The Parish Magazine of St. Peter & St. Paul, Shorne June 50p 2015 www.shorneparishchurch.co.uk www.facebook.com/shorneparishchurch ST PETER & ST PAUL, SHORNE Priest in Charge Revd Dr Glyn Ackerley 822239 The Vicarage, Butchers Hill, Shorne DA12 3EB Fax: 824502 [email protected] (Not Available on Fridays) Readers Mr. D. Usher 536662 Church Wardens Miss S Cackett 822927 [email protected] Mrs Jacqui Olid 824061 [email protected] Deputy Wardens Mrs B Tuff 823391 Deanery Synod Mr D Usher 536662 PCC Secretary Mrs Jacqui Olid 824061 [email protected] PCC Treasurer Mr L. Aspinall 825046 [email protected] Gift Aid Secretary Mr P. Moore 824177 [email protected] Bellringers Mr S King (Tower Captain) 823804 Church Flowers Mrs H Moore 822699 Church Electoral Roll Mr P. Mitchell [email protected] Child Protection Mr J Bettey 079699555301 Magazine Editor Mrs S Muckley 824732 [email protected] Magazine Advertising Mr P Moore 824177 [email protected] Magazine Sales & Mrs M Potter 822345 Distribution For other village organisations see the inside back page THE PARISH MAGAZINE OF ST PETER & ST PAUL, SHORNE June 2015 Dear Readers Editor: Mrs Sue Muckley The recent Quiz Night in aid of the Church Roof fund was well attended and great fun. Some of the ques- (01474) 824732 tions were challenging but attendees had great banks [email protected] of knowledge and I think we all came away with some new facts in our heads. People were very generous Subscriptions: and there were many wonderful raffle prizes. A good £5.00 p.a for delivery time was had by all and the Church Roof Fund has in Shorne & Shorne grown. West—contact Mary Collecting for, and giving to, charities have been Potter 822345 prominent in the press recently. Giving alms to the poor and helping the needy are tenets of many reli- Published around gions. When raising money can be partnered with a n the end of every activity one enjoys, then people are happy to fund month except January raise. and August A couple of charity cycle rides have passed through the village in the last few weeks. Encountering cy- Next issue clists and horse riders can be a challenge on our nar- Copy deadline row roads and lanes and patience is called for. Fri 19 June Alarmingly, I met two impatient car drivers in one day. Overtaking cyclists on a blind bend is never a Printing good idea and overtaking a car and a string of cyclists Wed 24 June on a blind bend is even more dangerous. Stapling Surely it is better to arrive at one’s destination a little Fri 26 June late then to not arrive at all. My mother always told Published & printed me that patience is a virtue . It is still true today. by Shorne Parochial Church Council Kind regards, Sue Muckley Parish church websites: www.shorneparishchurch.co.uk www.facebook.com/shorneparishchurch 1 VICAR’S LETTER Dear All My letter this month is the text of a sermon that I preached at Rochester Cathedral at Evensong on Pentecost Sunday, May 24th. It’s based on two readings Ezekiel 36:22-28 and Acts 2:22-38. You might like to read them yourself. The sermon is on a theme close to my heart, that the church needs again to find holi- ness and obedience to God’s laws. This only can come by spiritual transformation and the Holy Spirit at work in individuals. Forty years ago as a young adult I started attending my local parish church. Over the years I have seen the Church of England in decline. Forty years ago, the Usual Sunday Attendance figure was approximately 1.25 mil- lion, in 2014 it was just under 785,000. However population increases mean that the percentage of English residents who attend church has halved, from three to 1.5 per- cent over this period. You may think I’m being negative but actually I’m describing our situation. On the positive side we can point to real growth in contact with children and their parents through fresh initiatives like Messy Church but numerically its younger adults in the 20-40 age-group that were struggling to draw into the Christian church. Something needs to change. As a Diocesan Director of Ordinands, I’m excited by the significant upturn in the last five years of those coming forward for ordination. We see fresh initiatives all over the country, reimagining of ministry for the future and exciting new ways to engage with the postmodern generation abound. But you know unless people’s hearts are changed none of it will be of any use. I don’t know if you noticed but in both of our readings the heart is mentioned. God says through Ezekiel to the Israelites, “I will give you a new heart” and at the end of Peter’s Pentecost sermon we hear that those listening were “cut to the heart.” This change in heart, this movement in people is the direct result of the Holy Spirit’s activity, his power. I first became aware of that power 40 years ago. I can tell you that to try and run the church without the power from on high is like trying to run a car without fuel. All the good ideas, new forms of worship, new songs, house groups, Christian stewardship, lay ministry – none of it is of any use without the power of the Holy Spirit and unless people’s hearts are truly changed. I don’t know if you’ve heard it but there’s a lot of talk about ‘revival’ in the church today. True revival is a move of the Holy Spirit at certain times in certain places that results in hundreds even thousands turning2 to Christ almost spontaneously. If you listen to some people you might think that revival is an evangelical phenomenon that first appeared in the 1730’s but I think you’d be wrong. This sort of thing has oc- curred throughout church history. If for example you read between the lines of the life St Francis of Assisi and his followers you will see that what actually was going on was a revival in the church. There are of course many others I could list. However, in many people’s minds revival has a bad name. My own study has caused me to examine this in depth. Alongside God’s genuine work I think there have al- ways been counterfeit experiential centered expressions of revivalist religion. Let me give you an example. A few months ago I first viewed a video of a young high profile woman worship leader describing the Holy Spirit as being like the Genie of the lamp in Aladdin. How dare she speak of our Holy God like that? Of course what she was pandering to was the sort of religion that wants all of our wishes grant- ed, a consumerist religion, that’s about self-fulfillment not worship of the one true God. What will bring true revival to our nation, what will change the heart of our nation? Three things, I think. First - Bible believing, Christ centered, cross centered preaching. Peter says to the Jewish crowd on the day of Pentecost. “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Peter doesn’t pull any punches he tells them it as it is. Second people being brought to true repentance. The result of Peter’s sermon is they were cut to the heart, they said what should we do. Peter replies repent and be bap- tised everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I believe the church needs to be brought to true repentance, an awareness of the Ho- liness of God and the need for our sins to be forgiven. Third I think our nation will ne changed by revival when they see our God-given holiness. As God says to the Israelites through Ezekiel and also to us. Ezekiel 36 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinanc- es. You know it’s not just some charismatic revivalists who are consumers of false reli- gion. False religion usually involves turning from God’s laws to what we want, changing God’s laws to suit the thinking our Godless society is comfortable with. Again consumer religion. My prayer is that the Power of Pentecost, the Power of the Holy Spirit will come to us and turn our nation around. Glyn Ackerley - Vicar 3 PARISH COUNCIL MATTERS Parish Council Matters for June 2015 Annual Parish Assembly The Annual Parish Assembly took place on Thursday 14th May at the Village Hall. Chairman Robin Theobald reported on the death of Frank Gibson, our former Bor- ough and County Councillor. He led Gravesham Borough when it was formed in 1974 and was a member for Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown. At one stage he was Chairman of the County Council. Robin also reported the death of Peter Hornby, a former member of the Parish Coun- cil, who served for a number of years including as Vice-Chairman of our Planning Committee.