shotleyfieldsforever

When a priest approaches the Altar s/he does so in a solemn and prayerful manner. This is because s/he knows that s/he is privileged to be called and invited. Depending on what vestments are worn there is a prayer for each garment that the minister adopts before approaching the Altar. When I place the stole around my neck I recognise that symbolically I am taking upon myself the Yoke of Christ, like a beast of burden I take the weight of the yoke on my shoulders and so I kiss the stole in thanks that I have been gifted this burden which comes with the promise of Christ in the Gospel, that it will be light. I have to say that it has not always felt light. There have been, indeed there are, times when the burden of ministry, of the yoke of Christ has felt very heavy. Conducting the funeral of my cousin’s baby daughter. Conducting the funeral of my wife’s step-brother’s son who had committed suicide. Conducting the funeral of my wife. Conducting the funeral of my son...

During the lockdown, with the Church closed work has gone on. In particular the work of the group looking to replace the last of our plain glass windows with a new stained glass window in memorial to a former Churchwarden who held the office of Churchwarden for 45 years. The window will be erected in the Baptistry over the Font and provides an opportunity to reflect not only a life lived faithfully but on the idea of what Baptism means in the life of any Christian. I know that some clergy refuse Baptism if the family have not been or are not regular church attenders, but that has never been my approach. In my first parish in Manchester Baptism became a key element of my evangelistic outreach, so much so that in my time in that parish the number of communicants doubled with new families being welcomed and woven into the life of the Church. I have always though of and described infant Baptism as 'wrapping the child in the love of God' doing the very best we can for thi...

This weeks Lection calls us to reach out in faith with the disciples, to hope with St Paul, to shout out with Psalm 100 and to hear the cry of suffering, 'I cannot breathe'. Being unable to breathe is symptomatic of Covid 19, 'I cannot breathe'. For this reason there was an urgent need for ventilators. But the phrase 'I cannot breathe' conjures another imagine of a police officer, kneeling on a mans neck where there was an urgent need for respect, and restraint which was sadly and tragically missing. This action has resulted in a dramatic and powerful question being asked. This one death in America contrasts with the 40,000 deaths so far recorded in the UK and suddenly any fear of the virus has ebbed away such is the anger and thirst for justice, despite the government bracketing the Church with non essential shops and entertainment I am constantly hearing the question asked, 'Where is God in all this'? Clearly the disciples are on a mission. The...

Today we stand at the ending of Matthews Gospel, the final four verses, and look forward to new beginnings, a new chapter, a new commission. Here Matthew emphasises key themes, it has been said that these verses represent the acclamation of the whole Gospel. Here we have a fresh beginning point even as we stand at the end in Galilee where the story began, disciples back in their home place, rooted in the story and the land where their own journeys of faith began. Now they are commissioned, standing in that thin place, as George McCleod called Iona, their holy mountain or holy land, with Jesus on the mountain, but standing at the edge of a new world and a new time. Just as we after Covid in both Church and society have lost sight of what is normal so we yearn for a 'new normal' hoping that after Covid there will be a new world and new time. Trinity Sunday 2020 is my Golden Jubilee. A Golden Jubilee is a time or season for rejoicing, a special anniversary, in the Rom...