The Place of Worship

This is where I live!  Well, not exactly. This is a photograph of the church which stood on the site of the Manse I now live in.  It was a Bible Christian Church (one of the streams of Methodism that reunited into one in 1932) and The Manse was, as far as I can tell, built to the same footprint and possibly on the same foundations.  So I guess you could say I live in a place of worship.  It reminds me of one school child who thought that I lived in the church building :-).

Part of my Sabbatical theme is being in places of worship.  I am looking at places that have congregations on a Sunday of over 500.  I have mentioned my visits in past blogs but I have still to share about the most recent visits.

The first of these was to Christ Church Winchester http://www.ccwinch.org.uk/ on 25th May, where we were pleased to share in worship with the good folk there and where Jude Greenfield conducted worship and Revd Dave Fenton was the preacher.  Dave spoke on the theme of "Loving God" based on Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Mark 12:28-34.  Dave spoke about attributes of God that prompt us to love him. He said that God has a unique nature (there is no other), that his work of love started with the initiative of him loving us, that he promises good things (he made a garden for us in the beginning).

Today (8th June - Pentecost) I did not venture so far and shared in worship at St Mary's, Longfleet, Poole.   http://www.smlpoole.org.uk/  Here David Betts preached on the theme of Pentecost under the heading "Champagne for the Soul - Receiving More". He challenged us to recognise that receiving and using the gifts God gives depends on us keeping in balance "The Truth of the Word" and "The Power of the Spirit".  We were invited to receive whatever God wanted to give us and to allow any blockages to be taken away.  Towards the end of the service there was a time of ministry where the whole congregation invited the Holy Spirit to come upon us again.

I value the opportunity and privilege during this Sabbatical to share in worship with God's people in different places.  I do believe so strongly that a Christian's prime obligation is to worship God.  As the Westminster Catechism put it "Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."    (Apologies for exclusive language.)  Why do Christians sometimes think it is OK to take time off from worship; that it can come second to other things?  There are no other things that are more important.

The central place of worship and the central place of the life of the Church within our own discipleship should not be dumbed down into simply meaning going to church (important as that is) - attending church services if you like.  Worship is about so much more than going to a building.  As I mentioned earlier part of my Sabbatical theme is being in places of worship.  These are physical places that I briefly visit and then leave again.  In the end there is a greater challenge and that links with my other comment about where I live, and where I live is in a place of worship (or at least it was).  But actually that is the spiritual/theological point isn't it?  Yes church services are important and being connected to the life of the church is important, but does not God call us to live constantly in the place of worship, where our whole life becomes a sacrifice of worship to him, an expression of worship?  Romans 12:1-2 tells us that "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will."   

Are you in the Place of Worship?

Hospitality

On holiday in Turkey with family

Wow, that was good!  Just been in Turkey for a week with my family.  We were in a resort near Fethiye http://www.turkeysforlife.com/p/10-fethiye-must-sees-dos.html  with one of those All Inclusive deals.  Food and Drink was just about permanently on tap.  It made me think of the generous hospitality of God, seen best in the invitation to share at the table of the Lord where we remember the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his friends, with the bread reminding us of his body and the wine reminding us of his blood, and which also offers a foretaste of the heavenly banquet that God invites us all too.  Just think - a limitless supply of all we need to nourish us, freely given - God's gracious provision.

I know it is possible to over romanticise our holidays but I was impressed by an obvious sense of general hospitality which existed
within many of the Turkish people we met and which still seems to be part of the culture.  Apple Tea is offered routinely in many establishments (without charge) just to be courteous and, one evening, with my son-in-law having bought some items from a souvenir type shop, the shopkeeper then gave us a Turkish Keyring each as a gift.  Just a small thing but how lovely.  I rather thought that this sort of thing would be exceedingly rare in England, but how wonderful just to welcome people and to be hospitable and generous.  We celebrated our son's birthday while we were in Turkey, and again I was struck by the fruit and wine that was sent to our room as it was a special day.


These were not the only examples we had of generous hospitality over the last week or so.  My wife Nicola and I were very impressed with the facilities at Gatwick Airport for Special Assistance.  We usually have to use a wheelchair in airports and have assistance to enter the aircraft because steps are difficult.  The facilities and organisation at Gatwick were superb.  And at the other end at Dalaman it was pretty good too.  People put themselves out to help in a whole variety of ways.

Enjoying swimming in the pool

Some of the food and drink
we were treated to

I think it would be really good to see generosity and hospitality developing more both in our lives as individuals and also in society.  I feel in this country we have become to individualistic, too liable to treat as a priority our own comforts rather than the comforts and wellbeing of others.  This is unlike our God who, entering into the world in Christ gave up the comforts of heaven to welcome us into the eternal love of God. Thanks for the 'ospitality Guv (or God in that case).  Perhaps we can reflect that same hospitality in our own lives.  And maybe we can reflect on whether we will receive God's generous, hospitable, invitation to enter into his Kingdom and his eternal love.

By the way anyone got any use for 4.5 Turkish Lira? :-)

Sabbatical 2014: I can see you! A sign of the times?

Sabbatical 2014: I can see you! A sign of the times?: ANPR .  I wonder do you recognise those initials?  Perhaps you have heard them referred to on the television programme "Road Wars"...

I can see you! A sign of the times?

ANPR.  I wonder do you recognise those initials?  Perhaps you have heard them referred to on the television programme "Road Wars".  The initials stand for Automatic Number Plate Recognition.  Britain is alive with ANPR.  This has been a helpful piece of technology for the Police and those charged with ensuring that cars are appropriately taxed and insured.  As a Police Chaplain I understand and appreciate that the ability to use technology to discover whether someone is evading their responsibilities under the Law, and possibly putting others at risk, is of very great help.  Locally ANPR camers were one of those things put in to help Olympics Security when we held the Sailing events on Portland and in Weymouth in 2012.  Other venues probably had the same provision on their approach roads into their area.

But ANPR is not confined to the Police or related agencies.  It is in use all over the place.  It might be used at airports where one has pre-booked a parking place and everything is automated so that when you turn up at the car park the ANPR camera reads your number plate and lets you in. The same thing happens when you leave.  No human needs lift a barrier or check who you are.  The computer does it instead.

So far I am pretty much OK with this (not that anyone is going to change anything even if I am not!!!).  However, ANPR creep has reached places which are just completely incovenient and the worst of these is shoppers car parks, particularly those on retail parks or in supermarkets near to other places of interest.  If you haven't realised it already then have a very good look as you enter supermarket car parks and other retail parks.  In many of them you will see small cameras sited at the entrance to record when you come and go.  Those controlling this and logging your visit are not usually connected to the shops you visit but to an independent company that makes their profit by (guess what), catching you out and fining you if you overstay or return too quickly.  There are usually signs that tell you this, but the print is often so small most people do not realise what they say.

Today my wife and I visited three separate shops in three separate car parks joined by one small roundabout.  Each car park had its own independent set of ANPR cameras.  The really frustrating thing was that having visited the three shops and then gone to other shops we realised that the best deal was in one of the first shops visited.  Hold on though - if we return we will be fined for returning too soon.  No good asking in the shop for them to do something about it.  Not their responsibility.  Not their company dealing with that.  So we had to park along the road and I walked to the shop to spend £60.00 on some goods.  Hardly a welcoming helpful attitude towards customers.  I feel for those who do not know the cameras are there and who end up paying £60.00 on a fine rather than buying something from a shop!

This is the age we live in.  We are tracked through a good deal of our day, by ANPR cameras and by more and more CCTV.  Don't get me wrong.  I think CCTV can be very helpful in all sorts of situations.  But sometimes you want to feel that real people are communicating with you and not just watching you, or indeed allowing the computer to watch you.  So often nowadays contact with each other is at a distance or automated.  It would not be a bad thing to remember the importance of relationships - real relationships.

I have been reminded of that again over the last week.  A week when it has been good, again, to meet so many people and to share time with them (even though I was probably being tracked by CCTV and ANPR cameras as I journeyed).  (Wow that does sound paranoid!!!!)

I have been reminded about the importance of relationships through the wonderful people I have met as I have travelled up to Glasgow and back, and then to Bristol both to provide airport transport and to visit Woodlands Church in Clifton, Bristol.  There was a sense of vibrancy as I entered the church (an old building with a new frontage).  It is always difficult to count the size of a congregation but it felt like there were 450-500 present.  It was good to hear David Mitchell speak about "Calling" based on Paul's letters to the Church in Thessalonica.  David reminded us that in addition to us all sharing the universal calling to follow Jesus (note we are primarily called to someone not something) we also have specific callings within that with a responsibility to discover that calling.  How is God calling you, and me, today?   You can find out more about Woodlands Church by going to http://www.woodlandschurch.net/

And then the thread that runs through those relationships from my point of view is God himself. God who wants to be intimately involved in our lives, who is interested in every detail no matter how small. This is a God who can see everything about us.  He can see right into our lives, into our joys and hurts.  But he is not like an ANPR camera or CCTV.  God sees us because he cares deeply about us.  Unlike the song title "From a Distance" God actually wants to draw close to us and have a relationship with us which is deep and wholesome and healing.  He does this in and through Jesus and if you haven't met with him then I commend him to you.  Just ask him to meet with you.

Cor, Stone Me!

Yesterday was a most fulfilling day.  My wife Nicola and I travelled to Arran.  It was a good crossing from Ardrossan (both going and returning) and we enjoyed some wonderful sights on Arran, including the mountains and deer.  My compliments to ScotRail as well.  Our journey between Glasgow and Ardrossan was via a clean, efficient, on time train with a good number of powerpoints to plug mobile phones and laptops into and free WiFi which was easy and quick to access which meant one did not have to waste a lot of time typing in names, emails, phone numbers etc etc just to get near the internet.

On Arran we visited Sannox Christian Centre.  At present there is an old Congregational Church there but the vision for the retreat centre is BIG!  It will take great faith and commitment and considerable money.  Why not check out the vision online - http://www.sannox.org/

Holding or falling?

While at the site of this exciting Christian vision Nicola took the photograph of me that you see here.  Am I holding up the stone or is it holding me up?  Well, if you look from one angle it can look very much like I am indeed superhuman and able to hold up a gigantic stone that is falling over.  In reality of course having leaned forward if the stone was not there I would not have to lean much further before I would tumble and fall flat on my face!  I am certainly not superhuman.

I wonder how often we give the illusion of holding up the things around us?  We may feel we do that with people around us, or situations.  But perhaps sometimes actually it is an illusion and the reality is that we are almost ready to topple.  It may be the very thing we think we are holding up is the only thing stopping us from falling flat on our faces!

The amazing standing stone in the photograph could not be held up by my feeble efforts.  But I could lean my whole strength against it and know that it could hold me up.  This has got to be an image of Jesus.  You can lean on him as forcefully as you like.  He will never let you down.  He will never collapse under us.  He will always be reliable.  He will always stand and will always catch us when we fall.  I believe this fervently with all my heart.

Going Where?

My wife Nicola and I have arrived in Glasgow for a few days where I am trying to catch up on the Church's preparations for the Commonwealth Games. More Than Gold 2014 is the ecumenical co-ordinating body for much activity and I praise God for all they are doing.  The Church in Scotland has a tremendous opportunity to share good news in word and deed.  Those who pray please support them.  This might be God's opportunity for Scotland to move forward generally and the Church in Scotland specifically.  I am looking forward to two further visits to Scotland to engage with More Than Gold 2014 before the Commonwealth Games start.

While in Glasgow reflecting on the opportunity to move forward with God  I saw two roads (see photographs).  It made me wonder how many of us are poised to move forward in our lives.  Perhaps we have been travelling a road that is going nowhere.  Perhaps we have come across an obstacle.  Maybe we have chosen the wrong road.

Nicola and I shared lunch today with Revd Alan Anderson and his wife Sheila at a beautiful place called "The House for an Art Lover".  As we pottered outside afterwards and made our way back to the car park there was a narrow path which took us to the car park.  Alan pointed out there is a narrow way, just as Jesus said.  Jesus spoke about a narrow way that leads to eternal life and a wide road that leads to destruction.  Which one are we on?  Where are we going?

Revd Terry Wright in the Worship area of one of his churches

I am so grateful to Revd Terry Wright who has shown me some of the Commonwealth Games venues during my visit and who pointed out the road in the air (intended I believe to be the Inner Ring Road at one point).  It was good to hear what Terry and his churches will be up to for the Commonwealth Games.

As I observe what is happening in Glasgow  I am prompted to think back to 2012 when I was privileged to serve together with The Church in Weymouth and Portland as we sought to respond to the opportunities presented by being the venue for the Sailing events in the Olympics.  I am struck again at how many people can be moving in the wrong direction in life and how those of us who follow Christ have an absolute responsibility to make known Christ's way.

Border Crossing

I've been reflecting on boundaries and borders.  Who crosses them and who is entitled to?  I confess that, with my wife being disabled, one thing we both keep an eye on is those who feel quite able to park in disabled parking spaces even though they might not suffer a disability that would mean they could apply for a Blue Badge.  Supermarkets seem remarkably relaxed about ensuring such spaces are used properly whilst ensuring that someone can reap the profits of automatic number plate recognition technology by fining those who dare to return to the supermarket too quickly!  Oh of course that is money!  I have to be honest and say that time and time again, particularly in schools where there are disabled parking spaces, I see vans parked there (presumably because they are usually slightly bigger and nearer the entrance of the particular establishments.).  Vans are not the only culprits though and drivers of cars dropping off or just wanting to nip in for a moment can be found in fairly frequent supply.  I had just walked back home from a local school the other day, and en route passed the local chemist where there is space for two cars with disabled badges outside.   There I observed a car in the designated disabled space which showed no evidence of needing special parking facilities.  This one had a parking ticket on it though.  Was it wrong of me to smile?  But then there is a whole new topic on traffic wardens and whether the huge number that seem to be around is cost effective or just a way of Councils seeking to drive up income.  Another day perhaps.  Anyway it is clear that for some having designated, clearly marked spaces for disabled drivers or passengers is something that can easily be disregarded.  When should boundaries be observed and when do we have the right to ignore the boundaries?

Boundaries and Borders continued to be the theme of the week when members of my family were seriously inconvenienced and nearly had to rearrange a holiday because the UK Passport Office were, in my personal view, completely ineffective and inefficient.  I will cut a long story short but it involves Passports going missing and birth certificates being lost and an incredibly relaxed attitude to all of that, with the angst and worry of not getting passports in time exacerbated by the way that one cannot access the Passport Office direct.  The numbers given are effectively Call Centres and they leave a message for the Passport Office to ring back (which in this case they did not).  It was only when Oliver Letwin MP got involved that things moved very quickly and all was put right.  Passports have arrived!  Yippee!  Birth certificates of two children still lost.  At least my family will be able to cross the borders they need to for their holiday.  Thank you Oliver Letwin.

The Kingdom of God is interesting in that it has open borders.  All courtesy of the frontiersman Jesus who broke down barriers of sin and death that would keep us out of God's kingdom.  As we face European and local elections in the near future it is fascinating to find that so many political debates tend to focus on how to keep people out.  Praise God that he has opened the way and no border guard can say no when we have a spiritual passport in and through Jesus.  Which borders have you crossed recently?  Where have you tried to keep people out?  Where do we need to welcome people?

Very many thanks to New Community Church in Southampton based in the old Methodist Central Hall.  It was good to share in worship with them last Sunday.  The sermon started off based on Psalm 139:7-12 and Colossians 1:17 with the overall theme of "God is with us".  Main points of the sermon:
God is Everywhere;
God is more evident when God's people gather together;
God is with us in a special way in our worship;
God manifests his presence with us at particular times and through particular experiences;
God's presence is in us.

That is Good News!

Good news indeed and ably supported with various other Bible references.

Why not visit the New Community Church website - http://www.newcommunity.org.uk - or better still, why not visit them in person?

More locally it was good to slip into All Saints Church, Easton, on Sunday evening to share in the service of celebration commemorating 100 years since the foundation stone was laid.  This Civic Service was well supported.  I sometimes think that our society does not really understand the strong and stabilising influence the Church has brought to our society.  Yes we make mistakes in the Church, but the longevity and consistency brings something special in terms of social cohesion.  Why is that?  Because we are founded on a rock - not Portland Rock (although that is a pretty good foundation in this world!).  No, ultimately we are founded on Jesus himself.  And that is as well founded and grounded as you can get!!!!!