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In May's magazine:

In our foreword, Jane Wain reflects on the ruins of Great Zimbabwe;

elsewhere, John Partington brings us news of our evolving scheme for unity with Winchcombe Methodist Church;

our Annual Church Meeting took place recently, and is reported on by Ann Sutcliffe;

finally:  times are changing, and curates are no longer chosen in the way they used to be.

 

FOREWORD

Jane Wain reflects on the ruins of Great Zimbabwe:

One of the most impressive things I saw during my time in Africa was Great Zimbabwe.  This large iron-age settlement is the remains of a city of 20,000 Shona-speaking people who prospered between the 12th and 15th centuries.  Great Zimbabwe lent its name to modern-day Zimbabwe, and derives from a Shona word, ‘dzimba dzembabwe’ meaning ‘house of stone’.

The Great Enclosure is 250m (820ft) in diameter and has a double, 11m (36ft) high, 5-metre thick perimeter wall.  It is the largest, single, ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert.  The Hill Complex rises 79m (260ft) on a steep, granite hill and commands fantastic views of the surrounding land.  Everything has been constructed of stone entirely without mortar – a million stones, each one balancing on another.  The towering ‘stone houses’ are an eloquent testament to the advanced culture of its African builders.  Following its discovery in the 1870s, the origins of Great Zimbabwe and its inhabitants were the subject of much debate; various claims were made by different groups of white colonisers who raided it for its many treasures and gold.  However, archæologists have proved it is an authentic native African site, developed by a long-dead civilisation advanced enough to trade with people as far away as China.

Meditation on Great Zimbabwe Ruins

The walls reach round, encircling me, enfolding me, engulfing me.  Walls, strong, erect, rough to touch, are all about me.  See the beauty of the straight lines, the symmetry.  One stone placed upon another stone.  Not local stones but stones from many miles away, all brought together in one structure.  Each one carefully fashioned and shaped to fit perfectly alongside its neighbour to make the façade of the wall.  Even when the craftsman’s hand slipped or the stone cracked awkwardly it was still put to use.  In between the perfect, well-matched stones, the misshapen, the cracked, the flawed stones are piled, one on top of another.  Thrown together but each stone playing a part, supporting others, nothing wasted.  Each stone is necessary to form that immense impenetrable wall.

We are all stones building God’s Kingdom here on earth.  Each of us in our turn, generation after generation, too numerous to count, take our turn to build a mighty Kingdom.  Some are more worthy than others; the prophets, the saints, those who stand out in history as great Christians, those who in spite of great hardships stood firm in their faith.  These form the facing walls – those which stand for all to see.  But even we – the less perfect, less beautiful, we still have a job to do.  We are still indispensable at the bottom of the pile.  Even hidden in the depths of the wall, struggling with the lowliest of tasks, when our faith is weak and faltering we still have an important role to play.  We can give support to and gain support from those around us.  We do not live as isolated people; we touch and are touched in return by others.  Our lives are interlocked with our neighbours and we are made strong in unity.  A stone on its own is no defence, but thousands and thousands, interlocked become a mighty barrier.

Help us Lord not to be proud, not to shun help from other people even when we could manage on our own.  Help us to receive support with grace and love, and not to see it as weakness.  Equally Lord, make us ready to give support to others, more than that Lord, help us to do it graciously and gently, in a way which others will find easy to accept.  Help us to realise our gifts and all the little things, as well as the big things, we are able to do to support others.

These walls have stood for hundreds and hundreds of years.  It seems impossible to grasp that length of time, Lord, what does it seem like to you?  It makes me feel very small and insignificant.  The people who built these walls could not foresee how long they would stand tall, could not imagine life as it is today.  They knew nothing of me and I know little of them.  Our lives can only briefly touch as I stand here for five minutes and contemplate their wall.
You Lord, have been here since time began, you were there at the creation of the world, at the creation of this wall and at my creation.  Compared to the passage of millions of years my life seems very short.

Yet I must remember the wall.  Within God’s Kingdom I am important.  I am responsible for the time I have.  I must use my time carefully and thoughtfully.  I must not waste the time God has given me.  I must be thankful for each new day entrusted to me and use it well.  God is the Lord of time and eternity, and into his hands we must place the past and the future entrusting it to his love and care.

Jane Wain

AN INCH AT A TIME

We’re gradually getting closer to a formal partnership with our Methodist neighbours in Winchcombe. Just to remind you:

*       The Methodist Church grew out of, and eventually broke away from, the Church of England two and a half centuries ago, when the latter could no longer contain the ‘enthusiasm’, and disregard for church laws and traditions, of the former.

*       Since then the Methodist Church has maintained and developed a commitment to evangelism and social justice, and a spirit of Christian ‘non-conformity’ from which the Church of England has much to learn.

*       For decades now, there have been official efforts to reunite our churches at a national level, and local collaboration & reunion have been warmly encouraged as part of that.

*       Winchcombe (C of E) Parish and Winchcombe Methodist Church have been working for nearly two years now on a scheme for “Local Ecumenical Partnership [LEP] which would permit and require, increasingly close working together.

Our LEP scheme has now been formally approved by all the relevant church authorities, and we are beginning to plan its official launch.  When it is fully in effect, we shall have joint planning meetings to help us work more effectively in partnership, and our ordained ministers will be ‘interchangeable’ – fully recognized by each others’ churches.  Our hope and prayer is that all of this will help us to continue growing into union – and above all that it will make us more effective in serving God in our town and neighbourhood.

None of this will undermine the cheerful co-operation already enjoyed by the four different churches in Winchcombe … and I am personally committed to its not adding to the bureaucratic workload which is already our lot!

Look out in the next few months for news of our launch event, and for some new initiatives arising from our Partnership.

John Partington

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Early arrival for the Annual Meeting (actually two meetings) gave time to enjoy the thoughtfully prepared displays about our youth ministry and Road Stewards scheme, and an opportunity to savour a welcoming glass of wine/fruit juice.  In opening the formal proceedings John Partington asked us to remember absent friends who were ill – particularly Cyril Houghton and Harry Young.    

The Annual Meeting of Parishioners, was a short and happy ten minutes when we thanked Adrian Sharpe as retiring churchwarden after four years of service, re-elected Rosemary Hancock to serve for a third year and welcomed Maurice Newman as incoming churchwarden.  Adrian responded by reflecting on the parts of the churchwarden’s job which we do not see – often bureaucratic or frustratingly slow – and expressed thanks to the hundreds of people who volunteer on a regular basis to do the many other unseen jobs that maintain the vitality of parish life.  

The second meeting, the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, is meatier.  After opportunity to raise questions on the written reports of work achieved we heard from Mike Capener who gave a succinct account of his ministry.  Mike works with young people aged 11-25; he identified the aims of working with differing groups, and of the use of Teacher’s House.  

The amended Electoral Roll (after several deletions and additions) totalled 311, including 20 non-residents – an overall increase of 3.

Four nominations were received for the five vacancies on the Parochial Church Council; Mike Capener, Bob Jones, Judith Roles and Ann Sutcliffe were welcomed without election.  Bob Jones will become new PCC Secretary.  

The thanks that we feel almost daily for Joyce Curnock – to the response ‘Oh YES’ – were recorded, together with gratitude for the dedicated work of the staff of St Peter’s Centre.  Particular mention was made of Jules Redgers who retired as Junior Church Leader during the year and whose sensitive service led far beyond the call of duty.  

Is it the glass of wine or is it John Partington’s crystal ball-gazing that brings large attendances to the Annual Meeting?  He made five points:  

1  Nationally the move is to deploy ministry by population – meaning that there will be fewer in rural areas like ours.  By 2012 our Team may have to o reduce from four licensed priests to three, and to meet this there is a developing discussion about a ‘Minster-model’ with all the clergy being based in Winchcombe.  

2  As Youth Ministry continues to grow we should anticipate a growing number of teenagers who will be part of the noticeable life of the church.    

3  We look forward to the arrival of our new Curate, Hanna Woodall, in the summer.  She will focus on work with young adults and families, which in time will change the nature of the church.  

4  Choral Eucharist and Choral Evensong celebrate the best of our tradition.  Yet we must recognise that the quality of these services does not attract most people in the town.  We expect to continue widening the range of services, and to do this means a great deal of work in training and leadership.

5   Our commitment to raise a further £180,000 to repay the loans on Teacher’s House means that we shall see a number of exciting fund-raising events in the next few years.  The Book Sale and Craft Fair later in this year will help fund our commitment to the Youth Project more broadly.  

There is a growing sense of hope, with good things ahead.

Ann Sutcliffe

CURATE WANTED

We’ve a new member joining the clergy team this summer. The selection process has changed since forty years ago, when the following advertisement appeared in the Church Times:

Old-fashioned Vicar (Tractarian) seeks colleague.  Left-hand fast bowler preferred.  Good golf handicap an asset but not essential.  Fine church with good musical tradition.  Parish: residential and farming.  Box HV 521

 

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