Letter from the Rector – October 2009
September 24, 2009 by Andrew
On Sunday mornings we are looking at the beatitudes, those curious sayings of Jesus which declare blessed those who are meek and merciful, poor in spirit and pure in heart, mourning and hungry, peacemakers and persecuted. Familiar as they are, there is much in them that all of us need to hear afresh.
Most noticeable is the contrast between what Jesus calls blessed in Matthew 5:1-10, and the values by which most people live. I quoted recently these ‘alternative beatitudes’:
Blessed are the pushers, for they get on in the world.
Blessed are the tough, for they never let life hurt them.
Blessed are those who complain, for they get what they want.
Blessed are the blasé, for they never worry over their sins.
Blessed are the slave drivers, for they get results.
Blessed are the knowledgeable men of the world, for they know their way around.
Blessed are the troublemakers, for they get their own way in the end.
Blessed are the popular, for they never lack friends.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, once described the world as a shop window, with all the world has to offer on display. But, he writes, it is as if some practical joker has come in and switched the price tags around, so that worthless things have a high price put on them, and things of real value are rated low. In the beatitudes Jesus gives us those qualities of the highest value and shows up the shallowness of much that our society esteems.
Above all, the beatitudes give us an important reminder of the Christian character, of what those who follow Jesus are to be like. Much of church life is inevitably about activity, things to be done, ideas to be followed through. But the purpose of those activities is to help us become more like Christ; to be merciful, poor in spirit and pure in heart. What we are is every bit as important as what we do.
The Sermon on the Mount is descriptive rather than prescriptive in that it describes what life is to be for those who are part of God’s Kingdom. The apostle Paul writes in a similar vein of the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). In the month we celebrate harvest, let us not forget to look at the harvest of our own lives, and ask that we may live out those qualities which Jesus himself calls blessed.
Nick McKinnel
Press Release: Back to Church Sunday
September 24, 2009 by Andrew
On 27th September, up to half a million people across the country will be inviting someone special to church with them for Back to Church Sunday. Every diocese in the Church of England and many other churches besides are taking part in the initiative this year, by encouraging churchgoers to invite someone they know who used to attend church to come back. Churches will focus on extending an even warmer welcome than usual on the day.
Earlier this week, The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading spoke about the need for the Church to be truly welcoming: “Even today I meet people who think you have to be highly educated or suited and booted to be a person who goes to church. That’s so frustrating. How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks and Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi? Jesus got us started with church simply. Like this: sitting us down in groups on the grass and telling simple stories. Not simplistic. But certainly not complicated. All his first disciples were down-to-earth people who wanted to know what life was all about.”
Churches in Plymouth are no exception and are keen to be welcoming to whomever may come. Both St. Andrew’s Church and Plymouth Christian Centre taking part. Geoff Lee, Lead Pastor at Plymouth Christian Centre in Cattedown said “It’s amazing how many people in Plymouth used to go the church. We’re just happy to be able to open our doors once again to any who wish to come back.”
People may stop coming to church for all sorts of reasons, sometimes as simple as moving house and getting out of the habit. Often, all they need is an invitation to come back and Back to Church Sunday offers the perfect opportunity to return. Speaking of this initiative, Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury added “The Church’s responsibility to welcome all comers isn’t, of course, restricted to one Sunday in the year! But this Sunday in particular prompts us to do a better job of saying to people that we are truly glad to see newcomers and they always have a right to be part of the family.”
Anyone wanting to give church another try this weekend is sure of a warm welcome at any of the following services.
St. Andrew’s Church, Royal Parade:
9.30am Communion, 11.00am Family Service, 6.30pm Informal Service
Plymouth Christian Centre, Cattedown Roundabout:
9:15am Service, 11.00am Family Service, 7.00pm Service with Cafe afterwards.
Mutley Baptist Church, Mutley Plain:
9.00am Morning Worship, 10.30am Family Service, 6.30pm Informal Service
Methodist Central Hall, Eastlake St. (behind Drake Circus Mall):
11.00am Worship, 7.00pm Sunday Night at the Hall.
Letter from the Rector – Sept 2009
September 1, 2009 by Andrew
Taking a look at our new programme card, I think we are in for a great autumn! The highpoint will be the Celebration Service on 29th November when the Bishop of Exeter inaugurates St. Andrew’s as a Minster, an occasion intended not for patting ourselves on the back but to call us to engage with renewed confidence with the life of our community and the wider church. Around that weekend we are planning concerts, services and events to help us mark a notable milestone for our church.
There will be a fresh feel to our staff team as we welcome Steve and Katy Nichols this month. Steve has just completed a PhD through Bristol University and will be ordained at Exeter Cathedral on 13th September (10.30am). He comes as our new curate and another Steve, Steve Carkett, becomes a ministry assistant alongside Gemma-Louise, to help particularly with school’s work and with our youth and children’s activities. Steve C has been a relay worker with UCCF this last year and is already a favourite with the children in Climbers. This may go a little way to filling the gap left as Andy Bowden leaves us to train for ordination. We shall be saying tearful farewells to Andy on 6th September and wishing him well as he heads for Oxford.
Two new sermon series start this month. In the mornings we shall be looking at the disturbing words of Jesus that we know as the beatitudes, where he speaks of how the poor in spirit, the meek and the merciful know God’s blessing. There could hardly be a greater contrast with many of today’s values. And in the evening services we look at the life of Jacob, later called Israel, one of the great Old Testament patriarchs. We shall find him a complicated character, struggling at many times in life, but discovering the faithfulness of God in the midst of an eventful life.
The autumn would be a good time for those who might like to explore a new part of church life. I would be delighted to point people towards one of our homegroups, which provide opportunities for study, prayer and fellowship, and which this term look at the letter to the Ephesians. I shall be taking a Christianity Explored course, a straightforward introduction to the Christian faith from Mark’s gospel, and Andrew is leading our ‘Theology to Go’ course on Monday evenings. And then there’s God@Work for those in the city centre on Thursday lunchtimes, Noah’s Ark if you have small children, ‘Who Let The Dads Out’ on Saturday mornings for Dads, and ‘In Stitches’ should you have a propensity for needlework…not to mention the Mothers Union, lunchclub, TNT… Why not discover a new activity?!
When Jesus calls his disciples it is that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and have authority to drive out demons (Mark 3:14-15). He then prepares them by his teaching and example until, in Mark 6, they are sent out in his service. To be with Jesus, to be taught, and to be sent out are all part of Christian discipleship. May this autumn be a time when as a church we grow in love, in understanding and in service to the One who gave everything for us.
Nick McKinnel