Reader Day 2023 Saturday 13th May St Petroc’s Church, Priory Road, Bodmin, PL31 2DP. Parking is available at the Priory Park car park, with a short walk across the park. Disabled access is available directly through the level access door and by assistance at the south door. ‘Readers in The Field’ The Harvest Is Plentiful; The Labourers Few 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” [Mt 9 35-38] Aims: To worship our Lord together To encourage Readers to feel valued To think together about the calling of Readers as ‘Community Theologians…’ To update Readers on Next steps on the way, including Deanery plans and the Diocesan plan To consider, individually and as a community of Readers, our part in the changes taking place Timetable 9.30am Refreshments please sign for workshops 10am Welcome 10.10am Opening Worship 10.30am Bishop Hugh On the Way, the Deanery plans and the Diocesan plan; with a time for questions and answers 11.15am Refreshments please sign for workshops 11.40am Dr John Ievins & Jim Seth An introduction to the phrase, ‘Community theologians who preach, teach and enable everyday faith’ * with details of forthcoming training sessions on the three elements: Community theologians; preach, teach and enable; everyday faith * and thoughts from some Readers on what the phrase, ‘Community Theologian’ means to them 12.30pm Lunch [please bring your own] refreshments & chat please sign for workshops 1.30pm Afternoon workshops. 2 workshops of 40 mins each 1.30pm // 2.20pm Local Ministry & Sens Kernewek - Bishop Hugh This session will look at how we are developing Oversight and Local ministry in the diocese, including the content of the Sens Kernewek (Cornish Saints) course and how it equips people to lead a local church. Creation Care & Net Zero - Rev Ben Lillie A faithful response to our inherently green gospel of justice: Revd Ben Lillie diocesan environment officer. The global response to climate crisis is one of the most important headlines on the agenda of young people. How do we as the Church respond with hope, joy and compassion? During this session we will reflect on scripture and walk through practical paths to action, whilst engaging in our diocesan environment strategy to Cherish Creation, Cut Carbon, Speak Up. Serving Our Communities - Rev Haley Preston Chaplaincy and Ministry within the Care Sector. This workshop will be a fun and interactive session looking at the diverse needs of those who live and work within residential care communities, and how we can begin to understand and meet those needs through presence, creativity, worship and pastoral care. Intergenerational Church - Archdeacon…
On Saturday I took my second funeral of the week.... the first was for an elderly chap from a lovely friendly family that I met for the first time. The second funeral was a complete contrast. Anna, who died aged 47 had asked me to do her funeral and I helped her to plan it a year ago. I knew her from my days of teaching in Primary School because she had been in my class for thre years running from the aged of 9 to 11. I taught her friends and I taught her brother Adam - I wanted, more than ever, to make sure this one was right! The funeral was at St Andrews, where I am at church most often which was helpful because I have keys, know where everything is and we have a projector and screen which meant I could do a slide show with collected images. Anna had sent me a collection... but I also had an archive of ones taken at school camps, school disco and in the classroom so that meant trawling through and reliving old memories.... Anna had wanted the funeral to be an informal celebration and had asked for a song from school camps, "Little Eyes" so my ancient EKO 12 string guitar was bought back into service and a mass sing-a-long of 250 voices raised the spirits and made what might have been a mournful occasion, a joyous one. We arranged that there would be a direct cremation because there were no appropriate Saturday cremation slots and so that the family, rather than being whisked away, could stay with the rest of the congregation for tea and pasties in the church. We thought there might be 150 people there but it was over 250 with fiends, neigbours, old school friends and work colleagues. With mothering Sunday, the day after the funeral the church was decorated with hundreds of daffodils donated by a friend of Anna's. A full church, brightly decorated, everything in place.... all I had to do was lead it. Anna had been a clinical physicist - with responsibility for the radiography equipment in the Treliske Sunrise Centre so when I read about that and briefly thought of the number of folk I know, including my wife Lez, who had benefited there was a moment when I had to take a pause and hold emotion in check. The other moment was when reading about the time in my classroom and the friends I had mention, four of whom had come to the funeral- it was so touching that they had kept contact over three decades! It was a long, long day with setting up and rehearsing in the morning, with Anna's youngest son carrying the cross in procession, then the service with the longest reading of Eulogies I had ever done and finally the tea pasties and chatter afterwards. I was shattered by 5 o'clock but it was worth the effort. Our organist, Lynne, received much praise too choosing lively arrangements of the…
Chaplain’s Blog Stardate 22/01/2023 Give me a pulpit or a chance to preach and I am in my element - it does not matter whether it is to two or two hundred. When preaching one has a certain authority, a certain distance and generally the people listening want to hear what you have to say about faith matters but outside church I find it very hard to strike up conversations about faith.I am hopeless at evangelising folks I meet in the street, offering to pray for them and the sort of joyous thing that others seem to do with ease. My workplace was always a school and there was little faith conversation away from assemblies.The on the spot evangelism or faith conversation is right out of my comfort zone, however.....Stopping to chat or to listen to people's stories and praying my own private prayers for them is something I do often. I thought the following two examples worthy of writing about and hope that it might inspire some of you to put pen to paper about chance encounters that have inspired you to prayer. Thought for the Day – Epiphany IV - This link is for Peter Coster's Thought for the day this week. He attended a Leadership Safeguarding Course and makes some very interesting points. Quiet Day at Epiphany House on February 10th - details Storytelling and Building Everyday Faith led by Jim Seth – Epiphany House Chance encounters – PC Binnie Most days I spend an hour or two walking with Barney a.k.a. Mr Dog the energetic collie. He attracts quite a lot of attention, especially when he sits patiently waiting for people to pass, looking up with a sort of RSPCA expression that pleads for interaction. Brief conversations with other dog-walkers are fairly frequent but the occasional longer conversations are things to be treasured. Mr Binnie is a long-retired policeman who must be well into his 80s, who I often see but yesterday I met him twice and listened to his stories both times. The first, as I was about to ascend the long sloping bridle path to the Wheal Euny mine, was about the day he had been instructed to investigate a body that had been found in the brambles at the side of the path. It was a sad story about an old farmer who had been in Barncoose Hospital (once the Redruth Workhouse) suffering with dementia. Somehow, he had evaded the security system and wandered out and made his way the mile or so to where he was found some ten hot July days later. Mr Binnie’s description of the task faced by the police that day was graphic but I won’t go into maggoty details here! The second time we met outside the infant school as we were a few hundred yards from our homes. I greeted him with, “no bodies to be seen!” Mr Binnie chuckled and asked, “did I ever tell you about the time I was shot?” Well…. You have to…
Greetings Reader / LLM colleagues and esteemed others! Having has a chest infection right across the Christmas period I am only just beginning to get some energy and motivation to do something more other than be dragged out for a daily dog walk by Barney the energetic collie! Thankfully antibiotics came to the rescue at the right time, but the festive season seemed to pass in something of a blur with the tastiest treat being max strength Lemsip! I am quite certain that I won’t have been the only minister in the diocese to have to miss out. On that note…. The Prayer List! Reader, Joy Gunter, and others have a vocation to pray of others who are suffering and would really appreciate a focussed up to date list. If you would someone put on the list or if you would like to be on the list yourself please let me know. I will only send the list to those Readers who request it for their own prayers. Those we have lost and making the most of each day. In the past year we have lost a number of friends through various illnesses, some well before they should have died. Some have been members of one of our churches and others have been friends from elsewhere but each one has underlined how important it is to make the most of each day. One of those who died recently and whose funeral I will attend remotely was in the first Sunday School class I taught at St Euny Church way back in late 1978- which in many ways marks the beginning of my path to ministry. Simon died in his late 50s as the much loved and respected headteacher of an International School in Pakistan. When Lez and I first met Simon, I had just taken a job teaching nine year olds at Stithians School and was reeling somewhat at the contrast with teaching in North London where fast, sharp wit was the order of the day. My first class in Stithians stared at me with some bemusement. Simon and that Sunday school group provided some respite from the puzzled faces of that first village class. He was a Truro school student who came as a pair with his friend Mike. At the age of 12 he wore a cravat and held some quite right-wing opinions setting himself as a fair target for my teasing. Like many young teenagers he had a tricky time negotiating life with his parents and so he spent increasing amounts of time at our house where he enjoyed the discussions and demolition of some of his wilder opinions. Simon and Mike once decided they would amuse themselves on the tricycle bought for our children who were quite young. Simon pedalled, knees sticking out at an odd angle, while Mike stood on the back. Much jollity was had until Simon forgot to steer and they ended up in the flower bed – the front forks bent beyond repair! When the curate moved up to Pencoys…