It will not have passed unnoticed by frustrated choristers that 40,000-plus fans were inside Wembley this week to watch, sing and celebrate England's victory over Germany in the European Championships.It was a landmark win that has delighted the nation but also prompted challenges to the lockdown rules that continue to stifle the freedom of church choirs to assemble and sing.Lady Barran (pictured), a government culture minister, attempted to defend the lockdown rules for choirs on Wednesday. Amateur choirs are limited to no more than six people indoors or 30 outdoors.The contrast between this and the football fans who failed to recognise any suggestion of social distancing could not have been more acute. Members of the Lords made clear their disagreement with Lady Barran.Lord Berkeley insisted it was mad to treat amateur choirs differently from professional singers, particularly while football fans were "singing, kissing, hugging and chanting."It is claimed that Labour, Tory, Liberal and cross benchers, and many MPs, agree on this matter. But many prefer to keep their views private - at the moment.Lady Wheatcroft, the former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, wondered what would happen if someone broke the rules. Lady Barran didn't know.
A church that was formed from a WhatsApp group during lockdown now meets every fortnight.Lay pioneer minister Venessa Pinto distributed postcards during lockdown to her neighbours in Leicester, inviting them to join the group as a way of staying in touch during the restrictions. “Within a couple of days we had received lots of messages from people – mainly young adults,” Venessa said.“We started engaging via WhatsApp on questions of spirituality and faith and out of that we began meeting on Zoom for social activities and to talk about faith. Gradually that transformed into something more formal and into an inter cultural worshipping community that we call Roots.”Venessa is a lay pioneer minister in the Diocese of Leicester and a Church Army Evangelist. She is working with lay pioneer minister Kat Gibson, as part of the Inter Cultural Worship Communities project, funded partly by the Church of England’s Strategic Development Funding.“I am really passionate about helping people not just to explore faith but also about inter cultural ministry, where people from different cultures learn from one another and explore faith together,” she said.
One of the best things about being a Director of Ordinands is hearing peoples’ stories and the way God has met them, is changing them and inviting them to respond obediently and sacrificially as they consider a call to ordination. It’s wonderful! It often reminds me of my own faith journey. One key moment for me was sitting on my bed as a teenager listening to terrible Christian rock music. (A wonderfully faithful but strict upbringing meant no secular music. Instead I discovered the delights of One Bad Pig (punk), X-Sinner (AC/DC rip-off), and the like. I’m really not sure which would have been worse…). One band (DeGarmo and Key – don’t bother looking them up!) had a song called The Pledge with the refrain, “He died for me, I’ll live for him.” To my forming teenage faith, despite the simplicity, this was a profound realisation and moment of calling. It began in me a desire to serve wherever Christ led. And this weekend we’ll celebrate 29 people who have similarly heard God’s call, each in their own way, and responded by giving their all to serve within the Church as ordained ministers. In their ordination service, the 16 new deacons will hear the Bishop’s charge “to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love… to serve the community in which they are set… to search out the poor and weak, the sick and lonely and those who are oppressed and powerless… that the love of God may be made visible.” To be ordained, is to serve within the Church, in Christ’s strength and for his glory. But even more fundamental is the belief that to be baptized is receive Christ’s commission, in everything, to live in Him and for Him. Is that a reminder you need to hear today? Do join in with the livestream of one of our four ordination services if you can www.cofeguildford.org.uk/ordinations. In so doing, perhaps it will give you opportunity to reflect afresh on your own journey, bringing a reminder of Christ’s gracious call, and opportunity to renew His vision for your life, service and ministry – lay or ordained.
Fire fighter Paul Burnett is to combine his duties with the role of curate in a parish church.Paul will continue to work as a fire fighter in Whitby in North Yorkshire during his curacy in the Parish of Whitby.He first began to make sense of his faith and felt called to service of some kind in Christ after becoming a Christian at the age of 15."I spent the next 20 years arguing with God and finding legitimate reasons not to follow my calling; I realised that this is God's time and he wasn't going to let me go,” he said.Paul joined the Royal Navy at 21 where he was under the charge of Chaplain the Revd Mike Brotherton, who was pivotal in his vocation. “The Armed Forces have a really great tradition when it comes to faith and the work of the chaplains is just amazing. Revd Mike Brotherton’s influence stayed with me all the way through the journey,” he added.Paul moved to work for the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2000.He trained for ordination with St Hild College from 2018 and was ordained as Deacon in York Minster. "My journey to ordination has been a long one, but God has walked with me all the way,” he said.
