Monthly Archives: August 2019

Resourcing Sunday to Saturday Faith

Click on the link above (or the picture of the booklet) to open this document which I would highly recommend! Many of you will have seen it in your latest copy or the Reader. I missed it! My habit is to open the recyclable sleeve putting it with the compost, remove the magazine to read later and extract all all the advertising that drops out like confetti and putting that in the paper recycling. A sad end to this carefully written and hugely accessible booklet!

Luckily Bishop Chris thrust it into my hand and there will be some extra copies available on the Reader stand on Vocations Day thanks to Carrie.

You might care to go and mine for your own resources in the vast caverns of the CRC website- there are some treasures there even if they are called unhelpful things like P348! https://www.readers.cofe.anglican.org/resources.php

So 50 years ago this summer I was 17 and living at home in Birmingham. My parents had gone off with my brother and my cousin for a caravanning holiday in Scotland and I was working nights in Cadburys to build up the college fund.

It was 1969 and I maintain, the best year for popular and rock music ever; the Stones were top of the charts with Honky Tonk women, the Beatles with Get Back and Fleetwood Mac with Albatross. Of course there were some dreadful musical memories too such as Sugar Sugar by the Archies, the somewhat pornographic Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus and arguably ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra which seems to have become a song of choice for many funerals! There’s nothing new under the sun.

So the other week I was preaching at St Andrews in Redruth on that wonderful set of readings that included the lines from Ecclesiastes about there being nothing new under the sun and musing that in 1969 Richard Nixon was president and now there was Donald Trump. Woodstock set the standard for large music festivals and now they are common-place. Neil Armstrong made ‘one small step for man’ and now we have a space station orbiting the planet and entrepreneurs are working on taking folks on holiday in space. Charles de Gaulle resigned as French president famous for saying “NON!” a couple of years before to the UK entering the Common Market following years of negotiation and now…… well the less said about that here the better! There’s nothing new under the sun.

That summer I joined a sponsored March from Central Birmingham to the Lickey Hills in aid of Medical Aid for Vietnam and these days teenagers and others are still Marching for Climate Change and so on! There’s nothing new under the sun.

History seems to prove than humankind does not learn from its mistakes and maybe it has to be allowed to make them in order to learn and that goes also for Rectors, Curates, Readers and anyone involved in ministry! No amount of PCC meetings that declare “we did that once…. It didn’t work!” or “we don’t belong to do that here!” will help.

David Bowie was the soundtrack to the Moon Landing encouraging us all to look up and the Edwin Hawkins singers sang Oh Happy Day when Jesus washed my sins away reminding us that there is always a chance to start afresh- putting off that those bad habits and learning from mistakes of the past. Blue Mink Sang “Melting Pot” in which they appealed for all races to be lumped together to produce a “get along scene” and on that Sunday at St Andrews the epistle was from Paul explaining that in Christ there was no Greek no Jew, so slave nor free, make nor female etc. There’s nothing new under the sun.

(Final paragraph)

Maybe we should focus on the Hollies, “He Aint Heavy, he’s my Brother” I suggested in my sermon and remember that at the heart of all we do is looking after one another- the whole of humankind in Christ.

I had a rare email commenting on the sermon a few days later from someone much moved by the mention of that song because it reminded him of his long departed brother- we don’t know the power of what we drop into sermons.

Back in 1969 I was very much a ‘born again’ atheist- very anti organised religion and especially anti the Billy Graham evangelistic movement – but I don’t think I ever really lost God in that time and God certainly did not lose me but popular culture and the words of songs kept me in touch but it took nearly another decade for me to head back to church.

The top 100 for 1969 can be found at: http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1969.shtml

The road is long, with many of winding turns
That lead us to (who knows) where, who knows where?
But I’m strong, strong enough to carry him – yeah
He ain’t heavy – he’s my brother

So long we go, his welfare is my concern
no burdon is he to bear, we’ll get there
But I know he would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy – he’s my brother

If I’m leaving at all, if I’m leaving with sadness
that everyone’s heart isn’t filled with the gladness
of love for one another.

It’s a long, long road, from which there is no return
While we’re on the way to there, why not share?
And the long doesn’t way me down at all
He ain’t heavy – he’s my brother

He’s my brother – he ain’t heavy – he’s my brother …

A Hot & Contentious Topic......

Carrie raised an interesting question:

“Our parish has recently done Safer Recruitment training with everyone or it feels like everyone – and (it has) not necessarily (been universally) welcomed. The Parish tried to ‘Safer Recruit’ me as a Reader and I found out they couldn’t – it is the Diocese who does Safer Recruitment for Readers and I didn’t know this before. How many Readers realise this do you think? Do you think it’s worth a ‘did you know’ thought in the Blog?”

It is of course very important to safely recruit but as with all these things it raises a huge number of issues especially when you have a small congregation and an even smaller number of volunteers. Readers in training, those coming up for relicensing and those needing permission to officiate do go through a sort of safer recruitment process as they should all have the backing of their incumbents and their PCCs. Trainees will also have been through an extensive interview process and had to provide references. Then they are carefully assessed for suitability over a three year period so they are certainly safely recruited.

What about Readers who move in to the Diocese or move from another parish, what about Readers who have been in post for several decades- how is their suitability for role checked?

One would hope that regular meetings with their incumbent / ministry team and an annual / bi-annual review would help.

So although it is diocesan responsibility in that the ‘buck stops there’ it is also Parish responsibility to make sure that Readers along with everyone else are working safely.

I suspect there might be a few comments here…..

Some Sample Role descriptions from Guildford Diocese

Church Of England Safeguarding Policy.pdf

Working Agreement – sample 1

Working Agreement samples 2 Work Agreement

ReaderWorkingAgreement (Link to a word document Norwich Diocese)

Working agreements are a really useful tool for Readers and their Incumbents. They really provide for a good focus for ministerial review as well as being a useful (and necessary document) in seeking approval for PTO o relicensing from the Incumbent and PCC. The links at the top of this article may be useful. The first two Carrie provided and the third is a form I downloaded from the Diocese of Norwich. It is very detailed (possibly overly so) but can be edited to suit your needs in your situation.

It is all change for training this year and it would be great to keep those who are in training in your prayers.

New this year are Jason, Judy, Gaynor and Sue. Already in training are Penny, Sandy, Debbie & Debbie and Jane, and in their final year, Roy and Matt who are due to be licensed in October 2020.

Eight new readers are due to be licensed in October, Henry, Robin, James, Martin, Debbie, Liz, Lesley and Kim. Please do pray for them.

Chaplaincy

Before I was Chaplain to Readers I was Chaplain to Readers in Training and it remains as part of my role although I am delighted that Reader, Margaret Sylvester-Thorne has come on board as assistant Chaplain and will be the presence at most of the weekend courses at MARJON. I will attend when I can.

Click here to view the SWMT|C website Reader Training Page

Following their two year SWMTC course there will be a post licensing year with day school elements and other tasks.

This year two students will have a final year on their own so they have had a study programme developed for them which may provide opportunities for other readers to take part in the day schools by way of continuing ministerial development.

A suggested programme is as follows:

·         Two study days e.g: 1. Funeral Training (inc visit to local crematorium)

                                  2. Focus on a Biblical book or topic

These might be opened up to all Readers, especially those licensed in the last two to three years.

·         Year 3 Placement (6 weeks, chaplaincy, other denomination etc)

·         Lead a 4 – 6 week group study course: Bible study/Lent/Advent/Baptism or Confirmation Preparation etc

·         One assessed act of worship

·         One assessed sermon

·         Two pieces of summative work:

1.    An extended Theological Reflection on an aspect of work being undertaken in the parish/workplace/wider diocesan context

2.    Placement portfolio including reflection on experience (Total c 5000 words)

·         To meet at least once a term with a personal tutor or supervisor / as a supervision group with a supervisor

Chance meetings in Oncology.

So there we were in oncology at Treliske Hospital’s splendid Sunrise centre being advised by the consultant on treatment options, outcomes and probabilities and watched by two earnest but smiley young women on different career paths through careers in radiology. Then, when the consultant went to write prescriptions, fill in forms and see if the CT scanner was available, they stayed to quiz Lez on her experience of treatment from fast scan and diagnosis for him to surgery and to this appointment. Their presence was most welcome in passing the time and after their questions were answered we discovered that one was on an apprenticeship route and the other already had a radiology degree but wanted to specialise in mammography. So after a brief, conversation about student debt in relation to the two routes we discovered that I am one of them was part of the team and rowers who call themselves ‘The Oarsome Foursome.’ The team consists of four ladies in different decades from thirties to sixties who are attempting to row the Atlantic this winter to raise money for Cornish blood bikes amongst other good causes.

The upshot is that Saint Andrews Redruth is adopting the cause as the beneficiaries of the special Christmas Services and we hope to be able to post news and pictures on the big screen at appropriate times. Should you want to know more about them you can find out more at https://www.oarsomefoursome.co.uk/about-us/

Lez has now begun her 15 consecutive working days of radio therapy with appointments just when she wanted them, first thing in the morning. And on chance meetings sheet and share the waiting room with her dentist this morning he was having therapy at the same time.

We are extremely fortunate to have the sunrise centre and the mermaid centre to provide cancer treatment in the west of the county especially when it was so hard fought for and the suggestion was to make all patients travel to Plymouth to attend a central unit at Derriford hospital which for daily treatments over a three week period would mean patients from this end of the county would incur huge and travel costs, time commitment and even the necessity of bed and breakfast stays.

Until we need these things we don’t realise how important they are!