July 2021 - Team Vicar “Twaddle”. This is my 10<sup>th</sup> year in the Uttoxeter Area of Parishes. I know that is peanuts compared to others; however, somehow I feel long-in-the-tooth. I have now been in the Area for more time than my years in the Probation Service (eight years) and my combined time at university (seven years). In that time I have gone from being fairly green to the whole parish priest lark, to feeling reasonably knowledgeable and competent. When the diocese talks of ‘experienced’ priests it quotes those with at least ‘three years’ in a post, which doesn’t seem long to me but what do I know? I still feel like a bit of a fly-by-night. When I speak with people like Thelma, Hilda and Geoff, who seem to have been around the Area since time immemorial, I know that I am temporary, lacking in local knowledge compared with PCCs, parishioners and Ministry Teams, who have seen a dozen or more parish priests come and go. I hope I have always been conscious of the subservient nature of parish ministry and valued the dependence on volunteers in all churches, which will go on long after my retirement. Whilst obviously I still want to change the world, if I can be remembered half as fondly as Paddy (and Mark) Vidal-Hall was at her funeral recently, I think I will be happy with my stint in the Uttoxeter Area. We do face a different parish situation now. Whilst Leigh, Kingstone/Gratwich and Marchington St.Peter’s/Marchington Woodlands each had their own vicars, there are now 10 parishes in the Area, which bounce around between having 1-3 paid vicars at any one time. If I could wander around Leigh as a full-time post then I could probably do a better job but in 2021 it costs £56, 450 to pay for one vicar (which includes the stipend, housing costs, pension, diocesan costs and around 6% to the national church), which Leigh could not afford. I get £27,000 (gross) in my annual wage packet and am not complaining, but it does make you wonder about the funding structure in the Church of England. Perhaps we should go back to Glebe Land and Livings! Over the last year I have had the chance to look at Parish Shares across the Deanery and have come to the conclusion that different people are looking at the same picture through different lenses. The Diocese primarily sees Parish Share through a Benefice lens but staff deployment through a Deanery lens; the Deanery sees Parish Share and deployment through a Deanery lens but has no real power to effect either; and the parishes tend to see both through a parish lens. At points such as Shaping For Mission, some of the lenses intersect but not consistently enough and not with enough understanding from all parties together. As cheesy as this sounds, we all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet, or at least have the same hymn sheet available to sing from. We need to be focussing on working consensually as one (acknowledging our disagreements) in order to be able to plan well for the future. At the moment there is too much angst, too much anxiety and too little understanding of the bigger picture from all parties. We also need to be realistic about what is achievable and affordable in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, both in terms of finance and practise in the parishes. I crave the traditional parish priest role but find myself more often in front of a computer than in front of parishioners. Vicars often attend more meetings aimed at achieving a bigger impact than actually catching up with people. However, I can wander around as much as I like but unless enough money comes in for the building and Parish Share ….. In the end, I do not believe that the vicar can or should do everything, or can achieve the great charismatic wave of evangelism that would resolve all our problems. I am paid for by the people but cannot be the people. In the end my role must be to do the basics (services) but essentially to encourage and enable the wealth of experience, faith, passion, talent and hopefully compassion that people hold in their heads and hearts for those around them. That will be the wave that needs to come, to make the structures less top-heavy, less deferential to the powers-that-be and for those powers-that-be to more gracious and acknowledge that their very existence depends upon the donations and collections of the people on the ground. At the same time, the people on the ground need to accept that change will come and we should make the most of it and not just mumble into our beer, however comforting and traditional that beer may be. Peace and prayers, Joe Rev’d Joe Cant.
Some thoughts for the Area June 2021The final episode of BBC One's Line of Duty was watched by an average of 12.8 million viewers on that Sunday night, the most watched episode of any drama since modern records began in 2002. Were you one of the viewers who tuned in to find out the identity of criminal mastermind, H? And did you agree with the critics that the series ended with an anti-climax with lots of loose ends and plenty of scope for further episodes.One of Hastings most famous quotes is “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey” and it seems to be one that has been appreciated. Several lines of duty are incorporated into that phrase. Jesus: the main character in a murder story, one series finished with his resurrection, not a disappointing end that time. The next series is underway, and God knows that the last episode will be triumphant. Mary: a girl who chose to embrace with joy the challenges of her line of duty, no guns required for this strong but humble woman.Joseph: a key character who takes a back seat after the first episodeThe Wee Donkey: carrying Mary to Bethlehem and Jesus to Calvary, not a fast car with a siren, but still getting people to places at the right time.Jesus needed Mary Joseph and the wee donkey, in order to complete his purposes. The complexity of their relationships with each other and the world haven’t been fully explained yet- but they will be one day. And we are also characters in this epic drama, may not be in uniform, may only be a split second on screen but still specially selected by God and part of the big picture. What now for us? The fear may be genuine, there is a lot at stake, there are so many opportunities, and we don’t know where the story line is going. We may have been slow to grasp who H was but let’s grasp who HS is. We do have a Heavenly Director in charge of our reality, a Colleague who won’t let us down, and the Holy Spirit to guide us. Whether you have watched Line of Duty on TV or not, we are in this amazing set and with colourful characters let’s play our part in the exciting adventure God has for Uttoxeter Area.Lucy ToynReader Uttoxeter Area
As a teenager on a day like today, when the sun is streaming into the house but it’s too cold to tempt me out into the garden for long, I would delight in lying reading for hours on end. I’d find myself transported into other times and places lapping up the rich, varied language and created images of favourite, and not so favourite, authors. As I got older with less free time I consigned this luxury to holidays but kept reading daily at bedtime. Gradually, like many of you, I also developed the habit of dipping into the Bible regularly (often using ‘Daily Bread’ publication) as well as hearing/reading it in church services. I never looked at reading the whole of the Bible or even stretching myself beyond a few chapters at a time.However, in September I started a Reader Training course with Lichfield Diocese and Queens University. I am now immersed in books with weekly reading lists, assignment deadlines and practical ministry experience to fill any spare time I might have each week. As I took up this study several voices commented that Biblical studies would make me view the Bible in a different way which could be uncomfortable for a while - Certainly the course requires analysis of what’s there, why and how it got there. Since September we have been asked several times to read a whole book to comment on its flow, style, content, etc.. This has suddenly, for me, made the writings make greater sense and altered the impact of the content which we usually have in short passages. Instead of a collection of books, rather like an anthology, I’m now beginning to see the care, purpose and balance of all making up the one storyline from Genesis to Revelation. There are so many vivid stories and descriptions which bring a world in pictures to mind, if you allow the words to paint the scenes as you read or hear them – You may already have discovered this! Currently my assignment focuses around Revelation (4: 1-11 to be precise) which has been a revelation! Written at a time when no television, films or radio existed and the general population were not particularly literate, or indeed free to indulge in spare time activities, its imagery and content must have made a lasting impression to its original audience. The creation of the scenes which can seem unsettling has continued to provide hot debate ever since. However, the ‘Heavenly Throne’ with the detailed description of what surrounds it gives the strong, unequivocal message of our God at the centre of all, there to be worshipped. The God who, as the Bible begins in Genesis, is marvelled at for His creation of our world. The God who loves unconditionally, supports without strings and listens to all, even in the midst of an uncertain time of world pandemic. This picture of God is added to with the celebrations this month of Ascension Day and Pentecost - At Ascension the triumph and achievement of God’s involvement in the World through His son Jesus is seen, whilst Pentecost reminds us of His commitment to always be with us in spirit. Two more great pictures to enjoy. Mindfulness exercises have become popular, so if you have time why not reconstruct a scene from Revelation or Ascension or Pentecost in your own style? – See what you find and feel what it brings you. It’s not only those novels that can conjure up worlds that transport you out of your day and into a space to find tranquillity and be empowered.Stephanie Goodwin – Trainee Reader for the Uttoxeter Area
A letter from Revd Charles Dale, one of our Area ministers. April 2021Time seems to have flown by since the last letter I wrote in July last year bang in the middle of Lockdown 2, with the hope of coming through that period and getting back to normal and here we are in Lockdown 3.! I think it is more important than ever to ask of oneself ‘how am I really coping and getting on both physically and mentally?’ Life certainly isn’t the same and we’ve gone through such a lot of changes since then and we have to get used to the new way of being and doing and adapting to a new norm. Thankfully for me, what hasn’t changed is my faith and trust in God, times of waiting on him and persevering in prayer and praise; enjoying the natural world around me (although Kingstone woods has been a tad muddy over the winter months!) and the love of my close family. These things comfort my soul. But you might expect that of me! However, I have found these times as challenging as anyone else, with lots of wilderness times.It has helped for me to reflect on Jesus and of his wilderness experience; of how he felt and what was going through his mind as he negotiated that time in a barren landscape, famished and full of the temptations of earthly life. This, after he had received that wonderful affirmation from God at his baptism as the Spirit descended on him as he came out of the waters to start his earthly ministry. Rather though, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness! I’m sure that experience was not what he was really expecting. Even more so as he entered what we now call Holy Week and the dark and tragic events that led to his cruel death on the cross. The events of the last twelve months weren’t what we were expecting either, with its restrictions and bereavements of all kinds.You may feel you are in a wilderness place as you negotiate the do’s and don’ts of Lockdown and the consequences of the pandemic; lamenting the days gone by and of untold personal hardships in your life. What are the things that have kept you going? What brings you comfort?As well as dry barrenness, wildernesses can though be places of development and growth. Much of the Bible and its times involve desert experiences with times, yes of testing and waiting on the Lord, but also of discovery and blossoming. The people of Israel wandered for 40 formative years, but they eventually crossed over into the Promised Land. Jesus had 40 days of testing and formation after which, as St Luke writes, ‘the power of the Holy Spirit was with him’, just as he was at the baptism. Jesus was strengthened and enabled for his ministry through these experiences, but throughout often went to out of the way places to pray, to continue to be refreshed by God, his Father.I take heart in the fact that, for Jesus, the wilderness and the dark tragic time of Holy Week culminated in something more glorious. That glory can be yours too, whatever you have personally lamented in these past times.Easter is a time when we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death, promising new life and hope for those who trust in him.One of the churches canticles is called ‘The Song of the Wilderness’. It’s set as an Advent song of praise, but I think is really appropriate for our times and of the promise of hope that is Easter. Its starts like this:‘The wilderness and dry land shall rejoice; the desert shall blossom and burst into song. They shall see the glory of the Lord; the majesty of our God.’On Easter Day, Mary stood weeping at the tomb, but Mary’s tears of sadness soon became tears of joy. To her was revealed the glory of the risen Lord. Whatever you have lamented and mourned these last twelve months, may your tears of sadness turn into tears of joy; may you too know the comfort and glory of the risen Lord.There are better times coming and we will be together again; times when your own wilderness and dry land shall rejoice and your desert blossom and burst into song. As you journey on may you be comforted and strengthened in the song: ‘Alleluia, Christ is risen.’ May your response be: ‘He is Risen indeed, Alleluia.’Blessings and peaceCharles
