Beating a Hasty Retreat
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The Winter 2017 Winter Sunday Services Beating a hasty retreat 8 am Eucharist Towards the end of October, the BBC showed Slow television 10 am Parish Eucharist a three-part series entitled ‘Retreat: followed by refreshments Before you start researching how your Meditations from a Monastery’. The series _____________________ television can pick-up Norwegian or Czech was part of what is called ‘slow television’: a channels, let me reassure you that BBC4 has Church Open term used to describe programmes which produced its own slow television. In 2014 it Unfortunately for the time being show ordinary events, at a slow pace with no showed a three-hour tour of London’s the Church has to be kept narrator or music to distract the viewer. This National Gallery, and has since produced a closed except for during phenomenon began in Norway in 2009 with a two-hour canal trip and a series on skills such services. For details please see seven-hour train journey from Bergen to Oslo as glass blowing and the making of similar article on page 2 being screened in objects by hand. _____________________ real time, with no All of these breaks, music or Christenings, programmes keep dialogue. It might to the slow Weddings, sound about as fun television rules of as watching paint Banns of Marriage no music, no dry, but it was please contact voiceover and incredibly popular, The Revd Felix Smith everything shown with 20% of the Telephone: 01903 753653 in real time. _____________________ population of Reviewers were Norway watching at Editor divided on these least part of the The Revd Felix Smith new programmes, programme. St Michael’s Vicarage some described Norwegian 117, Penhill Road them as ‘the most television then developed this theme, with Lancing, BN15 8HD boring television ever’, others made them further train journeys around the country and E: [email protected] their ‘pick of the week’, describing them as even episodes of reindeer migration and a ‘oddly absorbing’ and ‘soothing’. Either way, pork rib being cooked, all in real time! In the www.stmichaelslancing.org.uk they were a ratings hit, and proved to Czech Republic, slow television even has its be some of the most popular programmes own channel, showing such delights as: a tram /stmichaelslancing on BBC4. lubricating rails in Prague, a bird feeder in Cizova, and a runway at Prague airport (the ‘Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery’ was @smaaalancing last being the most popular of the latest on this theme. In three separate its programmes!). episodes, each sixty minutes in length, it The Net 2 showed the inner workings of three Benedictine Abbeys quality which helps people to ‘tune in’ to a more reflective state throughout the UK: Downside, Pluscarden and Belmont. We of mind, and so experience something of God. In our prayers saw the monks go about their daily lives: waking up, eating, and worship we seek to achieve our own version of a retreat, praying, singing and so on. We also saw the beauty of the even if it’s only for an hour on a Sunday, by providing a space Abbeys, the buildings and their grounds; lengthy shots of the for stillness, reflection, joy and prayerfulness which is so sunlight streaming through the windows of the chapels or the desperately needed in our busy and overcrowded lives. flowers being watered. It showed how each monk is involved in a different area of the community’s life, and there were long scenes of Father Christopher making bread and Father Michael carving a prayer desk. I watched the first episode with my hand on the remote, expecting to be so bored that I would want to switch over to something else within the first few minutes. However, within five minutes I was hooked! Watching the slow movements of the monks, their prayerfulness and their silence made me feel calmer, more relaxed and at peace. In a sense, I felt like I had been on retreat with them. Focus on what matters Retreat is a word with mixed meanings. We sometimes hear the Make your own retreat phrase ‘beating a hasty retreat’, meaning running away from So whether you’re into slow television, or you like to live life in something we don’t want to deal with. In the Christian the fast lane, St. Michael’s church is somewhere where you can tradition, however, a retreat is a positive thing. It’s not a retreat from the worries and busyness of everyday life, and find method of running away from the ‘reality’ of our day-to-day a space for silence, solitude and reflection. The church is a lives, but a way of stepping outside the noise, the busyness and wonderful place to visit for silent prayer or just to sit quietly, the distractions of the world around us, to focus on the things and our short midweek services provide a time for prayerful that really matter. Christians believe that, when we do this, we reflection. Sometimes in life we need to ‘beat a hasty retreat’, can often begin to hear our true selves and become more not to escape or run away from something but to put our lives attuned to recognising God’s presence in our lives. into perspective, and to realise once again what has true The monks do this daily, through their reading of scriptures, meaning to us. It’s by doing this singing the prayers of the day (called the Divine Office) and that we can begin to discover who their manual work. For the rest of us, this can be more difficult, we really are and, through this, who as we seek to find a space for quiet reflection in our busy lives. God is too. For Christians, coming to church serves as a chance to have a Father Felix Smith mini-retreat each week. People often say when they come into St. Michael’s church, that they feel a great sense of peace and stillness; there is a sense that the building itself has a special A new heating system for St Michael’s For a number of years the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St means there will be heat this winter but the church will have to Michael and All Angels, Lancing has looked for the opportunity remain closed outside of service times for safety reasons. This to renew the heating system in the church. It was served by the is not a decision we have taken lightly and we plan to reopen original “John Grundy” system (1924) which was so inefficient the church once the new heating system is installed or we no and noisy that it had to be shut off before the start of a service. longer need the temporary heaters. The building then cooled rapidly, particularly in the cold winter Fundraising has already started and so far the congregation months leaving the congregation extremely cold. have collectively pledged over £11,000 towards the costs of In 2015 the PCC received a legacy from a late member of the this work. We are also actively applying to grant-making bodies congregation of £20,000 which the PCC decided to dedicate to for assistance from them. replacing the heating system. We were advised to bring in a Having a new heating system will make such a difference to the heating consultant to draw up a detailed specification for our church and our community. It will revolutionise the ways in new system to ensure that we got value for money but above which we can use the church building for concerts, recitals, art all to make sure that it would keep us warm. exhibitions, talks and so much more. Plus anyone attending a Our consultant suggested that an asbestos survey focused on service or event in the church will be warm throughout the removal of our old system would be needed. As a result their visit. asbestos was discovered and needs to be removed before any If you would like to make a donation towards the heating fund work on installing a new system can be started. The affected please send a cheque payable to St Michael and All Angels areas are all self-contained and access is now restricted. The c/o St Michael’s Vicarage, 117 Penhill Road, Lancing, BN15 8HD cost of the removal work is around £16,000. Five quotes are or visit https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/ also being obtained for the new system which could be in the stmichaelandallangels where you can donate online. region of £71,000. Unfortunately our old system is no longer usable but we have borrowed Calor-gas space heaters which The Net 3 5 Minutes with…Aedan Kerney My wife Jill and I have lived in North Lancing, just above couple of ladies – one with a very stylish red hat - used to St James the Less Church, for the past 42 years. Before this approach me every week to let me know how little they had we spent five very happy years living in The Paddocks in enjoyed the hymns that week (too slow, too fast, too South Lancing. boring, sung to the wrong tune, etc.) and from then on I have always personally tried to find at least one thing I I love being involved in activities in our village. In the past really like in every piece of church music I play or sing. Now few weeks I have visited Boundstone Nursery School - I genuinely find every piece of music a favourite of mine. where I’m a governor- several times, run a WI Singing Day, given a talk about Lancing 100 years ago using a power- I like the motto of my Scottish Ramsay family: “Ora at point created from old slides and conducted a concert of labora”.