Vicar's Letter
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We need help and support to continue our work; 01335 342512 if you think you would like to be involved or find out more please contact us: www.sturstongarage.co.uk 07821 042 396 Sturston Garage Limited [email protected] www.earsuk.eu Airfield Industrial Estate, Ashbourne View from the Hill The clocks go back this month. The nights draw in. The garden goes to sleep. Many animals hibernate, or slow down, and some birds fly south for the colder winter months. After we have our ‘flu’ jabs and consider our winter diets; making sure there is enough vitamin D, vitamin C, and carbohydrates (but not sugar!) to keep us warm, we might be planning to avoid slipping on any ice, keeping the car defrosted, and helping the birds to have access to water. Are you tempted to hibernate? It might be an alternative idea to come to life, to explore new ideas, take up a new hobby, read different books, make time to catch up with or meet neighbours, as we stay closer to home. Focusing on things close to home could be the start of an Advent Challenge? With more time in front of, I hope, a warm fire, or wrapped in a blanket, with muffler slippers, we could spend time with our Bible too. There are some helpful Bible reading notes available, which take, maybe, 15 – 20 minutes to read. I went to a Christian Meditation day recently, and have committed to spend time in meditation, as well as morning prayer. I pray that people might notice a change in me as I benefit from time, quiet time, with God. That, along with my Advent retreat, will form the shape of my Autumn and Winter. Of course, there are still many of us who need to rush for the morning school run, walking dogs, shopping, cooking, volunteering, and of course, earning a living. My challenge for myself is to find, at the same time each day, 10 minutes to invest in my Spiritual health, in the same way I work on my physical health. Physical and mental health comes into for example, getting in the garden when the winter sun is shining, keeping my feet dry on a rainy dog walk, chatting with friends and acquaintances, checking on neighbours, sending Christmas cards (can you find some with a Christian message?) and keeping warm at night. Thinking about Spring and Summer trips helps too – it brings us ‘hope’ of the next season. Looking after ourselves in the present, and attending to our Souls, or Spiritual Life for the next life, is an aspect of Christian discipleship we might be tempted to forget. It is the Hope Christians hold, bought dearly for us by Jesus. I hope these ideas help you, as they help me, to remember and hold in balance, enjoyment of this life, and care for the everlasting. Rev Carollyn Bible Study Bible Sunday Luke 4:16-24 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Please read the passage through, spending time on each phrase; is there something that you notice? Finding our way around the Bible isn’t always easy. We might have learned some hints and tips – the order of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or the first few epistles (letters) A,E,I,O,U – GAlatians, Ephesians, PhIlippians, COlossians, U= the two Thessalonians! It is always ok to look the Book up (there are 66 of them!) in the index and find it by page number. Once you have the book, you can find the next number – the chapter, and finally the verses. That’s just the beginning, then comes the exploring of Scripture. Jesus knew the Bible by heart. He knew just where to turn, he’d been studying since he was a boy, all Israelites did, and still do. He knew that there are messages for each of us there, words of instruction, encouragement, hope and comfort waiting to be read, reflected upon and prayed over. Jesus sent us a message in this passage, and this is what I believe it says. Here is Jesus’ commissioning, his vocation, his anointing. And at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asked us, told us, to follow on, to carry on that work. It doesn’t matter where we come from, where we live, we each have a part in this work, as Christians. If you want to explore with someone else what your part might be, give me a call, and we’ll chat over a cuppa. Rev Carollyn Reflections on stained glass windows - Harvest Continuing our tour of our churches in the Benefice, I invite you to visit St Peter’s Parwich. In the side chapel are some treasures, two windows recording all the children aged 14 and under in the village in 2000, and a memorial window with the following quotation O all ye birds of the air bless ye the Lord These two windows, for me, reflect thanksgiving for two aspects of Harvest – both the harvest of children, a legacy of Parwich, a present and a future for the people, and the birds that show God’s beautiful creation so clearly. Each bird designed and made to live and benefit from different wild conditions; birds hunting insects in trees and in the sky, birds which eat grain and seed, birds who clear carrion or eat little mammals, birds of all colours and shapes, fitting into God’s ecology so well. As we remember the harvest in each village community, we can make the links from Creation to the present day, from the early grass seeds to the cultivated cereal crops we enjoy, from fruit, vegetable and seed crops to high yielding varieties tended and harvested today, from original breeds of domesticated animals to the specialist breeds for dairy, beef and leather, lamb and wool that have benefited commerce through the generations. Awareness of nature alongside this work in field and orchard has been more public recently, but I expect that farmers have always known and understood the effects on the birds, bees and little creatures living in hedge, field edge and trees. It is due to the efforts of farmers that the English countryside looks the way it does, such a draw for tourists, walkers, holiday makers and drivers though our county. I can and do spend many minutes each time I am in St Peter’s for morning prayer, studying that window, identifying the birds, and wondering how all the children are now, what their lives have blossomed into, their personalities, skills and gifts emerging, the possible troubles, illnesses and trials they already have faced, and the harvests they will bring in, in whatever roles they play in life, in Parwich and the many far flung places they might now live. The current ‘crop’ of under 14s in the village of Parwich are very special too. It’s good to see them being nurtured and cherished, coached and encouraged, consulted and included in the life of the village, in all its many activities.