Preachers sometimes claim that Jesus spoke more on money and giving than anything else apart from the Kingdom of God. I have never checked it, but there is no doubt he talked about money a great deal. I sometimes wonder what would happen if we preached as much about money as Jesus did! Why did he speak about it so much? The fundamental answer is that our attitude to money, and what we do with it is a discipleship issue. As a vicar, people told me that money follows vision, but it worried me that when we only followed that way of thinking, we were neglecting the deeper ‘why’. As followers of Jesus, we give to God as an act of worship, and in so doing, we topple the idol of mammon and replace it with God Almighty, the King of Kings. When we do this, we become more like the people God has designed us to be. We become freer! As we teach, encourage and invite people to give, we are leading them into greener pastures and being faithful pastors.I am excited about Transforming Generosity (and always get excited about gift days) for the opportunity it gives us. It isn’t about raising money or plugging black holes. Primarily, it is about discipleship and worship. It is about being grateful for what God has given us, becoming like him in generosity and sacrifice, and trusting him for our welfare. In my visits to African churches, I have always been humbled and amazed by the way they give. In every service, they dedicate ten or twenty minutes in the middle of the service for everyone to bring their gift forward with singing and dancing - no matter how poor they are, they find something to give, and they give it joyfully. It seems to me that they have discovered the joy of giving, and most of our church members and services are a fair way off from that. As I approached Gift Days at Christ Church, I always had to resist the thought that in inviting people to give, I was placing a burden on them, but rather, I was offering them an opportunity to experience the joy of giving and to grow in faith and worship. As we approach October and Transforming Generosity, I will need to remind myself of that again - might you also?Peter Harwood, Director of Mission
The ever-popular Pet Service will this year be staged on Sunday, September 6 outside the Sun Inn at 10am.It will be a joint service with Hascombe Church and we want to see the biggest ever turn-out of animals assembled in these parts as we join together to thank God for giving us the gift of looking after our animals.And those children who haven't got a pet, we ask you to bring your teddy bears and some food so that after the service we can stage a special Teddy Bears' picnic. It should be a special day.
After so many months of lockdown, I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated a holiday quite as much as the 10 days we’ve just enjoyed as a family. It was a precious gift to visit elderly parents in Pembrokeshire for the first time this year – and to swim in the beautifully warm Cleddau estuary! And I realised how much I needed the rest. Just before going away, I failed to show up for a meeting that I’d organised, sent a blank card to a colleague (having put the wrong card into the envelope), and made a regrettable mistake with an email.Such mistakes helped me extend compassion towards the restaurant where we enjoyed some family time last week. After a long wait to be served, the staff got the orders completely mixed up and we ended up, after a very staggered meal, with starters being served after the main course. The poor manager explained that, whilst they appreciated the government’s help through the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme, they weren’t prepared for the volume of custom and that they were under-staffed, over-tired and struggling to cope with such a very different regime.So many people I’ve chatted to in the last few months have spoken about tiredness. It’s made me reflect upon Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28: ‘Come unto me, all you that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest’. This verse surmounted the east window in the church where I was last vicar and faced me every time I entered the building. I remember thinking that God must have divinely ordered it to be there just for my benefit – 130 years after the church was built – for I know in that season of leadership, I needed to hear it on a daily basis.Later this week, we celebrate the feast of St Augustine of Hippo – one of the greatest theologians of the early church. This verse was a particularly important one for Augustine. He wrote ‘I have read in Plato and Cicero things that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come to me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. It inspired one of his best known and loved prayers which has echoed down through the centuries: ‘Almighty God, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you’.I wonder whether this verse is a particularly appropriate one for this season? I’m grateful that the staff of Church House Guildford currently begin every week by hearing these words. They’re a helpful reminder that, whilst breaks and holidays are essential for all of us, the ultimate rest is not a place or a period of time off, but a person - Jesus. I do hope that you’ve managed to have some time off over the summer months. But I also pray that as we look forward to a busy September and Autumn, we will constantly seek rest in the one whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.Archdeacon Paul
