GRATWICH NEWSLETTERSeptember 2021 For further information about anything in the newsletter, please contact:Rev. Charles Dale 01889 500428: email: revcharles.dale@btinternet.comJenny Talbot: 01889 50241 email: jenny477@btinternet.comFacebook: St. Mary’s Church Gratwich GRATWICH SERVICES IN SEPTEMBER SUNDAY 12th 11.15am Holy Communion IN CHURCH SUNDAY 26th 7.00pm Evening Prayer IN CHURCHNo need to book a seat now We are still keeping social distancing and hand sanitising September already, schools back and looking more like autumn now. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Lots to look forward to in the next few months (not even going to mention Christmas!). </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Harvest Festivals galore – unfortunately most of them seem to be on the same day but I think you could get to at least two of them on the 26th – and the fashion show in Bramshall is always a good evening for a bargain.</span>CondolencesWe send our love and prayers to the family of David BebbingtonDavid and his parents lived in Gratwich for many years and his father was also churchwarden at St. Mary’s Church – there is a plaque in his memory in the church.100 CLUB – August – drawn at the Evening Service on 22nd August1st Alfie Cotton 2nd Sophia Capewell 3rd Ian CottonThe next draw will be at the evening service on 26th September in church .GRATWICH HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE AND LUNCHSunday 10th OctoberService 12.00noon followed by lunch in ChurchLunch tickets: Adults £6Children (Under 13 years) £4Contact Jenny for tickets (01889 502471)Lunch spaces limited to 36 so book earlyEVENTS IN OTHER PARISHES10th September 7.00pm FASHION SHOW Bramshall Parish Hall – chance to buy high street fashion items as a good price. (Contact SallyAnne for more details 01889 565228)17th September 10.00am -12 MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING in St. Mary’s Uttoxeter26th September 12.30pm HARVEST LUNCH - St. Peter’s Marchington (lunch tickets from: Mrs Halcrow 01283 820346)26th 11.00am HARVEST FESTIVAL & LUNCH St. Lawrence’s Bramshall (lunch tickets: SallyAnne 01889 565228)26th September 3.00pm HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE St. John’s Marchington Woodlands2nd October 10.00am – 12 AUTUMN FAIR in St. Mary’s, Uttoxeter2nd October 7.00pm St. John’s Marchington Woodlands HARVEST SUPPER (supper tickets from: G Salt 01283 821587)3rd October 12.30pm onwards HARVEST FESTIVAL & LUNCH in St. Mary’s Uttoxeter (contact: Dianne office.uttoxetercof@gmail.com for more details & lunch tickets) Bible Bookclub – Thursday 30th September, 7.30pmThe next meeting of the Zoom Bible Bookclub will be discussing 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.If you would like to join please contact Lesley at the Area Office either by phone – 01889 562915 or email – uttoxeterareaparish@outlook.comArea Letter from one of our Area Staff Team - September 2021Dear friends,I write this letter after returning from a lovely day spent with my daughter and granddaughters, both of whom are flourishing at school and delighting in all that life offers them. As I looked at the fourteen-year-old, my mind cast me back to the images witnessed this week on our television screens of those trying to flee Afghanistan and the horror stories emerging of actions waged against some of those who have been enjoying roles which women never had until fairly recently. Fifteen-year-olds are now being forced into marriage by Taliban fighters whom they have never known.The Taliban vowed in a press conference yesterday to forgive those who fought them and to respect women’s rights within Islamic law. Yet a group of female special- forces soldiers trained by the British said that they had been forced into hiding and stopped from getting to a visa- processing centre. Only time will tell how things progress. Yet in every horror story there are rays of hope as military flights escort as many as possible to safety. An American plane intended to hold one hundred and thirty four soldiers sitting on either side of the plane, took off with six hundred and forty men, women and children crammed onto the floor of the plane and it landed safely in Qatar. The pilot decided not to remove any of the passengers and took off when air traffic control gave the green light. Christians both inside and outside the United States disagree on what the US government and military should have done. But they are trying to apply their faith to help them understand how to best advocate for justice in the aftermath. Mark Tooley, the editor of Providence: Journal of Christianity & American Foreign Policy and the president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy says. “This war like all wars reflects human depravity. It’s inevitable and inescapable. And yet we can admire the sacrifice and courage of all—American, Afghan, and various NATO personnel, who laboured and sacrificed that Afghanistan might escape the ravages of the past. There have been many successes: longer lives, greater health, more education, more freedoms—across 20 years. These victories will not be entirely smothered by the Taliban. And we can assume that the church in Afghanistan, however small, has planted seeds whose fruit will be harvested across future generations in ways we cannot imagine.”We pray that Afghanistan will rise up like a phoenix from the ashes, this time stronger and wiser. May the Holy Spirit touch the Taliban so that they remain soft-hearted and recognize the human rights of all the people. The global body of Christ needs to express Christian love and compassion to the Taliban and share the blessing and joy that God has given us. We pray for Afghanistan - that the Taliban stick to their promises of a freer society with women participating in all aspects of life and girls/women in school and that followers of Jesus in that country will grow in number and maturity and bless it with transforming deeds and words for we are called to build God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”Yours in ChristIreneThe Rev’d Irene Smith, OLM at Checkley.
A question that Rev Margaret asked the staff team recently was “What is the joy in our ministry?” It certainly got me thinking. 17 years ago I had felt the call to take my faith a step further and after 3 years of study and a few interviews when I had to discuss and explain my faith, I was licensed as a Reader. During these years I have had the privilege of preparing and taking services in all of the churches in the Area. I’ve taken many funerals which has involved talking to the bereaved families and preparing a service that they feel recognises the love for their family member and celebrates their life. This despite the sadness that surrounds a funeral gives me joy that I can help in some small way to make a difference for the family. As you can imagine it takes a lot of thought and prayer to put together such a service, but it is also the pastoral work that goes alongside this that is most joyful. Not that these times are joyful.I also find joy in putting together services and other occasions where we all get together to think about and discover what our Christian faith means. It really is fun thinking of creative ways to share our faith and working with other like-minded people in the preparation. Thinking of different ways to explain, discuss and to share our faith is joyful – the hope is that people who attend such services or events also find it joyful! Just a plug here – I hope you will join us at Marchington Woodlands Village Hall on 15th August at 3pm for one of these creative ways to look at our faith and enjoy getting back together over tea and cake!So what is joy? The dictionary definition is a feeling of pleasure and happiness. Defining joy in ministry is difficult. I suppose that it is the pleasure of what I have just described. But then the happiness comes from the feeling I can get when I get the sense that a service has been well received, not that I’m often told! I just hope it has!But the real joy is that I am not alone – I may live alone but I have a companion in all that I do – one who understands me, one who I can talk to, one who puts up with me, accepts me as I am with all my faults and failings, one who will never walk out on me, one who will give me encouragement. There is the continuous assurance that God in Jesus through the Spirit walks beside me always. What more can I ask for!?Maggie Hatchard, Reader for Uttoxeter Area of Parishes.
On August 15th at the Woodlands Village Hall, a small team are organising an Afternoon Tea with some aspects of Messy Church for everyone of any age who wants to join in. It will be a chance for people to get together - have a chat - do some activities ( some for adults and some for children) and hopefully get to meet Rev Jules Walker.For more information about the venue - https://www.mwvh.co.uk/ or the event, contact one of us via the links on this website.
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.
