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Saint Mary's The Parish Church of Prittlewell
From Father Shaun
Dear friends, “Perhaps this year I’ll give up Church for Lent!” Over the years I’ve heard a number of clergy jokingly make such a remark as the January days melt into February and Ash Wednesday begins to loom large on the horizon. Sometimes it might be a reflection of the extra services, activities and worship which most churches provide for the six weeks prior to Easter and the additional strain this can put on diary space. Sometimes it might be a comment relating to just how stressed and busy clergy are before they even begin their Lenten journeys. Joking aside, Lent should challenge us all to reconsider our lives and our faith in connection with our relationships with God, each other, ourselves and the whole of creation around us. To reconsider what limits our growth to fullness of life; to greater maturity as people and as God’s beloved children. What do we need to give up? What do we need to take on? Lent provides us with an opportunity to stop in our tracks and to really look and think hard and honestly. What bad habits have become entrenched sins? How deeply or on the surface do we allow our relationships with others to be lived out? Over the centuries many have talked about Lent as being a ‘springtime of the soul’, a time for some spring cleaning rather than a quick flick of the duster over our lives. In the process of this, however, we must not forget to delight in the wonderful treasures and precious possessions and relationships which we already possess. Some of them – certain skills, particular friendships – might need rescuing from the clutter they lie buried under, and the forgotten corners they sit hidden in and given a new polish and a new position in our lives: Lent is a time to hear God’s call to us to de-clutter, as well as hearing knowing his approving smile raised for something good that we be or do afresh or even for the first time. This is all true for us as individual people. Yet it is also true for us as a church, as the Body of Christ. Giving things up and taking things on is something of a theme in the life of the Church of England around Lent and Easter as it is the time when churches hold their annual parochial church meetings. At these, churchwardens are elected as are members of the Church Council and other officers, as well as updates about the life of each church and parish being presented. Some years it’s a time of great change, whilst other years there might be little change. This year our annual meetings are on Tuesday 24th April at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Hall. Following the meeting it will be a big time of change. Certainly Jenny King and Mike Bliss, who’ve served as PCC secretary and PCC treasurer respectively for some time now will be hanging up their hats this year, and a further three members of the PCC will have completed six consecutive years as elected members and will need to stand down for at least a year. All these have served St Mary’s church and parish faithfully and well – and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so in various ways now and in the future. Equally, there will also be changes in the membership and leadership of some of the PCC sub-committees. So, a time of change and challenge is approaching which is exciting yet also a little scary. Will we cope as a church? Will there be hiccups along the way? Who will take up new roles? How will they discharge them? However, week by week I look around at the people, old and young, longstanding members of our community at Prittlewell and new ones, and see the diverse blessings we have here. So many people blessed with so many different gifts and insights and skills; so much wisdom and prayerful support; so much enthusiasm for growth in faith and friendship with God. I want to urge us all this Lent to listen carefully to the murmurings of the Spirit within us to try and discern what work God might be calling us to take up or indeed to lay down. In doing so, it will be helpful to remember that first and foremost God calls us to be faithful. He doesn’t call us to be fully-fledged experts in theology or finance or administration but simply those who are trusting enough of God’s grace and love to offer ourselves to take our part in the life of his Body, the Church, whatever that might be at this time in our life and faith. This applies to many things of course, from being a flower-arranger or bell ringer to reading the lessons during worship or being the PCC secretary or Churchwarden (or even the Vicar, but there’s a little bit of a longer process for that!). Some of these responsibilities speak for themselves – if you’re a person who leads intercessions in the Sunday worship then you would simply prepare and offer the prayers of intercessions when it was your turn on the rota! Some positions and duties are more multi-faceted and various in their scope and it might not always be clear what a ‘job’ such as sidesperson or PCC member entails. With this in mind there will be an informative – but fun – presentation session in church about the PCC, its officers and its responsibilities on Sunday 11th March from 4.00pm – 6.00pm. If you’d like to know more about the Parochial Church Council and what it does – and why – then come along. This would be especially helpful if you’re considering the possibility of standing for election as a member of the PCC, either this year or in the future, but it will also give us as a Christian community the chance to consider more carefully what things God might be calling us to do or to be as part of this Body in Prittlewell. I pray that in all your Lenten observances you come closer to Christ, and know more fully how our loving Father longs for you to be built into his family of believers here.
From Father Shaun Dear Friends “We will all be changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ” Each year in the northern hemisphere Christian churches set aside a week to pray for unity within the Body of Christ (in the southern hemisphere it happens around the time of Pentecost). Every year, churches in a particular part of the world work together to produce a theme for the week which is then adopted by churches across the world. The material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2012 was prepared by a working group composed of representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and Old Catholic and Protestant Churches active in Poland. Following extensive discussions it was decided to focus on a theme that is concerned with the transformative power of faith in Christ, particularly in relation to our praying for the visible unity of the Church, the Body of Christ. This was based on St. Paul’s words to the Corinthian Church which speaks of the temporary nature of our present lives (with all its apparent “victory” and “defeat”) in comparison to what we receive through the victory of Christ through the Paschal mystery. Looking up the background to this on the World Council of Churches website, I discovered the following information: “Why such a theme? The history of Poland has been marked by a series of defeats and victories. We can mention the many times that Poland was invaded, the partitions, oppression by foreign powers and hostile systems. The constant striving to overcome all enslavement and the desire for freedom are a feature of Polish history which have led to significant changes in the life of the nation. And yet where there is victory there are also losers who do not share the joy and triumph of the winners. This particular history of the Polish nation has led the ecumenical group who have written this year’s material to reflect more deeply on what it means to “win” and to “lose”, especially given the way in which the language of “victory” is so often understood in triumphalist terms. Yet Christ shows us a very different way! In 2012 the European Football Championship will be held in Poland and Ukraine. This would never have been possible in years gone by. For many this is a sign of another “national victory” as hundreds of millions of fans eagerly await news of winning teams playing in this part of Europe. Thinking of this example might lead us to consider the plight of those who do not win - not only in sport but in their lives and communities: who will spare a thought for the losers, those who constantly suffer defeats because they are denied victory due to various conditions and circumstances? Rivalry is a permanent feature not only in sport but also in political, business, cultural and, even, church life. When Jesus’ disciples disputed over “who was the greatest” (Mk 9,34) it was clear that this impulse was strong. But Jesus’ reaction was very simple: “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9,35). These words speak of victory through mutual service, helping, boosting the self-esteem of those who are “last”, forgotten, excluded. For all Christians, the best expression of such humble service is Jesus Christ, His victory through death and His resurrection. It is in His life, action, teaching, suffering, death and resurrection that we desire to seek inspiration for a modern victorious life of faith which expresses itself in social commitment in a spirit of humility, service and faithfulness to the Gospel. And as he awaited the suffering and death that was to come, he prayed that his disciples might be one so that world might believe. This “victory” is only possible through spiritual transformation, conversion. That is why we consider that the theme for our meditations should be those words of the Apostle to the Nations. The point is to achieve a victory which integrates all Christians around the service of God and one’s neighbour. As we pray for and strive towards the full visible unity of the church we - and the traditions to which we belong - will be changed, transformed and conformed to the likeness of Christ. The unity for which we pray may require the renewal of forms of Church life with which we are familiar. This is an exciting vision but it may fill us with some fear! The unity for which we pray is not merely a “comfortable” notion of friendliness and co-operation. It requires a willingness to dispense with competition between us. We need to open ourselves to each other, to offer gifts to and receive gifts from one another, so that we might truly enter into the new life in Christ, which is the only true victory. There is room for everyone in God’s plan of salvation. Through His death and resurrection, Christ embraces all irrespective of winning or losing, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:15). We too can participate in His victory! It is sufficient to believe in Him, and we will find it easier to overcome evil with good.” The material prepared by the Polish Christians for this year’s week of prayer covers different aspects of our change in Christ, and leaflets with this material will be available in Church in January. The eight days of prayer invite us to enter more deeply into our faith that we will all be changed through the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The biblical readings, commentaries, prayers and questions for reflection, all explore different aspects of what this means for the lives of Christians and their unity with one another, in and for today’s world. They begin by contemplating the Christ who serves, and our journey takes us to the final celebration of Christ’s reign, by way of His cross and resurrection. May our prayer be part of the great chain of prayer across the world during that week!
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(February 2012)