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In April's magazine:

A tear in the paper sky is one of the striking images in our Easter foreword;

John Sutcliffe writes about our current exploration of Children & Communion;  and our youngest Junior Church group, Climbers, is introduced by one of its leaders;

there are our usual monthly Music Notes;

astonishing news is shared -- that the Meek really have Inherited the Earth;

John Partington shares an insider's view of marrying Liz Hurley; and finally there are come of those dreadful one-liners which we use for padding out our pages!

 

EASTER 2007

Peter Firth, a retired Bishop on the staff of our parish, reflects on this special season

It is difficult to think of something new to say about Easter.  But why should we try to think something new about an event which only happened once?  Why not just enjoy the wonder of that resurrection morning?   Why not simply celebrate the continuing release of new life, new energy for living, a fresh start at any age, forgiveness and the victory of love over death?

Why indeed?  But what we’ve heard a thousand times needs retelling in a fresh way – simply because we’ve heard it a thousand times.  And that is difficult.  The following image made sense when it was offered to me many years ago.  I still find it helpful.

A long time ago
I watched a puppet theatre
In a public street.
Some ancient tragedy became real
To children and old men.

But what if, at the climax of the play,
One puppet soldier,
About to deal the blow of death,
Looked up
And saw a tear
In the paper sky,
And knew for the first time that
There was another world beyond?

Many things interfere in my life.
I am bound by law and duty,
Money and desire.
I am bound by the opinions of others
And the habits of a lifetime.
I am dangled like a puppet
By forces over which I have no control.

Yet in the thought of resurrection light
I celebrate the tear
In the paper sky
Which ranges over life.

Lord,
When the pressures are on
And the stage of my life seems crowded,
And I am caught up
In scenes from plays I didn’t write –
Let me see the tear in the heavens.

This life is not a dream
But there is more to it
Than the little stage on which we find ourselves.
All around us
Are hints of that other life –
Past happiness which I treasure,
Youth which still burns its flame within me,
Hopes of better things
Despite the evidence of many days
Kindnesses I haven’t merited
And friends who forgive.

May Christ in His Easter glory
Remind me of the life from which I came,
And to which I shall return
When the play is over.

The Anglican priest Studdart Kennedy was a chaplain during the first World War.  He wrote much poetry, some of it about the horrors he encountered in the front line alongside his men.  In one poem, called ‘Faith’, he tells of some of these horrors, but then approaches the end of the poem with the words

These clouds are lies.
They cannot last.  The blue sky is the Truth.
For God is love.  Such is my faith, and such
My reasons for it, and I find them strong
Enough.  And you?  You want to argue?  Well,
I can’t.  It is a choice.  I choose the Christ.

That choosing is the making of a tear in the paper sky, of which Christ’s resurrection speaks.  

A Happy Easter to you all.

Peter Firth

CHILDREN & HOLY COMMUNION

A long story in the western world

In the early days of the Church, most was written about children and Holy Communion (the ‘Eucharist’) by two key figures. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage is known for his pastoral wisdom and his writings on the church, the ministry and the sacraments. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo also wrote extensively and is still revered as a theologian and philosopher.

Both Cyprian and Augustine stressed the essential link between Baptism and receiving Communion.  Both argued from the Bible, particularly noting John 3.5 and 6.53. They stated that Baptism and Eucharist were inseparable for salvation. They argued that Baptism without the Eucharist is incomplete.  Without the Eucharist, baptised people were not fully initiated into the church – they lacked an essential part of the nurturing food required for growth in faith and for salvation.

In medićval times, the practice of including infants and children in the Eucharist tended to lapse.  A fear of anyone dying without having received the Eucharist and a consequent concern that children, among others, should receive bread and wine is evident in the writings of several church leaders.  Among these are Lanfranc (1000-1089) and Anselm (1033-1109).

The Church Reformers throughout Europe emphasised the importance of the Word of God and tended to treat the Eucharist as being of lesser importance.   But from time to time there were exceptions, leaders who saw the reception of the bread and wine as a principal means of ensuring the good health of the church.  So for various churches in Eastern Europe in the fifteenth century, the communion of infants remained an indispensable principle.  

In England, Bishop Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), paved the way for Thomas Deacon, Bishop of Manchester to restore the practice of linking Baptism and Holy Communion for both infants and adults.  Infants and adults were then to continue as regular communicants on Sundays at church or daily from the reserved sacrament.  Deacon’s rationale for his reintroduction of the communication of children can be found in his book A Full, True and Comprehensive View of Christianity published in London in 1747.

In spite of Thomas Deacon and influences from other countries, the practice of allowing children to participate in the Eucharist lapsed in all churches in England, except the ‘Catholic Apostolic Church’, which gave children communion from earliest infancy. In the Roman Catholic Church first Communion is usually at age seven years followed by Confirmation at fourteen. It continues this practice to this day.

Various movements revived a discussion of children and Holy Communion in the late 1960s. This debate grew in strength and included men and women from all the mainstream churches in the West.

Gradually it became accepted in many traditions of the Church that rather than wait until after Confirmation, the receiving of communion was one of the ways in which children were nurtured in the faith. In the last ten years it has become common in many Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Churches for children to be welcomed as full participants in the service. Generally speaking, this has happened after local preparation given to the children, their parents or guardians and the people of the church.  The Bishops having agreed, the decision that the church will offer bread and wine to children is in every case a decision to be made by the local church; in our case each PCC.  This then makes possible a decision to be made by families that they will or will not participate and by the children themselves.

A longer version of this article is available as part of our churches' current discussion about Children & Coomunion.

John Sutcliffe

CLIMBERS

Our youngest Junior Church group

Those of you who come to the 10.30 am service at St Peter’s may have noticed a group of young children coming through the west door of the church around the time of the administration of Communion and then making their way up to receive a blessing at the communion rail, still clutching a model or even wearing a crown.

These children are our youngest Junior Church group – which we call ‘Climbers’.  Each week, about half a dozen children aged from 3-6 arrive at Winchcombe Abbey School for a programme of Bible-based learning and fun.  Some parents drop their children off at 10.15 am before walking through the playground to church.  Other parents want their children to come to Junior Church, without themselves wishing to come to church. The advantage of using the school premises is that we can be flexible in this way, and such parents have time to catch up with some jobs at home before collecting their children after the service!

Each week we include story (often from the Bible), a prayer and an activity.  We often have time for a drink and biscuit and a chat as well as some games or a song too.  Recently the children have been eager to bring items for a bring-and-share session, and this gives us an opportunity to learn about speaking and listening.

We have a magazine called ‘Roots’, which is full of ideas about how to present the Sunday themes to the youngsters in an enjoyable way, and we usually find that we can use or adapt the material it provides.  Sometimes, though, it’s a challenge to my faith and ingenuity to think how to explain complicated ideas in a way that is relevant to young children.  One of our more interesting meetings recently was on the theme of ‘Christ the King’, when we tried to convey the fact that Jesus is a Servant-King.  The children worked in pairs with one dressed in a crown & cloak and the other wearing an apron and using a dustpan; and after a few minutes they had to change over. We then asked the children how each rôle they had just played was like Jesus.

If you know any youngsters who might like to come to Climbers, please contact Liz Partington on 01242 602368.

Liz Partington

MUSIC NOTES

As I write, the Choir’s visit to Gloucester Cathedral to sing Evensong on March 4th  is still fresh in my mind.  It was a great privilege to be allowed to provide the music for Evensong again, and as always it was a very uplifting occasion.  For those who were seeing the Cathedral for the first time, it was perhaps particularly exciting, but I think the sheer scale of the building, the beauty of the cloisters, the magnificent sound of the organ played so ably by John Wright, and the rewarding acoustics of the Cathedral all combined to make everyone feel they had had a wonderful experience.  It was lovely to be supported by many members of the St Peter’s congregation.

We are now looking forward to the Easter music.  On Palm Sunday, the morning service (after the procession) will be in the Methodist Church; we plan to start the service with Peter Teague’s moving piece ‘The King Rides by.’  In the Maundy Thursday service, we will sing Tchaikovsky’s beautiful ‘The Crown of Roses’ (not in Russian! – perhaps one day, as it would sound lovely) and end the service with the desolate Taizé piece ‘Stay with me’, as we think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  On Easter morning, we hope to lift the roof even higher than it already is with the sound of the Hallelujah Chorus from ‘The Messiah’.  Please sing up as much as you can!  The choir, and any who wish in the congregation, will be using copies bought from the very kind gift of the late Cyril Houghton.  At Evensong (Full Choir) we will launch into another favourite anthem – ‘Blessed be the God and Father’ – S S Wesley.

I often think how good it is to be able to work with such a large and dedicated choir; I also think frequently about how to help the congregation join more fully in the music.  If you are a slightly timid singer and/or feel you do not know some of the music we’re singing, I feel you would find it most rewarding to sit near the front of the church.

It is lovely to have non-choir as well as choir members playing instruments, singing solos etc. in church as well as swelling the congregational sound. Some of our younger church members’ instrumental talents are developing fast, and Hanna Woodall and Rob Wilcock are working to establish a contemporary, rock-style Music Group.  Please let me know if I have not yet discovered that you would like to contribute to the church’s music by playing an instrument of any sort!

It is good to think that three ex- (but fairly recent) choristers, Charlotte Baxter, Flora Derounian and Joy Ludlow, are taking AS Music this year (with singing as at least part of their performance option – Charlotte Baxter’s ‘Panis Angelicus’ was a lovely contribution while the Choir were at Stanway a few weeks ago).  We wish them very well in their fast-approaching exams, as well as current choristers Carys and Edward Brown, Olivia Collins, Matt Coy and Jo Pursey, all of whom are taking public exams this year.

Fiona Brown

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK ...

... for they shall inherit the earth

In a surprise announcement this morning, it was revealed that the Meek have inherited the Earth.  The actual change of ownership itself happened three weeks ago, but the spokesperson for the Meek was too shy to contact the press.  After much polite cajoling from fellow Meek Persons, the fulfilment of this ancient prophecy has finally come to pass.

A representative for the Meek gave us these comments – “As you know, the Earth was promised to us almost 2000 years ago by Jesus Christ himself, during his famous Sermon on the Mount.  We have been Blessed for all that time, which was quite nice, but simply had to wait for the momentous event itself.  The Earth and all it contains now belongs to us.  By Divine Command, we Meek have absolute domination over the planet.  We hope you don’t mind”.  Blushing, she continued, “I know it's a bit of a big change, but it’s really out of our hands.  It’s all a bit embarrassing actually”.

The political process has been rewritten to ensure that only the modest and passive are able to stand for public office.  The first hiccup in this new system was caused when it turned out that no Meek people were planning to come forward as candidates.  The most common reasons cited were “not wanting to cause a fuss” and “who would want to vote for someone like me anyway?”.  Assertive and confident candidates may have to be found in the meantime, until a truly Meek government can be formed.

Now that the Meek have inherited the Earth, what are they going to do with it?  The Meek Affairs correspondent from The Times gave us this view:  “The Meek have some very good ideas about tackling global problems. Unfortunately, very few of them are prepared to present these ideas to the international community, and when they do they tend to mumble so quietly that nobody can understand what they are saying.  They really need to get assistance from some loud and pushy people, otherwise the fact that they are now the rulers of the globe is, frankly, going to pass completely unnoticed.”

News of the Inheritance is reported to have slightly raised the spirits of The Poor in Spirit.  However, they are trying to remain as poor in spirit as possible, otherwise theirs will not be the kingdom of heaven.

 

HURLEY-BURLEY

or "on marrying a celebrity"

Our parish found itself at the centre of a media frenzy last month, when Elizabeth Hurley married Arun Nayar at Sudeley Castle.  John Partington, who conducted the service, found himself fending off reporters from newspapers and television companies – a novel experience for him, he tells us.  Now, with the dust settling, he reflects on the business:

In a sense, this was a wedding celebration (technically a ‘service of prayers after civil marriage’) like any other.  For every couple whom we marry at church, it’s obviously one of the most important events in their lives:  they’re delighted, excited, and usually a little nervous – and we do our best to make the whole occasion memorable, and problem-free.  My initial concerns were quickly dispelled:  it was very soon apparent that Elizabeth & Arun were approaching the service with just as much seriousness of intent as any other couple.  While the showbiz glamour of the week-long celebration was obviously going to be incomparable, the service itself – an hour in St Mary’s Church – was going to be a solemn (while joyful) and spiritual event.

Privacy needed guarding more carefully than usual:  for example, the couple didn’t want the venue known until the invitations had been issued.  And while private conversations with them were as confidential as would be the case with any couple, I also had to conceal from inquisitive reporters the details of the service – the guest-list, the order of service, the time of the rehearsal.

The service-order was in traditional language (‘thee’ & ‘thou’ etc), which is unusual, but otherwise was very much as normal ... apart, perhaps, from the level of expenditure – I’ve never in my life seen such expensive jewellery on a bride!  I wasn’t nervous:  it helped that I didn’t recognize anyone apart Elton John (‘celebrities’ aren’t my strong suit).

My sermon was based on the board-game ‘Careers’, in which players compete to achieve Fame, Money & Happiness.  The first two were very evident at the wedding:  our prayer then, and now, is that Elizabeth & Arun’s marriage will be equally blessed with the third.

John Partington

AND FINALLY ...

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

Do backward poets write inverse?

 

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