Issue 62 / Harvest 2020 Transforming Community, Radiating Christ NOW HE WHO SUPPLIES SEED TO THE SOWER AND BREAD FOR FOOD WILL ALSO SUPPLY AND INCREASE YOUR STORE OF SEED AND WILL ENLARGE THE HARVEST OF YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” 2 CORINTHIANS 9:10 THANKS FOR HARVEST, HEALING AND HOPE NEW VISIONS OF PARTNERSHIPS, PEACE AND PRAYER IN THE LAST DAYS, GOD SAYS, I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL PEOPLE. YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY. YOUR YOUNG WILL SEE VISIONS. YOUR ELDERS WILL DREAM DREAMS.” ACTS 2:17 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE Caption Competition Irene Hewitt’s wit wins the day! Noel is saying “its lockdown Archdeacon Huss not lock up”. begins his bike visits Noel at sound desk for Diocese of Raphoe signs drive through church up to recycling charter. Bishop Andrew and Dean Raymond at the Derry Deanery Does this look good? I’ve just run round the corner. Knock and the door shall be opened. Dean “not this door, not this Covid 19”. Rev Peter Ferguson runs marathon round his parish 2 N:VISION | DIOCESE OF DERRY & RAPHOE The thread running through CAPTION COMPETITION this particular edition is one of 02 thanksgiving and gratitude for God’s BIBLE COMMENTARY blessings. As I write it is harvest time 04 when we give thanks for our farmers and the fruits of the earth at our harvest festival church services. 05 BISHOP ANDREW WRITES In this issue we also gratefully unpack and celebrate the various A DIFFERENT TYPE OF VISION meanings hidden in the title “n:vision” which is laden with 06 themes such as envisioning (plans unfolding across the diocese), insight (creative projects at parish level), hindsight (reflection 08 DONEGAL IN POETRY AND PROSE on recent church achievements at home and abroad), foresight (acknowledgement of inspired leadership and future initiatives) MU - BLACK LIVES MATTER and physical eyesight (the gift of sight and the need for guide 10 dogs as we consider the daily challenges experienced by the blind). In this issue we dip into the lives of representatives of 12 COVID IN SOUTH AMERICA two essential services - a farmer and an optometrist. CHRISTIAN GIVING At this time we are grateful that some of our churches are open 13 again for public worship. We are carefully emerging into a world of social distancing where space and gaps between people can and 14 DIOCESAN NOTICEBOARD should be interpreted in a positive light. Recently, as I watched a programme on Japanese gardens I was introduced to the term MAHAJANGA CALLING “ma” which is a traditional Japanese concept expressed in art and 15 in cultural practices such as Ikebana (flower arranging). Ma means negative space or empty space which at first sight appears to 16 OPEN YOUR EYES IN PRAYER separate but which in reality connects and is full of potential and promise. Ma is connective space, the creative silence between the STRONG FARMERS IN THE ECONOMIC WAR notes that make the music. It is the space within the pot which is 17 the essence of the pot. 18 N:VISIONING PEACE Reflecting upon all this I am grateful that, for God, space is never a void. It is the interpersonal meeting-place where Jesus Christ DAYS IN THE LIFE OF AN OPTOMETRIST as the One Mediator is the in-between God who transforms the 19 negative space of social distancing and holds us all together in communion with him. 20 COVID-19 - WHERE DOES IT HURT? As we draw closer to the November season of grateful DISAPPOINTMENT OR DEVOTION remembrance, we can envisage the War dead and all our deceased 21 parishioners who, together with our Lord, populate that precious in-between space that links us all together as Church. This has 22 OUR MAD LIFE EXTRACTS been strikingly visualised in recent years at some November church commemorative services with the appearance of life-size DIOCESAN MANOEUVRES Perspex cut-out WW1 soldier figures occupying pew spaces as 24 a reminder of the faith handed down from all those parishioners who sat there many years ago and whose legacy is still with us. 33 DERRY & RAPHOE MEET JOE Finally, I want to register thanks to our Bishop, Andrew, who DAYS IN THE LIFE OF A FARMER sanctioned the return of n:vision in print format to all parishes 34 around the diocese. AND FINALLY... Rev Canon Katie McAteer, the Editor 59 E: [email protected] HARVEST 2020 3 Harvest The Festival of the Things We Need St Luke, Chapter 12: 13 - 21 Harvest Thanksgiving is a time of Thanksgiving is the festival of the things we In conclusion a slightly different outlook. A rejoicing. How right and good it is that need and that is not the same as the things boy aged 16 living in a simple country village every year we thank God for his miracle of we would like to possess. several hundred years ago wrote these lines: seed time and harvest. More than ever we need to be reminded of God’s gift of life in Jesus taught his followers to pray “Give us Wide fields of graine along a valley spread, food and in the abundance which sustains today our daily bread.” Bread for today and The show’rs of raine mature the swelling vine; all our lives. It is so easy to forget his leave tomorrow for God. Remember how I see the Lord is multiplying Breade, loving providence or to take it for granted. in the wilderness the children of Israel were I see him turning water into wine; given the Manna? They were told to collect A perceptive reminder that God’s miracles of Today, in the midst of our abundance, we just enough for the day, one day at a time, love do not end with the Harvest Home. For must remember those millions of our fellow when they collected more the sweet flakes continually he works even more wonderful human beings who go hungry in our world, went sour and rotten. In our Lord’s parable, miracles in our hearts and minds helping us through no fault of their own, through the greedy man who filled his granary, then to become the kind of people we would like human error or political manipulation, built a new one to take the surplus, so as to to be, turning our thoughts to the needs of through bad harvests or fearful natural make sure all was well and that he had plenty others, giving us the inspiration to do all we disasters. In fact, when you think about it, it in store, died that very night. It is possible can to help, leading us to a fuller and more seems almost a crime to be living in such an to possess everything and have nothing. The Christian-like concern with the world of affluent country as ours where no one need point of all this is not to suggest that we suffering, despair, poverty and sorrow. go hungry. Perhaps when we think of those should be reckless and irresponsible, rather in real need it will help us to put what we it is to help us make the distinction between “Lord, what we do is little enough, but take it, think of as our problems and concerns into a what we really need and the greediness and as you took the bread and the fishes long better perspective. They are so small and so which is truly unhealthy. I have met plenty ago feed the multitude”. Help us, in our time unimportant in the face of poverty starvation of happy givers in life. I have yet to meet of rejoicing, to be thankful for your bounty and death. a happy taker. “Give us today our daily to us, to praise you for your goodness, to be bread.” - if there happens to be some jam more content with what we have and to be We humans are an acquisitive lot. We are to go with it so much the better! However, mindful of the needs of others. rarely satisfied, and generally speaking, the let us remember as we celebrate the gifts of more we have the more we want. That’s harvest that it is for what we really need that Canon John Merrick why we ought to remember that Harvest we are asked to pray. 4 N:VISION | DIOCESE OF DERRY & RAPHOE Bishop Andrew writes... Dear friends, When my children were younger we had a Please continue to do all you can to little saying in our house that was aimed support your parish. at helping them learn manners. They knew the phrase very well: ‘Please and thank Please continue to pray, in fact pray like you, they are the magic words.’ you have never prayed before! Please continue to take every opportunity Jesus says “God is spirit and those who We know that good manners are not only to serve God and His people. worship Him must worship in spirit and in important for small children but for adults as truth.’ The unwelcome journey imposed well. So I want to begin these few words by Please continue to be generous in upon us by coronavirus has reminded us that sharing good manners. The first thing I want supporting those in need. we can worship God at home, online and to say is thank you. in church and we can worship authentically Over the last couple of months as lockdown in spirit and in truth. As our parish churches I want to thank you for supporting your restrictions have eased I have been able to reopen can I say please support your local parishes, both prayerfully and practically visit parishes and share in Sunday worship parish and thank you to clergy and Select over this very strange period of time.