In the 25 years that I have been a practicing Christian I have tried to make a sacrifice for Lent, sometimes chocolate,often wine which I do like!!! Lately I've tried to do a positive act as well; not with much success. This year I have decided not to read any novels, and turn to the many devotional books I claim not to have time to read- A two in one commitment- but will I give up reading altogether? Find out at Easter.
We have 2 Pam Roberts in Filey Parish so we distinguish between them by (HS) and (QS) alluding to their addresses!
Lent seems like a journey- a journey with the promise of something
wonderful at the end.
Lent begins when Winter is still upon us. A few brave snowdrops , crocuses and daffodils
can be seen, bravely facing the frost and icy cold, so in spite of the dark
skies I know that the promise of Spring is there. The icewillmelt, the sunwillshine, the flowerswillbloom. I know it because I have experienced it so many times before.
During the Winter months I think we all have times of feeling low, weak,
cold in our faith. This year, because I was ill, I was particularly depressed
and sometimes it was difficult to glimpse the sunlight. Yet, knowing that the Lent season heralds the
start of Christ’s own battle and His ultimate triumph over darkness, I am
encouraged to wake up to whose I am, to come close to His cross yet again.
As Easter day nears I turn my face once more towards the light of His
love. The love which challenges me, washes me clean, nourishes me and warms me
through, so that I can blossom as He wants me to.
I found this short poem the other day and it expresses my feelings
perfectly. The poet is anonymous.
Over twenty five years ago I remember walking to work on a cold, misty day. I was living in Norwich at the time and Norwich Cathedral was obscured from view. I knew it was there but I just couldn’t see it. I remember thinking that sometimes we can’t see God at work in our lives, especially when things get really tough but that didn’t change the reality of His presence. I would love to be able to say I have always ‘held on’ to this truth but if I am honest I have often lost grasp of it and sometimes been reduced to a state of blind panic, nevertheless He has faithfully brought me back to its realisation time and again. When I retrace my steps I can see He never left me alone and at times came close to me through His people as they reached out to me in love.
Who could replace Him? Who else could we trust our lives to? Where else could we run when the going gets tough? One of my most favourite accounts in the gospels is Jesus asking the twelve disciples if they too intended to leave Him just like the others who had turned back when they found His teaching too hard to bear. ‘Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ – John 6: 67 and 68.
*Wikimedia Commons Licence.Taken on Historic Churches Cycle Ride 2006
This morning the format for the family service was DIFFERENT.
During the sermon Mary asked us to walk around the church and try the prepared activities for a while. Very @simonrudiger and Parish Sundae, but doing away with my formal sit down timeand be talked to time No Thanks!
I was threatened at first by the idea that I would have to leave my seat and wander around. I needn't have worried of course, I did one activity and then talked to Bob aged 96 about how I couldn't hear ! Oh dear I am deafer than I thought. Anyway I came away with a piece of paper reminding me that showing the fruits of the Spirit sometimes has to be worked at. I picked up GENTLENESS , as I am lacking in that direction big time. One person has already suggested, jokingly I might add ,that had I goaded them into doing a piece for the Lent Blog. I looked up Goaded
goadedpast participle, past tense of goad (Verb)
Verb:
Provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction.
Drive or urge (an animal) on with a goad.
so I am duly humbled.
I have just sat down and uploaded the next 7 offerings . They all made me very emotional. By the time I got to David Midgleys one for 7th March I was crying . I have been so worried about asking for blog offerings. A foretaste of March 7th cant wait
Matthew 11:28-30 New International Version (NIV) 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
So if this is for you BELIEVE IT!
This has a happy ending , I must tell Bob that the reason we couldn't hear this morning was because there were no batteries in the microphone. I'm not a deaf as I thought!
What are you doing - or perhaps not doing - for Lent?
Have you read a Good Book lately?
Last year was a significant anniversary (can't remember which !) for the King James Bible and we were encouraged to read it afresh/again. To me this "old" Bible is a familiar part of my youth and early life, but these days I find it very hard going if I want to understand what its talking about. The language is not just last year but last several centuries and is completely alien/inaccessible to all but the over-????'s.
This Lent, every time I see any suggestions about how to recognise/celebrate/mark/use???? Lent we are being encouraged to read the New Testament from start to finish. I think this is a good idea - provided we find a translation that has meaning and not just old-fashioned beauty. My personal favourite is the New Living Translation, but another very good one is The Message. Both really bring the scriptures to life. Both can be downloaded at www.biblegateway.com if you don't have a paper version. (Or why not buy a new Bible instead of spending money on whatever you were planning to give up for Lent?)
If reading the whole of the New Testament is enough to put you off, then I suggest you just read Acts - the Acts of the Apostles - which is all about what happened /as a result of/after Jesus' life on earth. Read it as if it were a story. Its un-put-downable! When you get to the end you just want it to go on and on because it is so exciting .........
Dooh! ........
What have I just said?????
When you get to the end you just want it to go on and on because it is so exciting .........
This is the most exciting thing. It does go on and on - and has done for more than 2000 years - and our lives are an ongoing part of the story. Quite something that, isn't it .....
Perhaps we need to remind ourselves of the story so far?
In these days when only 1 in 70 of the population attend Sunday worship, the days are long gone when "the Church" could impose anything on society. But that in no way diminished Jesus' call to His followers - to be Salt and Light (see Matthew 5, 13 & 14) . Salt for preservation, and Light for growth. Without these, life as we know it, is impossible.
Our Founder's vision was for His followers to be preservers of what is necessary for society and bring a shining light into the dark places of life. I have that to be a draining experience: it's easy to "run out of steam". It seems I am not the only one: for down the centuries, each generation of Christian has used the period prior to Easter (Lent) as a sort of "work out" time - to tone up the spiritual muscles, to get rid of surplus fat, and get fit for the responsibility of being worthy disciples. For some, that means giving things up; but I have found "doing something new" is a better approach to making progress, and if I choose something achievable, I am left feeling positive (rather than a failure!)
So this year I shall join the ecumenical study group here in Filey. I hope I shall gain insights from fellow Christians who are not Anglicans that will enable me to that salt and light that Jesus expects.
Want a few positive ideas ;Here are a few for Lent , do straight from your smart phone or computer. I am doing Matthew from the Lent for Everyone option. The daily reflections are By Tom Wright (late Bishop of Durham) . I read them straight on my phone screen. Whats more every day I get a reminder!
When I bought my phone in October, when my 8yr old one died I was served in the Scarborough T Mobile Phone Shop by a young man called Remi. I was quite anxious buying my first smart phone even though I had done lots of research in Which . Remi uploaded the Bible app You Version for me. Looking back I realise how gracious God was to ensure that I was served by a Christian Young man. He gave me over 40 mins of time , and was never trying to hurry me on. He wasn't even from Scarborough but had been drafted for one day because of a staff shortage. Perhaps he was an angel. Young people from Filey Top school have helped me get my head round this phone, metaphorically speaking. I couldn't even switch it on properly, or work the camera.
I love Lent. Mostly because it is sandwiched between Pancakes and Chocolate! But also because it opens a whole load of opportunities to talk with my friends about Easter and what it is about. I usually use Lent as a time to take up something new in my daily study or weekly regime ,to focus further on God. I often find people are surprised that I don't give up sweets or crisps or anything else. It leads to some great conversations !
DAY 1 ASH WEDNESDAY
Every Lent I am reminded that Jesus himself was severely tempted and I am encouraged by the way in which he withstood those temptations by counteracting the devil's wiles because he was full of the Holy Spirit and by his knowledge and understanding of Scripture. ( For the account of this read Luke 4:1-13)
'It is written' is a sure foundation for us, for we can stand on the promises of God, confident that what is written, if taken properly in context, can enable us to gain the victory.
Lent is not essential for the Christian life, many Christians in other denominations do not make much of these weeks before Easter, but if used in a positive way, ie taking time to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us, rather than merely giving things up, then it can be an extremely beneficial discipline.
My cyberfriend Daydreamer and I are no strangers to insomnia. I have blogged several times in the small hours. Daydreamer has reminded me in her comments that what I write it may be greyish prose in the light of day. I am sitting here downstairs . I have accidentally put both my Dressing Gowns in the Air Ambulance Bin near the Library in a moving house and therefore getting rid bout , so am wearing a thick fleece and my thermals.
In the middle of the night all my anxieties seem real.
Trevor and Jonny
We will need a new buyer for the house
No one will e mail me a Lent blogpost until Maundy Thursday or know where Kiaora is
People will put their Lent blogs through the letterbox of the Gold River, and it will be thrown away as Junk Mail
The photos on the Parish Profile will not have enough contrast
Th only people to apply will want to bring back the pews at St Johns
Reason is kicking in. I am remembering the Sunday morning Communion Service . Something began on Sunday. It started as Trevor read the Gospel. There was a power in the words as he read them so beautifully.
The story of the Transfiguration did something to many of us. I was humbled and transfixed by Marys sermon, her reproofs about her disappointment about our lack of Prayer ,Her certainty that we may be transformed if we let the Holy Spirit work in our lives. Text messages have been buzzing between members of our home group ever since.
Marilyn got it just right-she texted this verse from 2 Corinthians 12 to me. I am remembering it in the watches of this long long night.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
And I am remembering that as I am awake , that @Liturgy in Christchurch New Zealand is up and eating pancakes, and our Lay Reader Sue is getting dressed for dinner in California, not pancakes until tomorrow . Gods Blessings on them both.
The Small boys are not allowed on Computers at home. Staying here alone at Kiaora with us for a sleepover then is always fun for them as they know they will be allowed a strictly monitored session or three on Miniclip , Lego Hero Factory and Moshi Monsters and their own excellent school Games section St Martins Kid's zone.
This is the early morning session. We will be going off to Glen Gardens in a minute. Grandpa did his shift 6.30 to 7.30, breakfast, Milkshake, piano Practice. I took over 7.30 ish with getting dressed , teeth, washed and fielding non stop questions. Session I has had to include my Mac. My faithful Toshiba is ill, despite a new hard drive, and no small boys are allowed on it. I am on it.
Its no good saying children have too much time on Computers. World of Warcraft might be only a year or so away, but completely denying our small boys any Internet time is only going to be counter productive (in my view). When they are able to make their own choices they will have had plenty of rich experiences and been introduced to many wholesome pursuits. (Yesterday they went to Dalby Forest, did the Bridestones, the Adventure Park , played board games here and read books.)
I listened to Childrens Hour every day, Uncle Mac on Saturdays, TV only at my Grandparents home, and in black and white; Rag Tag and Bobtail, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben and Muffin the Mule. AS a child there was no daytime TV , we were only allowed Zoo Quest.
Mr Bell the head teacher of Cavendish Road Junior School once asked my Standard 4 class 'who watched 'The Six Five Special ' ? I was mortified, I was the only child who had not be allowed to watch this, so I lied and put my hand up too!
I have been thinking about the events of 60 years ago., when I was the age of my small boys. The day the King Died, I was denied my 'Children's Hour' on the Home Service, now called BBC Radio 4. I was quite upset, it was the highlight of the day. The radio just played awful solemn music. Excitement soon followed. I was invited to go next door to watch TV for the first time, 15th February 1952 . I remember it all, the tiny screen with rounded corners, the programme itself, all very strange and solemn too. It was the Funeral of King George V1.
Who in Filey actually calls last Sunday Sexagesima? (60 days before Easter Day) And just so we can all answer the next Pub Question, the answer is Quinquagesima is next Sunday. I loved all these strange words when I was growing up in Sutton- in -Holderness. They sounded so mystical, along with Rogation and Ember Days. All Latin really , and my 7 years of Grammar School Education have just kicked in again. Does it all really matter? The Anglican Church , trying to be militant here on earth, as we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickednesses , once all thought so. Here is a true saying , and worthy of all men to be received, a Classical Education really helps one answer questions on University Challenge , understand the meanings of words, and know that Agnes Dei means Lamb of God, and Bellis Perennis is a Daisy (Days Eye) or Pretty Perennial.
Some of us do enjoy a bit of ArchaicLanguage in our nostalgia trips. Here really is a true story......
When I was teenager at St James Sutton, I belonged to the YOUTH GROUP.There were about 7 of us , and we were led by the dutiful, and charming vicars wife, Sybil Richardson. Her husband was a dear man, kindly and clever, and a Classical Scholar. I have just read my diary from 1965, it says on one Church parade Sunday
'I did not understand a single word of Williams Sermon, and how must all my pack of Brownies felt!'
Mrs Richardson, for we would never have called her Sybil, suggested we all did a play reading in our Little Youth Group. I volunteered to get 10 copies of the suggested play from the library, and proudly did the deed. Except none of us really wanted to do Alcestis by Euripedes* when we actually came to see it. Needless to say I left the Youth Group soon afterwards and cycled to St Aidans Youth Club ,off the Holderness Road for the next months before going to college. There we danced to Beatles Music, with the lights low .
* Ted Hughes made this much more readable
Its all about getting things right for the client group. The Church Year, as the lectionary shows us, is a clever way to get us punters through our Bibles in 2 years, to learn the Life of Christ in about 3 months, have a couple of bits of being sorry times, to celebrate the Holy Spirit big time in mid summer , and tick off some notable lives as we go, and all in a year starting in November. Great ! Its a fail safe too. No missing bits out and doing all Easter and no Christmas, or all notable lives and no Woman at the well. The Old Testament is all there too, and a Psalm for every day. Except we are not really doing it are we? Only on Wednesday Mornings at St Oswalds do we actually get all the readings set for the day, and what richness is to be had when we read GREAT BIG CHUNKS **and it is all drawn together by the leader. The Bible is as relevant to us now as it was in 1965, or 1066.
When John Lennon said 'the Beatles are more popular than Jesus', it created a Media Storm. His time was THEN , and all of us who love the music they brought to us, know that it has gone on to be truly classical . Jesus , however, doesn't have to defend himself as John Lennon had to. He is not an idea or a Calendar , or the right sort of Church or a Set book , or a once a week love- in. He is a REAL person , who through HIS HOLY SPIRIT is available , timeless, and accessible, and truly able to change us into the people we are meant to be.
The Church of England , like the Beatles ,may break up. I do not really mind at all . We the people are the Church, and always have been.
That is why , whilst we once again reach the season of LENT. which starts next week , lets use it whilst we have it to show the online world what our faith means to us. If one person meets Jesus because of it, and turns to HIM that is the best outcome this blog and our Lent posts can have.
What does Lent mean to you? Thats your starting point
So I am hoping that we can do a post every day in Lent to the end of the Triduum. So Filey Parish-please be thinking what you can say , a few sentences , a page, or a picture with a caption-something to share with our readers ,
the regular readers,
the Filey expats,
the stumbled uponners,
the googled and got us readers,
and the searchers after the Truth.
Lets make it OUR INTENTION. Now there's a phrase!
** Have just returned from Morning Prayer. Rev Robert asked me to read the OT portion and as if to make a point it was Gen 31v25 -32 v2 so it took about 10mins-and what a good chat we had about it afterwards. Malcolm Johnson had a boat called Mizpah so (Ven) Robert Hall told us.
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