This Sunday is (roughly) half way through Lent. It is traditionally a time for a day’s break in the fast of Lent. The Sunday goes by different names.One is Mother’s day, a day when we give thanks for our mother (or carer). This year we could spare a thought for mothers (and fathers) in areas of conflict, for mothers who will watch their children die, for mothers who don’t have enough food to feed their children.On the theme of suffering parents, I would like to share another of my stations of the cross Station 4: Jesus meets his mother (see above). In this picture we remember that Mary watched on as her son was tortured to death.Another name for this Sunday is Laetare Sunday, this comes from the sentence that starts the Communion service “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her”, in Latin “Laetare Jerusalem et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam”. The Sunday reminds us in the middle of Lent there is reason to rejoice.The world is in a bad place now. The war in Ukraine brings the dangers of violence and conflict close to home, but there many wars around the world, Yemen and Tigray are two that spring to my mind. Laetare Sunday is a reminder that there are many good things in the world we can rejoice over even in the middle of a difficult and troubling time. I’m not suggesting for a moment that we minimise the suffering of the world, only that we remember that suffering is not the whole picture of what is happening in the world today.
It was St Patrick’s day on 17th March. We celebrated At Patrick’s day in St Alban’s Church on Saturday. St Patrick’s and St Alban’s church were both part of the mission of the Pollock brothers and when St Patrick’s church was demolished to make way for the Middleway most of the congregation came to St Alban’s church. The statue of the Patrick and the rood (photo) also moved to St Alban’s Church.St Patrick was a celt from the West coast of Britain possibly Cumbria. St Patrick was captured by Irish pirates when he was about 16 years old and sold into slavery in Ireland. While in Ireland, Patrick reflected on his sins and his relationship with God deepened until he became a Christian. After 6 years Patrick heard God telling him to return home. Patrick escaped captivity and returned home to Britain, and he continued to study Christianity mainly in Auxerre in France. Patrick had a vision calling him to return to Ireland as a missionary.At this time of trouble in Europe, with war once again being waged on European soil, we might reflect that God can transform any situation just as God used St Patrick’s enslavement to take the gospel to Ireland. Perhaps what is happening in the world today will force Western governments into moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
Dear everyone, Today is Ash Wednesday, for Western Christians it is one of the most solemn days of the year and it marks the beginning of our main period of fasting. On Ash Wednesday many Christians go to church to be marked with a cross on their foreheads. The mark of the cross is made from the ashes of palm crosses from the previous year, and as the cross we write the cross on people’s foreheads we say the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words echo the funeral service and remind us of our mortality. This year Ash Wednesday has the added sadness of the situation in the Ukraine. We watch from afar and hear about civilians being killed and we feel powerless to help. The image of children being passed up to their mothers so that they can flee the conflict on trains remains in my mind. The fathers having to stay behind, not knowing what the future holds for themselves or their families. The pope has asked that we use Ash Wednesday to fast for the people of the Ukraine. He asks us to fast for them, not because we believe that God needs to be persuaded to be compassionate, but to participate in God’s compassion. Fasting reminds us that what is happening in the Ukraine is the result of human evil, and the Christian belief that human evil arises out of the nature of humanity. Unlike humanists and some other religions, Christians believe that there is a flaw in our humanity that only God can overcome. As I look back over the 20th century and the opportunity to make the world better after two world wars; as I look to the failure of humanity to deal with global warming; our failure to roll out Covid-19 vaccines to the developing world; as I look at our failure to deal properly with Russia since the fall of communism because money and wealth could be made from Russian oil and gas; the flaw in our human nature appears fatal. Having written all that, Christianity is not a religion of despair. Yes, it teaches us to look at our flawed nature, but it also gives us hope that we can overcome. Ash Wednesday is not the start of a sad season, it is the start of the season ends in resurrection and Easter hope. We can make a difference to the people of the Ukraine. We can raise money for humanitarian relief agencies like the UNHCR. Both Lent and Ramadan (which starts soon) are times when Christians and Muslims give to charity, and we can give whatever our belief system. As individuals we can sign petitions and lobby our government to help refugees from the Ukraine: as an academy we can become a School of Sanctuary.
Dear Everyone,You will be reading this letter 2022, but I am writing it at the end of December (29th). Even the few days difference could change our view of the future.Starting by looking back, 2021 has been a difficult year for everyone because of Covid-19. Many of us got vaccinated in the first few months of 2021 and had our second doses 6 months later. Younger people had to wait till the end of 2021 before they could get vaccinated. Now we are facing another wave of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Looking to the future it is still too early to be certain how this wave is going to play out, but there is hope. Although the infection rate is very high the numbers of people in hospital and dying may be much lower than earlier in the pandemic. This could be clearer by the time you read this letter. Whatever the Covid-19 situation, I think we still have a duty to look after ourselves and others by acting in a way that slows the spread of the virus.I hope that by the end of January we will have appointed a new Organist and Choir Director, and that this will strengthen all our musical activities. I also hope that we will be able to start having concerts again. One concert that we have already arranged is a recital by David Briggs on Wednesday May 25th at 7:30 p.m. David was once an Assistant <span style="font-size: 1rem;">organist at S Alban’s and now an organist of world renown. I also look forward to restarting concerts by students at the Conservatoire.</span>Another hope I have for 2022 is the return of students from Ark St Alban’s Academy to the church for Collective Worship. We had hoped to have our usual Academy Christmas Services in church, but the rapidly worsening Covid-19 situation meant our plans had to be cancelled. The same was true for the Bach Choir 9 Lessons and Carols service.Another hope is for an Anglo-Catholic missioner funded by the Church Commissioners to work with us and four other churches. To help our grant application for a missioner I would like us all to think about our Church’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities for our church, and Threats to our church. I also would like to know what you think are the most important things about our church — our core identity, how we are seen by the parish and what do we aspire to be.As you can see from this letter, we have lots to think about, lots to do and lots to pray about. Let us go into 2022 with hope and faith, and be open to possibilities.
