Dear friendsI went to see the Elvis movie at the weekend. Firstly, it was brilliant. It was a Baz Lurhman production, so full of big images, big sounds, and beautifully shot and directed. It was also brilliant because it told much of the untold story of Elvis' life, from childhood, to fame, to his death. I wouldn't have said I'm an Elvis fan, but I've been listening to his music ever since (it's even on in the background now as I write this!)The reason I start with this, is that I had a sense throughout the film that I wish there had been someone who had spoken up and spoken out against the way he was pressured into relentless performing, into the financial abuse he suffered, his dependency on alcohol and drugs, but so many people either pretended not to see, preferred not to see, or felt it was none of their business.Our Gospel passages have been uncompromising over recent weeks. We've been reminded of those things that we are to turn away from, as well as the ways we are called to turn towards the work of the Kingdom, which means the call to speak up and speak out when we see injustice, hear an unkind word, or assume that we live in isolation of the rest of God's creation. The Gospel message is at times both simple and complicated, and can be a challenge to follow. At our 8.30am service last week, I spoke about how we need to learn to speak up and speak out, recognising it won't necessarily make us popular. I was reminded of the experience of the late Archbishop Helder Camara, the champion of Brazil's poor, who said: ‘When I gave bread to the poor, they call me a saint. But when I ask why the poor have no bread, they call me a communist.’At the 10.30am cafe church service we continued the conversation, by thinking about how we can be real with each other. I offered a number of scenarios with a series of "what would you do" options in response. We acknowledged that it can be really hard to respond in the way that Jesus would, even in how we would respond if we heard someone gossiping or saying something unkind about a mutual friend. The vast majority of people said they would ignore it, pretending they didn't hear it, rather than intervene. This is human nature, but it's not the Gospel, which often comforts the disturbed, but disturbs the comfortable!Our passages for this week continue in the vein of challenging the behaviour that could be seen as hypocritical, alongside the promise that a life with Jesus can transform the distorted view we might have of the world and others, if we are unable to lift our gaze from what's immediately in front of us. The Going Deeper offering may help you begin to engage with this, and we look forward to Steve opening the passages for us as he preaches at both services on Sunday.I hope you're able to come along and join the gathered worship if you can, it would be great to see you.In the meantime, I offer one of Elvis' songs that came in a pivotal part of the film, where he himself felt he had the courage to speak up and speak out. The song is "If I can dream" and it feels like it resonates with the idea of the kingdom being both here and yet to come. Why not look it up and listen to it with fresh ears, if you're able to do so.Finally, this is a prayer I found that I included on Sunday, but want to try to pray regularly as I also grapple with this uncompromising, simple, complicated and challenging gift that is the Gospel:God-who-disrupts-our-neat-boundaries,you whose truth is larger than we are, by your presence and through your Spirit, enlarge our minds and hearts so that we may seek truth, catch a glimpse of truth, hear truth, learn truth, tell truth, live truth – your truth of the way of full life for all. We pray in the name of the one full of love, Jesus Christ. Amen
Dear friendsIt has been a wonderful week to be proud of the achievement of others, with whom we might want to identify. The wonderful win of the Lionesses last Sunday (I admit to becoming really emotional when they won the Euro cup - and I have no vested interest in football!). The rise of the voices supporting women's football and demanding change. The ongoing achievements of our sportspeople at the Commonwealth games. These are the achievements of others, but I wonder if we feel a sense of belonging - <u>our</u> country, <u>our</u> gender (for half of us anyway!), <u>our </u>nation - and therefore take it as a bit of our own achievement as well? For example - how well are "we" doing on the medals table at the Games?When we see something that our values align with, dare I even say that is successful, it's very comfortable to jump on the wagon and say "this is me as well".I notice a human tendency to do the opposite when things are more difficult, less successful, or too hard to take responsibility for. I notice the "othering" - "people" who do this or that, that we either disagree with, or lament over. We might question "why does humanity behave in this awful way?" when faced with war, tragedy, or suffering. We might polarise issues or people groups - the have's and have not's, the good and the bad, them and other "them". It's much harder and uncomfortable to put the "us" into the picture.We long for the "someone" to do "something", and we might even "other" God - "why God don't you just do something about this situation, this war, this suffering, this person". As I frequently say at Morning Prayer, I wonder sometimes if God actually wants to ask the same of us - "why don't <u>you</u>do something about it".It's an uncomfortable, even sobering, thought, isn't it, that we might delight, align, and feel a sense of belonging, with someone else's success, yet distance ourselves, and any sense of responsibility, with something that is broken. Yet this is exactly who we are called to be - compassionate, responsive, taking responsibility for our part in the way the world is, and seeking to live differently. Love God, love who He has created us to be, love our neighbour - everyone. And as our readings over recent and coming weeks continually remind us, this might mean letting go of things, power, attitude, behaviours that focus on self. We're invited to be really discomforted and to look with open eyes at ourselves and those around us, to ask ourselves whether we can truly be blessed if others are suffering.We can all influence this beautiful world we live in, and recognise where there is brokenness. So we can absolutely share in the celebration and joy of the wonderful achievements of our sportspeople particularly in the last week. AND we share in the responsibility for the way the world is: the choices we make in how we shop, how we give, how we speak, how we listen. We can take responsibility for our habits that may not be completely healthy, our attitudes that may not always be kind, our desires that may not always be for the good of all, and the way we live which may not always reflect the character of God. It is not easy, yet it is what we are called to do.So as we enter into this weekend, and our opportunity to worship, pray, learn and grow, I am thankful for the story we hear in our epistle this week, that reminds us that we can continue to be shaped and formed at any stage of our life - Abraham is described as being so old that he was "as good as dead", when his faith journey began and he set an example for all to follow!We will gather at 8.30am for our simple Holy Communion service, and then at 10.30am for Holy Communion with hymns. It would be lovely to see you, as we work all of this out together as the body of Christ.God blessBecky
Dear friendsI wonder if like me you have noticed a shift in the rhythm of the week, now that the schools have broken up? For those with school age children this will be obvious, of course! I vividly remember how much I used to love the schools finishing, just to change the routine, the demands of the school run, the rushing around to after school clubs, encouraging homework to be done, getting uniforms washed in a quick turnaround ... I know this is the "best of" what happens with a change of routine, and for many families the school holidays are so much more challenging for endless reasons, and that not all homes are places of sanctuary, rest, or even safety. I don't have children living at home now, so in theory nothing changes for us with the summer holidays, yet I notice still a change in rhythm - lighter traffic on the roads, quieter in the garden without the lovely babble of the preschool in the church hall garden (!), and a shift in the congregation pattern on Sundays where from week to week different people are away on their holidays.In a part of the world where the seasons seem to be blending more and more, it is good to have different rhythms in our lives. People often speak of change as a negative thing - although I know there are also many who thrive on change. Yet God's creation moves in seasons and rhythms, and throughout scripture we are reminded of the way creation can help us understand the work of the kingdom - what we notice in a fig tree, the ways in which seeds are sewn and planted, the time of the harvest, even from the Old Testament, the writer of Ecclesiastes telling us there is a time for everything...We were reminded in Morning Prayer this week of the importance of waiting, indeed that often meaning is in the waiting, rather than rushing through to find solutions, or to move something on that seems to taking time. I'm also reminded that for many the summer months allow a time of recreation - which of course also means re-creation.I am going to try to be fully present in this different rhythm, to notice what is different, to embrace the "shift", and to discover what God might reveal as a result.I pray that whatever you are doing over these coming weeks, whether hoping to go on holiday (and we pray that you have smooth travel if that's the case), whether staying at home but trying to find spaces for recreation, or whether you're just trying to cope with whatever you are facing, you will find meaning and purpose in the moment and you will experience God's presence in the present.I look forward to seeing you on Sunday, if you are able to join worship. 8.30am as ever will be a simple said service of Holy Communion. At 10.30am we will have a service of Holy Communion with hymns. Whilst we won't have the choir and organ, we will have recorded hymns to join in with - so we will be making a joyful sound, just as we are invited to do in scripture!With all good wishes, as everBecky
Dear friends, It’s very surreal this is my final week at St Martin’s and so, my final weekly message! I’m left feeling quite nostalgic about the journey we have been on in the last three years. We’ve been through quite a lot as well, namely the pandemic and have journeyed together the changes and disruptions this has caused. I remember my first service and the nerves I had of being in a new style of worship as well as feeling at home and welcomed. These are the aspects I am so thankful for, embracing and truly experiencing God in a new church style, for learning that wherever God is present I will feel at home and for the warm and loving welcome you have shown Jack and me throughout the three years. A good few months ago the PCC met to spend a morning together to pray and discern the next steps for the church. In the previous week, we spent time praying with a specific scripture from 2 Timothy that felt important. As I have gone through this week, the passage has kept coming back to me. 2 Timothy 1: 3-7: I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.I find this passage moving for many reasons. But when I reflect on St Martin’s the space, the people, and the community – this passage seems to illuminate much of how I feel and what I have learnt. There is something holy in the history of the church- the people who have dedicated years to the church, the 120 years of prayer, worship, preaching, outreach and fellowship. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of stories of love, hope, grief, pain, and joy have been woven into the story of St Martin’s. You feel the peaceful weight of this holiness when you walk into the building- those who come from the community notice it too, the number of times people come in and cry and can’t explain why… but the Holy Spirit dwells tangibly. As part of the worship experience, this rich history is celebrated and honoured. As well as this, God also has called into other expressions, expressions that have required us to lean on God and receive that Spirit of power and not cowardice. Over the three years, we have seen changes beyond what we thought would ever happen. And yet, God has been with us in it all. As we stepped out in trust and tried to put fear behind us, we have seen some amazing things. Whether that has been Café church, the depth of conversation in Morning Prayer, the experiment of things like 4th at 4 and Messy Church, gathering new families in Bears and Prayer or having spaces of silence and contemplation like Contemplative Community. God has taught us that we are never left alone when we step out of our comfort zone and we have experienced new ways in which God meets his people. I have been so blessed by the diversity of these expressions and I think it’s why St Martin’s has been growing, there are so many opportunities to see God’s love. It’s also not just about the gathered Sunday community- but also Knowle. I have loved being part of the community of Knowle. Reaching out to local schools, Redcatch Community Garden, our Food Hub during the pandemic as well as other gatherings it has been a joy to see where God is already moving and working and for us to join in, even if in a small way. This has enabled new people to get to know St Martin’s, for that message of God’s love and inclusion to be shared. What is wonderful is that God’s Spirit is ever present and will continue to be despite who leaves! God will continue to move through and use St Martin’s in new ways for his love to be known.And so, the broad expression of God, the love from all of you and how we are integrated with the community have all contributed to a curacy that has not only taught me so much but has enriched and deepened my faith. Thank you for these three yearsWith much love and prayersLaura
