Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’When all seems hard all around and our people are in crisis, immediate or threatened we feel we have to step up and be counted; be sociable and available be innovative, caring and praying, be creative and more! But. . to be these things has a cost and eventually that bill has to be paid.My advice, for what it’s worth, is to try and pay it of early! Take some time before someone else is forced to take drastic action. Look after yourself before others HAVE to do it for youIt is a maxim of emergency aid training that before you wade in to help that you should make sure you are safe otherwise you could add to the problem and make yourself a casualty’. You are then no use to anyone and an extra burden on Those providing the help.Come to me all you that are weary’ begins our gospel, but to go and lay down your burdens means that you have to stop what you are doing ! It also means you have to get over the feeling that you are indispensable and that you will be letting everyone down. There is a kind of pride in martyring oneself in the service of others.Unusually for me l decided to take my own advice and this week I posted up my ‘Dunzoomin’ sign and had a break from the time table and the grind of of the last three months. Zoom is a fantastic tool and a useful slave but it can also be as hard task-master. Some days l was tethered to the computer for the day from 8.30 am and things I enjoyed like morning prayer and coffee and conversation began to feel like a chore.As I read more and more posts in social media from ministers both lay and ordained it became apparent that ministerial burn-out was a very real issue. This Sunday's Gospel promises that Jesus will help us with our burdens, that he will give us rest but it requires listening and action on our part,I have just finished a ZOOM day of Reader Selection with four fantastic people who have put themselves up for training and the future of Reader Ministry looks good with this new generation. Every year that I am involved in this process I find myself in awe of the commitment and faith of the candidates and of the sacrifices they are prepared to make to join the ranks of our ancient order. So prayers today for them and the other folk who took part in the day. On Monday morning I shall be back in the ZOOM room for coffee and conversation / Solomon's Portico (porch)- do join us if…
June 21st Chaplain's BlogJune 21st 2020 Link to the PDF version with pictures: Chaplain’s Blog and note to my Redruth Churches family – June 20th 2020 Monday for Readers Solomon’s Portico link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/906586752?pwd=SFdsOGZNOEFiMWxMUGFNRlpYK0ZRUT09 Daily Prayer 9am link just this week: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75893575169?pwd=WHkyTHYwOC9SbjNwNHRob3lIbFNPdz09 In this Blog: · Fathers Day and some prayers · Cyber crime and how to choose a good safe password · An article found by Roy from the Church Times about the church response to Covid · Fr Peter’s weekly newsletter which has some very useful and thought provoking material. (Apologies if you get it directly from Peter – but the pictures are in the right place in this one J ) Dear All Next week I am deliberately taking some time out to walk and think- things have been fairly intense in the last few months and on Saturday I am hosting the ZOOM reader selection day which will require a good deal of careful listening. So if I am not about at my usual times…… I am probably walking a beach or a cliff. Sunday is Father’s day and the longest day of the year, For some fathers in lockdown with small children – or tricky teenagers it will feel like the longest day of the year every day at the moment. (yes I know All Parents Matter – or for that Matter All People ….. but its “Father’s day” so we are thinking of them in particular). No full intercessions this week from me just these few prayers. For Fathers: those coping with children at home, for those that wished they had the opportunity, for those whose grown children live far away or where relationships are poor, for those who have lost livelihoods in these strange times and struggle to put food on the table, for those who wish they had more time, more skill, more motivation to play, more energy. Lord enfold and encourage and let them know your love as Our Father in heaven. For all carers; especially those unofficial carers whose partners or spouses are seriously ill or disabled. For carers who work for minimum wage going above and beyond the call of duty. For those feeling that they risk their own health each day. Grant comfort and sustain them Lord. Roots on the Web provide some fantastic material some free at the moment but its well worth the subscription. As we think about resilience this week with families, and the challenges of being a disciple of Jesus, we'll leave you with this prayer which is taken from this week's ROOTS at home resources for adults. Do not fear to bring your pain to God. Do not fear to bring your doubts. Do not fear to bring your lack of confidence. Do not fear to bring your worst, as well as your best. Do not fear to bring your memories and your dreams, your hopes and your anguish. God knows you and loves you. God will…
prayers week beginning June 14 (Link to the printable PDF version) The prayers today are based on the lectionary readings for Sunday 14th. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.Gracious Lord we are thankful for your compassion and that you are there to guide and lead us, help us to show that same compassion and leadership to others especially those who feel lost, harassed and helpless. Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”We pray Lord for those called to ministry and those who could be, but who need prompting, - help us to be an encouragement to others who might be workers for the harvest.In our communities we pray for our farmers, especially those who are used to having an influx of workers from other countries to gather their crops. Lord we pray that a solution might be found. Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sicknessJesus we thank you for all who work in our health service tasked with healing disease and sickness. We pay that they remain safe as they give themselves selflessly in the service of the sick and troubled. We pray for all those known to us who are suffering, or in need of prayer especially….. and ask that you will hold them in the hollow of your healing hand that they might be reassured of your love and comfort.Freely you have received; freely give.“ Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.Lord help us to share the worlds resources wisely and to give of our comparative wealth. We pray for all foodbank volunteers and those who have to use the foodbanks. Especially at this time as the economic situation worsens we pray for those who worry about putting enough food on the table and find it hard to ask for help.As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or townLord we pray for those living in precarious situations; in houses where there is domestic abuse, overcrowding, or in poor conditions. We pray for the adults and children who are subject to violence and sexual assault trapped with the perpetrator. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed…
Dear Recipients of this epistleLockdown Mornings begin early for me. By 5:30 I am usually out walking, camera at the ready either my phone or a rather larger camera slung over my shoulder pretty-well whatever the weather. I have been known to set out in full waterproofs and an umbrella. I really find the sitting in a chair to meditate, muse and prayer in the classic manner with palms on my knees, my back straight and feet flat on the floor, an awful torture…… but walking in the rain for an hour- now that is a comparative pleasure and, for me, far more efficacious. So I am always back in time for a leisurely breakfast when I can read the headlines, the Guardian cartoons and the latest nonsense on social media. Occasionally there is a snippet of gold – or if not gold then something that makes me laugh- here’s an example of each to get you thinking…… The Prayer ListNobody has told me of anyone who needs to be on the prayer list or anyone who needs an update. So please pray for the folks I have heard from recently: GarthLesley Alli Simon Cade12 hrs · When power shifts, some of the symbols of the old order are removed, some are transformed and adopted, some are ignored and wither away, and some simply continue. It may be that power is shifting in the UK and US now, it is quite likely; apart from anything else times of plague are often associated with wider shifts in power.When the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussain fell in 2003 so did some of the symbols associated with the regime, as US and other forces took power they didn’t insist on restoring the statues for reasons of historical authenticity, just as when Stanley was retaken from the Argentine forces in 1982 we didn’t insist that the newly installed portraits of General Galtieri had to remain.Power is not just about who the leader is. A shift in power doesn’t need an election or a revolution or an invasion, it can come from ideas.It seems to me that there are some important questions about power in the UK today, they are more important than questions about street furniture.Is power shifting now? What are the ideas behind it? Does power need to shift? And whether the answers are yes, or no, or maybe, where is the Good News to be found? What is God up to? And if this isn’t about a revolution or even an election, what are the ideas that are important?It is much easier to talk about statues. I can be for or against, and it makes for a simple picture. As a Christian the much harder conversation is about how I love my neighbour when they are so angry or hard to love, how do I honour the people I disagree with, how do I put others before myself. Most important of all, how do I listen for the still small voice of God’s love in a noisy and contradictory worldPlease…
Judith's parish is in transition at this time so like many readers she is reaching out to her people. This Sunday 7th June, is Trinity Sunday. There are many analogies and ways of thinking about what it means, but I like this one,Tertullian, one of the theologians of the early church, explained the Trinity in a metaphor. God the Father he described as "a deep root, Jesus the Son as the shoot that breaks forth into the world, and the Spirit as that which spreads beauty and fragrance."As a gardener, this makes sense to me, although as a chocolate eater I do like the Mars bar analogy too. There is the nougat the base of this yummy confectionery, representing God the Father. Probably the first part laid down in the making of it. Then there is the caramel, nicely positioned on top, separate yet part of it, this is Jesus, the Son. And then there is the chocolate coating surrounding it all, the Holy Spirit. A student once said to me so the Trinity is a Mars Bar Miss, I think they missed the point! It is of course a way of trying to explain the connection between the three persons of the Trinity.An analogy for the spirit is sometimes described as the love which binds people together. You cannot see it but you know for certain that it is there. The spirit binds us together in love.However we look at the Trinity, it seems to me to be about relationships. We are all connected with each other and God in lots of ways. To remove ourselves from all forms of relationship is I think almost impossible. To interact with others for good or bad is part of being human, and not just other humans but also nature and our planet. To have a relationship with God would seem natural and for God to have a relationship with us. Through the Trinity we can begin to see that each part leads to the other in a connected whole. The Son leads us to the Father and the Spirit; the Father leads us to listen to the Son and the Spirit; and the Spirit leads us to the Son and the Father. God’s nature is relationship. Life is relationship. It is through relationship that God is revealed to us and through relationship that we respond to GodBlessings to you all Judith Judith AyresA link to the whole of Judith's letter.
From Lament to Hope Joel is one of the Old Testament prophets, who struggled with God at a time of both a huge locust swarm, and a severe drought. Although such disasters in the bible are often understood as analogies, standing for ‘invasions of foreign armies’, or ‘unjust leaders exploiting the people of Israel’, it seems that these locusts, and this drought, were real disasters that happened in Joel’s time.We too live at a time of conjunction of disasters. Climate change is real; the science is well understood, though a few powerful people are still focusing on their own personal desire to make maximum short term profit, even if it brings the point of crisis closer. The Corona Virus Disease, Covid 19, is real; it is causing many deaths, there is no vaccine, and we are not yet testing enough people to be able to track and trace who is catching it. Even the end of this year, making real our exit from the European Union, which will cause significant change, in a way that many people feel that we are not yet well prepared for, feels to some like another disaster on its way. What we can get from prophets like Joel is an assurance that the people of God have faced difficult times. Lament is an appropriate response. Tell God how you feel as Joel did: "Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? 3 Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. Joel 1:2-4What to do? We start with the lament:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep8 Lament like a young woman dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth11 Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vine-dressers13 Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God. Joel 1:5,8,11,13Joel spoke the name of the disasters falling on God’s people in his time. It is important that we try to speak the name of the difficulty we are living through.People are dying because of the Corona Virus, in our hospitals, in our care homes, in our community. We pray for all who are affected: suffering, nursing, and caring for them. The climate is changing, and those who have done least to cause those changes, the poorest communities around the world, are those who are already suffering most, and we pray for them. If we name our challenges, if we bring them before God in lament, then we can have faith that God is with us, and have hope that God is bringing healing to our situations. This is the context for Joel’s vision of God answering his lament with the promise of restoration ofthe land, 22Do not fear,…