May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.Did you know that I used to be a Weather Forecaster? Working for the Press Association which would later become Meteogroup. A few years ago, and years after I left, the fledgling company had grown and just been awarded the BBC weather contract. Decades of weather being provided by the Met Office came to an end. However, some things were to remain the same, not least the weather presenters and meteorologists themselves. So, we still have Tomasz Schafernaker, Carol Kirkwood and the whole team. What did change were better forecasts, and also better graphics!No more flying around the country, no more Scotland being tiny. The land was actually green, when it had been brown, there was so much to love. But even these newly refreshed maps are not perfect. To be frank, no maps are perfect because if you look at a map of the UK or any country, you get an unrealistic image of the coastline. It doesn’t matter if you are looking at an atlas, foldout AA map, Google maps or a weather map, the image you get of the coastline is the same. There is a crisp, distinct boundary neatly separating land from sea.Is that the reality though? Beaches for example reveal a very different reality. Instead of neat, thin lines of separation, you find broad, vast expanses of sand where the boundaries are constantly changing. A patch of ground that seems clearly on dry land at nightfall may be covered by sea when dawn approaches. We could say the crisp, clean lines of a map get washed away by the ebb and flow of the tides up and down on the beach.The Gospel of Mark begins looking very much like a map. As Mark starts his Gospel, he gives clear lines of demarcation: this is who Jesus is; this is what Jesus came to do. Mark knows we won’t get the full significance of the life of Jesus if he just tells us “what happened,” so Mark assumes the role of a narrator, giving us insider insights, marking the boundaries, giving us the “lay of the land.” To continue my metaphor!But, having that as a starting point, as we’re drawn into the narrative Mark unfolds, the boundary lines don’t seem to be nearly as crisp or clear. Like moving from a map of the coast to the beach itself, we find ourselves drawn into an actual experience that blurs some of our pre-determined boundaries. Take the baptism of Jesus, for instance. Mark has made it clear that Jesus is the Son of God, with all we know that involves: blameless, pure, holy. He has also made it clear that John is baptising people, real people, with all we know that involves: sinful, broken, full of impurities.What in the world is Jesus doing? Why is the Son of God being baptized where sinners are baptized? If Jesus had hired a PR person, they would have been beside themselves: Jesus, what do you think you’re doing, being baptized with all those sinners? That’s not the image we want to project, Jesus! You have no sin; why risk your reputation being baptised just like they were baptised? If a PR person had scripted the story, we’d have a picture of Jesus, standing on the riverbank, congratulating the people after they came up out of the water, giving them a pat on the back, maybe a big “thumbs up” sign from the dry land.But that’s not what we have in Jesus Christ. He’s not a “stand at a distance and cheer us on” kind of Saviour. No, we have a “wade right into the experiences of human existence” kind of Saviour. He didn’t come partway from heaven to where we are. He came all the way—right into the middle of the lives we live. Experiencing what we experience, living where we live.And as we watch the scene unfold before us, all our preconceived boundary lines seem artificial. It’s no longer “holy Son of God” over there, and “sinful humanity” over here. It’s “holy Son of God” in the midst of, surrounded by, identifying with the brokenness of humanity. And that’s how it should be in our lives, too: God’s holy people in the midst of, surrounded by, identifying with sinful humanity. But the sad truth is, “we spend an awful lot of time in the Christian church talking about God’s love for sinners, but we sure do go to a lot of trouble not to be mistaken for one of them. Too often we decide the boundaries of God’s love and God’s grace, for us and for ourselves, maybe those boundaries are not as crisp as they might appear on a map?What might this mean for you and me. Simply, that God will not allow himself to be confined to the boundaries we have drawn, saying, “God works here and here, but not there.” The other issue with maps is the scale, on a large scale of course those boundaries are crisp. Our perspective often means that we can be too far away but zoom right in and things look different. God is not far away, watching on, but God is in everything, in the detail each moment, feeling, relationship and situation. He is in the small-scale stuff too, because that is where much of our day to day lives are, that beach area where things are constantly influx, affected by the ebb and flow of so much around us. To protect ourselves we put up barriers from God, we are reminded today then that he will shatter them. This Christ whose steps we’ll trace again this Lent will lead us on a journey that will defy our expectations. The lines are constantly being re-drawn, in you and me! How much longer will we resist? How much longer will we prevent ourselves from seeing all that God is doing for us? I can’t forecast how that will play out, but I can forecast that in doing so our lives and our faith will only become richer. Amen.
This is the sermon delivered by Rev'd John Richardson for our Ash Wednesday Eucharist Sermon for Ash Wednesday 2021 John 8.1-11 Today – Ash Wednesday - the Church begins the season of Lent. The season lasts for forty days, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Day (but excluding the Sundays). We are all invited to share in this special season and to identify with Jesus in the wilderness. The loneliness he must have experienced in the desert is one we can really and truly share. Phrases such as ‘self-isolating’ and ‘lockdown’ are familiar to our ears. Many of us, I am sure, have felt lonely and desperate from time to time. Many in our world have been bereaved or at the very least felt the nearness of illness and suffering. The woman in our gospel reading today was badly in need of a friend. And she found one in the rabbi from Nazareth. Jesus brought to her the simple gift of unconditional love. Whilst those around her thirsted for retribution and her death, Jesus spoke words of compassion: “Neither do I condemn you” he said to her. The friendship the woman discovered in Jesus can be ours as well. Our Lord is our friend, as well as our Redeemer and King. He it is who guides our footsteps. He it is who whispers words of comfort in our ear. He it is whose ways are trustworthy and true. We see how kindly he acts as he sets the woman caught in adultery back on her feet, refrains from judging her, and tells her to go on her way with the resolve not to sin again. Here in this well known story we see the clash between the Law on the one hand, and Grace on the other. The Pharisees sought to impose upon the woman the full weight of the Law - the death penalty by stoning (Leviticus 20.10). Jesus on the other hand brings a better way, and a more compassionate way. He brings the way of Grace. Self-isolation is such a trying time for us all. We long for the day when friends and family can share once more all the normal things of life - shopping, going on holiday, sharing a meal. Without the everyday things of life all seems artificial. This is not the way of life we want for each other. But better things lie ahead. Lent helps us identify with the woman of Jerusalem who so narrowly escaped death. Like her, we hear the voice of Jesus speaking to us words of encouragement. Rise up and press on with the business of living. Jesus spoke words of strength to St Paul which apply to us too: “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians. 12.10). The grace of Jesus. Grace is the gift which helps us to walk in faith. Grace was the gift Our Lord gave to that unnamed woman. He was being put to the test by a group of religious hardliners - those Pharisees and scribes who had to walk away with their tail between their legs when they could not bring themselves to cast the first stone. And so the woman is liberated. She has found a friend in Jesus and she has found a new way of life - if only she will heed his plea that she sin not again. That encounter in the Temple precincts with Jesus meant that grace had come into her life, the grace that brings with it joy and hope and peace. Jesus had literally saved her life. And now he saves her soul as well. And so, finally, let us enter the solitude of the desert strengthened in the faith we have that Jesus brings to us grace upon grace. We do not live under the Law as the Pharisees did. Instead, we follow in the steps of the sinless one who lifts us up, does not condemn us, and bids us walk boldly and confidently in the life of grace. Rev. John Richardson.
<div><h1>WELCOME</h1></div><hr><div><h3>Our New Vicar</h3></div><ul><li>Revd Heike Prentice</li><li><div id="welcome-text">“We are delighted to announce that the Revd Heike Prentice has been appointed as our new Vicar.”Heike served her curacy at St Peter’s Church Hammersmith, and studied theology at St Mellitus College, London, while training as an ordinand at Chelmsford Cathedral.Before being ordained, Heike worked as a PA and administrator in publishing, IT and education, then qualifying as a direction and leadership coach.</div></li></ul><div><div id="welcome-text">Heike is married to Alistair, they have three adult sons and two granddaughters, who they love to see whenever possible. Originally from Germany, she holds dual nationality.About her appointment Heike says: “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as vicar of Coggeshall, Markshall, Cressing, Stisted, Bradwell-juxta-Coggeshall & Pattiswick. I look forward to serving the people of this vibrant and diverse benefice, to be returning to Chelmsford Diocese and for us to settle in the beautiful Essex countryside.”Please join us in praying for Heike, Alister and their family as she begins this new journey.</div></div>
It is with much regret that because of the fast spread of the virus in Essex and in an effort to keep our congregation and community safe, our church will be closed until further notice. A decorated cross will stand in the Porch.Services will be recorded and shown on Youtube.