WHAT CHURCH WHERE? (An Eeyoresome reflection on Palm Sunday 2015!)

A question to ponder. Where is the church today and what kind of church should it be? Considering public

processions today - the Notting Hill Carnival, the Remembrance Day celebration at the Cenotaph in London

and more recently the funeral of Richard the third in Leicester – where is the church there? And more

particularly, when we think about Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, where is the Church there?

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby came out with a quote a few weeks ago that I am beginning to

use more and more. Justin said of the church: "First,the church exists to worship God in Jesus Christ.Second

the church exists to make new disciples of Jesus Christ. Everything else is decoration. Some of it may be very

necessary, useful and wonderful decoration – but it's decoration." I think the archbishop is on to something

there: an important biblical fact (cf Matthew 28; 16-20) we easily overlook in favour of our own “point of

view.”

Jesus was a different kind of King. The crowds expected him to come in on a white charger as you would

expect from any conquering King. But the Scriptures remind us that Jesus was prophesied to enter Jerusalem

on a donkey the foal of an ass. The Old Testament had prophesied it hundreds of years before. Fact! But facts

have an annoying way of getting in the way of our expectations and points of view. For example we thought

we knew Richard the third. We had seen his portrayal by Laurence Olivier "now is the winter of our discontent

made glorious summer by this son of York…" and so on. It turns out that Richard was quite a different King

from what we had been led to believe. Our Queen reminded us that Richard was a Christian Monarch whose

faith sustained him through turbulent times in life and in death. Jesus is also a different kind of King. But the

question remains - where is the church?

Could it be that the church on Palm Sunday is actually the donkey in the story? And even this is a different

kind of donkey from what we expected. Mark 11 reminds us that the donkey was tied and that it had never

been ridden. Perhaps this is a picture of the church today - not really doing what it was designed to do

following its own expectations and points of view. Not allowing the facts to get in the way! Justin Welby's

church is a church that is more interested in mission then decoration but is this the church we see today?

Maybe it is more like a donkey tied up and never having been ridden when instead that's exactly what the

donkey had been made for.

But there is good news! The Lord needs the church! He told his disciples to say if anyone asked, to tell them

the Lord needs it! Yes it's really true: the One who made the stars has chosen to limit himself to need us.

Believe it!

So where is the church and can we find it? It's not that difficult to find Jesus nowadays. But it can be a lot

harder to find the church. You have to get through a lot of decoration! Where is the church today? Where is it

in Stanford le Hope? Where is it in St Margaret's? (A lot of people stayed away from Victoria Road Chapel on

Palm Sunday because they didn’t think it was “church”. Equally, a lot of people may stay away from St.

Margaret’s main building next Sunday because they don’t think that’s church either!)

Where is Justin Welby's church? Is it a church more concerned with mission then decoration? Is it tied up?

Outside? On the street? By a door? In other words - is it bound? Is it where the people are? Is it outward

looking? Is it close to opportunity? Whose church is it anyway? It's certainly not mine or yours! It doesn't

belong to the people out there. It belongs to Jesus. And the Lord needs it. He gave his life for His bride. What

is it about the church that excites you; that makes you get out of bed in the morning? That might tell you

something about whether you're more interested in mission or merely decoration.

Hey! Are you a bit tied up at the moment? What's keeping you bound? Is it the way we do things? The

building? The Church of England? Are we singing the wrong songs? Are the sermons too long? Do you not get

on with the people who go? Is it because we're always asking for money? I've got News for you – it's all

decoration! Jesus says “Unitie it and bring it here!

What Church Where? So where is the church then? Don't look for a spire or a tower or stained-glass windows.

Don't look for funny clothes or pious faces. Don't even look for good, kind, community-spirited well-wishers!

You won't find the church there any more then you'll find Jesus on a big white charger, carrying a flag (not

yet, at any rate!)

No. Look for a group of men and women and boys and girls who are making disciples. And when you find

them… join them!

The King in the Car Park

Amid remarkable and unprecedented scenes, the last Plantagenet king of England, the last to die in battle, was laid to rest in Leicester cathedral with great pomp and ceremony. 35,000 people attended his wake and archbishops and monarchs were at his re-interment.

 

Of her predecessor, our Queen commented: “… we recognise a king who lived through turbulent times and whose Christian faith sustained him in life and death.” The monarch perhaps cruelly lampooned by Shakespeare, cut down in his prime, would not have been disappointed at the honour paid to him by his nation. Yet for years, Richard III lay undiscovered under that most mundane of places: a council car park.

 

Some two thousand years ago another king lay buried in an unmarked grave; just another Jewish insurrectionist executed by the occupying invaders. However, this monarch lay not for years but merely days and claimed kingship not just of England but of all the world. Jesus I we might call Him, mainly because He is the One and Only and there has never been another like Him. He offers His Kingdom not for a horse but for a simple childlike faith that says: “take me!” A faith that will sustain any of us, like Richard, “through turbulent times … in life and death”. 

 

A king in a garden? A king in a car park? Remarkable things happen in unremarkable places and extraordinary events take place at the most unlikely times. You were not a mistake, not an accident or freak of nature, whoever you are and wherever you’ve come from. God loves you and the King of all that is invites you not to His funeral but to His wedding banquet.

 

This Easter – will you accept the invitation?

Don't be afraid to shine!

 

If you’re anything like most of the people in my congregation, you won’t have made a New Year resolution this year. The excuse usually given is that we generally break them within hours, so what’s the point anyway? A lot of us are so afraid of failure we don’t even start in the first place.

 

Some of the church bible readings for last week were from Psalm 20. A modern translation says: When you win, we plan to raise the roof and lead the parade with our banners. May all your wishes come true! That clinches it—help's coming, an answer's on the way, everything's going to work out. 

 

Psalms tell it like it is. They are also have tons of encouragement. They remind us not to be afraid to try; to launch into the future, confident that we CAN achieve our goals!

 

Remember the tortoise and the hare. How easily the guy in the shell suit could have given up, scared out of participation by the speed of his rival. But he didn’t give up and against all the odds – he won! The tortoise won; and so can you. Make that resolution, set that goal. Plan to win and you will!

 

Marianne Williamson wrote: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, talented, fabulous? … We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

 

So – stride boldly into 2015 and shine!

Blooming Marvellous?

I know I’m starting to get old because I’m increasingly enjoying trips to the Garden Centre! Despite having fingers that are unquestionably NOT green, I love to see a good garden with a fine display of flowers. Old or young – which of us doesn’t!

 

It seems quite a number of people in Stanford le Hope are also getting the idea of seeing their community blooming. Despite funding cuts putting the annual Thurrock in Bloom in jeopardy this year, the now famous “Bunting Sisters” (Lin Swords and Lydia Keys) are taking steps to see that Stanford at least will be as blooming good as it blooming can be!

 

Young or old, male or female, expert or novice, farmer, fertilizer or window-box wannabe – you are encouraged to get down to the WELCOME CLUB on Victoria Road at 7.00 pm on 28th January to share your ideas for making Stanford le Hope bloom again in the spring. And the summer and autumn too!

 

We are particularly keen to see the uglier fly-tipped areas beautified and every effort made to see a cleaner and greener community. All being well, we may even enter Anglia in Bloom and see how far we can go.

 

If you grow sunflowers in your school or water hanging baskets outside your house; if you mow your pocket handkerchief lawn or lovingly tend your beds in all weathers and even if you’ve never so much as handled a pair of secateurs … please come and join the blooming team!

 

Lin and Lydia and a host of flowerpot people are calling you to make a blooming difference by planting a few more seeds of hope to provide a blooming future for everyone. Thank you!

Thurrock to have Faith in Action Audit

My friends Tim and Andy (local church leaders) are doing a “Faith in Action Audit” in the community to find out whether the local church is having much impact in caring. Chances are if you’ve been helped out by FoodBank or a toddler group in your area, it may well have been connected to the faith community.

 

Fifty local authority areas are taking part in this audit in partnership with a national charity called Cinnamon Trust. It aims to find out what provision there is and how it can connect with other complementary services. Using an online survey and with the support of TRANSFORMATION THURROCK and THURROCK FAITH MATTERS, Tim and Andy will help the church (and other faith groups) recognise their potential.

 

On May 20th these findings will be presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury and give a clearer picture of what faith is doing to help people like you and me in a whole variety of ways.

 

It has been said that if the church stopped its work in the community, the whole voluntary sector would close down overnight! The faith sector’s long-term presence, strong motivation for social action, volunteering record, and provision of informal care in friendship settings has long been recognised and encompassed by the term ‘social capital’.

 

“Church” is not just about stained-glass windows, bells, hymn-singing and funny costumes; faith can make a real practical difference in the neighbourhood and it has been doing that in Thurrock for generations.

 

It would be nice to think that this special survey might generate not only increased interest in the provision of genuine care but a real partnership across religious, political and socio-economic boundaries to build a better and kinder place to live.

Voluntary Work?

They seem to be “slicing the salami” thinner and thinner in Thurrock at the moment and cuts to local services are hitting us all. No Thurrock in Bloom this year and now bus and library services are under threat. The messages I’m getting tell me people aren’t happy!

 

My colleague Maureen was one of those who spoke at full council last week and was assured by the council leader that no libraries will be closed and new one is planned to open in Purfleet. It is encouraging to hear that local centres of learning and enquiry will be maintained but this is by no means the end of the story.

 

The drive to cut costs and possible new working practices across most of our local boroughs may mean that many hard-working individuals will lose their jobs in favour of volunteers. As a large contributor to the voluntary sector, the Church is always pleased to see local people offering their time and talent for free but we are far from happy that it may mean somebody losing their employment.

 

Unpaid work and voluntary labour may well be the future for “austerity UK” but we could find ourselves living in a society that puts more and more pressure on the retired and taking advantage of those who offer themselves. In the meantime paid jobs will be more difficult to come by as our local councils try harder to get something for nothing.

 

The Good Book is very hot on sharing and caring but Paul writes in his letter to Timothy “a worker deserves his pay” so I don’t think God would be happy with a society that promoted job losses as a means of saving money.

 

Next time you visit your local library or benefit from any of our local services, spare a thought (and perhaps a prayer!) for those whose jobs are under threat.

FUNNY FOR MONEY?

At the time of writing, it is Red Nose Day across the country and thousands of individuals and organisations have been working hard to raise millions for needy people in the UK and Africa. I didn’t get my red nose out on this occasion but you can often find me sporting it on the ridiculous white face of Gof the Clown (my alter-ego!)

 

Did you do something Funny for Money this year? It’s not too late you know! There are loads of good causes in Stanford le Hope and right across Thurrock that you can give to and persuade others to give to via your creativity. Shane and Rob and Julie and James and Lin and Lydia and Sharon and Dave and Cherie and Kerry and John (to name just a few in our locality) have been doing all sorts of crazy things to remind us how important it is to be generous.

 

Making and baking and going and growing and swimming and singing and caring and sharing and staying and playing and giving and living and lots of other things that don’t necessarily rhyme have reminded us that people and relationships are special. Thank you to them and thank you to you!

 

And Comic Relief reminds us not just how important it is to give money but also to remember to laugh! The Bible says we should give “hilariously”; in other words, it should be fun! Not taking ourselves too seriously undermines the fear that many would have us wallow in – the terrorists and even sometimes the politicians, God forbid! Giving generously dethrones the idols of materialism and reminds us of the intangible values of friendship and family.

 

The book of Proverbs says that a cheerful heart is good medicine. Having fun as we give sets us free from cynicism and stress and makes the world an immeasurably better place to live in.