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A Vision
Mission
Kairos
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FAITH MATTERS
The Parish Magazine of St.
Faith, Havant with St. Nicholas, Langstone
JULY
2004
(Internet Edition) |
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From the Rector
I remember well the first time
I heard the expression ‘Spring Cleaning’. It was
my grandmother who told me about her mother’s exhaustive
efforts to rigorously clean the house once a year. Her
graphic detail of the scenes of movement, intense
scrubbing and cleaning made me feel quite embarrassed on
behalf of my mother, who had not, I felt quite sure,
ever embarked upon such an endeavour. I wondered why not
– was she just too busy, disorganised, or was she,
horror of horrors, simply an inadequate Mother? I
ventured to ask her and she explained that modern
technology meant that we could keep much of the house
cleaner all the year round that had been possible back
then, that she still did a form of spring cleaning and
that I was welcome to help if I wanted to. I seem to
remember that my interest in the idea soon evaporated
but my faith in my mother was restored.
Every now and then my computer needs
something of a spring clean, or as it’s otherwise known
‘defragmentation’. I am not sure what this means,
but it’s a good thing apparently. It enables the smooth
running of the machine and contributes to the essential
maintenance of any piece of valuable equipment.
Just recently I have been taking a
little time out to do some ‘Spring Cleaning’. I
used the time to sort out my filing at home, do some
gardening, redecorate the dining room and study and
re-organise the latter at the same time. As Susan has
just started a new job I found it valuable to check up
on the way we run our home and deal with the
organisational demands on us as a family. I was
surprised at just how much there is – bills, circulars,
invitations, letters home from school and ‘phone calls
to return. It struck me just how many ways there could
be to simplify or make more efficient the way we conduct
the routine matters of life – matters I had simply never
taken the time to concern myself with before.
As I was painting my study I
reflected upon how I was going to put things back into
the room once it was ready. I had already made some
decisions but I wanted to improve a number of details.
As Susan and I chatted about ideas related issues would
arise and offer further questions for consideration. It
occurred to me that this whole process was more than the
physical re-arranging of furniture. It was also the
bettering of a means of addressing life – hopefully more
organised and efficient. But more than this I valued the
time out to take a view on who I am and what I am doing.
I asked myself the sort of questions that one only can
when there is space to reflect upon the implications of
such a question.
One of the conclusions I came to was
that I very much enjoy being in Havant and that being
Rector of this Parish is a most rewarding experience. I
am very excited by the momentum we have built up in our
various Vision to Mission projects. I have resolved to
give more of my time to over-seeing this, and the Kairos
process, and to communicating to you the progress we are
making, which is quite considerable. So from next month
I shall publish a progress report.
As the allotted time for this ‘Spring
Clean’ came to an end we felt the need to allocate
another fortnight next month. Alas this can’t be, but I
hope it won’t be another three years before I again
address the important task of putting my house in order.
With every blessing,
Fr. David
About The Parish
Green hills look greener from afar!
Strange how our memories play tricks on us. When we were
young, the seasons of the year were all clearly defined;
spring came and woke us up to Nature, the summer was hot
and dry, autumn was brown and it snowed each winter. The
films, which I enjoyed as a schoolboy, did not seem the
same when they came out on video some 50 years later!
Everything was so different when we were young.
When I was a boy, there seemed a
greater sense of community. Perhaps because this was
during the Second World War when, unlike previous wars,
civilians were in the frontline during air raids. The
sacrifice of people was beyond words. People who were
bombed out were taken in by friends, neighbours and
family. In rural areas, families took evacuees in;
complete strangers brought to their doors by billeting
officers. People came out of the air raid shelter to
find doors and windows blown away and yet, with their
homes wide open, there was no looting.
Is there still the same sense of
community today? The answer is an emphatic yes if
Granville Close, Havant, is anything to go by! I first
learnt of the community spirit in this Close from the
late Hugh Elliott, who told me of the kindness of
neighbours following the death of his wife, Alinda. As
his health deteriorated, his neighbours, particularly
Vicky and Bob next door (we remember Bob at St Faith's
as the Mayor's Macebearer), rallied round to cook meals
for him, to do his shopping, to visit him in hospital
and to care for his beloved little cat, Mopsy, in his
absence. More recently, neighbours in the Close have
given our own Tom Jones great support in the sad loss of
his wife, Kathleen.
One of the neighbours who have done
so much for others is, of course, another of our
congregation - Olive Andrews. Not in the best of health,
she has also been helped by neighbours including Paul
next door who, among other kindness’, gives her space in
his freezer to store the lemon cakes she makes for all
her many friends including us. Olive continues to walk
neighbours' dogs and keeps a caring eye on all the pets
in the Close. Happily, she was well enough to come to
church at Easter, brought by two special people - her
lovely neighbours and friends Giles and Lorraine, who
comes from New Zealand. With Olive was her new dog,
Jaffa, who is the retired guide dog of Marian, one of
Father Tom's flock at St Joseph's Church.
Our Lord said, "Love thy neighbour
as thyself." This prompted a lawyer in the crowd to
ask, "And who is my neighbour?" As we know, our
Lord then told, by way of illustration, the Parable of
the Good Samaritan. There are many good Samaritans in
Granville Close.
Roger Bryant
Christian Aid Rewrites the Lord’s
Prayer
The charity Christian Aid has
produced a collection "Pocket Prayers for Justice and
Peace", which is intended to use modern
interpretations of prayer from around the world to
‘bring situations abroad to people in the UK’. The
compilation is to be issued in October by Church House
Publishing, official publisher of the Church of England.
The version of the Lord’s Prayer is:
Our Father who is in us here on Earth,
holy is your name in the hungry who share their bread
and their song.
Your kingdom come, a generous land
where confidence and truth reign.
Let us do your will, being a cool
breeze for those who sweat.
You are giving us our daily bread when
we manage to get back our lands or to get a fairer wage.
Forgive us for keeping silent in the
face of injustice and for burying our dreams.
Don’t let us fall into the temptation
of taking up the same arms as the enemy, but deliver us
from evil which disunites us.
And we shall have believed in humanity
and in life, and we shall have known your kingdom which
is being built for ever and ever.
This version is attributed to ‘a
poor community in South America’. What do you think?
Is a rewrite of the Lord’s Prayer, and, inter alia, a
rewrite of the 23rd Psalm, the right way to
bring situations that are happening abroad to us.
(Source: Daily Mail 2 June 2004)
Bill Bennett RIP
It was with great sadness that we
learnt that Bill had passed away. Only last November, we
were reading in "Faith Matters" an appreciation
by Bill of his late sister, Margaret Peters. This told
us much about him. Apart from their shared childhood in
Portsmouth, the love, understanding and kindness, which
were so evident in him, shone through his simple
narrative of Margaret's life. Bill grew up in Portsmouth
and the first church he attended was St Wilfred's.
During the war, their home in Beecham Road was destroyed
in the blitz and the family moved to Havant, which was
when Bill joined St Faith's. Bill and Beryl met at a
birthday party and subsequently took an active part in
the social life of St Faith's, where they were married
in 1951. Bill enjoyed music, playing the piano and
singing in the choir. He was a very earnest and
committed man, who was active in the Bible Reading
Fellowship and the Leprosy Mission. Bill was a quiet,
gentle man who only saw the best in others. He was
uncomplaining and never wanted any fuss. Above all he
loved his family dearly and our thoughts and prayers are
now with them and Beryl.
A Brief
Overview of Religion in New Zealand |
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New Zealand is a
multi-ethnic country with no state-recognised religion.
The 1996 census indicated that 48% of the
population-claimed affiliation with mainstream Christian
churches (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian,
Methodist, and Baptist) while a further 5% were
affiliated to churches of small membership.
Non-Christian religions are represented in major cities,
where Synagogues, Mosques, and Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist
Temples, reflect the diversity of worship and enrich the
culture. Pentecostalism is the most rapidly growing of
Christian denominations, while Islam and Buddhism are
the fastest growing of other faiths, though none draws
adherence from more than 1% of the population. Prior to
being colonised from Europe, New Zealand and Australia
were part of an Archdeaconry of the Diocese of Calcutta,
India. The first Christian service in New Zealand
was held on Christmas Day 1814 at Oihi, Rangihoua Bay,
Bay of Islands. Bishopric of Aotearoa ("Land
of the Long White Cloud" is the Maori name for the
Islands). The Maori expression of the Church in New
Zealand was first recognised in 1925 with the
installation of Frederick Augustus Bennett as first
Bishop of Aotearoa (Te Pihopa O
Aotearoa). A New Zealand Prayer Book
(He Karakia Mihinare O Aotearoa)
was published in 1989. It is similar to ours but
with some variations. |
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The Mass Setting – Why Change It?
Over the past three years we have
become accustomed to the St Thomas Mass setting (written
by David Thorne) and the Modal Mass. It is appropriate
that we learn other settings so that we build up a suite
of arrangements for use at different times and seasons
in the church’s year. For instance the Modal Mass is
ideally suited to Lent and Advent as it has a much more
penitential feel. The St Thomas Mass is very upbeat and
suits ideally the great festival seasons such as
Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Ascension. But in the
current season of trinity (which goes on until the
Sundays before Advent – some six months, although
remember it is punctuated by Saints days and other
festivals) it is not inappropriate to have a change to
reflect the mood of the season. Thus we have the present
setting by Dom Gregory Murray, which I am sure you will
come to love after a period of time.
There are of course a number of other
famous settings, such as Faure’s requiem, which, would
be lovely to use if we were feeling highly ambitious (it
would need a very accomplished four-part choir) or
others you can find at the back of our hymn book. It is
my hope that we can continue to raise the quality of our
worship by including greater variety, which appeals to
the spirituality of a larger number of people. At the
same time I recognise that too much change is not a
help, so I assure you any change will be made
sensitively. Please let me know what you think of the
music – do you have suggestions that you would wish to
make?
Fr David
To Montgomery and his Men (May 1944)
(Written during the run up to D-day)
Shall we recall, when this great
strife is over,
The valiant deeds of our heroic men?
There may be countless secrets to discover
And we shall comprehend their value then.
Across the desert and in lonely places
Men fought the tyrant that we might be free,
Through heat and dust they went with steadfast faces
Building the road that leads to victory.
With trust in God and humble prayers repeated
Their General, a man among his men
Gave strength to those who felt they were defeated,
He led them on to fight and win again.
And now they wait in silence the great hour,
The empire feels her mighty strength of old
To free the nation from the tyrant's power
And raise the allies to the place they'd hold.
Do we deserve the sacrifice they're making?
And are we worthy of the pains they bear?
And when at last the dawn of peace is breaking
Will there be better days for them to share?
For those who mourn, for those in pain or sorrow
We wish relief and comfort once again
We must build a better future for tomorrow
A sounder world for Monty's gallant men.
Judith L Glenister
Questions and Answers Page
The Ministry Vision to Mission Group
has proposed having a question and answer page in
Faith Matters. We welcome your questions about the
Church, its Services, scriptures, and customs. Please
hand your question to our editor Colin Carter, or
Churchwardens, or Sidesmen, for consideration. You can
also use email " editor@stfaith.com"
if you prefer.
To start the process, here is my
question:
Question? "What is the
significance and origin of the ringing of a bell during
the prayer of consecration in the Holy Communion
service?"
Paul Utting
Why Do We Ring the Bell During Communion?
The ‘Angelus’ bell, as it is
often called, is rung to draw people’s attention to
specific moments during the Mass. Historically, I was
reminded by Audrey Currie, it alerted people in and
outside the church to the holiest moment of the service.
In the medieval times lepers were excluded from being
inside the church, so when the bell rang they looked
through peepholes in the walls to observe the sacred
raising of the bread and wine – now the body and blood
of Christ.
In recent times the emphasis of these
sacred moments has changed. We take a broader view – in
the first place it is not just the priest that
consecrates the bread and wine, it is the whole
congregation praying together (thus the term
‘President’ – the one who presides over the
celebration rather than doing it all him/herself). In
the same vein it is not just the words of institution
(‘This is my body…’) that represent the changed
significance of the bread into Christ’s body and wine
into his blood. It is the combined prayer of the whole
community of faith throughout the whole service leading
up to the communion that enables this transformation. So
why have the bells any more?
The answer to this is that even
though these changes in understanding have occurred they
are still moments of significance – moments of
heightened awareness of the process that is going on.
They draw our attention to the miraculous transformation
brought about by God in the community of the faithful
who now understand the bread and wine to represent the
body and blood of Jesus Christ – a most powerful symbol
of the presence of his love with us in the here and now.
Fr. David
Cosmo Gordon Lang and the Miracle of
"The Gadarene Demoniac"
We have now read Cosmo Lang's
interpretation of several miracles but this one he
described as perplexing. Remembering that he was writing
in 1900, he had a problem with reconciling mental
illness with possession by the devil. He wrote, "But
it is hardly possible to doubt that the authority of
Jesus is given to the belief that these cases of mania
were due, not only to disordered tissues of the brain,
but to some mysterious possession of evil spirits."
The miracle is described in three
Gospel accounts - St Matthew's, St Mark's and St Luke's.
The story is that Jesus met a man in Gadarenes, against
Galilee, naked and without an abode who said his name
was Legion because many devils were entered into him. He
cried out and fell at Jesus’ feet, saying, "What have
I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high. I
adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not." Jesus
said, "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit."
Then the devils went out of the man and entered into a
herd of swine grazing nearby, which ran violently down a
steep slope into a lake where they perished. The
herdsmen entered the neighbouring town and told people
what they had seen. The people came out and found the
man, fully clothed and sat at the feet of Jesus, who
told him to return home so that people would see what
great things God had done to him.
Lang records, that the townspeople
witnessed the man with Jesus "to prove with dramatic
completeness that real powers of evil had possessed the
man, and that another power had appeared which was their
master; Jesus had driven the devils forth into the herd
of swine." The people were filled with awe. More
than this, they were afraid. They wanted Jesus to leave.
Lang says, "The presence of one whose power was so
great would disturb their daily life; it would make them
uncomfortable, uncertain as to what He would do with
them." He gives emphasis to this with the words,
"So long as religion will quietly accommodate itself to
the kind of life which we have got used to, so long as
we can speak of it, as a beautiful ideal, we are not
afraid to have a religion."
Lang sees much symbolism in Jesus
telling the man to return home because Christ makes home
the primary place of witness. Lang says, "Our life in
the outside world is more or less artificial; and the
words that we speak, or the sermons which we preach, to
the outside world, are apt to have this taint of
artificiality." Lang considers Church religion
unstable unless it is based upon the solid foundation of
home religion. At home, he considers we are more like
Christ, more true to our own ideal, more able to speak
our deepest thoughts frankly and simply; here, we can
thank God that our religion is becoming more real. Amen.
Roger Bryant
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From the Editor
The second phase of the four-phase
process – studying the theology behind Kairos
thinking – was completed last month. It consisted of six
sessions, each posing different questions to be
discussed in a group. One of the questions was "How
and where do we see God present in the world today?"
This got me thinking of "Where did I feel God’s
presence during my naval service?" I felt His
presence watching over me early in my naval career when
I was serving in my first ship, the destroyer HMS
Diamond. We were exercising in the Denmark Straits
between Greenland and Iceland with NATO ships in
September 1953. Whilst the ship altered course in the
dark with lights switched off in all the ships, we
collided with the cruiser HMS Swiftsure. If we had
turned a few seconds earlier, the cruiser would have hit
us and we would have sunk immediately in the icy cold
waters. In the event, although there were fires on both
ships, there were no fatalities. |
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On Christmas Day 1954 just outside
Cape Town in South Africa, whilst travelling from the
naval radio station for dinner with friends, our bus
went off the road into a ditch. Again, there were no
fatalities.
Whilst flying over the jungles of
Borneo in 1966 the aeroplane flew into a ferocious
thunderstorm. It was struck many times by lightning and
was buffeted around the sky, but the aeroplane came out
of it all right and nobody was hurt, only shaken!
To get this edition of the magazine
out on time has been a rush as Beryl and I returned from
Portugal days after the deadline. After two weeks
relaxing in the sunshine it took a bit of effort too! My
thanks to Sisyphus, who gave me the crossword, and to
Roger Bryant, who gave me his articles before I went,
which enabled me to prepare some of the magazine before
going on holiday.
Colin Carter |
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
An introduction to the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator (MBTI) will be held in the Rectory on six
Monday evenings from 7.30pm-9.30pm from 13 September to
18 October led by Carole Wynn. The MBTI workshop can
help you to:
Know yourself better
Appreciate your gifts and strengths
Appreciate the gifts and strengths of
others
Value differences
Improve your communication and team
working skills
Explore your personal and spiritual
growth
The course will include structured
input and notes, a course booklet, and much opportunity
for discussion, laughter and quiet personal reflection.
The cost is £25 to cover course materials and
tea/coffee. Interested? Then please contact Susan
Gibbons telephone 023 9248 3485.
Correspondence Column
Dear Father David and all at St.
Faith’s,
Many, many thanks for all the
beautiful mementoes and gifts that were presented to me
and Sheila last Sunday (6 June). I knew something
was in the offing but never in my wildest dreams did I
ever consider such generosity.
It has been an honour and a privilege
to serve St. Faith’s as Churchwarden for the last 18
years. When taking office in 1986 I never thought my
tenure would be as so extensive. I have learnt much
about church procedures, faculties and the like and the
period of the interregnum, although busy, has provided
much knowledge and experience.
The support and friendship of all at
St. Faith’s is much appreciated and as fresh challenges
approach, I am sure we will all cope with them in a
friendly and loving manner.
Again, many thanks,
Colin & Sheila Warlow
After reading Fr. David’s article
last month, it brought back memories when in the late
1940s my father, who was a shipwright and boat builder,
decided to build dinghies after work and at week ends
for extra money. I, being the eldest of four children,
got the job of helping him – the others all being too
young. Unlike Fr David who enjoyed learning about the
different tools, I hated every minute of it! – I would
have been much happier reading my magazine on ‘True
Romances’! Yes, I do remember the plane - it was a
pleasure to watch my father use it and see all the
wooden ‘curls’ appear and how he shaped the
planks for the boat. To me it was such an unladylike
thing to do – I never told my friends or spoke about it!
Of course, things changed over the years, and now I am
very proud to tell people I helped my Dad build boats.
Beryl Carter
Ven Kenneth Gibbons replying to a
letter and a book token sent with thanks for his sermons
during Holy Week this year:
Thank you for the letter of thanks. I
thoroughly enjoyed being with you, and the opportunity
to preach to such a discerning and intelligent
congregation. Thank you for taking me to your hearts.
Ven Kenneth Gibbons
I would like to thank all our friends
in church for your prayers and cards. These have helped
me so much at this sad time.
Beryl Bennett
Top Cat Theatre Company
The Top Cat Theatre Company is coming
to perform their latest play, "Exile" by Neil
Pugmire, in the Church Hall on Thursday 22 July
at 7.30pm. The Portsmouth-based Christian theatre
company has built an enviable reputation for the quality
of its full-length plays and quick-fire sketches. It was
formed in 1995 as a group of Christians interested in
performing high-quality drama. Although based at St
Jude's Church in Southsea, it includes members from
churches across the city.
"Exile" is a joint project with
Portsmouth Area Refugee Service, and tackles the issue
of asylum seekers. The play was devised with asylum
seekers and includes some within the cast. It
imagines a parallel universe where the positions are
reversed. Britain is ruled by an oppressive regime and
is not a safe place for political dissidents to stay. It
follows the story of one Guildford bank manager who
flees to Africa and applies for asylum there. The
idea is to help the audience imagine what it would be
like to be wrenched from friends, family, career and a
familiar culture and have to start again in a different
country.
The play lasts 40 minutes and is followed with a
post-show discussion facilitated by Portsmouth Area
Refugee Support (led by Nick Ralph, who chairs the
group, plus some actual refugees).
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