Author: Jim Seth

Every year at St Andrew's Redruth Mary & Joseph set out during advent for their journey to Bethlehem via lots of houses where they stay overnight for prayer. It is based on the Mexican tradition of Posada. This year we have had to do it differently fearing that transferring a box of figures, candles and prayer cards from house to house would not be sensible in Covid tide we made 25 sets of small figures and my wife Lez painstakingly put together a prayer card and thoughts for each day. The quotations and prayers for each day are under the next article. Pastoral Telephony - in praise of the telephonists! Some people are brilliant at telephoning! Lez phones some of the ladies in the ST Andrews 'Crafty People' group when they would normally be meeting for their weekly social crafting in non corvid times - especially if she knows hey are on their own. Many of our Readers have almost swapped their preaching, teaching and open the book ministries for a life on the telephone and I do admire and give thanks for them.   I hate making telephone calls. I really hate making telephone calls. I don't mind receiving them.... but I am so far out of my comfort zone just picking up the phone to have a chat that it makes me put it off by tying to find other things to do. I can stand up and talk to hundreds without problem, make YouTube videos, tell stories but phoning gives me the heebie-jeebies! So don't think that your ministry, whether you are a reader or 'just' a member of the congregation making calls to check up on folks is a little thing! It is not! It's a gift and you are called to do it. You telephonists are wonderful!  St Andrew’s Posada 2020Thank you for taking part in the Posada this year. You should have received 2 Nativity characters (Mary and Joseph), a candle, a daily prayer sheet and a list of names. Below are the instructions of what to do. Each day:-Set aside some time to spend with Mary and JosephLight a candleReflect on and pray for the topic of the dayPray for an individual/a family from the list of names (there are 26 so you will be able to pray for everyone on the list by the end of the Posada)Sunday 29th December“A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” (Lao Tzu)Reflect on and pray for those walking into the unknown, those setting out on difficult journeys, your own Advent journey. Monday 30th December“The angel comes, his tidings ring on the air like bells…..and when he goes, he leaves a feather in your belly” (Steven Waling)Reflect on and pray for pregnant women, those with a new baby, those who have suffered the loss of a child. Tuesday 1st December“All happy families resemble one another. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Leo Tolstoy)Reflect on and pray for single parents, families who are in turmoil, children…

It was wonderful to see so many faces on ZOOM in our Reader'sconversations with +Hugh. Some really important and interesting issues were raised and conversations and consultations have already begun on some matters. Watch this space for more on suporting Readers in a time of Transition and afterwards for example!  Some useful links to resources mentioned in the course of discussions this week.Here’s the ‘Letter to your future self’ website - https://www.futureme.org/This is the national C of E phone line with prayers, hymns and reflections - https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches/daily-hope-phone-linehttp://www.anglicancursillo.co.uk/Resourcing Sunday to Saturday  Faith From Anecdote to Evidence Report The Saint's Way- being more confident in our calling XR - Extinction Rebellion (Reader Lesley Mitchell) mentioned this Cornwall - XR South West (xrsw.uk)  I was grateful to those folk who helped with the worship, shared their experiences gave words of encouragement.It is lovely to meet faceto face, but really I would not like to lose ZOOM once the virus crisis has abated. There are many fol who cannot travel easily in Cornwall and those who are always restricted so the convenience of ZOOM is a blessing. Our Monday morning meetings have featured folk from Penzance and the Lizard to Linkenhorne and Looe all from the comfort of their own chairs. Some drop in for a quick chat before other duties call, some stay for the morning for conversations ranging from our favourite Monty Python sketches to Racism in the Church of England. 

  Dear All.... In the darkening days of winter as we head towards the longest night and the coldest months when we are weighed down by Covid of the threat of a lonely Christmas, the lack of hugs, of not singing carols in church, of being trapped it is easy to slip into a spiral of melancholy. But there is always something we can do, something to show we are awake and alert and looking for he light, something to show that we are ready to follow our Lord’s commands and to be ready for His eventual return. You may not think what you do counts….. especially if you compare yourself with the importance of a doctor or a prime minister  or a priest but God loves everyone equally and values their contributions. So if you feel a little weighed down and despondent, that you are doing very little by being at home take heart from the true tale  from the book  Dirty Glory by Pete Grieg, about the Hebridean revival –it is worth reading. Caspar gave a copy to each of the ministry team a few years ago and although we have used this illustration before it is worth reading again……. And then thinking about what God is calling you to do. The Hebridean revival began in the tiny village of Barvas on the Isle of Lewis, where two elderly sisters, Christine and Peggy Smith, were sitting by their peat fire lost in prayer. One of them was eighty-two, bent double with arthritis and the other was eighty-four and blind. They couldn’t do much, but they could certainly still pray, and on this particular night their souls were burdened deeply by the complete absence of young people from the church across the fields. Outside the moon hung high in the sky and the windswept in from the sea, but inside the fire sighed and crackled, casting gentle shadows across the room as the Smith sisters poured out their hearts to heaven in their native Gaelic tongue. Suddenly one of the women received a vision of young people filling the church. It was as simple as that – the sort of thing we might gloss over in many of our meetings today. But these two old prayer warriors were not so flippant. They summoned the minister to their house the following morning and informed him quite unequivocally that he would be needing to get ready. ‘Revival is coming.’ ‘What do you suggest I do?’ he asked a little helplessly. ‘What should you do?’ they gasped. ‘You should pray, man!’ And then these two octogenarian saints proposed a deal. ‘If you will gather your elders and pray in the barn at the other end of the village at least two nights per week,’ they said, ‘we will do the same here from ten at night ‘til three in the morning.’ And so a remarkable series of late-night prayer meetings began in the village of Barvas on the Isle of Lewis in…

I posted this originally around remembrance day because it contains some war time memories of life as a prisoner of war but I have such a positive response from those who watched it that I have reposted.  My father comes across as a phlegmatic and unflappable character even in the most difficult of situations. He comments that he might have become a minister if times had been different- I wonder what sort of a minister he would have been? https://youtu.be/OvZO8ZB45-Y

Reader, Roy Cooper, of Sundy scribblings fame sent me this  following reading the Church Times. Hello Jim, I found this in this week's Church Times so I thought I would pass it on. I had a look at the first few questions....... and put it aside to do later! :)  https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/20-november/news/uk/how-are-we-doing-on-faith-uk-government-launches-online-survey It's a link to a Government website that's taking a survey about faith. I think we should all do this and wondered if you might like to include it in your blog.The URL to the actual survey is this:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/independent-faith-engagement-review-call-for-evidence BRRoy

The Redruth Ministry Team attended the bishops study day this week in place of our usual weekly staff meeting and a thought-provoking and interesting experience it was although I found the breakout room experience to be quite hard work.   The diocesan website has a page of resources from it so if you did not go you can get a hint at what you missed, Mark’s presentations: https://trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/ministry/setting-gods-people-free/ The LICC website is: https://licc.org.uk/ The Everyday Faith (national church) resources are here: https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/everyday-faith AMDTalks Small group session on Living for God; Whole life discipleship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNC3O1tR9DI&t=190s

It is interesting, who does, and who does not engage with social media.  Firstly TWITTER:   I love seeing Reader @JamesWonnacott James Wonacott's bold posts on Twitter even though we largely disagree on many of them:) I probably prefer the posts from BOD - the  Franciscan Hermit @thecarceri which are invariably uplifting and certainly spiritually thought proving as well as an excellent resource for prayer.  https://twitter.com/TheCarceri/status/1329180500829888525 Is an example for those restless nights. Other dedicated Tweeters (Twitterati?) include the archdeacon and Bishop Philip whose posts are always interesting.  My twitter account is @Trewirgies  On a spiritual direction course I was on the presenter glibly described Facebook as "Facade-Book!" and dismissed it with a flick of the hand. But in these times when folks have been kept apart and are often lonely, social media can be a blessing. Yes -there are certainly things wrong with it and perhaps we should be doing something about that but if you have not used it- don't knock it.... it is someone's lifeline.  Facebook is a different beast and  interesting in a different way. The images in this article are collected from Twitter where these 'memes' proliferate. One of the best things are the Group pages such as the Diocese of Truro Let's Support Each Other discussion group where the great and the good from the staff at Church house to the Bishops and from Perran Gay on Scilly to folks on and over the English border. Well worth watching.  I have a lot of contacts who are ex-students or their parents and it is wonderful to see how they are getting on.  But safety is an issue and it is a good idea to use some common sense and use a good password, to hide your friends list and to be circumspect about what one posts.   You can find me here- justclick! 

"My hope to follow Julie......" Bob's Hymn of the Week this week is "O Jesus I have Promised", a hymn which has particular memories for me of secondary school days especially that line in the last verse "my hope to follow duly...." Julie M. was in my class and all the 15 year old  boys behind her would chorus in that hymn.... "my hope to follow Julie...."  She would merely turn and and cast a disdainful and withering glance which silenced the choir. Imagine my delight when I was cast in Hobson's Choice to play opposite Julie playing Maggie who I had to kiss on stage.  I was never the coolest of  lads at school, far from it.... but my street cred. rocketed the day after the first performance....   wherever they are now. Photograph at the bottom of this page!  It was nothing to do with that play (honestly!) that I left that school that year at the age of 15 to go to the local college-( the story of my being asked not to return after the Summer holiday is for another time:) ) but that was a sudden end to my friendships with any of that group so I think of all those lads who wanted to follow Julie where I went on, eventually,  to 'follow duly in His strength alone..... ' and spare a thought and a prayer for Julie and the rest of that cohort  Social Media Memes of thee week.... Mental Health and wellbeing in schools- a focus for prayer. This week as a School Governor I attended a Webinar about Well-Being and Mental Health in Schools. Its a Government initiative - it being cheaper to send out a power-point presentation than to make sure there are enough mental health professionals available for schools to use. (Forgive my cynicism / realism) Although I learned little I did not already know it was certainly a salutary reminder about the stresses of working in Schools which have been amplified significantly by the Covid crisis.  It is an issue for staff and children.  The stress on staff this year is incredible - and it is enormous every year. here is a recent post from a teacher about her life - click here.In Cornwall and other areas of deprivation (rural and urban poverty) the knock on effects to mental health in school are predictable.  If you did not see the Simon Reeve on Cornwall programme last week you can see it on BBC iPlayer  -Imagine  how the effects of deprivation described in the programme impact on schools.  Children living in precarious housing and unstable family situations are at terrible risk of all sorts of abuse and schools are expected to be there to pick up the pieces.  Parents can quick to complain, the government is quick to unleash an inspection system designed to undermine confidence and few are there to praise and give thanks for the work they do. So no written  intercessions this week.....  my prayers will be focussed on school staff…

Remembrance is not just about the fallen... https://youtu.be/OvZO8ZB45-YI added some pictures and captions and turned the audio interview into a video - it includes some pictures he took whilst a prisoner of war.  Remembrance_Day - a link to some more stories :)  I was lucky enough to find a cassette tape of an interview my father did for the South Birmingham News paper for the Blind which he edited for many years after he retired from training teachers. In it he describes his experiences of being a prisoner of war following his capture while holding back the enemy forces while the evacuation of Dunkirk took place.  My father spent from 1938 to 1946 serving in the Royal Cameron Highlanders, my mother, who gave up a career as an operatic dancer served in the WRAF as a radar operator..... and my Aunty Betty (a nurse) remained unmarried  for her long life time following the death of her beloved "Scotty" - an ANZAC who dies in WW1 - they are representative of millions who sacrificed much and we remember them as we commemorate the fallen on Remembrance day. Do have a look at Peter Coster's thought-provoking reflections on Remembrance and the evening prayer readings for Sunday...... https://www.readers-chaplain.org.uk/peter-costers-thoughts-for-each-day/ and....Bob's hymn of the day for Remembrance .... here! More Stories Here-  Some more about Betty and Scotty, mother's move from dancer to radar operator  etc from a powerpoint I did for a service a couple of years ago.  What Do Readers need form the CMD programme - and...... what Might they offer? At last Monday morning's Reader's Zoom we were pleased to welcome Rebecca Evans the Diocesan Ministry Development Officer who listened patiently while we talked about what we needed for CMD / courses / training. Rebecca writes: We are currently planning our CMD programme within Truro diocese from January 2021 onwards.  You may be aware that currently we are delivering this training via Zoom and it is open to Clergy and Readers to attend.  We would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to deliver a session, perhaps if you have experience or expertise in a specific area you might like to be involved.  Details of our current programme are available here: https://trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/ministry/cmd/ you will notice along the top the various themed headings under which the different CMD topics fit.  If you would like to be involved or just find out a bit more please do get in touch – Rebecca.Evans@truro.anglican.org  Kind regards  Rebecca   The Development and Support of Reader Ministry in Cornwall The Readers committee meets once every six months and the readers in each deanery are represented by their Deanery Reader Stewards.  Some deaneries like St Austell have a very lively group of Readers who meet on a regular basis, other deaneries where they might only have a few readers, or a lot of readers on light duties do very little and the DRS is largely superfluous.  I posed a question asking if there was any place in modern reader ministry for the DRS considering that with electronic…

Just a draft at the moment!! I have had a ZOOM break this week though obviously not a break from the computer altogether. The last few months has been full on and as my wife will readily testify I have always found small talk and social situations something of a challenge. :)  Having said that I have counted the morning 9am daily ZOOM prayer a blessing and ZOOM Sunday services I have found surprisingly thought-provoking, moving and spirit-filled whereas the couple of  services I have attended in church have proved less efficacious because of the masks and odd situation. So I shall be back zooming at the weekend - hopefully at home relaying the service from St Andrews...... but if I have to be in church... well as all readers, I will do what's needed. Last Saturday morning we had the six monthly meeting of the Readers committee with +Hugh in the chair. It is the committee when the Deanery Reader Stewards meet with the Warden, deputy warden, secretary, and assorted others including the chaplain.  We covered some interesting topics this time. More on the role of the DRS next week.... but at the bottom of this page more on the annual survey- including a better formatted version of the anonymised comments section.   Results of the Annual Reader Survey 2020 2020Annual Return Report 2Click the title to see the statistical side of the report. What conclusions would you draw?More importantly, how do you think church policy should change in response to the report.? 2020 comments summary readers annual survey r2 - a link to the comments section which is really worth reading. Reader Graham Downes (St Austell DRS) asked if anything happened as a result of the survey. My answer was that it was certainly talked about a good deal in all sorts of situations Probably sorting out the plight of an individual has more tangible results than maters of policy or universal issues. However, clergy not understanding readers is hopefully being addressed in the long terms with Readers training alongside clergy these days. Saturday marks the first post licensing training event for those recently licensed which is being organised by reader Martin Adams with the rather grand title of Director of Post Licensing training. As chaplain I shall drop in towards the end of the day on ZOOM but I am leaving them to it for the fist sessions so that I can go to Trebah gardens for a socially distanced walk with the grandchildren.    Last Sunday I preached.... at the Ecumenical 'Café church' service hosted by Camborne Wesley Methodist Church for the local Methodist circuit.  It was wonderful to see so many churches from both communities worshiping together for Bible Sunday and I was relieved to get some good feedback afterwards from a number of them. We readers pour a lot of ourselves and our energy into the services we do often without any comment at all and it is so refreshing when people say that it made them think, or that it…

On Challenge and Common Sense....Reading the news seems a minefield these days and when it is filtered by Social Media the possibilities for disastrous conclusions are amplified many times over. Only this morning, the Times reported that it had uncovered a Russian Fake News plot to discredit the Oxford Covid vaccine trials by spreading false rumours in the countries where it hoped to sell its own vaccine.Each day friends of different political persuasions express opinions about  from how we deal with the current pandemic and the likely consequences to the efficacy of wearing a mask etc etc and many of them quote 'scientists' and other 'experts'  to back up their often contradictory arguments. Without grinding any particular axe or position in the debate I would suggest that it is as well to remember that scientists and other experts are human too and just because science says something now does not mean that it will not be disproved in the future ….. or it might be confirmed. Take some of the following famous quotations from experts:"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility." -- Lee DeForest, inventor"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" --  M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927."It will be years -- not in my time -- before a woman will become Prime Minister." -- Margaret Thatcher, 1974."I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious sensibilities of anyone." -- Charles Darwin, The Origin Of Species, 1869."There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will." -- Albert Einstein, 1932"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943."Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.Not only are people fallible, they are  also influenced by the world around them. A study on respiratory diseases by a tobacco company sponsored research project might lead us to be rightly sceptical of its findings, just as would a an environmental impact report by a Brazilian logging company.My point? Let’s encourage people to question, to challenge and to use common sense. Arguing ourselves into a corner is not helpful and we need to be open to challenging ourselves and our own stances too. Is there a knock-on effect for preaching?Licensing Service(s) The Annual Service for the Readers (licensed Lay Ministers) of the diocese was very different this year being entirely online using ZOOM.  It proved to be a heart-warming and thought-provoking experience with much joyous chat both before and after the service.Bishop Hugh led the service and licensed Roy Cooper from the Calllington Cluster and reaffirmed the licenses of those who had been able to attend the small service in the Cathedral the week before.Debbie Crocker to the Tamar Valley BeneficeMatt Frost…

https://youtu.be/8e--Z_alCxUThe picture above is at the end of the service - the happy faces as Roy puts on his newly awarded Reader's Scarf. (Roy is 2nd from the top on the far right! To the left is the video of the whole service. At about 12:30 I breathed a huge sigh o relief that the service had gone well, poured myself a beer and collapsed in the conservatory.  There were no major technical hitches, the internet, my wi-fi and my computer had all behaved themselves and the service seemed to have been well received with many cheery faces at the end. It is one of the delights of ZOOM that one can see faces rather than the back of people's heads.The next bit is the official 'what happened and to whom' section!The Annual Service for the Readers (licensed Lay Ministers) of the diocese was very different this year being entirely online using ZOOM.  It proved to be a heart-warming and thought-provoking experience with much joyous chat both before and after the service.Bishop Hugh led the service and licensed Roy Cooper from the Calllington Cluster and reaffirmed the licenses of those who had been able to attend the small service in the Cathedral the week before.Debbie Crocker to the Tamar Valley BeneficeMatt Frost to the Benefice of St Germans and SheviokPenny Leach to the Roseland and St MawesSandy Massie to St Keverne, St Ruan, St Grade and Landewednack andDebbie Mitchell to All Saints Highertown and Baldhu.Two Readers came into the diocese and were also part of the serviceChris Clark (PTO) and Michael Waring who is licensed to serve in Poughill & Killhamptonn with Morwenstowe as well as Stratton and LAucells.Liz Lane, who was herself licensed as a Reader only last year preached the sermo and new Reader Roy Cooper led the intercessions.It was also good to be able to thank the Readers who have served in the Diocese but whose services have been lost in the last twelve months. In the last year two Readers have died; Graham Hindle and Lesley Boyden  and a number of Readers are, through varying circumstances, no longer ministering Brenton Blandford,Gloria Street,Margaret DuPlessey,Nina Batley,Angela Hooper,Molly Brown,Tess Dean,Miriam Jones,Lyn Curnow,Chris Kingshott andGarth Wright.The slides of the service can be found in PDF format at the following link. reader service 2020 PDF Slides  Liz Lane's Sermon for Readers' Service - 20th September and 10th October 2020 – St Neot and Zoom Romans 8:31-39 and Luke 12:22-34 Lord, guide my lips, Lord open my heart, let written and spoken words reveal to us your Word.  In the name of our redeemer, teacher and friend, Jesus Christ.  Amen When I was first approached to preach this sermon, in Truro cathedral for the Readers' Service, it was January.  Lots of ideas came into my head; I asked the class of 2019, all with strong opinions, for their thoughts on readings, and I had nearly made my mind up about what this sermon would be about. Then...the world shifted on its axis, and I stopped thinking about a sermon to…