Building on the past, in the present, for the future
In the second part of a preparation for our Stewardship Programme, this is a reflection on what a local Church of England church is about.
I still find it so powerful just sitting in any of our three beautiful churches, feeling over 1000 years of faith and prayer and remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection in the communion services that have always been held there – in medieval times week by week, less often after the Reformation, more often again in the “new” worship movements of the early C20th. As I sit in them, I think, too, of the griefs that have been there – and the joys and thanksgivings. As a well-known and justifiably popular modern hymn states: “Be still and know that I am God”.
All our three churches are open in the day – for people to slip in, often unnoticed. I am always slightly amazed when I drop by how often someone is in them – I leave them with their own thoughts and prayers, unless they want to talk. We live in an age of rapid and sometimes stressful change – slipping into our churches is like a cool balm – we stand where the C11th labourer or Lord of the Manor stood. God willing, our three churches will still be standing there long after we are gone. There is a beautiful line from the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.”
William Temple, perhaps the most gifted C20th Archbishop of Canterbury, once said the Church of England is the only institution that exists for those outside it. It is God’s church most certainly – but it is your church too.
I have always loved churchyards: the existing memorials often go back 400 years – but for every memorial that we see, there are probably 100 or so buried with no memorial. Our villages past and present.
And throughout the lives of our churches, parish priests have been installed to care first and foremost for the people – to visit and be alongside them: to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ; the hope, forgiveness and love that is bound up in him; and then also to be responsible for the upkeep (in our modern world, jointly with churchwardens and the Parochial Church Council). I remember in North Hampshire speaking to a family who had been in the parish and in the same manor house for 450 years: “We are just passing through, our job is to hand it on.”
So, the ministry is twofold: both to people and to the building – all held together by worship of the God revealed In Jesus Christ week by week. The bells in St Mary Magdalene, Madehurst, were installed in C13th – calling people to worship for 700 years!
Stewardship is ensuring in our time that both the Good News with the love of Christ and the care of the building are so carried out that a living faith and a cherished building continue and are handed onto the next generation.
There are two parts to our Stewardship Programme – the first is to invite anyone in our parishes to help with their time and expertise: from helping with the Parish Magazine to helping with children’s work, and from singing in the choir to help keeping the churchyard neat. The second is, ideally by regular donation however small, to give generously so that we can continue both to care for all in the parish and properly look after our beautiful and ancient building.
At the end of August a letter should have dropped through every door in the parish inviting people to take part. If you would like to, please just tell me!
Peter