Category: Rector’s reflections

Tuesday 1 March at 6pm. All are invited to join together for Prayers Across Europe for Peace in Ukraine. Stop and pray, or use the link to join the YouTube prayers led by: Bishop Robert Innes https://europe.anglican.org/…/1781-prayers-across….

Ash Wednesday – The Church of England is sharing the Pope’s call to all Christians to fast and pray for Ukraine. The traditional Ash Wednesday communion service at 8pm at Hambledon Church will also dedicate prayer to the situation. All welcome.

A reminder that Busbridge and Hambledon Churches are open daily for private prayer should you wish.

I once spoke to a weightlifter about what they noticed about people in the gym. She explained that it was broadly possible to identify two types of weightlifters. There were those who boosted themselves with additives. These weightlifters often had the ability to excel with short term bursts of power but they could become addicted to this power. There were other ‘lifters who took longer to develop muscle density because they did not take additives. Those who took time to build their muscles had long term strength compared to the power-lifters who soon lost power if they stopped taking the additives. The difference was what the ‘lifter called ‘power vs strength’. We see something of this when we see the incredibly enduring strength of peace-desiring Ukrainian resolve.

There is a great deal of difference between power and strength. Power is often external and derived from status and authority. Power can be legitimate but it can also be amassed through various means. The philosopher Plato made a distinction between power and strength back in 400BC. He noted that people make much of visible power, but what they really need is enduring strength. It is strength which provides resilience compared to power which has but a season until the burst of power has passed. In the Ancient World one of the best ways to be put in a place of power was to amble. Ambling was what Roman senators did if they wanted to get elected. They had to amble with the ordinary people to talk with them, hear their concerns and gain their vote. Ambling took time to do. You couldn’t rush it. It is why we say people are “ambling along”. Every year the senator had to do the same ambling, because power was temporary. Good temporary power comes from the people and it is earned, respected and used carefully. We know instinctively when power is being misused or abused. Something stirs in the soul. We cease to amble and our hearts quicken (Psalm 119:37). It is good to have hearts that are quickened – it means we care.

The source of Power

In the Bible God reveals that the source of true Power is located in Him and we are told what good power looks like. His is the enduring Power and Kings and all Rulers of this age answer to Him. Power when it relates to God is most referenced in terms of goodness, majesty, holiness, mercy and grace and this is the character of power which God expects of those who hold temporary, passing ‘bursts’ of power. The word most used for power is the same word in Hebrew as that which means to have authority or to hold responsibility.

Strength on the other hand is often associated with how we respond to God or our attitude to life’s situations. Like the weightlifter’s observation, we find in Scripture that strength lasts and is particularly visible in the hard times.

God is our strength and refuge, a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Let the weak say I am strong (Joel 3:10).  

Strength is usually revealed under much pressure. Strength in Hebrew is ‘me-od’. It is the word for “muchness”. We are reminded by God in His Word that his muchness (strength) is great; that His mercy is muchness. We are people of much strength because we are walking in holy step with the Living God of muchness of power.

Ukraine’s strength

When we look at Ukraine, or in a smaller way into our own lives, we may sense great power at work and we may wonder where this power is derived from. Sometimes things may appear so powerful that they might overwhelm us and our faith in Christ. When people act with power which is not in the way of God it will not last. The muscles that have been flexed too fast or the energy that has been consumed to create the power pass. As we approach Lent, we are called to remember that we are part of the enduring Power and strength of God, through the real resurrection of Christ from death. God who raised Christ Jesus is the God who sends His Spirit on us now.

We might feel that we have little to offer to the situation in Ukraine, but we do. Our strength right now is to stand with the people of Ukraine. We offer tangible signs of hope. There are practical ways to demonstrate standing with the people of Ukraine and the many peace-loving Russians for whom this is a terrible time. You may know Russians locally who cannot believe what they are witnessing and part of your strength may be to strengthen them. We offer strength in being bearers of peace. It is a peace which passes all human power. Only those who know Christ Jesus have this eternal peace – and it is something we offer to the whole world, in love. Each day we offer prayer. I personally kneel in prayer twice a day at the moment and pray for the Power and Strength of God to bring the invasion of a peaceful nation to a halt. Prayer is our strength in the Power of God to powerfully transform situations.

Prayer that intercedes is a power of strength beyond anything in any earthly arsenal. The Bishop of Guildford has asked that Christians in Surrey dedicate time to pray at 6pm on Tuesday 1st March. We have been asked by the Archbishop’s of Canterbury and York and by the Pope to dedicate time on Ash Wednesday for prayer for the people of Ukraine and its churches and fasting for peace. Please use these requests to strengthen your resolve in prayer.

Have you ever looked into an utterly still, serene pond without a ripple on the surface? What struck you? I did this once when on a walking party up Cader Idris in Wales. What struck me was not my face but the immense expanse of the sky which filled the pond surface. And then some bright spark in the group threw a huge rock in the lake and the ripples roared into life and the moment of enormity was lost. The stillness was replaced by movement.

We’ve had a strangely still 18 months globally and locally. It has tested endurance to the limit. Now huge boulders of uncertain change are sweeping in and even as I write this in August I do not know if its message will be relevant or timely in September.

There are several stages to disaster response. Three of the more well known are rescue (immediate aftermath), recovery (the next couple of years) and then… it depends what happens next. In some situations there is a third stage. It can be reconstruction- back to the old ways – or a good and permanent change – restoration and renewal.

The problem with back to the old ways is that they don’t create resilience for the future. Recovery that leads to reconstruction what went before means losing the best of new relationships, closer community and changed pace of life. It loses the 18 months of stillness and reflection that has led many people to consider deep things. It is like the ripples have roared back into life and now we move on. We do need to have movement and alongside this it would also be great to keep the best of the deepest thing we’ve been considering in our souls. The choice is ours.

As a church and local community we have innovated and experimented. The rescue phase appears to be over. I hope and pray that we are less eager to leap into reconstruction of former things and instead to wade into renewal.

Renewal is a deeply spiritual word. A 19th Century preacher once said “If you are renewed… and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his [sic] company.” (Rev Charles Spurgeon).

As we look to the future my hope and prayer under God is that we’ll find that the good Lord has brought us to a softer, humbler, contrite and generous place. Throughout September we’re gathering as a church each Sunday to be a community that seeks renewal and to remember that while we seem to be recovering in the UK there are many elsewhere in the World who have yet to benefit as much as we have. You are welcome to join us in person or online. In the meantime, the beauty of water whether it is still, rippled or flowing, is that it represents good life and the Bible of course has these very famous lines in it about the stillness and beauty of water:

I once broke down on the A12 heading towards Felixstowe harbour and we needed a recovery truck. It was late at night as we headed in a car full of friends to the ferry for a weekend in Bruges. I am convinced that we broke down on the darkest and only stretch of road with no phone signal and no houses. It was so dark, and the road was so empty that we decided that we’d stick together as a bunch of friends rather than some go off to find help. It was incredibly disconcerting. We knew where we were heading but in that moment we had no idea how to get there or what the next few hours might look like.

We eventually found a remote house. I recall ringing the bell at what must have been 1am. A scared looking guy came to the door and was very wary of a group of people, all in their 20s, facing him. I explained that we’d broken down. I don’t know who looked more relieved; us when he invited us in or him when he realised we were not about to burgle him.

I tell you this story because it might resonate with where we are right now as a church family, and with reference to Galatians 5. It was written to a church where there were different opinions. Some wanted to do one thing and others longed for another way. Paul urged the brethren to think in a way that was counter to the culture; to think of serving others first.

We have had 18 months of predicament and searching in the darkness for what comes next, almost as if we are on a dark and long road. We might have seen glimmers of light or places of respite but we’ve not known how welcoming or permanent they might be. As a church family we have innovated and experimented. At times we’ve made do or made ends meet. In all of this we have held together as followers of Christ in the manner of Galatians 5 and it is incredible to see that this community of Christ has stood firm together. This is testimony to our shared faith during the 18 months of rescue. The rescue phase appears to be over. We now head towards recovery.

This puts us in a strange place, almost like my A12 road trip. Recovery is not instant nor is it secure and it needs to be seen as part of a journey, like my search in darkness for a house. In terms of Galatians, it is a journey of walking by the Holy Spirit of God (Gal 5:16). We know where we want to get with being the church family. We long to sing praise to God, to be able to hug our brethren, to stand outside without masks and hear news for prayer and to be inside without any restrictions. There may even be something in the evangelical psyche of personal salvation by faith in Christ of feeling dismay at being told collectively what to do, where to queue or which QR code to scan.

As we head to recovery how do we get there together, as brethren on the journey? At the APCM we explored what it means to be ready to go. We did not say where to, nor how. Readiness and willingness are the first things. Where to comes next. It is too early for the where to. We need to enter recovery first.

One of the most important messages in disaster recovery, bereavement or trauma response is do not to rush into recovery. Paul understands this when he writes about looking beyond ‘me’ to ‘us’. Those who work in sports, health or trauma recovery know that taking time and stepping beyond self are key aspects of recovery. There is a spiritual dimension to all recovery.

Recovery takes time and it is part of the healing of wounds. In terms of my story of friends on a roadside, if we had rushed into the darkness, we would have tripped and fallen down what turned out to be a dangerous roadside bank. Recovery is about the long-haul rather than the euphoric quick fix that never lasts. Surely, our Christian faith prepares us well for recovery because we know that it isn’t what happens for ourselves today that fills our minds but what is good for the many over the long term.

The good for the many is our gift to the World. Christ died for many. We live with a mindset which asks what is good for others and this is our deep Judeo-Christian value which has given good shape to our Country and which we live as a local church together now. I might be free to do something, but what does my freedom do to someone else? It is the story of the Good Samaritan and the teaching of The Sermon on the Mount. It is written through Scripture and it is written on our hearts as we enter recovery.

We conducted a brief survey and nearly 400 people looked at it and the responses echo all that I have written. We wanted to know how people felt as we inched towards recovery. The responses have been humbling and demonstrates the resilience and belief in God that we share. Here are some of your comments in the survey:

·       “Situation is very fluid and guess you need to respond accordingly. You’ve done a great job so far!!!”

·       “I think you have all done really well during the pandemic with online services etc. Live singing would make all the difference.”

·       “I wouldn’t want other people to be put off coming if there were no restrictions in place.”

·       “we would be happy to socially distance still to protect older people”

·       “I would hope numbers of infections would drop before all precautions are dropped, and I wouldn’t want to leave precautions if other people felt uncomfortable.”

Recovery means walking together and seeking the best for our brothers and sisters in Christ rather than rushing ahead alone. It is our chance to “through love serve one another”. It is only for a short time as we look to the future and God’s renewal.

The dilemma we have in what to do right now with worship is that 36% of you would think twice about coming to church if we ceased all safety precautions but 33% of you would think twice about coming to church if we kept all the current safety precautions.

8% of people are okay with what we offer now but 82% specifically want us to reintroduce singing. While 39% would like this to be with face masks on 43% would like face masks to be optional for singing.

Mask: With a spirit of serving one another in mind, we are asking everyone to think of one another and please voluntary wear a face mask whilst in a church building unless involved in leading worship.

T&T: No-one needs to track and trace (but the QR code will be there if you wish to) nor do you need to sign up in advance for worship. Just turn up. You’ll still be invited to sanitise your hands.

Outside: There’s no need to wear it outside nor any need to rush away from chatting after church. Coffee will be served.

Sing: We are offering singing at every service.

No distance but distance at the rear: We are inviting everyone to be aware of distancing whilst seated but this is a personal choice. To bless those who wish to ensure that they have 2m of space we’re reserving the rear of both buildings for socially distanced seating only.

Just say: We are confident that no-one in our church family will be offended if someone asks people near them to please sit or stand slightly further away.

Communion: We are reintroducing communion in both kinds and will leave it to each person to decide whether to receive this completely, just the wafer (we’re sticking with wafers for now) or not to receive at all just yet.

Pray: Please be praying for those who serve you in leading worship at this time as we head into recovery. We will be keeping how we conduct worship under review and we hope that as we head into September we will be removing face masks and all social distancing completely.

September is when we will be doing some great things, starting at Busbridge on Sept 5th with a special Contemporary garden service (10.30am) and in Church classic (9.15am – note the time), and two great gatherings gatherings at Hambledon (9.30 and 10.30).

Thank you to everyone who thanked us for providing the survey and asking for feedback. The staff team and many others are doing their best in quite unique circumstances. 

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life…” Daniel 12:2

My marking of time has a new memory. We’re used to marking time. We do this with birthdays, anniversaries, facebook memory settings and so much more.

This time last year I came down with an illness that hit me so powerfully that I labelled it ‘the beast’. It briefly gave me insights into my own mortality and just how precious, fleeting and fragile the beauty of a God given life is.

I can pinpoint the moment I knew the darkness meant all was not well but here I am, one year on and able to look back. I am waiting, like all of us, for the ending. It may be a long awaited ending of mixed emotions of restlessness; waiting in hope and longing; but also waiting in loss and pain. Some of us will be waiting with memories of loss of family, friends, loved ones, time or energy. For some the end will be gradual and there will be ongoing smaller endings of learning to cope in new ways or steps into recovery. Some will already be in endings of changed lives or livelihoods and uncertain futures.

In my waiting I have watched far more tv than ever before. One film was ‘The Never Ending Story’ (1984, remade in the 1990s). It’s the story of a dark force called The Nothing which seeks to engulf the World. Something in the theme resonated for me and this is why we’ve taken ‘Long Awaited Ending’ as our church theme for Easter.

We’re waiting for the end to restrictions, distance relationships and lack of community and the end of this phase of the amazing vaccine effort but as a Christian I know that there is another ending. It is the ending longed for in Scripture across generations and it is the defeat of the darkness of evil. The ending which arrives at Easter is the resurrection of Jesus and by placing my trust in Him I know that my mortality is only fleeting because eternity beckons.

This Easter, please join us on Palm Sunday by collecting a Palm Cross from the box in the church porch in the days beforehand. You don’t need to be particularly religious to take one.

I’m inviting you to put your palm cross in a window or on a gate post in our lovely neighbourhood as a sign of the end coming and hope returning. It’s an invitation to help all who see it be assured that the end has come and is coming.

There is hope for tomorrow and in it I invite you to remember that yours is a precious God given life. Easter means the waiting is over and we have a new life to live which takes us to the end of time (Daniel 12:4).