From the Vicarage
15 St. Mark’s RoadDear friends
It does not seem very long ago that ‘Together’ was launched as the joint magazine for the then new parish grouping of Old Brampton, Loundsley Green and St. Mark’s Brampton. Thanks to the new Mission and Ministry Areas (of which much has been written in the past) that grouping is now history, but the decision was taken that ‘Together’ should continue publication until the end of 2007, which is not far away. So after this edition, there will only be three more to take us to the end of its life.
At present it is still not clear exactly what will replace ‘Together’, but there is an undertaking that the parishes it currently serves will produce a newsletter or magazine to keep the readership informed about matters concerning their own parish church and community along with news from the other churches of their MMA. Some ideas are
being discussed, and it is the intention that before ‘Together’ finally comes to an honourable end, plans for the new publications will be in place, to ensure a seamless transition.The process of creating the MMAs has been a long and difficult process for many and there is understandable sadness that the group we have seen grow and develop has come to an end. But thank God that friendships and the ability to work together do not depend on what the diocese dictates with regard to which parish is grouped with which. There is no reason whatever that some of the things we do together—such as the Lent lunches—should not continue as before. On the other hand, it is good to be open to explore where the MMAs will lead us.
So let’s move on into another chapter and hope that these past years and months which seem to have been taken up with constant ecclesiastical naval gazing can give way to something rather more positive and in tune with what matters to people.
At its best the church does make these sort of connections. Perhaps this was more the case in the past than the present. The tradition of Harvest Festival is a case in point. It was much easier to see the link between God’s providence and the food we eat when most people lived in rural communities and saw their food growing in the fields and probably had a hand in harvesting it. It is not so obvious now that most of us live in urban areas and get our food ready packaged and sourced from all over the world. Maybe one of the chief roles of the church is to discover ways of helping people to make the sort of connection that came more easily to our forefathers.
Let’s not forget the part that thinking about our faith can play. What we believe makes a difference to how we act. For example, If we take seriously the biblical concept that the world was designed and made by God, and is therefore holy, it might make us think twice before thoughtlessly exploiting its resources and encourages us to take issues such as pollution, climate change and the rape of mineral resources and the rain forests more seriously. Likewise, if we believe that everyone is made in the image of God, then this affects the way we behave towards other people. It influences the way we feel about war, the growing gap between rich and poor, the human implications of world trade, indeed everything that has a bearing on people’s well-being.
So don’t let’s concern ourselves very much with the church as an institution and an organisation—look to God and look to the world and its needs. When we do that then the
organisational side of church matters will fall into place.Every blessing,
Frank Willett
