On 5th September, our All Age Service will be part of the Nations' Climate Sunday Service Event where we pray and worship ahead of the COP26 Climate Talks in Glasgow. Led by Curate, Jenny, our guest speaker is Andrew Needham, of the Chester Diocese Environmental Forum and we will learn about ways the church is adapting to change and how we can get involved and commit to "zero carbon" in our church community by 2030.
The last month has seen so many changes including weddings and baptisms on the increase in church (which of course is marvellous experience for a second year curate!), an exciting UEFA EURO Final and relaxation of COVID precautions. I’m not sure if the latter is such a great idea though, and, at the time of writing, I have no idea where we’ll be in a few weeks, but looking around the globe, relaxation has been associated with increased case numbers and hospitalisations, and worryingly also in vaccinated individuals. Our church PCC has therefore decided to proceed along quite a precautionary path, and after a very collaborative PCC Zoom discussion on the 19th July, we were all aligned with this view. More on this in the magazine! Finally, we’ve also been able to bask in long awaited sunny days, and for Cheshire we have been seeing extra-ordinary temperatures for this time of year. The first ever extreme weather warning issued by the UK meteorological office came out as temperatures soared up to 33 degrees Celsius. We have also been shocked by the floods and loss of life and homes in Western Germany which was preceded by record temperatures in North America. As I said to one of my work colleagues, we think we are untouched by these events until they start to come closer to home, and climate change is, of course, very much on the Church of England’s radar. The General Synod has set new targets for all parts of the church to work to become carbon “net zero” by 2030 and in Great Budworth, we will also be thinking of creative solutions in our Deanery. We are all being encouraged to take bold action on climate change in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October -12th November. The culmination of this campaign is a national Climate Sunday event on Sunday 5th September 2021, to share church commitments and pray for bold action and courageous leadership at COP26. Here at Great Budworth we will also be holding a special All Age service with a “This Time Tomorrow” interview format and a couple of guests, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">but thinking about where we will be in terms of our environment in 10 years’ time rather than ”tomorrow.”</span> For Christians, environmental concern runs deep. We know that God created the world, and that we are only stewards or trustees of God’s creation. As the Bible says “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). As we enjoy the rest of the summer with friends and family, I pray for good health, many blessings, caring hearts for the people and animals who share our lives, and a recharging of the batteries before we all enter the season of “back to school.” Happy Summer, Rev Dr Jenny
From the VicarAs some of you may know I edit the magazine of the English Clergy Association, “Parson & <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Parish”, and last year was able to get the Bishop of London (and Patron of the Association) </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s Recovery </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Group, to write a piece for the magazine. It was a short but very interesting piece, entitled </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">“Reflections on the Coronavirus”, and Bp Sarah began with a wonderful verse from the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Prophet Isaiah: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.”</span>Quite apart from Isaiah, Bp Sarah could easily have had in her mind passages from either <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians or Mark’s Gospel – those concerning a new creation </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and the mustard seed. Paul’s language is quite sublime: “So, if anyone is in Christ there is a </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">new creation: everything old has passed away; everything has become new” and Jesus’ </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">imagery of scattering seed and the almost invisible growth leading to the eventual harvest, </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">as well as the paradox of the mustard seed, is equally evocative and profound.</span>Those images of the seed growing quietly in the ground, and of the smallest seed growing <span style="font-size: 1rem;">eventually into one of the largest shrubs are, I think, very appropriate for us at the moment, </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">as we struggle to make sense of what’s going on around us, not only in the wider world but </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">in the Church of God. How do we recover from Covid-19 and all its effects? How do we carry </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">on? How do we try and grow after such an experience? Can we?</span>These, and many other questions, are of course being addressed by Churches of all <span style="font-size: 1rem;">denominations up and down the country, as we are doing here in Great Budworth, and the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Bishop of London’s article to which I referred earlier was very positive and encouraging for </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">the future, whatever it may hold in store for us. Bishop Sarah finished with piece with these </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">words: “Above all, I am convinced that we have seen the Spirit moving among us, doing new </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">things. Whatever the future holds, the Lord has been opening up his way in the wilderness </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and calling forth streams in our wasteland.” Comforting and reassuring words indeed, but </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">also encouraging and challenging.</span>A recent research project by the University of York “Churches, Covid-19 and Communities”, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">of which I have only seen some highlights, seems to indicate a very real degree of interest in </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and connectivity with the Church and its work, especially among non-church going people, </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">in different ways but all related to spiritual well being in some way. I will be looking at the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">whole report much more carefully (when I’ve got a spare hour or three!) but the work that </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">is being done in this Parish, for example, by Christina and Jenny in relation to innovative </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">pastoral outreach and of course online worship and ministry is very exciting and really </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">encouraging. And these “new things” that are fast becoming part and parcel of our “mixed </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">economy” of worship and pastoral care and evangelism were on the agenda of the June </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Diocesan Synod (which took place via zoom, with over 100 participants from across the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Diocese), and will undoubtedly feature in the coming months in PCC and Deanery meetings </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and as our two new Suffragan Bishops come among us. With Bishop Mark we will all be </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">thinking about and discussing what the future holds for all of us in the Diocese, and in our </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">own Parishes.</span>“See, everything is becoming new.....” to paraphrase St Paul slightly – and it is clear that <span style="font-size: 1rem;">there are exciting times ahead of us all. We want those mustard seeds to put forth their </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">large branches, and the seeds that have been sown in so many new and different ways to be </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">growing and for there to be many nests for the children of God!</span>The Revd Alec Brown.
Associate Minister Rev Christina Westwell Dear Friends Over the past month we have seen some of the Covid restrictions being relaxed. We have been able to sit outside hospitality venues and now we can move inside, which bearing in mind the recent weather has been a blessing. We are now looking forward on the Government Road Map to a slow lifting of restrictions. I don`t know how you feel about this? Looking back and reflecting on this time last year, I feel more positive. The vaccine programme appears to be working and there is a feeling of hope and expectation. People have had such different experiences over the last 15 months. Some have enjoyed the slower pace of life, the taking up of new hobbies, books being read, zoom being mastered whereas for others it has been a nightmare and each of us will need to reflect on how this has affected us. Maybe, we can reflect as a church to see how we have changed as a community. May has been a busy month in church. Thank you to all who supported Christian Aid Week. The “just giving” page is still available for donations. On 9th May it was Rogation Sunday and it was lovely to be able to welcome, the not quite so new Bishop of Chester, Bishop Mark. The weather held out so that it was possible to pray from different areas surrounding the church and we had amazing contributions from the younger members of our congregation. Bishop Mark also contributed to our online service. Rogation is a time when we ask God`s blessing on crops, farming and our communities. It is a time when we seek God`s blessing but also reminds each one of us to bless others. We also took part in “Thy Kingdom Come” which is a global prayer movement lasting from Ascension to Pentecost. Prayer packs were sent out and collected which included a journal written by the new Archbishop of York – copies are available still at the back of church if you missed out or we can send you a copy. It has reflections and prayers and is relevant at any time of year. In June the G7 world leaders are meeting in Cornwall. The decisions they make will affect the poorest communities. We are asked to join in a “Wave of Hope” where we put hand-prints in our windows <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Wave of Hope symbolises our connection to each other and hopefully as we all speak up and take action for a better future, the wave will build together with our hope.</span> 70 organisations have come together to form the coalition “ Crack the Crises” and are calling world leaders to ;- Crack the Covid crises by sharing vaccine doses and funding healthcare heroes across the world, Crack the injustice crisis by creating good, green jobs and helping those who are affected by violence, famine, and prejudice. Crack the Nature crisis by protecting the land and seas Crack the Climate Crisis and to take steps towards climate justice. Go on the Crack the Crises website for ideas. We have celebrated Pentecost and the early Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit” turned the world upside down. We can still do that now. There are so many ways that we can make a difference in the world, acting in the best interests of people and the planet. We are asked to reboot the world for a greener and fairer future. How can we do this as individuals and as a church? How can we make a difference together? It would be great if we, as a church community, could explore this. . Praying that you will be blessed this month and that you will be a blessing to others Love Christina
