I want it to. Why do so many people find an escape in building a model railway, or any other model?. Many of us still dwell on our past history and the only real way of bringing it back is in creating our own vision of it whether that be a diorama, a model or even a piece of artwork. It all brings back long forgotten memories. Other reasons are seeing God’s creation out of our windows inspiring us to recreate it in model form or looking at our world slowly pulling itself apart we wish to create our own mini world just as we would like it. Over the past few weeks, I have been asked questions about my ministry. The first was at Talbot School, Kingstone when I was asked by Jess along with three others from across the Area to talk about the work we do in the week in relation to our calling as God’s disciples. After the grilling from the young pupils, it made me stop and think about what I do and how I could improve on my ministry or if it is right for this present moment in my life. I am afraid this is going to be a rather longish reflection. The second was during a visit to Wetherspoons where I was asked how I was called to be a priest. Was it a sudden demand by God or a gradual realising that I was being called to minister to God’s people? What has all this to do with Model railways and ministry? I think in our hearts of hearts we would all enjoy living in a perfect world. The big question for us all is how do we achieve this? I feel the answer lies in the question what would Jesus do in this present time? I don’t think it would be much different to what he did when he was alive. He would talk and listen to people, healing them with words of wisdom or miracles. He would pray for them and the world and encourage all his followers to do the same. How we take up this challenge from Jesus affects us all in many ways. We are all different with different skills and abilities. Discerning these gifts, skills and abilities from God and putting them to use is what Jesus would pray for. Whether this is for a few minutes a day or a few hours a week, whether in church or in the community, whether at home or abroad, just being who and what we are for Jesus is all we need to do. And just like modellers world-wide we may just be able to begin changing our community and world for the better.May God bless you in all that you do in his name,Chris.Revd Chris Brown, non-stipendiary minister for the Uttoxeter Area.
As I sat listening to the exploits and explorations of someone else’s recent holiday the other night I was in awe of their confidence in embracing an adventure which I would never contemplate doing myself. They’d been to an area of the world which has been associated with conflict, drugs and trouble for backpackers. They had researched carefully and had then gone with a reputable travel firm who led them through every change of venue and adventure taking then through the jungle, close up to elephants and much more. A few years ago, they would never have had that confidence but by using the same travel firm and travelling with the same partner gradually working from European destinations to further flung ones they had jumped the hurdle, shed their worries and gone for it clearly now buzzing from the consequences.As they were away the summer school term had started with pupils telling me that Easter was over, they’d finished all their chocolate eggs long ago! But, as far as the church is concerned, the Easter season isn’t over – not until Ascension Day (9th May) and Pentecost (19th May) have been celebrated. So, from Easter Day until Pentecost the awe, wonder and mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection and its aftermath can be revisited. For 40 days after the discovery of nobody in the tomb Jesus reappeared to his disciples and a select few others. These witnesses were then able to testify and give first hand evidence to others of the encounters. Was God presenting Jesus in this way to build an evidence bank able to withstand sceptics? When Jesus ascended to his Father finally (Acts 1/Luke 24) and the crowds 10 days later experienced the powerful events of Pentecost (Acts 2) which brought the Holy Spirit to them, the disciples and the early Christian believers had a platform from which to share the magnificence and wonder of their saviour. I doubt they could explain the events and mystery any better than we can today. They needed to take that step of faith and run with it on the evidence presented by others who were the first witnesses. Today, we still build faith on taking a conscious step into the unknown to experience what believing can do for us. To my mind faith is very similar to the holiday exploration that I highlighted earlier. Our Christian knowledge is built on others’ past experiences, but our own confidence in articulating and sharing our faith is built gradually by personal encounters, reading the Bible, hearing what others have to say and discussing our thoughts. I hope you can venture out to seek new experiences and find the wonder in both your faith and in God’s vast and varied world during this summer. Perhaps engage in one or more of these ideas: check out the Christian Aid website (Christian Aid week is 12th – 18th May this year) where you can find inspiring stories from around the world as well as donate to their work; Join us at the Ascension Day Area service at St Mary’s, Uttoxeter; find out about a Bible study near you; take time to think about how faith helps you in your daily living. Stephanie Goodwin – UAP Reader
One of my earliest childhood recollections is standing on the front doorstep with mother as we waited for the bus to take my brother off to school. As I stood there a young Jean Sargeant shouted across the road to me saying that I had dropped my handkerchief and, as I looked on the ground for it, she gleefully added ‘April Fool!’ Yes, it’s April and the month begins with light-hearted jest – and some slight embarrassment for those caught out. With humour being in short supply at the moment, maybe a little laughter wouldn’t hurt.Looking at the lectionary for the month, I was mindful that the Sunday after Easter was traditionally referred to as Low Sunday; possibly because of the contrast with the high celebration of Easter Day, or even because congregation numbers were typically lower. Another theory is that ‘Low’ was simply a corruption of the word ‘Laudes’ meaning praise. Whatever the reason, the name seems to have disappeared from common use. In fact, a couple of years ago I discovered a new name for this particular Sunday… Holy Humour Sunday or Laughter Sunday.With much going on in the world that is very unsettling, it’s no wonder that people are becoming disillusioned. Disillusioned with world powers and leaders, disillusioned with politics, even disillusioned with the weather! During that first Easter week the disciples were afraid, and locked themselves in the room where they stayed. Not only were they fearful, but they would also have been disillusioned, and probably hurting from all that they had lost. We cannot fully imagine the immense joy they experienced when the risen Christ burst into their places of darkness. For them this was the start of something wonderfully new which gained momentum through this feeling of joy.Most of us would agree that joy and laughter are important things, yet many people experience worship in churches where laughter and even the sound of children is still frowned upon. For some reason, many have equated devout religion with solemnity, which is rather sad. Joy and laughter can lead us to healing. Sometimes God’s grace comes to us in the form of humour that helps us make it through another day. Recognising that humour is a characteristic of the divine nature helps us deepen our understanding of the nature of God; remembering that God laughs at us and with us – and that laughter is an expression of God’s love and acceptance.May we all be so infected with the joy of this Eastertide, that both our fellowship and our secular lives will reflect that love and acceptance that God desires, and that we can overcome disillusionment with laughter – even if we just laugh at ourselves. So, I leave you with this…A vicar requested quotes from local painters to redecorate the exterior of the parish hall. All the quotes were within a few pounds of one another, except for one by a parishioner who had been in business for years and had an excellent reputation in the community. His quote was about half of his competitors, so naturally the vicar gave him the job. On the day he was to begin, the painter realised that he had miscalculated badly. Not wanting to lose face and the job, he decided to add water to the paint to make it go further. A week later he received a phone call from the vicar, complaining that after recent rain half the paint had washed off. Feeling a sense of guilt, the painter went inside the church to pray about his dilemma, knowing that his business reputation was on the line. “What can I possibly do, Lord?” prayed the disheartened painter. In a loud voice God replied, “Repaint! Repaint and thin no more!”With Blessings and Big Smiles,JohnRevd John Lander, Self-Supporting Minister within the Area, especially for Bramshall.
