shotleyfieldsforever

This spring is well under way,  with clement weather, possibly linked to the reduction in car and aeroplane journeys in response to the virus, ensuring that lambing is going well. There is no sight better to make spring seem real, alive and verdant than to sees lambs in the fields, chasing each other with their hopping, skipping leaps, then returning to their mothers to suckle. It is Arcadian. It is a pastoral scene that has inspired poets for centuries: This is The Lamb by William Blake. Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee  Gave thee life & bid thee feed.  By the stream & o'er the mead;  Gave thee clothing of delight,  Softest clothing wooly bright;  Gave thee such a tender voice,  Making all the vales rejoice!           Little Lamb who made thee        ...

What does 'meeting' mean. Suddenly, in the face of lockdown, whereby remaining at home with little or no face to face meetings, we have all taken to the 'interweb', social media, zoom, House party and whatever other means of communication we have available via our telephones and computers. Currently I have reverted to 'phone conferencing' managing a large charity with a workforce spread around the county I found phone conferencing a good way of staying in close touch with colleagues. However, in the current mood, apparently people need to 'see' the people they are meeting or, apparently the meeting doesn't feel real or valid and, whilst it is true that 20% or so of communication is by 'body language', gesture of facial expression most of which might be implied it can also be missed when the communicators are unable to 'see' one another. I have undertaken a variety of roles over the years, too many to count really and there ha...

We are well into lockdown mode. But then for us lockdown is less of a challenge than if we were living on the tenth floor of a tower block. We have a house which is large by any standards. We  have a garden which is large by any standards. Gosh, we even have our own wood with a woodland Chapel. We have dogs for company and hens for eggs (and in extremis roast chicken). So by the normal standards of lockdown we are OK. So it maybe seems a bit grumpy to criticise the Government's handling of the pandemic but with the failure to respond to the outbreak, the complacency, the unpreparedness of the Government, its dismissive response and its sense that somehow we would get through it with a mix of chute pah and British exceptionalism, criticism is necessary. The back story goes back to the Lib Dem decision to form a coalition with David Cameron (Who? you might well ask) and where is he now? With George Osborne as Chancellor, Cameron embarked on a programme of austerity tha...

Notes from a pandemic. I text my children and grandchildren each day just to say Hi and to reassure them that I'm still around and planning to celebrate my 75th even if it's a Houseparty in lockdown city. The other day I commented that we were living in limbo to which one response was that limbo was OK. Not sure about that! I don’t know how many of you have seen the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day? The expression Groundhog Day is North American, in fact Groundhog Day is officially February 2 nd . It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of hibernation but should the animal see its shadow because of the sunshine it goes back into its hole and winter may continue for another six weeks. I imagine that it is something like St Swithin’s Day whereby should it rain on July 15 th  tradition has it we can expect another 40 days of rain. The other meaning of Groundhog Day, which formed the central conceit of the film, is a situation in which a series o...

Todays Bible readings takes us on a journey from a room with locked doors where Jesus turns up to witness to Thomas, his wounded hands, his wounded feet and the wound in his side, to Peter exposed and vulnerable preaching to a hostile crowd. Thomas of course, despite being known as a doubter, is full of faith which he expresses forcefully. The disciples are hiding for fear of the Jews. Hiding because their own lives are at risk. Here they are weak, afraid and uncertain. But before long Peter is preaching confidently in Acts to people from Judea and Jerusalem, preaching even though through his words he is putting his life at risk. It seems, as someone posted on social media, that we have experienced the Lentiest lent we have ever lented! Almost from the Pancake Party on Shrove Tuesday we have been buttoned down, battened down and left isolated unable to break bread or spill wine, celebrating Easter in isolation connected by social  media, virtually by zoom or by some ot...

It was impossible only a few weeks ago to imagine this Holy Week. I had at that time agreed with Michael that Donkey Oatey would lead our Palm Sunday procession and there was some conversation in our Local Ministry Group about what services would be offered as we journeyed through Holy Week. It would have been impossible to have ever imagined that we would be facing the isolation of a multi - national lockdown, where our Church would be closed and that we would be celebrating Easter in isolation. But here we are. Our grief is a grief that is shared as we  make preparations for ways of allowing our hearts to sing in this strange land in which we find ourselves stranded, our securities gone and our fears disturbing us. We grieve and God in the person of Jesus grieves alongside us. As our Holy Week begins, instead of Palms and Crowds singing Ride on, Ride on in Majesty we see Jesus riding into the silent City, a City devoid of people, a City where there are no crowds to sh...

This Holy Week I shall be reading a book by Tosca Lee entitled,  Iscariot: a novel of Judas. In the Gospel for this Sunday Matthew 27 11-54 the story of Judas unfolds like a drama in four acts. Judas’ arrangement with the high priests Judas’ relationship with Jesus during the Passover meal Judas’ act of betrayal  Judas’ repentance Each of these is spelt out by Matthew as his Gospel unfolds and begins to reach its climax in the crucifixion, the death and burial of Jesus before, in Chapter 28, we are invited to marvel joyfully in the drama of the empty tomb and finally become witnesses to the Resurrection. In her author’s note Tosca Lee reflects that the Greek word:  paradidomi  which is often translated as ‘betray’ is possibly or more aptly translated ‘deliver’. Judas’ role in the Gospel is also confusing to our modern ears because throughout the text Judas is the only disciple that Jesus calls friend. So here we have the image of...