Opening Prayer:May God take these human words and transform them through his Holy Spirit for the purposes of the Kingdom. Amen.Introduction – Stewardship vs. ownership Have you ever been tasked with taking care of something or someone? Perhaps you’ve house sat for a friend, or looked after a pet for a neighbour who was going away on holiday. Childminders and teachers take on responsibility for the growth and development of the children and young people in their care.The expectations are different in how you behave, though, compared to something that is yours, aren’t they? There are things that I might say to my own children that I wouldn’t to others. When I was paid by a neighbour as a teenager to water their plants and mow their lawn while they were away, I was far more diligent than I manage in my own home. When it comes to pets, I’m not sure we actually own our cat, Pepper. I’m pretty certain that she doesn’t see it like that.In all these ways, and more, in every-day life we are invited to be stewards of things, of creatures, of people.This is a theme that the season of creation places before us, and at times this raises some difficult questions, as our two readings do today.Genesis: God creates, provides, entrusts Our reading from Genesis might be familiar. It’s the second of the two creation narratives at the beginning of the Bible, a complement to the days of creation outlined in Genesis 1. The emphasis and action of the passage is clear – God creates and provides abundantly, and humans are part of that creation and provision, that intention and purpose for the world. But verse 15 is also key – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The Garden, and by extension the whole of creation, is not something that we have made ourselves, or have earned. It is not for us to possess, but rather for us to steward, to care for, to work with God to look after.This is the original vocation ordained by God for which all humans are made. We are not meant to be ravenous consumers of our world, like a plague of locusts devastating all in our path. We are called to be stewards of our world, working in harmony with it.Luke: What do we do with what we receive? This is reinforced by our reading from Luke of the parable of the rich fool. Jesus tells this short parable, having avoided adjudicating a dispute about inheritance. The question we’re invited to consider is “why is this man a fool?” It’s not because he has an abundant harvest – that is a blessing from God. Joseph and Pharaoh were not fools when they stored the abundant harvest in the good years in order to provide for the people in the years of famine.The issue is in the rich fool’s mindset when this blessing comes.Let me read verses 17-19 again, but I’ll put some emphasis on some of the pronouns:He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”18 ‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”When presented with a blessing from God – whether in part due to his own hard work or prudence, or primarily down to the weather and conditions – the rich man thinks only of himself. There is no thankfulness to God or prayer about what he should do. There is no thought for the community or others. It is all about pleasing his own desires. There is no sense of gratefulness, gift or responsibility, of loving his neighbour or God.Stewardship vs. ownership revisited The purpose of any parable is to get us to reflect, to place ourselves within the context of the story, and to ask questions of ourselves.The challenge of both readings, and of this season, is to think about how we, as Christians, treat the world and the things, creatures, and people in it. Do I really own the money in my pocket, or my car, or my family, my pet, this church, the world? Is it mine to do with as I please, to bend to my will? Am I an owner, or am I actually a steward, a caretaker?For some of us, perhaps, we are uncomfortable with the idea that our hard-earned house and possessions, our cherished friends and family, our skills and abilities, our time, are not completely ours. “I earned them, they’re mine.” For others there might seem an easy answer: “of course we’re stewards of God’s creation,” but perhaps there are other parts of our lives that we want to keep God out of, or time when we treat the world as ours to use as we will.I’d hope we don’t go to the extreme of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings – “It came to me, my own, my love... my... preciousssss.” – or even saying to others or God “We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious.” However, if I’m honest there are moments when that’s exactly how I respond to God. “You can’t have it, it’s mine!”There’s a danger, perhaps, that we end up feeling resentful, like God has an unfair claim on what we have, or thinking that God is treating us like we’re slaves, but that’s not what God wants for us either. Ultimately, though, everything we have is God's gift. We say the prayer of David sometimes when we offer our collection and gifts to God during communion services – “Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.” Christian stewardship asks us to prayerfully consider what God wants us to do with what he has entrusted to us. It does not demand, but instead invites us to be generous in response to God’s generosity to us, rather than having a scarcity mindset.Christian stewardship in practice Now this might seem good, even easy, in principle, or safe when it comes to how we treat animals and the world. However, it is really hard when we start to think about other areas of our lives as individuals and as a church. It isn’t easy to talk about money, for example. We don’t do it often in church and I’m not sure we often do it well. I have known I needed to preach this sermon for some time, and it’s been one of the hardest I’ve ever had to write and give. I hope it will come across in the way it’s meant, which is with compassion, love, and hope.Good stewardship as a church So for us as a church, good stewardship means we are working to be more honest and open about our church finances. The leaflet we’ve written and given out today is part of that, and talks about where things stand at the moment.Myself, the Wardens, and our PCC are trying our best to be good stewards of what we’ve been entrusted with by God and previous generations. We try to be both prudent and generous, looking outwards to our mission as God’s people in our community. However, all that costs money and our buildings need some attention if they are to serve God and Hucclecote well for years to come. We are trying to make sure our expenses are reasonable, and to raise funds through events, seek grants, and hire our buildings. However, the reality is that we are heavily reliant on donations, both regular and one-off.We need to make sure that our giving is sufficient to not only sustain the ministry God has entrusted to us, but also to realise the vision he has given us for where we go next on our journey.Good stewardship as individuals I know that many of us, many in our community, already give generously in various ways, and I want to say a huge and heart-felt thank you for your faithfulness. I realise that many of us are on tight budgets and fixed incomes, and that there are many pressures on our personal finances at the moment too, often outside our control. Giving to church should never be at the expense of health or cause hardship.I’m also realistic that there are many good causes that we might, as individuals, feel called to support. So I’m not going to give a crude call to ‘give us your money’ or set a particular target. Instead, I’d invite everyone to prayerfully reflect on what God is calling them to give out of what he has given you.If you give regularly to our church, thank you! If you don’t and would like more information about how to, there is an A5 information sheet on the table by the door. Our preferred method is via the Parish Giving Scheme, because they automatically obtain gift-aid on our behalf, and there is even an option you can select which ensures that your giving amount keeps pace with inflation every year.Wills We have also been blessed in the past few years with a number of unexpected legacies - gifts given in people’s wills. You may not have noticed, but this week has been Remember a Charity week where over 200 charities collaborate to encourage people to think about leaving gifts in their wills. Legacies have become a significant source of support for charities in recent years - among charity supporters aged 40 and over, 22% say they have already included a charitable gift in their Will, compared with 14% in 2010.As a PCC we are in the process of developing a policy around legacy giving to make sure that we are good stewards of such gifts, while also setting healthy boundaries in line with safeguarding. Legacy giving should never be at the expense of taking care of family or personal needs, but it is another way that people can contribute to the sustained mission of our church, and we as PCC are committed to making sure this is for clear and tangible projects. For example, the money to pay for the new church noticeboard at the front gate came from a Legacy given by Nancy Lockwood.Let me stress – no-one should feel an obligation to give a Legacy, but if it’s something you would like to do and would like more information, then are packs in purple envelopes at the back. We’ll also show a video which has been put together by our Deanery at the end of the service.Time & talentsAnd of course money is not the only way that we give of ourselves and are good stewards, any more than caring for creation is. We can give our time and our talents, and on this I feel so blessed as your Priest-in-Charge because so many people give of themselves in this way across our church. If there are other ways that you’d like to give and would like to find out how, please talk to myself, Chris, Kevin, Margaret Edwards, or others you see already volunteering. Thank you for all the ways that people give of their time and skills. It is so very much appreciated, and an amazing witness to others.Remembering our primary vocation as stewardsAs I come to a close, let me return to our first reading. Ultimately, our primary vocation as human beings is to be stewards. We are invited by God to be good stewards of this world in all it’s beauty and fragility, good stewards of the blessings that God has given us in terms of our time, our talents, and yes our finances and possessions too. Good stewards of one another as we journey with Jesus.Our challenge is to prayerfully consider what God wants us to do with what he has entrusted to us. My prayer is that we are given more opportunities and more capacity to be generous in response to the generosity that God has shown us. Amen.
‘Respectful rustics’ The church was consecrated by the Bishop on Wednesday 30 April 1851, and a report on the service appeared in the Gloucester Journal on the following Saturday. It described St Philip and St James as ‘the little new church erected in this pretty village … The sacred building, which lies a short distance off from the left of the road, was crowded by an attentive congregation, including the principal residents of the neighbourhood and numerous rustics, who, however, demeaned themselves in the most respectful manner.’Hucclecote hazardous to health? Cesspools and Coke stovesNot only was the bishop on consecration day suffering from ‘chest complaints’ that required the ‘the stimulus of cordial medicine,’ but also, the first two ministers of the church resigned due to health issues. The second, Revd James Pruen (Hucclecote 1957-1959) developed TB. As his friend later reported, ‘ill health, promoted if not induced by deficient drainage, for I believe a cesspool then ran under the foundation of the parsonage house, compelled Mr Pruen to leave after a short time, and he went to reside at Weston-Super-Mare…’A rather alarming report in the Gloucester Citizen in January 1895 described how the members of the congregation were nearly asphyxiated during a service due to faulty ventilators in the coke stoves used to heat the church and ‘… ‘the service was abruptly brought to a conclusion …’Calming the cowsOn a happier note, one musically gifted vicar’s daughter, Helena Heather, crops up several times in the early years of the church in the local press. In October 1881 she is reported as ‘presiding on the pianoforte’ during a parish concert in the schoolroom. And in April 1890 she sang solo and played a piano solo in a grandly titled Hucclecote Philharmonic Society concert also held in the school room. In May 1891 she reported that on a trip to Colorado with her brother she had been looking for ‘sketchable bits’ when she was surrounded by menacing looking cows who she apparently calmed by singing them the Soldiers Chorus from Gounod’s opera Faust!If you have found these snippets amusing do take a look at the page on our website titled The History of the Church for more historical (usually serious!) insights. You can also take the Tour with the file attachment below.
Thought for the month: The unchanging in the changing.By Pastor Simon Duan (Hillview Church)The start of this new academic year often brings notable changes to many. Some will be starting new schools, colleges, apprenticeships, Universities, or jobs. Others may have moved into a new area (welcome if that is you). Some may have just retired or lost a job or sadly even a loved one. Others maybe struggling with a loss of their previous good health and independence. Even for those who do not have these significant changes the truth is we are all impacted by change around us much of which we cannot control. Some of us are better at embracing change, others really struggle and are fearful of what is ahead. I am not sure who you turn to when these changes happen and how you get through them but as each of us step into this new season whatever it may hold it is good to be reminded that there is a God who is unchanging. The Bible describes God as a ‘rock,’ solid, dependable and a firm foundation under our feet whatever challenges life brings. The unchanging in the changing.
Today, I thank the Lord for the privilege of worshipping together with you all. I would like to share my testimony.I was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and was raised by Christian parents. My paternal grandfather was a Christian, making me a third-generation Christian. From a young age, attending church felt natural to me; I grew up praying and singing praises together with others, without ever really questioning God’s existence.Then, when I was 14, I was baptised.However, my faith at that time was less a “faith that responds to God” and more a “faith centred on my own thoughts.” Even though I attended church, I felt I had the final say in my own path, and the central thought in my heart was not “living for God,” but rather, “how to live my own life.”To someone like me, God revealed the Gospel through His Word. I wasn’t saved because I had become a good person; rather, although had turned my back on God, Jesus Christ bore all my sins on the cross.Ephesians 2:8 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” Through this Word, I came to understand that salvation does not come from my own efforts or the strength of my faith, but is solely by God’s grace.I realised that it is God who saves and that there is absolutely no basis for my salvation within myself. Through experiencing this wonderful grace of God I longed to dedicate myself to God and respond to Him.“I want to live my life putting God’s will first”—that desire was further strengthened during my college years through fellowship with the Lord and His Word, as well as through prayer at church and encounters with many fellow believers and mentors. However, I did not know what form that would take specifically. I could not clearly see whether I would serve the Lord as a pastor at a church or through my profession. I continued to pray for God to show me the way, but my circumstances did not change immediately.After graduating from college, I worked as a high school teacher for seven years. In Japan, Christians are a minority, making up less than 1% of the population.Walking this path as a teacher—while bringing great joy in my interactions with students—was also a daily struggle as I faced the challenges of living as a Christian.The school where I worked was very busy; in addition to teaching classes and serving as a home-room teacher, I also had to coach club activities on my days off. Because of this, I sometimes struggled to attend Sunday worship services. Furthermore, my Christian values were often misunderstood at work, so I walked through each day in prayer, wondering how best to express my faith.Of course, seeing my students work hard and grow brought me great joy and a deep sense of fulfillment. Yet even amidst all that, I felt constantly challenged to ask myself, “What gives me life?” and “What do I value most?”While evaluating students is part of a teacher’s job, teachers themselves are also subject to evaluation—both by their students and by their colleagues. In such a high-pressure environment, I was constantly plagued by the fear of not being accepted and by the temptation to prove my worth. I was also sometimes troubled with trying to put myself above God. As I continued in this work, I felt a deep sense of loneliness. I lived far from a church, and there were almost no Christians at my workplace with whom I could share my faith.In the midst of this, one Sunday when I was completely exhausted, I went to church. As I prayed in a small, empty room while listening to the sermon, a mysterious peace filled my heart.To me—who was consumed by the pursuit of results and recognition, and who was trying to prove my own worth—the Word of God spoke: “Stand not on what you have accomplished, but on what Christ accomplished on the cross.” Every time I felt my limitations at work and recognised my own powerlessness, I came back to the grace of Christ. Christ gave His life to save me, even though I had nothing to offer in return.I still remember hearing the words in a church sermon one day: “We are sent out from the church to our respective places.” I learnt that church is where our souls are nourished, and although there are many difficulties in the workplace, it is the Lord Himself who sends us there daily. I realized that I was not alone—that the Lord was with me—and I was given the strength to walk by trusting in Him.During my seven years as a teacher, I learnt to recognise my own limitations. But it was also a time when the Gospel spoke into my circumstances most deeply and taught me to walk by trusting in the Lord.I also learned that there are many churches without pastors—churches that are “pastor-less”—praying for a pastor. Furthermore, there are many people in Japan who do not know the Gospel. Faced with this reality, the words of Scripture, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” began to carry ever greater weight for me.I prayed for workers to be sent, while at the same time continuing to pray about my own response to the Lord. And the Lord gave me courage to walk in obedience to Him. Until then, I had thought that dedication was a task I had to undertake alone. However, supported by the prayers of many people and inspired by the way Jesus sent out His disciples, I learnt that commitment is both a ministry the church shares together, and a work carried out by the Lord Himself. When I realised this, I entrusted the anxiety and fear I had been holding onto to the Lord, surrendered my life to Him, asking to be used as a vessel that pleases Him.Two years ago, I resigned from my teaching position and moved to Hokkaido, Japan, where I am currently studying at Hokkaido Bible College.Even now, I still experience moments of doubt and am faced with questions, but what remains unchanged is the fact that I did not choose God—rather, God chose me and redeemed me through the cross.There are still many people in Japan who do not know the Gospel. And many churches are in need of workers. I would be grateful if you would pray for the churches in Japan and for the spread of the Gospel. I hope to continue standing firm in the grace of the Gospel, proclaiming the Gospel in Japan, and walking as one who serves the church.
