SVB
Outlook October - November 2020
The magazine of the churches of The Sodbury Vale Benefice: Chipping Sodbury, Old Sodbury, www.svbcofe.org.uk Little Sodbury and Horton. 1 1
Our Team
The Rector
Curate
The Revd. Canon David Bowers 01454 313159, rector@svbcofe.org.uk
The Revd. Jane Jones-Williams 07498 878164 revjanejw@gmail.com
Day off Monday
Churchwardens St John’s, Chipping Sodbury
St James’, Horton
Joy Gibson 01454 319288
Tina Hildick-Smith 01454 320380
Paul Jones-Williams 01454 324970
Richard Needs 01454 329890
St Adeline’s, Little Sodbury
St John’s, Old Sodbury
Linda Hurst 01454 319183
Vacancy Safeguarding Nominated Person
Administrators
Hannah Saunders 07515 915976
Michelle Jenkins, Trish Gailey and helpers
Hcsaunders.hone@talk21.com
Advertising
Contact Hannah if you have a concern about suspected abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult
Volunteer required
Published by The Sodbury Vale Benefice, Church Office, St John’s Church Centre, Wickwar Road, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6BQ, 01454 325160, sodburyvalebenefice@gmail.com, Open in school term time, Mon - Tue - Thu mornings 9.00 - 12.00. Editor - Michael Stephenson outlook@svbcofe.org.uk
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The Extended Team - Honorary Assistant Ministers Meet the members of the extended team who support our worship. They consist of retired clergy (perhaps not quite?) and lay readers, who help David by taking services around the benefice. Awaiting Photo
Awaiting Photo
Revd. Steve Abbot abbot.steve@btinternet.com
Awaiting
Revd. Canon Rob Axford
Awaiting
rob@robaxford.plus.com
Photo
Photo
Revd. Pauline Green pauline.green936@gmail.com
Revd. Chris Mason revd.chris.mason@gmail.com
Revd. Christine Axford chris@robaxford.plus.com
Revd. David Powe
Revd. Canon Catherine Coster
Wully Perks (Reader)
catherinecoster3@gmail.com
wulstanperks@gmail.com
01454 777745
Mike Swain (Reader) swain189@btinternet.com
All Souls Service 2020 The All Souls Service this year will be held at St. John's, Chipping Sodbury on Sunday, 1st November, However due to Covid-19 restrictions the only people invited to attend will be the families of those for whom funeral services were held in the Benefice during the past two years. If you wish to have the names of loved ones remembered during the service, please let Michelle know in the Church Office on 01454 325160 or e-mail at office@svbcofe.org.uk. To prevent confusion, this service will not be advertised. Another All Souls Service, which will be advertised in various media, will be recorded earlier in St. John's and will be broadcast on You-Tube. Details of this will be available later. 3
A Word from David Dear Friends
“We look forward to Jane’s new role in the benefice and pray for God’s blessing on her ministry”
“Ask God how we might serve him – and then be ready to act as he guides us! “
Services As services around the benefice are subject to change due to covid-19, please check the benefice website, www.svbcofe.org.uk for service details
As we continue to live through this strange year we have two positive items to give thanks for. The first is that we are well on our way to re-opening our church buildings for public worship, even though we are doing this gradually and cautiously. By mid-October there will be regular “in-person” services at each of our four churches, even though it will not be as it was when we had to close down in March. We are entering what we now know as the “new normal” and we are likely to live with some restrictions into the new year. At the same time, we are maintaining our online services and activities on Zoom as we continue to explore what is possible through this. The second item is that Jane Jones-Williams has now officially become Curate in the Benefice and was ordained as Deacon in Gloucester Cathedral on 19th September by Bishop Rachel. As with all who are ordained, this is part of a long and prayerful process, the completion of the period of exploration, discernment and study and the beginning of a ministry of serving God’s people in this distinctive role. We look forward to Jane’s new role in the benefice and pray for God’s blessing on her ministry as a deacon and, from next year, as a priest. Ordained ministry is part of the whole ministry of the church As well as being a privilege to all called to serve in this way, it is a reminder that we are all part of the ministry and mission of the church, expressed through our baptism. The work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus and of encouraging one another to grow in faith is not just the work of clergy but is something that all of us, lay and ordained, share in. Just as the lockdown reminded us that the church is the people of God and not just buildings, so may Jane’s ordination point us to our calling to be part of the ministry of all Christians, encouraging each of us to ask God how we might serve him – and then being ready to act as he guides us! David Bowers 4
Autumn by Nancy Parsons. Autumn, autumn, autumn. It is a lovely time of year. The conkers are lovely, smooth, brown, and shiny. They sparkle like a diamond. The leaves fall gracefully from the trees. The wind makes everyone’s hair blow in the air. The farmers collect the harvest at harvest time. People sing songs and bring food to church to celebrate harvest festival. Thank you God for the autumn season. I love autumn.
Fireworks at Grannie's house It's cold. We set-up the fireworks in the dark. The fireworks go up and down above the cottage. Big reds, yellows in the sky. I go to the shed and see the trees above my head and the leaves fall off the trees around me. Inside Grannie's house there's marshmallows, the fireworks are loud! It was amazing! By Leo Roche 5
The Crosses Associated with St Francis of Assisi In Assisi and within the Religious Orders associated with St Francis you will see two crosses very prominently, the San Damiano Cross and the Tau Cross. These were included in the piece I wrote for the August / September 2020 issue of Outlook and since then several people have asked about them so here is a brief description of each. The San Damiano Cross When Francis returned from his imprisonment following the war with neighbouring Perugia he sought places of solitude and prayer, one such place was the church of San Damiano just outside the city wall of Assisi. It was here in 1205 that Francis heard the word of Christ from the crucifix hanging in that little church. “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling down” Francis’ response was to literally rebuild the church but later he saw that the rebuilding was to be in a different way. In 1212 San Damiano became the home of Clare and her followers, the beginning of the order of the Poor Clares. There is a good description of the cross and the symbols within it on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Damiano_cross The Tau Cross The Tau is the sign with which St Francis of Assisi loved signing his letters and blessings. Indeed, the Tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is indicated in the Bible as a symbol of salvation. In the book Ezekiel and in Revelation it is a prophetic sign of redemption through the Cross of Christ. “The Lord said, go throughout the city of Jerusalem and mark the Tau on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament” (Ezekiel 9.4). It is a sign of powerful protection against evil (Ezekiel 9.6). The love for the Tau was a love that sprang from a 6
passionate reverence for the holy cross and for the humility of Christ, the subject of ongoing meditations of St Francis. For the Saint, the Tau was also the concrete sign of his salvation and of the victory of Christ over evil. Today, the Tau is the symbol of Franciscan spirituality that expresses the love for peace, joy and God's creation. Several people have asked about the Anglican Society of St Francis and Franciscan spirituality and life, if you would like to find out more do get in touch with Chris or myself rob@robaxford.plus.com chris@robaxford.plus.com (: 01454 321161 Rob Axford
An autumn prayer by Will Parsons Dear Lord, Thank you for all of the lovely food we are able to grow at harvest time. Thank you God for helping the farmers to gather food in safely, especially in a thunder storm. Thank you God for all of the lovely juicy apples and blackberries. Thank you for all of the conkers that fall during autumn so we can play conker games. Amen
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Welcome The Child I have always enjoyed the company of children. In my family I was the eldest of six and so had lots of responsibility for the care and amusement of younger brothers and sisters. As a Mum to four children born close together, I had no option but to be at home with them in their early years. This is a time for which I am profoundly grateful because although money was scarce there were long walks in the woods, picnics and visits to the park. I saw their first steps, heard their first words and took pleasure in seeing them grow and mature. I became a teacher and in spite of the pressures as spontaneity and following the children’s interests seemed to go out of the window I still loved the job and the relationship that developed with my pupils.
“I believe one of the most important roles of the church is to welcome children and their families�
Later I became the Bristol Diocesan schools adviser and although I missed the face to face interaction with children I took pride in writing materials for teachers that would help children with religious education and spiritual development. I have been involved in various initiatives to bring young families into contact with the Gospel for example an early Sunday morning service aptly named Rise and Shine, and Messy Church and Open the Book in local schools. Now I am retired I have enjoyed supporting Storkies. the Mothers and Toddlers Group at St Johns, being a governor at Horton school and trails that have introduced school children to the meaning of Christian festivals. I am a trustee for Regenerate that supports all schools in the area on behalf of the Churches of Yate and Chipping Sodbury. I work through Cruse bereavement care with bereaved children. I find being with children with their questions, adventures and new discoveries stimulating. They make me laugh and sometimes cry and most importantly they help me to see the world in a different way. I believe one of the most important roles of the church is to welcome children and their families and to help them feel included in our Church worship and activities. In the Gospel of Mark we read that Jesus takes a little child into his arms, turns to 8
his disciples, and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” I think most of us take this statement by Jesus seriously but often struggle with putting it into practice taking into account the needs and preferences of the different ages in our congregations. On the face of it, this tender gesture of Jesus is so small and so straightforward, it’s easy to miss its significance. But consider how radical a teaching this actually is for the disciples and for us. Jesus doesn’t say, “Welcome the child because it’s a loving or kind or ethical or socially beneficial thing to do. He says: Do you want to see what God actually looks like? Do you want to find God’s stand-in, hidden here among you? Are you curious about the truest nature of divine power and greatness? Then welcome the child. Welcome the child, and you welcome God and then Jesus adds “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” I’ve spent some time on reflecting on the link Jesus makes between children and God, between childlikeness and God-likeness. I’ve done so both from the perspective of my work and as a parent and grandparent. Perhaps if I didn’t have experience with children, I’d be tempted to sentimentalise the connection. I’ve heard well-meaning people suggest, for example, that Jesus likens children to God because children are so purely good, or unselfish, or accepting, or meek. Well, I don’t know children like that; the ones I know are far more interesting. They’re feisty, clever, quick, fierce, generous, selfish, naughty, obedient, curious, bored, quiet, loud, challenging, funny, surprising, solemn, and exhausting. I think Jesus knew as much when he described children as trustworthy “Children are feisty, clever, quick, representations of God.
fierce, generous, selfish, naughty, obedient, curious, bored, quiet, loud, challenging, funny, surprising, solemn, and exhausting.”
So, what are the connections? How do we help children and young people to be part of our church enriching and strengthening our spiritual life together? What can we learn about God by welcoming children? How can children open us up to deeper, more authentic communion with Jesus? This is by no means an exhaustive list; but here are some possibilities I’ve been thinking about: They are not afraid to use their creativity. They enter into stories and use them to stimulate their vivid imaginations. They can teach us to honour our imaginations as pathways to God. They can use all their senses to appreciate the wonder and joy of 9
the present moment. They can teach us to rest in the present moment being thankful for that moment and not fretting about what is past and what is to come. Doctrine, dogma, and theology often hold our spiritual senses captive. Welcome the child, Jesus says. Open your imaginations. Return to the capacity for wonder, newness, and strangeness you knew as a child. Children teach us to risk hard questions on our way to God. Children aren’t afraid to ask awkward, challenging, and even impossible questions. They’re naturally curious, they’re not embarrassed by their ignorance, and they’re willing to risk social discomfort to get to the truth. If children don’t understand something, they ask, and they persist in asking. In contrast, we grown ups tend to avoid hard questions. We don’t want to be vulnerable and admit to our ignorance and so our growth and fellowship with God is limited.
“Children teach us to trust God’s abundance.”
Children teach us to trust God’s abundance. Young children generally expect that there’s enough to go around. Enough time, enough hugs, enough attention, enough love. It doesn’t occur to them to fear scarcity unless they’re conditioned to do so; left to themselves, they assume plenitude. And finally, children teach us what divine power looks like. A young child is the very picture of helpless dependence, of powerlessness, of need. In some cultures, children are socially invisible. In others, they are legally unprotected. In all cultures, children are at the mercy of those who are older, bigger, and stronger than they are. And this — this shocking portrait of dependence and vulnerability — is the portrait Jesus offers of God. Jesus asks us to be little, to be vulnerable, to be invisible, to be low. We gain greatness not by muscling others out of our way, but by serving them, empathizing with them, and sacrificing ourselves for their wellbeing. Whatever human hierarchies and rankings we cling to, Jesus upends as he holds a tiny child in his arms. One of the most central and amazing truths about Christianity is that God became a helpless human child. All children everywhere represent God's heart, God's likeness, God's power. To welcome a child is to welcome God. To cultivate childlikeness is to cultivate Godliness. To consent to be little is to become great. Welcome the child.
How do we do it?
Catherine Coster 10
St Adeline’s ladies What a joy to be back in St Adeline's after such a long time and it had lost none of its peace and sanctity.
Thursday morning (our Benefice slot) from 10.30 until 12 noon and are now part of our Church group, all are welcome to join us in the peace and love that we share, especially at this time. God Bless.
The ladies of The ladies of St Adeline’s the church met up to pray and give it a good clean Quiz - Beatles Songs and brush Answers up. We also had to make 1. Lady Madonna it covid-19 proof and fulfil the 2. Hey Jude regulations required by taping areas off 3. Let it be and removing some objects out of reach. 4. Revolution
This group has continued to meet and decided to remove the ivy on the churchyard walls and what a task this was but over several weeks and much laughter and hard work by our little band we are now ivy free! At one time we wondered if the walls may be damaged by the removal of their support but like our lovely little church it is strong and is looking very smart.
5. Norwegian Wood 6. Twist and shout 7. Your mother should know 8. Paperback Writer 9. Ticket to Ride 10. Yesterday 11. Please Please me 12. When I’m sixty-four 13. All you need is love
We had the fun of building bonfires to dispose of our ivy and general debris and had a few surprises in our work but none too awful. We also had several groups walking the Cotswold Way who came to have a look and a rest and were made welcome.
14. Here comes the Sun 15. Everybody’s got something to hide except me and my monkey 16. Hello, Goodbye 17. Day Tripper 18. Strawberry Fields Forever 19. The Fool on the Hill
We welcomed some of our villagers also who have continued to come along on a
20. Here, there and everywhere
Copy Deadline Please send all copy for the December - January issue to the Church Office by Monday November 16 Front Cover: A lonely Lily in our pond Photo by Michael Stephenson 11
Poetry by Heart The thought of learning a poem by heart tends to evoke nothing but fear and boredom, reminders of the rote learning of 1950s grammar schools and the idea of learning as a punishment. Learning poems by heart has fallen out of fashion in educational circles but as a secondary school English teacher, once a year, I set my sixth form classes the task to learn one speech from their set texts and recite it to the rest of the class. Every year they think I am joking. The collective gasp of horror and disbelief is something to behold. But the logic behind this academic torture is sound - to know a text off by heart is to own it. To recite a poem is to walk a familiar route - you do not need a map to spot the main landmarks, so you can enjoy the small details, see the imagery anew, and discover hidden gems that the new arrival would never notice. To quote Heraclitus, "no man steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man": to learn a poem by heart is to revisit the rivers of human emotions that poetry lays bare, and find refreshment in them again and again. During lockdown, for those of us able to take a daily walk, many found ourselves taking the same routes again and again, learning our locality by rote. We discovered paths we didn't know existed, and learnt to appreciate how shifts in the weather and the seasons were writ large on familiar landscapes. Throughout lockdown, I found myself going back to those few poems that I know by heart. Reciting poetry to oneself is a form of prayer - it can be an act of meditation, contemplation, gratitude and endurance - all the things we have to dig deep to find when life becomes difficult. It is a way of walking through the world and keeping our eyes fixed on the richness and vitality of God's creation, a way of seeking meaning in seemingly meaningless circumstances. 12
So as winter approaches, and the uncertainty remains, dust off the poems you know. Hunt down the full text that contains that odd line you remember, recite it while boiling the kettle, embrace the familiar rivers of memory and, in the words of Philip Larkin, "begin afresh, afresh, afresh". Here are a couple of (reassuringly short!) suggestions below to get you started. Clare Doyle
"Hope" Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune - without the words, And never stops at all. And sweetest in the gale is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chilliest land And on the strangest sea Yet, never, in extremity It asked a crumb of me.
Emily Dickinson
Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced or cried aloud, Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me, unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley 13
Football and Faith As a Liverpool fan I have found it a funny old season. Unlike my son William, who has grown up as football is flourishing on Merseyside, I have had to wait thirty long and hard years to see my team win the Premier League. To put it into context, the last time I saw them win England’s top division, Margaret Thatcher retired as Prime Minister and Tim Berners-Lee had just created the first server that would later become the World Wide Web. I had managed to get us tickets for the game that would give the actual results, and would have seen us win the League. And having booked my hotel room for the planned day of the bus tour it was a bitter-sweet experience. The thought of not being able to come together on the streets of the city, with potentially another million Liverpool fans, to celebrate and worship the team, was a bitter pill to swallow. But ironically, whilst lockdown has stopped us meeting to celebrate, as a Christian, it has provided me with the opportunity to engage more in my church and to grow my faith. Not only having more time, but also with the convenience of ‘Zoom’ church in my own living room, it has meant that myself and my family have been able to come together and worship with many of you in the Benefice nearly every week. Many parallels can be drawn between football and religion, as Rev David always tells me. Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager has been described by many in the media and in the city as the ‘Messiah’. But when I watch him in interviews, as a devoted Christian with a very open and strong faith, he sums it up so well. In a recent interview he spoke about his humble view of his position. ‘I am the Normal One’ and ‘It is just football, it really doesn’t matter’. But he realises what it means. An hour before Liverpool left to be crowned Champions League winners in Madrid a year earlier, he gave a heartfelt video message to a terminally ill fan. In it he said ‘It’s more than football, it’s about life. It’s about giving people hope and joy and those shared experiences makes us friends’. He finished it by saying ‘Dave, I am a Christian………..so see you’.
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When asked what it meant to him, Dave said ‘it was more about me as a person than it was about football. And the Christian bit…………he believes he will see me again on the other side’. Whether you like football or not you cannot help but be inspired by the man. I recommend people watch any of his interviews. To me he has an amazing outlook on life, recognising the importance that football plays in lives like ours, and the way it can unite us in hope in dark and troubled times. Simon Parsons
Tom’s prayer
Did you get your Birdbox? Or it might have been a bird table. Barry Cordy has been doing an excellent job by making, all at his own cost, and selling bird boxes and bird tables in support of St Adeline’s, Little Sodbury Flush Fund to install toilet facilities in the church. He has already contributed over £1000 which is a great start to the fund after our fundraising events were all put on hold by the Covid-19 pandemic. Look out for more exciting events when life return to normal. 15
Church Quiz At which of our four churches was this picture taken? Answer in the next issue
The picture in the last issue was from St John’s, Old Sodbury
Here is the answer to last month’s maze.
This magazine is brought to you Free by the four churches of the Sodbury Vale Benefice. If you would like to make a small donation towards printing costs which are 65p a copy that would be most welcome. Thank you. 16