On our recent holiday we have been able to indulge our love of history by visiting ancient monuments, castles, cathedrals, palaces, churches and historical pageants.We have certainly seen some spectacular sights and have sat absorbed for over two hours late at night by Le Puy du Fou near Cholet.
Yet I like going into churches for their tranquillity and stillness. Three stick in my mind. The first, in St Marti d’Empuries, Spain, was very old dating back hundreds of years but it was also in superb condition. The bare stone walls were not of dressed stone but they gave a friendly feel to the church. It was very light, because of numerous electric lights, and beautifully cared for. We managed to sneak in just before a wedding and it was stunning.
The second was a Church in Albert in the Somme which was very large and surmounted by a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. This church was only built in the late nineteenth century and before it was twenty five years old it had been largely destroyed. Yet it had been rebuilt and restored with love and care.
The final one was the imposing and highly decorated Cathedral at Amiens.It is an extremely large building with amazing carvings in wood and in stone. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this church. (To modern tastes some of its features are really over the top). Its building was certainly a long term commitment – it took over 300 years to finish.
However, I have to say that it’s nice to be back at St Martin’s.It’s a lovely church with the imposing “A” frame shape and the impressive end wall carving, but what is more important the building is light and friendly on the inside.(The people aren’t bad either.) As we approach St Martin’s half centenary we know we face problems with the building but I’m sure that our congregation is no less committed than the congregations of the other churches I’ve mentioned and that by working together we can succeed to carry out all the work needed and ensure our church lasts as long as these others,
Churches are built to glorify God and if He is with us we can achieve anything.
Harvest Festival is not the most important service in the church’s calendar, but is one of the most loved ones. It gives one such a lift to enter the church, decorated with flowers, foliage, fruit and produce; to give thanks for a successful harvest, and to join in the singing of the old favourite harvest time hymns. We do not live in a rural, farming community, so our harvest may be different. We give thanks for the harvest of the seas, from the factories and workshops, the harvest of science and research, of the arts and all learning. We are so blest, we have so much and it is right we should give thanks to our most generous God and Father.
Celebrating the bringing in of a successful harvest dates back to pagan times; and in years gone by, church bells would be rung each day of the gathering. The horse drawing the last cart of harvested produce would be trimmed with flowers and ribbons. A strong and respected man of the village would be elected as‘Lord of the Harvest’ and he would preside over the celebration end of harvest feast. Celebrating as we do today, dates from 1843, when Rev. Robert Hawker invited his parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church in Morwenstow, Cornwall, to give thanks for a good harvest.
In our area there are not the poor and needy who need food and flowers, so this year we focus on the work of Tear Fund, who are one of the U.K.’s leading relief and development charities. They are addressing a wide range of issues including HIV, water and sanitation, reducing the impact of disasters, economic disasters, economic injustice and climate change. They work in more than 60 countries and are committed to offering hope, providing a meaningful future and speaking out against injustice. Tear Fund is one of the charities that St. Martin’s supports and we pray that all of us will give generously to our collection, which will go to furthering the work of Tear Fund. Any tinned or packaged food given will go once more to the Glebe Centre who do such sterling work for the homeless and needy of our town.
We all have so much. We pray that with Jesus’ teaching in mind we will be able to share our God given bounty with others who are so less fortunate than we.
Last Thursday was the first anniversary of the St. Martin’s Café.It’s been an eventful year and one which I have enjoyed immensely.It started off as a tentative venture, trying to reach out to the lonely or isolated people on our surrounding estates.It was daunting at first with very small numbers of visitors.Then there was the heart thumping anxiety of having to do a presentation for the Bishop and his team. (They actually turned out to be delightful and very supportive.)Next was the challenge of writing an article for “The Park Hall Pioneer” to publicise the café.Numbers of visitors were already slowly increasing, but once Jane Quinn started her Tai Chi classes, numbers soared.People have been reunited with old friends and many have found new friends and support.It has become part of their regular social life.The teams of volunteers have been a joy to work with and have brought companionship and pleasure to many people in our community.
When the café was set up, one of the aims was to support “Traidcraft” by using Fair Trade products wherever possible.Not only has this been achieved but since then the idea has been extended further to include the small chocolate stall which we now have every week.This seems very popular with everyone and is helping a good cause.
Our hope for the future is to build bridges between the café and the church.To that end the church has been open every Thursday, during café opening hours, since the end of June.People are welcome to come in, sit quietly, listen to the music, absorb the atmosphere and pray if they wish.It is sad that security worries dictate that our beautiful building has to be locked for so much of the time, as it is an oasis of calm and peace in a busy world.Please pray that through contact with the café, the Christian helpers who serve there and easier access to the church, many will be brought back to faith or encouraged to find out more about our wonderful God.
A very warm welcome to everyone joining us today, we pray you will experience the love of God as we worship this morning.
In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
As Christians our calling is to love others as we love ourselves. It’s a very challenging commandment. How can we love those who seem unlovable, how can we love those people who we find so difficult to get along with? The reality is that left to ourselves we cannot, but with God we can start to love others as we are meant.
Just as knowing who we are in Christ is the foundation for our Christian life, it also forms the basis for the way we relate to other people. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) We give freely because we have received freely (Matthew 10:8). We are merciful because He has been merciful to us (Luke 6:36), and we forgive in the same way that Jesus has forgiven us.
We have received God’s amazing grace, his undeserved forgiveness, love and mercy, and the more we experience this, then the more we begin to find that we want to give it away to others.
Today is Back to Church Sunday and our prayer is that you may find out more about this God who loves you.
The Bishop of Stafford has called on churchgoers to celebrate Anglicanism and “proclaim what God has done and is doing for us in Jesus Christ.” The Rt Revd Gordon Mursell makes his comments in a pastoral letter printed in the February edition of parish magazines in the Diocese of Lichfield.
He says the church only has itself to blame for media reports about how mainstream churches in the UK have ‘lost it’, or are in ‘terminal decline’. And he adds: “We English Anglicans are extraordinarily good at talking down our church. It’s frightening to ask yourself: how often have I been in a conversation with non-churchgoers during which I’ve criticized ‘the Diocese’ or ‘the Evangelicals’ or ‘the Prayer Book groupies’ - or simply failed to use the opportunity to say what I really value about my church and my faith?
“And we are incomprehensibly obsessed with sex - or at least that’s the impression we often give. Perhaps we’ve never really got over the fact that one of our founders (Henry VIII) had serious marital problems.
“But all this is light years away from the real purpose and vision of our church, which is to proclaim and celebrate what God has done and is doing for us in Jesus Christ, who died for us and now lives and reigns as lord and king.”
He adds: “Anglicanism has not lost its way. There are already twenty times as many practising Anglicans in Nigeria as there are here. I have myself witnessed Anglican churches in Malaysia and Hong Kong that are pulsating with life and faith and engaging with justice and peace issues in their locality. And there are countless signs of hope and new life here in our own diocese. If you don’t see them in yourself, or your church, ask yourself the hard question: how Christ-centred is my church, and my faith? Or (to put it another way) does your church really behave like an institution (interested in keeping itself going) or like a movement (passionate about its goals and values)?
“Anglicanism is a living branch of the Jesus Movement. We stand for a Bible-based faith that is both life-changing and thoughtful, both enthusiastic and challenging, rooted in tradition but deeply engaged in contemporary life and culture. A contradiction in terms? Nonsense. It’s the faith Jesus came to teach and to live. So let’s celebrate it. For nothing less is good news for our world.”
Tearfund was founded forty years ago in response to the floods and famine in Bihar, India and the suffering caused by the war between Nigeria and the breakaway state of Biafra. This was and is a specifically evangelical, Christ-centred response to poverty, suffering and injustice: to put the biblical challenge of God’s compassion into practical action.
Today Tearfund works in 64 countries with over 500 church based organisations to combat global
poverty. As they celebrate their 40th anniversary they have a ten year vision to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches. Aid is given regardless of race, creed or nationality and is never used to further a particular religious or political viewpoint.
There is insufficient space here to detail all the projects that Tearfund is involved in around the world but a glance through the most recent Teartimes gives us a snapshot. Food, medical supplies and materials for shelter have been provided for survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the most vulnerable affected by the food crisis in the horn of Africa are receiving food and alternative farming and irrigation methods are being taught to farmers in Burkina Faso.Mobile eye surgery clinics have been provided in Sudan, local volunteers trained to support patients with HIV in Mozambique and children orphaned by the 20 year war in Northern Uganda are receiving support and trauma counselling.
Here at St. Martin’s we support Tearfund not only with our prayers but practically through our yearly mission giving and I will shortly be sending them your cheque for £600.
‘Let us not love in words or in speech but in deed and in truth’ (1 John 3:18)
The ‘Walsall Older Persons Project’, held on Wednesdays and Fridays at St Martins since December 2004, is one of many Mencap services. It provides an easy-going and relaxed environment for social contact and leisure activity for 20 older people with mild learning disabilities. You will see what they enjoy doing from our noticeboard and 6-monthly newsletters.Indoor activities range from making rugs to light ‘keep fit’ exercises and we are grateful to Walsall College for their continued support with leatherwork / creative artwork and to Kath Hayward for her flower arranging demonstrations – they always take away something they’ve made.
10-pin bowling competitions, evening Discos and day-trips are ways in which we help them to access community facilities that many of us take for granted. Our recent outings have included trips to Birmingham’s Sealife Centre, the cinema and theatre (Mary Poppins was simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!).In the next few weeks, we’ll be off to the Black CountryMuseum and to Blackpool.
Ours really is a great group to work with. It doesn’t take long to see beyond their disabilities - everyone has their own personality and they all bring something special to the group. There can be few better rewards in life than seeing smiles on their faces when they’ve done something new or achieved something by themselves.
Despite many positive changes over the years in the lives of people with a learning disability, they still don’t have the same rights or opportunities as other people. Mencap fights for change and understanding by campaigning at every level of government, by communicating through the media and by the practical support it provides – from accurate up-to-date information to help families access services and to make important decisions, through to helping people find the right place to live or to find and keep a job.
If you know someone who needs help and support, want any more information or see what we do, or if would you like to help us, please do come along or let me know on 07908 230210.
Welcome to the blog of St Martin's Church in Walsall. On this site we publish our weekly reflections, which we hope will inspire, challenge and stimulate you. Please take time to visit our main website at www.walsallstmartins.2day.ws (see link below)
