“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” John 3.8a (NRSV) E-Magazine 2021 1 Dear friends Jesus says, “I have been given say over all things in heaven and in the earth. As you go, therefore, make disciples of all kinds of people, submerge them in Trinitarian Presence, and show them how to do everything I have commanded. And now look: I am with you every minute until the job’s done.” (Matthew 28:18-20) This is Dallas Willard’s translation of Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew’s gospel and he describes it as the great omission, in contrast to its normal title of the great commission, i.e. Jesus’ last words to his disciples before his ascension. Willard calls it the great omission because he thinks and I would agree that we as Jesus’ disciples now don’t do it (or not enough). Our task as church is to be disciples ourselves and to make disciples as we travel through life. We introduce people to God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. We show each other and new Christians how to do everything that Jesus commanded – love God and each other. As we move on to a new phase of life together as Christians in our homes, communities, schools and workplaces, these words remind us of our calling, our manifesto, what we witness to and are. The last sentence reassures us that we don’t do this alone, or even in our own strength, Jesus is with us by his Spirit to help, reassure, challenge and enable us in our Christian lives. As we remember that we can live out our lives as God has called us, even when the future is uncertain and we have to be particularly trusting of God. As Psalm 23 reminds us he is always leading us and protecting us and wanting the very best for us. This is true of those who have jut been confirmed, and is also true for all of us. As we hope for exit from lockdown and a move to whatever the “new normal” will be, we know that God is with us and that we all have jobs to do in God’s Kingdom, and that he will provide all that we need in order to do it, as we trust in him. 2 High Days and Holidays in July 1st July Henry Venn of the CMS Most Christians in the UK have heard of the Church Mission Society or CMS. Far fewer have heard of the Revd Henry Venn (1796-1873), whose father, the rector of Clapham, founded CMS in 1799, and who himself became the greatest missionary strategist of the 19th century. Not that Henry Venn ever became a missionary himself; after Cambridge he served his curacy at St Dunstan’s in Fleet Street, and then an incumbency at Drypool in Hull, before becoming vicar of St Johns, Holloway in1834. But Henry Venn’s parish- based ministry did not obscure his passionate interest in overseas evangelism, and in 1841 he accepted an invitation to become the honorary secretary of the Church Mission Society. That decision was to shape the history of overseas missions, and to make CMS into the most effective force in Britain for delivering effective overseas mission. For Henry was an outstanding administrator, and his wisdom and management of the missionaries enabled CMS to grow and flourish. When Henry first began work on CMS, it employed 107 European clergy and nine local indigenous people. When he died in 1873, there were 230 European clergy and 148 local people in service. After his resignation from St Johns Holloway in 1846, Henry devoted himself almost exclusively to the work of CMS. He was directly responsible for sending out 498 clergymen, all of them chosen by him, and with most of whom he continued in regular correspondence. He also established eight or nine bishoprics for the supervision of CMS missionary clergy and was usually involved in the appointments made. Henry and a missions colleague in America were the first to use the term ‘indigenous church’, and they were way ahead of their time in seeing the necessity for creating churches on the mission fields that in time would become not only self-supporting, but also self-governing and self-propagating. In fact, Venn wrote with enthusiasm on this "euthanasia of missions," meaning that missionaries were only ever meant to be temporary, and not permanent. All in all, Henry Venn’s exposition on the basic principles of indigenous Christian missions was so powerful that much of it was later adopted by the Lausanne Congress of 1974. But alongside Venn’s passion for evangelism was his concern for social justice, and he frequently lobbied the British Parliament, especially the closure of the Atlantic slave trade. In 1873, when he was 76, Venn died at his home in Mortlake, Surrey. He is buried in the churchyard. 3 HOSPITAL VISITS Philip would be pleased to learn of anyone in hospital or at home who would like a visit (if allowed). Please let him know, as he has no other way of finding out. Thank you. Church email list. If you would like to be included on the church email list for regular updates, please let Philip know. If you attend any of this week’s Holy Communion services, please note that the wearing of face coverings in places of worship remains compulsory by law, unless you are exempt. Please sanitise your hands in the porch on entry, maintain 2 metre social distancing and do not mingle unless you are from the same household or support bubble. If you have the NHS COVID-19contact tracing app on your smartphone, please scan the church’s QR code to register your presence. Contact details collected for ‘Test and Trace’ purposes will be kept for 21 days. Following the Prime Minister’s statement on coronavirus restrictions, the response by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s Covid Recovery Group, is at: www.london.anglican.org/ articles/coronavirus-restrictions-update-response-from-the-bishop-of-london/. 4 5 Historic Racing Cars – The ‘other’ MGs Part of a series on old racing cars by Robert Ingham, who took the photographs within the past few years. The other part of MG’s business was the building of sporty versions of Morris/BMC saloon car models. The first of these after WW2 was the Magnette ZA, similar to the Wolseley 4/44, but with the new ‘B-Series’ engine in its 1,489 cc variant, with twin carburettors. It was announced for the 1953 London Motor Show. It was replaced in 1956 by the ‘ZB’, with the same engine, but tuned to increase power from 60 hp to 64 hp. Unlike its predecessor, ‘ZB’s were raced in period, and some are today, for instance car 74. The next Magnette (Mark III), introduced in 1959, was based on the Pinin Farina- styled car that was also sold as Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford, Riley 4/68, and Wolseley 15/60. It again had a twin-carburettor 1,489 cc engine. This was replaced in 1961 by the Mark IV, using the 1,622 cc variant of the engine that now powered the sister models. Production continued to 1969, and neither variant seems to have been raced in period. The next MG saloon to be raced was the MG Metro. The Austin Metro was introduced in 1980 as the long-awaited replacement for the Mini. It was well designed, and sold very well. The engines were rather old, though, being ‘A-series’ units of either 998 cc or 1,275 cc. When the MG version was introduced in 1982 it had the 1,275 cc engine, but tuned-up from 60 hp to 72 hp. The Turbo version boosted power to 93 hp, thus 50% more than the base model. Austin Metros were raced with some success in the British Saloon Car Championship in 1981 (5th and 9th), 1982 (2nd and 3rd), and the non-turbo MG in 1983. 6 1984 saw the debut of the MG Metro Turbo (see car 34) in the BSCC, but the cars were withdrawn mid-year, despite some class wins. They reappeared occasionally in the following years, including winning its class in the 1987 British Touring Car Championship. The MG name made a return to Le Mans from 2001 to 2003, with the Lola-designed EX257, but none finished. The ‘MG’ brand is now owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China. 7 Sunday 6th June Confirmation Congratulations to Chinwe Anumnu, Kyra Brewerton-Scott, Luca Di Falco, Scott Herschell, Damola Ilori, Noah Martin, Jack Sturgeon, Doreen Terry, Madhuranga Wisidagama and Lorraine Wright who were all confirmed at St Mary’s on Sunday 6th June by the Rt. Revd. Ric Thorpe, Bishop of Islington. In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light. To follow Christ means dying to sin and rising to new life with him. Confirmation is when we confirm our belief in Christ. The Bishop lays hands on each candidate and prays for them Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit. Amen. Recognising the challenge of walking with Christ he also prays Almighty and ever-living God, you have given these your servants new birth in baptism by water and the Spirit, and have forgiven them all their sins. Let your Holy Spirit rest upon them: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding; the Spirit of counsel and inward strength; the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness; and let their delight be in the fear of the Lord.