Yearly Archives: 2021

Resolutions So another New Year and my resolution from 1967 is kept once more; never to make any more New Year resolutions. If something is worth doing, or worth giving up then it is too important to leave it to a once a year attempt and should be attended to right away. After all God gives us infinite chances and has infinite patience and should we fail he will pick us up, dust us off and set us going again..Life on the Cornish breadline - Unheard Do give a little time to this article about poverty in St Ives. It is probably something of which you are perfectly aware but it may give useful sermon material for the new year.  There seems to be little resolution from the powers that be to resolve the issues around poverty in our land and in our county.  The Nativity Scene at ST Andrews- joined by playdough figures representing all those present at the Children's Service on Christmas Eve. 96 CV  Thought for the Day – New Yearby  Didymus (Peter Coster Licensed Lay Minister) “In him was life; and the life was the light of men: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”  (John ch.1)“ARCH” Archbishop of Capetown Primate of South AfricaOn the day after Christmas, another light that shone in the darkness left us, taking the hand of God, Jesus Christ.  Following in our Lord’s footsteps, this light faced the darkness of apartheid, and by faith, humility, bravery and love, overcame it.  Christianity is the poorer today.Desmond Tutu was a man of absolute faith, with a sharp wit, a keen sense of humour and a cackle of a laugh, often deflecting anger.  He faced the evil of apartheid and all of the thuggery that was used to enforce it, and defeated it.  There were many instances of threats of violence, and even murder, which he received over the years.  In his remarkable 90 years, the priest known to many as “Arch” achieved a relatively peaceful dissolution of the cruel colour discrimination practised in South Africa by the nationalist ruling party. A Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1984 for his work.  He was Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1995 to 1998, where people came to confess their past deeds and express regret, bringing different sections of the community together.A wonderful man.  One felt that, however many thousands of miles lay between us, we were his, and he was ours.  We were part of his spiritual flock.The Gospel reading for Evensong is from Matthew’s second chapter, in which the consequences of the visit of the three wise men unfolds - the anger of a frustrated Herod, the slaughter of the Innocents, (remembered on the 28th), and the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt.  Herod died within four years, and it was safe to return to Israel, and the Holy Family settled in Nazareth, in Galilee.There is about Matthew’s Gospel a concern to bring the narrative into close alignment with…

Art-work by Reader John Wallis Safeguarding Blog part 2- How we have gone about it in the Redruth Benefice. Since the last blog I have met for a chat with Sarah and Sue from the diocesan safeguarding team that was both positive and reassuring  that we were on the right track. It was also really helpful to see how aware hey were of parish problems and how systems are evolving and being  tweaked all the time to make safeguarding possible in the vast range of church scenarios.  I suggested that it would be really helpful for churches to see some scenarios of how other churches are working and to be able to select the one that is nearest to their situation in terms of demographic, so this blog is how we have coped with it in Redruth. As a result of the team council meeting and a few things responded to we have completed level one of the dashboard and moved on to level two! Whooppee! In last week’s blog I wrote about the deep joy of tackling the Safeguarding dashboard and preparing for a team council meeting to  agree the latest missive and regulations from the national safeguarding team on safer recruiting which has to by done by January 4th. Since then I have had the meeting and was pleased that there was so much positivity across four of the five churches with a commitment to training and responding to my bit of the agenda. The fifth church is a small congregation with little energy to spare who need support from the rest of us- which I think is a scenario being played out in places across the diocese. Trying to do everything to the letter of the law / regulations / guidance is not always possible, practical or feasible but finding a pragmatic approach to safeguarding and safer recruitment that follows the spirit of the task is possible. We have 5 churches, which is 5 DCCs and 3 PCCs – but the most practical way to deal with safeguarding and recruitment is through the Team Council that represents everyone even though it is not the statutory body.  The PPCs can have their say if they want to at the meeting following the team council – although I do not envisage any issues arising! Having said that however, I did speak to one poor beleaguered Reader from elsewhere in the diocese who was at her wits end with her PCC because they have refused all safeguarding training and have a church warden who says they will resign and do the job without a title if the are forced to do the training because they consider it a waste of time and money.  I suggested that perhaps they need a face to face session for C Zero with their PCC. Each of the churches, in theory has its own safeguarding officer although one is so small and beleaguered that their poster refers folk to me as safeguarding coordinator for the…

How’s Your Spiritual Health? Some ramblings for the week!It might seem like a funny question but quite seriously when did you last go for a check-up and with whom?It may seem like a daft question but it is all too easy to get drawn into a task-driven life where prayer becomes one of those tasks or worse still, does not find much of a space.Some Readers/LLMs do manage to find time to go on retreat which is an ideal time to recharge spiritual batteries but not all of us have the space in our lives to be able to do it.Wendy Earl writes:  Sheldon is the most wonderful retreat from the frantic world we all now inhabit; a balm for soul.  It is tucked away in an unspoiled corner of Devon above the river Teign east of Dartmoor. It includes a thatched restored barn and modern comfortable rooms and has its own flock of sheep, orchard and vegetable patch. Some lovely walks in the local countryside beside the river can be taken directly from Sheldon but all the surrounding countryside and up to Dartmoor is gorgeous.  Sheldon was primarily set up to support the ordained Ministry as the ‘Society of St Mary and Martha’ but now it also welcomes anyone who feels they can benefit from ‘coming away and resting awhile’. Retreats can be taken individually or as a group and there is a regular program of speakers for guided retreats. By contrast the R5 program is not structured. It’s enables: Rest, Retreat, Read, Relax and Recuperate. The Daily Office is said morning and evening in the Chapel by the Community to which visitors are invited to join. There is an extensive library and wonderful meals are served using mainly local produce. Private counselling is also available.See: https://www.sheldonretreat.comIt is hard for some of us to justify a week away, or even a weekend and the thought of leaving one’s spouse with everything including walking the dog and so on is tricky to put it mildly. In our house going away together is much more the thing!Quiet Days are rather easier to manage but still require us to make a commitment to them both in time and cash and in finding the motivation to sign up in the first place. The Readers used to have two quiet days a year, one in Advent and the other in Lent but the Lenten one was abandoned with the rise in Reader/LLM activity in running lent courses etc.   The advent one has had mixed attendance but always ended up subsidised each year by the diocese until Covid put the brakes on.With other quiet days on offer, especially at Epiphany house such as my favourite that I have been chaplain for, the prayer and painting day, I do wonder whether we need to offer quiet days specifically for Readers/LLMs at all.  Your thoughts on the matter are welcome!Spiritual Direction or soul friends, spiritual accompaniers etc.I have to make sure with my spiritual director that I put a…

Reactions to the Annual Survey Comments A summary of the written answers with some personal comment from me about the chaplaincy, the blog and the website and attitudes towards “On the Way”JNS To What extent are you involved with On the Way Of the Readers who responded to the survey and to the question most Readers/LLMs were not involved yet- but a significant group had been taking part in meetings, both face to face and online. Concerns seemed to be centred around communication and the amount of paperwork, especially for those at the heart of discussions.  One comment began “I am aware of the initiative; but find it totally uninspiring and irrelevant to the realities of the average person in Cornwall today.”  But otherwise there were few strong feelings on the topic.What would you say is the most fulfilling aspect of your Ministry?Unsurprisingly, preaching and teaching were high on the list of answers but pastoral work, chaplaincy,  and being alongside people from schools to care homes, and in Covid times making phone calls to those shielding. Funerals are also a key element of Reader ministry although some readers have found they are doing less of them.  Leading groups, praying with people and the sharing if faith were also mentioned a number of times.  Tell us about your Reader Ministry other than conducting worship on a Sunday- what have you done recently to respond to ministry needs in the current time of pandemic? The variety of Reader involvement, commitment and support for other people is truly inspiring.  There was some fairly common activities such as phone ministry and leading Zoom services but Readers /LLMs also wrote weekly reflections, wrote letters and delivering treats of chocolate and ‘fun bags’    The telephone ministry included Pastoral conversations and also Phone church services!Other activities included ambassadorial work with SAT7UK.org that works in the Middle East to remote youth work in the Local Skate-park and heavy commitment to the work of the FoodbanksSome PCCs and churches, it seems, would collapse altogether if it were not for the commitment of Readers and they seem to be able to plug gaps wherever they appear and to respond to community needs as they are discovered. Here are a couple of illustrative responses:Opened the church for private prayer and supervised. Joint leader of an online Alpha Course. Acted as sacristan on 24 occasions. Attended several webinars concerning the way forward after the pandemic including, e.g. Lockdown resourcefulness, Funerals: an immediate concern, Opening the Doors, Leading through Lockdown, Midsized churches, Opening Churches. Considered increasing giving in the parish (Generous Giving webinars), encouraged the PCC to send out an appeal to people on the electoral roll and been active in producing a letter. Acted as Lay Chair for the PCC in the absence of an incumbent. Prepared for APCM. Updated risk assessments. Telephoned where I have been aware of a need. Joined two online prayer groups and led Morning Prayer fortnightly for one. Prayed daily for needs asked for. Provided a Service of Remembering and a Remembrance…

 On the Way So the following thoughts might be contentious and if they ‘rub you up the wrong way’ please do respond and I will publish your reply. As Readers / Licensed Lay Ministers we are ‘of the Diocese’ and of the “Church of England” rather than being ‘done-to’ as participants in it. We are part of the wider ministry team that includes all licensed minister, both Lay and Ordained and we have a duty to be the positive, helpful, enthusiastic and optimistic face of that ministry team. We may not like initiatives, changes and policies and should, quite rightly, express our opinions- but in the right place. That right-place is in the ministry teams in our own areas, to our Deanery Reader Stewards, to the Reader committee or perhaps even as a discussion piece for other readers to put in the chaplain’s webpage.  To the congregations, and to our wider communities however we need to make the most of the opportunities to “build up the people” as Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians. The ‘On The Way Survey’  has had mixed reviews in my conversations with Readers, but it is an important tool in attempting to see how the wider community sees us.  How can we respond to the needs of the community unless we know what those people think ?  I suspect when we send it out in the Camborne Redruth area we might find that the community likes the church buildings, likes the being there for hatch, match and despatch, Remembrance and Christmas but otherwise finds us largely irrelevant, if not strange!  I will be using social media among other things to encourage as many folks as possible to fill it in because we want a representative sample.  I hope a few folks might be going out to those without access to technology with a paper version! Whatever the findings, it will help shape our response.  Yes, I know we cannot ask everything but you have to draw a line somewhere. An addition the multiple choice lists of, “keep everything the same in church until I have shuffled off this mortal coil”, or “bring back one priest for every church”  do not make the cut! The Church, and that means us as Readers as well as everyone else is under enormous pressure- as a the merry band of Licensed Lay ministers we have a duty to to hep the wider ministry team “build up the people” which might mean supressing our natural cynicism of new initiatives. As a deputy / head teacher we had certain categories of people you really did not want in your staffrooms or Governor meetings and  the same applies to church councils and indeed any teams that are trying to get something done. The “I hear what you are saying but…. “ person, which means’ I am not listening to you because my view is the only one that is important’. The “yes, but……  It won’t work because……” usually  slightly patronising…

Next week all the local children will return to school for the new term and a new set of rules and regulations to keep them and the staff as safe as possible in these times of pandemic.  My Granddaughter, Ellie, is amongst the children who are transferring from primary school to secondary school - from being big fish in small ponds to very small fish indeed. It had me thinking about my own experience of arriving at Harborne Hill School in Birmingham.   My prayers this week are for all those 11 year olds! Times were rather different of course and it seemed sanctioned ritual humiliation of new children was the order of the day rather than the taster days and close consultations of today. So there follows some of my recollections of secondary school leaving out the clips round the ear from the rugby playing history teacher, the dumping in the stinging nettles on the way home and the cunning ways I developed to stay out of ham's way.... At the age of eleven, in new green blazer (all other years wore black blazers) and shorts (compulsory for first years so the older ones knew who to humiliate) I set off for Harborne Hill School –the secondary modern with the best reputation in the area. The head was Daisy Hill, a remarkable lady who knew everyone’s name by magic and had secret powers that would make bullies weep and the cock-sure tremble. She was also very caring; when I had a bout of asthma and was unwell at school she took me home in her own car because Dad was away and couldn’t collect me. The deputy head was Miss Bonham, a strangely carved figure-head of a woman with a wedge shaped bosom that could have provided a safe platform for a three course meal were she to be leaning backwards against a wall. Her mouth was a short, thin, deep red smear. Her tiny lips protruded slightly in amongst the flesh of her face. Her tiny eyes stared out from beneath furrowed brows with an extra-sensory detection of wrong-doing. She was formidable. When her huge frame began to pick up sped towards the latest student crime her flat back brogues would clomp the corridors with increasing pace as her muscular calves as thick as footballers thighs trundled her huge frame onwards. Crowds of children would part in her wake, corridors would clear, fights break up as if by magic and heads would be held still. Some were bowed in supplication, or pleading, some held high with pride or daring, some pretended that nothing was untoward, but Miss Bonham knew. With deadly accuracy, names were spat across the room and children summoned to meet their doom. She taught geography.I hated all school but I particularly hated secondary school. I hated the uniform, I hated the bullies, I hated the playtimes and I hated school dinners. I hated the journey to school and the journey home but there were a few redeeming features such…

Last Blog until September! Having just seen  £143.88 disappear from my bank account for the ZOOM subscription for the next 12 months I am hoping I shall not need it quite so much but it has been useful for Morning Prayer, Spiritual direction, chaplaincy meetings and readers in training ... so it has shown its value.... I am sure there will be things that will never leave the online forum now that we have it.  We had the Wardens Group this week, on Zoom, where we looked at the report and recommendations for the future of Reader Ministry among other things and it is pleasing that there is a plan of action which has apportioned various sections to the people who can do something about them.  I am still hopeful that I shall retain my Reader license in October 2022 and not have to seek permission to officiate after I hit the spurious target of 70 in February! We shall see! I have had some interesting conversations about Living in Love and Faith with Readers in the last few weeks, although nobody else has come forward wanting to do the course. Bishop Hugh tells me that many parishes are due to begin face to face courses in the Autumn and that the time period has been extended.  I have a feeling that because the issues do not affect some people personally, that they don't see the need to do the course. It is a bit like saying, "well I know I am not racist, therefore I have no need of doing an equalities course."      So one last plea..... please, as Licensed Lay Ministers (or those who have permission to officiate) please do register with the Church of England Living in Love and Faith site and at least watch the story videos even if you don't look at the course material. Personally, I think as Ministers in Ministry teams we should be leading the way and  enabling the discussions....   I am having a break from doing Morning Prayer each morning on ZOOM, although the ZOOM prayer room will be open for folks to drop in. here are a couple of useful links for materials to lead morning prayer online: Morning Prayer (Contemporary) on Saturday 31 July 2021 | The Church of England Morning Prayer - Northumbria Community If you have any other suitable sites please let me know.  Next Saturday Morning  7th August I shall break my ZOOM fast leading the Post Licensing Group in some sessions about Worship which we will begin at 9:00 on the Morning Prayer Link..... with an order for Morning Prayer, unsurprisingly. Others are welcome to join us. Then we are delving into Holy Communion by Extension and looking carefully at the the materials sent out by Bishop Philip. I am taking my first HCBE service at Treleigh tomorrow which should be interesting! Back in September - possibly with a revamped and updated website. Prayers and blessingsJim

From a book called "Fearfully and Wonderfully Weird!" - it made me laugh. Fearfully and Wonderfully Weird: Amazon.co.uk: Peterson, Doug, Tutte, H.Winfield: 9780310287315: Books  SALTS of The Earth  (Matthew 5:13) The first part of this week the tide was out far enough to exercise the hound at Portreath. There are usually very few people about just after dawn but the holiday season has certainly had an impact if only in the amount of litter left lying about from the barbecues and beach parties from the night before. and sometimes the stray revellers themselves sleeping it off at the top of the beach.  This week I met with a couple from Barnsley, down for a two week stay with their grandchildren. They were on honeymoon, having married at Truro registry office. In the course of a 15 minute chat during which the hound got bored and went down to investigate the flat sea I discovered that he was an ex-coal miner and heard of various exploits and that she had been litter-picking, because that was 'what she did at home'. Later in the week we came across her again with a full bin liner!  What a community minded lady! A true salt of the earth.On Thursday I did a funeral visit to the friendly and welcoming family of a chap who had worked in South Crofty Tin mine and various other places in the local area. A man of a thousand stories the vast majority of which are too rude to tell. He had been brought up in a strict Plymouth Brethren family, his sister becoming a Methodist and him rejecting religion.  This was especially when he was told in no uncertain terms that he was not good enough to attend a funeral function at a local church.. When I asked what the children had inherited character-wise from their dad the reply was, "oh... swearing (laughter) and tattoos and straight talking..... '  The more I sat and listened the more I thought that if one wanted to find Jesus, he would more than likely be sitting with this chap and his family or joining the lady on Portreath Beach to pick litter at dawn.It is a great privilege to be able to listen to people's stories to congratulate them on their weddings and to console them at their family funerals....  what a joy it is to be a Reader.   

Following the email from +Philp this week with materials for the Service of Holy Communion by Extension  - I met with our Rector, Caspar on Thursday afternoon for a discussion about and exploration of the materials, the issues and the practicalities around making sure that we could do it justice. I note that there is a page on the diocesan website ; Public Worship with Communion by Extension - Truro Diocese : Truro Diocese  unfortunately at the time of writing this there was nothing in it apart from the title.  However here is a link to the excellent PILGRIM course on the Eucharist. The Eucharist (Book 6) (pilgrimcourse.org) If all goes to plan I should be doing my first Holy Communion by Extension Sunday Service at St Stephen's Treleigh in coming weeks if their PCC decides they want me to do it.....  I will be interested to see, More on these services as the year unfolds.  Whatever the outcome of CBE and whether or not we build these services into our rotas as part of the rich tapestry of ministry in Redruth the opportunity to sit and talk at depth about things at the heart of our faith and practice are to be treasured.   The latest from Reader John Wallis - se more of his work here: John Wallis’ – Illustrated Poetry Gallery – Chaplain to Readers in the Diocese of Truro (readers-chaplain.org.uk) or follow him on Facebook for the regular updates.  Happy Golden Wedding Anniversary t Anne and Andrew Hicks for Wednesday 14th!

I have been leading a ZOOM version of the Living in Love and Faith Course which is something of a curate's egg in that some things are very good and others less than efficacious.  The videos which explore the experiences and lives of Christians in different circumstances are by far the best part of the course  and have opened up the greatest amount of discussion and conversation.  The young, but very worthy presenters have had a number of reactions from the group including being rather patronizing, like play school presenters, reminiscent of Chris and Poy and speaking as if the official view of the established church is what "we believe" which, as the group has progressed is inaccurate at best.The thing that has struck me most is the pain that many LGBTQ+ Christians go through in their journeys and specifically the pain caused by attitudes engendered by specific theology or doctrine.My personal take on this from my lofty and somewhat privileged  demographic as an AMHCB (Ageing Middle-class, Heterosexual, Christian, Bloke) is that all our attitudes and opinions should stem from the very simple premise that it is about being good disciples and following Jesus' command that we should love one another as he loved us. Us  AMHCB's are pretty insulated from the difficulties many others face in their journeys so I am only too aware of the way in which pieces like this can sound patronising! Listening, Talking, discussing and learning are important here but more than anything else we should be  seeking to listen to people's stories so that we may understand their situations and have some empathy for their pain. (an that also goes for the issues faced by women, especially women in ministry.) Reader / Licensed Lay Minister Colleagues I do urge you to take part in this, to register and to look at the stories no matter what your theological stance on this.******A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to be on the Church of England Ministry Mentor Directory and signed up to do the training which was very interesting and although I learned nothing new it did affirm that which I did know and have been practicing.During the course I had a conversation with Keiren Bohan who is the coordinator of the Open-Table Network and is a Living in Love and Faith Chaplain and part of the National Team. His organisation seeks to support LGBTQ+ Christians though a network of Churches and it might be helpful to know the links in case you need to pass them on pastorally to help someone..... or indeed if it provokes you to have some more practical response.The Open-Table Network's response to LLF is worth Reading - here.... Open Table Network trustees respond to Church Of England's Living In Love & Faith project — Open Table NetworkI have just purchased a book that poses the question "Is it possible to hold a positive view of same-sex relationships while being a biblically rooted evangelical?"  Jayne Ozanne ed. anthology https://journeysingraceandtruth.com/with contributions from a wide variety of people including several…

The Reader Service October 9th 2021We are hopeful of, and in may ways counting on a service in Truro Cathedral this year which I would like to think will be streamed on the Internet as well for those who cannot join us there. The preparations begin shortly and Reader Claire Saltzman is coordinating the preparations. The Warden's Committee chaired by Bishop Hugh meets on the 27th of this month  where possible preacher, readers etc. will be discussed.  In the last few years those who have been licensed for the first time have been asked to assist with Chalices- I wonder if we will be using them by then!If you are feeling called to preach, lead the intercessions, deacon or read a lesson and would like your name mentioned please do let me know.  When I preached at the service I was asked to choose my own readings and  allowed about eleven minutes.  If you know another Reader whose preaching is outstanding but might not put themselves forward  please do let me know. I did like the hymns suggested by the group about to be licensed but sadly these were vetoed and we were told that we would have the previous year's hymns.If you have any thoughts about the service that you would like the organising group or the Warden's committee to consider please do email me and I will make sure your views are represented.