And here are last week’s, just in case you missed them: Notice board 25th July

We believe this is right, and we believe the time is ….now!

Healing on the Streets

Starting with the monthly church leaders fraternal in Hereford, and engaging with leaders from Churches Together in Hereford, Hope4Herefordshire, and from Churches Together in Herefordshire, we have grown in our sense that this is something that God wants us, as the body of Christ here, to offer to the City.

If you don’t know about how Healing On The Streets (HOTS) is being used to touch many lives across the UK, may we suggest that you look at the material on the web at www.out-there.org. This will show you how a simple and gracious offer of Christian healing prayer in the town or city centre is being welcomed by so many people, and is bringing a touch of God’s love into countless lives. Think of what a blessing such a project will be locally!

The attached flier (HOTSflier2010) is designed to give you some material to use in church notices, in your church magazine etc, and is an invitation to church members from across the region to meet together for an information and vision evening. This will take place on Monday 13th September 2010 at St Paul’s Church, Tupsley, starting at 7.30pm, and will include four team members from the Bath HOTS project talking about what they do, and how God is blessing the work – it promises to be an inspiring evening.

It may help you to get more positive about what is proposed – and indeed help your church members too – to watch a DVD about HOTS, and we can gladly supply you with one. Or we can provide someone involved in this project to come and speak on a Sunday morning (just for 5 mins or so) about what we are planning to do (see contact details below)

The names (arranged alphabetically!) at the foot of this letter show you that the Steering Group represents many local churches. We are meeting together on behalf of the wider church, and are acting as the group of church leaders holding this project in trust for the whole church and region.

If you have any questions about the project, or about the steering group, do please get in touch with us on 07771926651 or at hotshereford@gmail.com.

If you would like a copy of the DVD then please contact Helen on 01432 276320 or via  spsjoffice.

HOTS Steering Group
Frank Cornthwaite (Hope4Herefordshire and Christian Life Centre); Martin Erwin (Challenge Community Church); Sue Gasston (New Life Church, Ross); Jonathan Rendall (formerly Schools Advisor, Hereford Diocese; St Peter’s and St James’ Churches); Barbara Stephens (St Peter’s and St James’ Churches); Paul Towner (Rural Dean of Hereford Deanery); Antony Wareham (Hereford Baptist Church); John Watson (St Paul’s Tupsley)

Richard Glasspoole & his band

Saturday 15 July saw the Great Hall of the Bishop’s Palace transformed into a Parisian-style cafe-bistro  for an evening of fine wine, cheese, pate and entertainment, all in aid of the FLIC (Finding Life in the City) project, writes Bill Thomas.

Ambient music at the start was provided by Jonathan Archer, setting a high standard from the first note. The main musical parts of the evening were given by Richard Glasspoole and his band, with a superb mixture of jazz and light classics. Peter Strevens gave a short presentation about FLIC  to remind us of where our money was going (and to encourage more donations).

Our own Bill Thomas gave us some poetry before handing over to guest poet Jeff Rees of Blaenafon, who delighted us with his mellifluous delivery of thoughtful and moving pieces. Richard ended the evening with solo pieces inspired by Jeff’s poems, touching the heart as well as the ears.

Poet Bill Thomas

Grateful thanks are due to all these, plus Janet & Peter Strevens for running the bar, Alison Hairsnape & Sue Vaughan for their backstage work and, above all, Diana Thomas for organising the whole event.

The total raised is (so far) £442.10 – we’re already being asked when the next one will be, so stay tuned…

Missed the Gift Day – it is not too late to make a pledge – contact our treasurer?

The idea of our Gift Day was to give thanks for all the regular financial support that we receive, and also to encourage us all to review and renew our giving. This year’s Gift Day was particularly important because we have experienced unexpected additional costs as both Church House and Close House needed (and continue to need) quite wide-ranging restoration work. This necessary work, together with the current low interest rates, has seriously depleted our reserves.

Vicar Paul Towner just before abseiling down St Peter's tower.

So on July 4th this year we invited our congregations to consider, as we have in previous years,  whether they were able to bring a “thank offering” to the Lord, as a response to His blessings and grace and generosity in the past year – a one-off gift brought simply to acknowledge what the Lord has done.

Also Gift Day was a good opportunity to review and renew our regular giving to the work of our churches. Our annual costs and planned giving are in excess of £120,000 so it is easy to imagine that there are many more things we could do if we had greater financial resources!

Even if you missed a Gift Day service it is not too late to pledge a gift – contact our treasurer, Andy Butterfill, or one of the clergy.

We also encouraged our congregations to review their regular giving and to think and talk about methods of giving (envelopes, standing orders, Gift Aid, etc.). If you wish to discuss this please contact Andy Butterfill, our Treasurer, or one of the Churchwardens. If you would like to talk about the spiritual side of giving, or about your personal circumstances, please contact one of the Clergy.

Read & download Paul’s Gift Day Thank You Letter to our churches.

Winforton Wind

Our special thanks to Winforton Wind, four talented clarinettists, including a Bass clarinet that most of us had not seen or heard before! Also our Architect, Alex Coppock gave a brief presentation about the Finding Life In The City project. Thanks too to those who helped, Sharon Elson, Tanya Brooks and Don and Ruth Langford for preparing food and helping on the night.

Many thanks to all who supported the evening. We raised £375, after expenses for the FLIC Project.

If you weren’t there on June 12th, I hope you have at least seen the video – and given some money! It was an amazing experience in all sorts of ways, not least being led into St Peter’s when I was blindfolded! Let me tell you a bit about that. I have walked into the church I guess on average 4 times a week for 11 years – over 2000 times – in normal sighted mode. This was different.

Sitting outside the church I asked to be blindfolded, and used the first thing that came to hand – my black preaching scarf! (There could be a parable there somewhere – put on your official garments and lose your perspective – Andy and Jonathan watch out!). I was then led by an experienced sighted guide into the building.

That was scary! I knew roughly where the door was, approximately where the steps were, but still managed to be tense and edgy. And I still managed to walk straight into the table at the bottom of the stairs! [A note here - how to pray for our VI friends and neighbours - life for them contains more tension, more unknowns, and more physical accidents, so their bodies take a pounding, and wear and tear becomes a real issue.]

Then up the spiral staircase, one hand on the right-hand outside wall. All going well – until we walked past a window recess, and suddenly the wall wasn’t there any more – more scary moments. Oddly, though, from then on life was fairly easy, because I had done the same route 5 minutes earlier, with my eyes open, so knew what lay ahead. And not being able to look over the parapet was an advantage, in one way, as I couldn’t see how far it was to drop! And then safely down, which was amazing.

Back to the top (this article, not the tower). The poster has these words on it “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). Too easily we rely on what we can see around us, whereas we are called to put our trust in, rely on, the unseen truths of what God has done for us in Christ. I think I understand just a little bit more now of what this phrase means.

Walking by sight comes “naturally” – walking by faith means placing our hands in someone else’s grip, and trusting our lives into their hands! Thank God that “He who called us is faithful” and we can trust Him. (2 Thess 5:24)

I am reminded of the apocryphal story of a new vicar who approached a long established church warden. “I bet you have seen many changes,” said the vicar. “Yes,” replied the warden, “and I have resisted every one of them!”

So here is a story by Anthony de Mello from his book ‘The Heart of the Enlightened’: ‘Owing to a variety of circumstances, the egg of an eagle found its way to one corner of a barn where a hen was hatching her eggs.

In time the little eaglet was hatched with the other chickens.
Now as time passed, the fledgling, quite unaccountably, began to experience a longing to fly.  So it would say to its mother, the hen, “When shall I learn to fly?”

The poor hen was quite aware of the fact that she could not fly and hadn’t the slightest notion of what other birds did to train their fledglings in the art of flight.  But she was ashamed to confess this inadequacy, so she would say, “Not yet my child, not yet.  I shall teach you when you are ready.”

Months passed and the young eagle began to suspect that its mother did not know how to fly.  But it could not get itself to break loose and fly on its own, for its keen longing to fly had become confused with the gratitude it experienced toward the bird that had hatched it.’

Many of us may, sometimes without thinking, behave like the mother hen—restricting others because what they are talking about is beyond our experience. I pray that this will never be the case among our churches as we explore what it is to be a missionary church of the Twenty First Century.

Peter Massey

UPDATE is also available for collection at the back of our churches.

For those who do not know, UPDATE is the monthly bulletin of St Peter’s, St James and St Barnabas churches.

Missed last month’s edition – download it here:UPDATE June 2010

Money raised by Paul will be divided between the RNCB and the Finding Life In the City (FLIC) project. The great news is that so far Paul has raised well over £400 – it is still not too late to support him.

For a video of Paul’s escapade and more photos visit our Facebook Page

Paul Abseiling

Anthony & Tanya Brooks penned a limerick inspired by Paul’s abseil:

There was a brave Vicar called Paul
Who abseiled down the church wall
With funds on his mind,
A harnessed behind
To fail didn’t feature at all.

The second time he did it blindfold
He had very tightly to hold
To trust those around
Get him to the ground
Would have left some of us cold.

Could you write a limerick celebrating Paul’s achievement? Send it in via our Comments Page, some might even be published!

Diana’s challenging work was inspired by her strong views on the charges some Cathedrals demand from their visitors.

For those who missed the exhibition download a copy of Diana’s primary piece and be amazed: Diana Thomas

Another example is displayed below. Diana’s ideas have received a mixed welcome from some church authorities but support from many more people: see articles in the Hereford Times and Church Times.

Diana's protest post card

Coalition has been used, recently, as a dirty word by many journalists (along with other words like proportion, balance and honesty). It’s Pentecost, or very nearly, as I write and certainly will be when you read this. As the early church, itself a coalition, waited in anticipation and obedience for the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised, there was a sense of togetherness.

For a coalition to work there needs to be the willingness, at times, to give ground on some opinions or positions for a greater good. It is in this greater good that unity and togetherness is found. Our country faces large problems both socially and economically.

Similarly, Christians face enormous challenges in society not least being pushed to the margins. Togetherness has never been more important for the Christian message and mission.

We hold many different positions within the church both nationally and locally. We disagree from time to time but as we cry out to God for our nation, for our city and communities, let’s also ask God to give us the discernment to know when we are justly standing our ground or merely standing in the way of something greater.