July/August 2008 £1 St Martin s Magazine 1 Sumer is icumen in The famous medieval poem of the title above came originally from Reading Abbey and the manuscript is lodged in the British Library. As such it is one of our most precious and famous works in Middle English and in its brief and at one point bawdy stanza it succeeds in capturing the joy and relief that the warm long days of summer have finally arrived. The actually metrological arrival of summer is of course problematic but for most of us the two summer months when schools close and holidays take place are July and August, exactly the period covered by this newsletter/magazine. Christianity also looks towards a summer fulfilment in a theological sense. This is in terms of the completion of all things when Christ shall come again to judge the world and put all things right. This a theme that in a liturgical sense belongs to pre-Christmas Advent, nevertheless it is always with us for Jesus said that we should be like servants ready and waiting for the return of their master. Typically you can find this in Luke chapter 12 vv 35 48 which has words of commendation for those servants who are faithful and condemnation for those who are not. The general idea being that we should be watchful and waiting at all time, that not doubt would include when we are on the beach or more likely sitting in a traffic jam on the way to the coast! Of course, this could give the wrong impression, as Christianity isn t a never-stopping merry go round, on the contrary we also aspire to the peace of God as described in 2 St Paul s Letter to the Philippians Chapter 4 verse 7. But our faith does demand commitment of the kind that means that there can be no part-time Christians and there is no holiday from the faith. We expect the same of God who is with us night and day and he expects the same of us. It s a bit like our other Christian duties being a Godparent for example is in turn like being married the intention is that it s for life and a relationship with God is the same. I for one will not be taking a summer holiday this year, but please don t feel too sorry for me, as I will be on sabbatical study leave from 1st September until 1st December. I shall be trying desperately to finish my doctorate, which I ve been labouring on for the past 4½ years. It is now up to good GCSE O level standard but I think that my tutors expect something rather better now there s another good analogy for our relationship with God. - But I ll stop as sumer is icumen in and we should enjoy it. Nicholas I apologise for the appearance of this edition of the magazine. It is an emergency measure. Arriving back from one s summer hols to discover that one s email is down AGAIN does not make for a reasoned approach to pagination. Have a good summer, enjoy and take great care of yourselves. We ll be back on Sunday 31st August, A5 format, smiling and relaxed after out summer break. Or someone in BT will be very sorry! Lynne A 3 Many of you will have seen and wondered about the recent marriage ceremony in St Bartholomew the Great. You will be interested to see the correspondence by the Bishop of London on this matter. 18th June 2008 Dear Friends, Many of you will have seen the publicity over the weekend around the service which was held at St Bartholomew the Great on May 31st. I attach a letter I have written to the Rector which sets out the situation as I understand it. So much good work is being done both nationally and internationally by the Church as it seeks in the spirit of Jesus Christ to address some of the global issues of peace, justice and poverty that confront the peoples of the world. It would be a tragedy if this episode were to distract us from the big agenda. With thanks for our partnership in the Gospel. The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres DD FSA 18th June 2008 The Reverend Dr Martin Dudley, St Bartholomew the Great Parish Office, 6 Kinghorn Street, London, EC1A 7HW. 4 Dear Martin, You have sought to justify your actions to the BBC and in various newspapers but have failed more than two weeks after the service to communicate with me. I read in the press that you had been planning this event since November. I find it astonishing that you did not take the opportunity to consult your Bishop. You describe the result as familiar words reordered and reconfigured carrying new meanings. I note that the order of service, which I have now received, includes the phrase With this ring I thee bind, with my body I thee worship . At first sight this seems to break the House of Bishops Guidelines which as I explained in my letter of December 6th 2005 apply the traditional teaching of the Church of England to the new circumstances created by the enactment of Civil Partnerships. The point at issue is not Civil Partnerships themselves or the relation of biblical teaching to homosexual practice. There is of course a range of opinion on these matters in the Church and, as you know, homophobia is not tolerated in the Diocese of London. The real issue is whether you wilfully defied the discipline of the Church and broke your oath of canonical obedience to your Bishop. The Archbishops have already issued a statement in which they say that those clergy who disagree with the Church s teaching are at liberty to seek to persuade others within the Church of the reasons why they believe, in the light of Scripture, tradition and reason that it should be changed. But they are not at liberty simply to disregard it. 5 St Bartholomew s is not a personal fiefdom. You serve there as an ordained minister of the Church of England, under the authority of the Canons and as someone who enjoys my licence. I have already asked the Archdeacon of London to commence the investigation and I shall be referring the matter to the Chancellor of the Diocese. Before I do this, I am giving you an opportunity to make representations to me direct. Yours faithfully. The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres DD FSA And now for some good news from the same source Dear Friends Church in Meltdown? Here is some Good News. God has not abandoned us! On Saturday 28th June at 5pm I will be ordaining 34 men and women to the diaconate, with the Psalm Drummers and a Diocesan choir of 75 drawn from our parishes. I never cease to be amazed as deacons of all ages and backgrounds offer themselves to the service of Christ and his church. The emergence of St Mellitus College over the past year represents a bold step of faith and trust. The Bishop of Chelmsford and I will lead a service of thanksgiving and commissioning on Wednesday 2nd July at 7pm in the Cathedral and hope that many of you will come to support the hundreds of students, staff and friends who will gather to give praise to God and to pray for his blessing. The new Dean of St 6 Mellitus, the Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, and the Directors of the two constituent bodies: the Revd Dr David Hilborn, Director of North Thames Ministerial Training Course and the Revd Dr Andy Emerton, Director of St Paul s Theological College will be commissioned. We pray that the College will prove to be an instrument of the Spirit in equipping the people of God to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. 2008 also marks the 10th anniversary of ALMA and there will be a special focus on this ever-growing area of the life of the Diocese in The River of Life: A celebration of London s World Links on Sunday 13th July at 6pm in the Cathedral. Doors open at 5.15 and the Twyford School Gospel Choir will be singing from 5.30pm. The Bishops of Angola, Lebombo and Niassa will be with us for the celebration, together with other bishops from the world-wide church. Prayer and Commitment are two important themes woven into the service and there will be Rivers of Prayer - prayers in the form of words, pictures, postcards and photos which will be attached to blue rivers of cloth that will flow through the aisles of the Cathedral. Please continue to send items for the Rivers of Prayer to Beryl Warren at St Mary s Church, Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 9ES, 020 7359 5481, [email protected]. We are hoping to see colourful, traditional dress worn by many - I shall do my best. I commend these events to your prayers and hope many of you will join me in the Cathedral to demonstrate that reports of the demise of the Church have been somewhat exaggerated. With thanks for our partnership in the Gospel +Richard The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres DD FSA 7 8 The Churches Players The 2009 Pantomime will be decided once we know the potential cast. There is a poster in the Welcome Area encouraging anyone and everyone to become involved in the next Pantomime. Please sign up Pantomime Charity Donations. At the Pantomime AGM on Tuesday 10th June it was decided that: £400 be donated to each Church = £800 £200 be donated to the Nigerian Project at All Saint's Church £200 be donated to Crossroads in Ealing £1200 donated to Charity in 2008 We would like to thank everyone who supported Robin Hood 2008 The Churches Players Committee ____________________________________________________ St Martin's Sunday School We have had an excellent year at Sunday School with many new younger members attending and consistent attendance and good behaviour from the older children.