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Kairos
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FAITH MATTERS
The Parish Magazine of St.
Faith, Havant with St. Nicholas, Langstone
MARCH 2004
(Internet Edition) |
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From the Rector
As we enter Lent we embark again upon
the ‘journey to the cross’, our annual pilgrimage we
celebrate liturgically and spiritually. The booklet
about our Lenten programme describes the various
services and groups available to assist us in the task
of facing our Lord’s death and resurrection. This year,
through both the Lent Course, ‘Places of the Passion’,
and the visit of my father, the Ven. Kenneth Gibbons,
who is our preacher during Holy Week, there is an
emphasis upon ‘entering into’ the passion of our Lord.
In the Anglican Church, partly, I suspect, because of
our strong adherence to times and seasons, we have
become complacent in our approach to Lent. Perhaps we
take the season a little too literally – as if to say it
is only during Lent we must face the road to the cross.
On the other hand, maybe the thought of facing Christ’s
death and suffering is too much – too intense to sustain
over the six week period. Apparently Mel Gibson’s new
film on Christ’s passion and death is so bloody that
children will not be able to see it. While Gibson wanted
to go for a realistic approach to the suffering of
Christ, it may be that the blood and gore is too much
for most of us to stomach for nearly three hours! How
then can we enter into Christ’s passion wholeheartedly
and enthusiastically without becoming overwhelmed by the
challenge? Obviously I very much hope that the programme
we have offered is valuable and that you are able to
participate. But perhaps you are looking for something
that public worship and this year’s Lent courses don’t,
you feel, touch deeply enough on? If not, then two
initiatives that will be offered sometime after Easter
may be of interest to you. The first of those is the
Healing Ministry. Following Bill Day’s excellent course
I intend to establish a more integrated healing ministry
into the life and worship of our church. This is not to
say many people aren’t involved already in this way,
but, as yet, it is not brought together in either an
effective administrative way or through our liturgy. I
should like to see our healing work given a higher
priority. In addition, or more accurately, as part of
this, I shall be inviting an experienced leader to
assist us in the process of self-examination. A course
will be offered using the Myers-Briggs personality
typing tool to explore who we are and how we relate to
one another. This method has been very successful where
people are prepared to use Myers-Briggs as a helpful
tool in the search for self-knowledge and mutual
understanding. The course can be highly illuminating and
very enjoyable. The beauty of entering into a workshop
of this sort is that you can learn about God as you
understand more clearly how God has made you to be the
person you are. There will be further information about
this course later, but if you are interested please see
me or Susan who can tell you more about it. As we need a
minimum of 12 people to put on the course I should like
to know of anyone else who would like to participate. In
the mean time, I wish you an illuminating journey
through Lent!
Fr. David
About The Parish
Last month we looked at the life of
Arthur Conan Doyle in Southsea with the help of a book
called "A Study in Southsea" by Geoffrey Stavert. I
finished by asking whether you knew that both a
Victorian priest and Conan Doyle played for the
Portsmouth Football Club and the Portsmouth Cricket
Club. Well they did but first some background. On the
evening of Tuesday 14 October 1884, a meeting took place
in a room in the Blue Anchor, Kingston Cross, at which
it was decided to form an Association Football team for
Portsmouth. In goal was an A C Smith which was a
pseudonym for Conan Doyle. They won their opening match
5-1 against Hayling Island just before Christmas. By
February, he was showing his versatility by playing at
Right Back. By the end of their first season, the
Portsmouth Football Club had acquitted themselves very
well having played 22 games, won 15, drawn 3 and lost 3,
with 80 goals scored and just 28 conceded. (Rosemary
Thomas, please stop Peter reading further!) Their
biggest win was when they beat the Royal Marines 10-0!
By 1887, Conan Doyle was playing in goal again for
Portsmouth but now as Dr Doyle. By now he had published
his first Sherlock Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet"
under the name of A Conan Doyle. In the following year a
priest named the Reverend A W Plant, a curate at St
Michael's, North End (where I was Christened but not
that year!), was playing at Inside Left for Portsmouth.
(Sheila Warlow, please stop Colin reading the rest - he
has strong views about accepting the authority of
referees!). In his first match against Hilsea Ramblers,
both teams scored but the Portsmouth goal was disputed.
The two umpires (linesmen) allowed it but the referee
over-ruled them, disallowed the goal and gave the match
to Hilsea! I am sure it was a perfectly good goal and I
had a good view of it! Conan Doyle played for Portsmouth
for the rest of his time here and was an active member
of the committee, which ran the club. Throughout his
time in Portsmouth, Conan Doyle under his real name was
a prominent and successful member of the Portsmouth
Cricket Club. On 10 June 1883, Portsmouth beat the
Hampshire Regiment by 94 runs to 79, with the opening
batsman, Dr Doyle, scoring almost half the runs (44). By
1885, he was made captain and regularly remained high in
the club's batting averages, as befitted an opening
batsman. He was also a useful stock bowler, returning
creditable averages each season. Finally his practice
and social commitments were taking up more and more of
his time, particularly the Portsmouth Literary and
Scientific Society, so in 1890 he stood down as captain
of the Portsmouth Cricket Club. The same year, he
presided over his last annual meeting of the Portsmouth
Football Club. Within months he had left Portsmouth for
Berlin and then London, destined for great literary
success. So there you have it, a man of many parts,
forever remembered for one of the most famous characters
of fiction - Sherlock Holmes. Yet there was so much more
to this very gifted man, not least his sporting prowess.
Roger Bryant
Town Fair
Preparations are now underway for the
St. Faith’s Town Fair. The date has been set for
Saturday 28th August – this is the Bank
Holiday weekend. This year the Fair will have a green
ecological theme. We would like to have a plant and
produce stall and are looking for someone to run it. If
you can help, or have any ideas that you would like us
to look at, please contact Ann Buckley on 023 9245 2289.
Litany for Children
WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who put chocolate fingers everywhere
who like to be tickled
who jump in puddles, oblivious of the
consequences
who have no sense of time or routine
whose shoes are always missing at
school-time
who speak on the 'phone like experts.
AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who stare at photographers as if
from another planet
who have never had a pair
of new shoes
who have never made daisy chains
or taunted the dog
who are born in places we wouldn't
be caught dead
who have never had the chance to
be children
who only know a world of abuse.
WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who give us sticky kisses and fistfuls
of dandelions
who hug us in a hurry and forget their
dinner money
who sing their hearts out to their own
tune
who squeeze toothpaste all round the
sink
who ask naive questions and don't
listen to the answers
who have imaginary friends and
conversations.
AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who don't have a room to call their
own
who can't find any bread to steal
who watch their parents watch them die
whose minds are full of violent
memories
who don't feel important to anyone
else.
WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who spend their pocket money before
it's actually in their pocket
who throw tantrums in the supermarket
and pick at their food
who hide their possessions under their
bed and leave a ring round the bath
who get visits from the tooth fairy
who set the video like second nature
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.
AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who will eat everything they have
chance of
who have never had a medical or
visited the dentist
who know nobody to spoil them
who go to bed hungry and cry
themselves to sleep
who do not know the meaning of the
word security, of being safe.
WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who long to be loved and hugged and
given a name and a family
and for those who fill our lives and
make us feel special.
Rosemary Wass
Age Activated Attention Deficit
Disorder
I went to the doctor yesterday and
have been diagnosed with Age Activated Attention Deficit
Disorder. This is how it manifests itself: I need to
wash my car. As I start towards the garage, I notice
there's
mail on the hall table. I decide to go through it before
washing the car. I put my keys down on the table, put
the junk mail in the bin and notice the bin is full.
So I decide to put the bills back on the table to take
out the bin. But then I think,
since I'm near
the
post box when I take out the bin, I might as well pay
the bills first. I take my cheque book off the table,
and see that there is only one cheque left, so I go to
my desk in my study where I find a bottle of Coke I had
been drinking. I'm about to look for my cheques, when I
notice the Coke is warm, so I decide to put it in the
fridge. I head towards the kitchen when a vase of
flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water.
As I put the Coke down on the counter I notice my
glasses, which I've
been looking for all morning, I decide I had better take
them back to my desk,
but first I must water the flowers. I fill a jug with
water when I spot the TV remote on the kitchen table.
Tonight,
when we go to watch TV we'll be looking for it,
so I decide to take it back to the TV room, but first I
must water the flowers. I splash some water on them, but
some spills on the floor. So I put the remote down,
to wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying
to remember what I was planning to do Now it's the end
of the day; the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid, there's a warm bottle of Coke on
the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there's only
one cheque in my cheque book, I can't find the remote or
my glasses, and I don't know what I did with the car
keys. I try to work out why nothing got done today, and
I'm baffled because I've been busy and now I'm really
tired. I realise this is a problem, and I'll try to get
some help, but first I'll check my e-mails.
Cosmo Gordon Lang and the Miracle of
"The Draught of Fishes"
I am continuing with interpretations
of the Miracles of our Lord, using the views and, in
some instances, the prose of Cosmo Gordon Lang from his
book "The Miracles of Jesus", published in October 1900.
As I wrote last month, Lang assumes the substantial
accuracy of the Gospel narratives and does not attempt
to deal with the philosophy or the evidences of the
Miracles. This month we consider the miracle of "The
Draught of Fishes." Some few years ago, we went with
Father Tom and our friends from St Joseph's to the Holy
Land. We stayed at Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee for
six days and sailed across it, marvelling at the peace
and tranquillity around us. We can picture the fishermen
at work because this has changed little from the time of
our Lord. We can visualise them toiling during the night
without success, returning to the shore tired and
depressed to repair their nets and boat for the next
night's work. But arriving back to shore, they find a
commotion as crowds follow our Lord to the waters edge
to hear his words. The fishermen know Jesus, perhaps as
the carpenter from Nazareth. He had spoken to them
before, bidding them to follow him, to be fishers of
men. On this day, He sat in Simon's boat, preaching to
the crowds and yet He must also have been conscious of
the sense of failure of the fishermen, perhaps even
their worry at having nothing to take home or to sale.
He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let
down your nets". Simon responded, "Master, we
have toiled all night and taken nothing. Nevertheless,
at your word I will let down the nets." In the words
of Lang, "It was the same sea, the same nets, the
same boat; but now, at His word, they enclosed a great
multitude of fishes, so that the nets were breaking."
Lang writes that they had more than just fishes because
"they also had the lesson that simple and trustful
obedience to the word of Jesus is the alchemy that
transforms disappointment into hope, failure into
success." The miracle tells us that we must
persevere when all seems lost in our spiritual and
physical life. As Father David often says, "It is not
easy being a Christian." Like those fishermen, we
often come away empty handed but it is then that we "launch
out into the deep again to let down our nets." Lang
puts this wonderfully well: "Launch out again and
again into the Deep of God's mysterious and eternal
purpose. It is deep; deeper than we can fathom, very
inscrutable to us. But launch out into it, trusting in
His word." Amen
Roger Bryant
This Appeared in a Newspaper
Announcement!
Walking sedately before the bride came her small
nephew Henry carrying the ring and two little nieces.
Correspondence Column
It was reported in "The
Times" 3rd February 2004, that a motion
would be put to General Synod proposing that all clergy
receive equal pay; the underlying issue being – what is
the definition of a stipend. Is it payment for services
rendered based on responsibilities and hours of work, or
is it a maintenance allowance to enable a priest to live
without undue money worries? The former Bishop of
Southwell, Right Reverend Patrick B Harris expressed his
opinion by quoting his words of 1994, when at a public
meeting in the cathedral he said, "I wonder whether
the Church of England will in future have the courage to
go forward and bring the salaries and stipends from
curates to bishops to the same level". Another
priest, quoting "All we offer to the Church are God’s
gifts for us to use", continued by saying, "If we
really believe that, then there is no justification
whatever for paying differentials. A stipend is a
stipend whatever paid ministry we are exercising".
Then there was a most interesting radical opinion from
another priest who suggested that a newly ordained
deacon should receive £33,000, falling to £25,000 on
being ordained to the priesthood, and when the priest
became an incumbent (a parish priest) then the stipend
might be reduced to £17,940 (current level for an
incumbent). As for a bishop, as long as necessary
expenses were covered, the stipend then might be reduced
to that of less than an incumbent – a fascinating idea!
Other contrary views were given, the common tenor of
these being that it was self evident that greater
responsibility and hours of work should be rewarded with
more money. By the time this letter appears, this
proposal will, no doubt, have been debated fully and a
decision reached – probably in favour of status quo.
However, it is a thought provoking idea of some merit,
especially bearing in mind that there are now a number
of priests who wish to be regarded as paid employees
with trade union representation. I wonder what readers
of "Faith Matters" think. Yours sincerely
John Bradey
Other Letters!
(From Travel Agent). Dear Sir,
With reference to our letter re holiday in Spain, the
flight you ask for is fully booked, but we will inform
you immediately someone falls out, as usually happens.
(To Kodak Ltd.) Dear Sirs, I
am getting married soon, and would like to know what
causes this to happen, and if there is any way of
preventing it.
Havant Scouting and Guiding: Ypres Trip November 2003
Rachael Lloyd and Emma Rackett
represented 1st Havant Guides during our trip
to Belgium. Below is their short account of the weekend.
We took 18 members of guiding and scouting, and the
young people were a great credit to The Movement and
their local Borough. They really did us proud!
Gillian Peskett
On the Friday evening of our trip, we
arrived at our hostel, just outside Ypres, very late so
we were glad to get to bed. Obviously, as it was dark,
we couldn't tell what our surroundings were like, so we
couldn't wait to get up the following morning. At about
9:00 the next morning, we left for the market and our
chance to buy as much chocolate as we could! We spent a
few hours in the town and then left for the real reason
we had come to Belgium - the war cemeteries. We visited
several of these in turn; each one was just as breath
taking as the first. It was really sad knowing
that a lot of the graves were of those of unknown
soldiers. We visited some WW1 trenches that had been
stabilized so we could walk through them and get a vague
feeling of what the soldiers would have experienced.
This site was also a museum full of WW1 artifacts. Later
that evening, we returned to the town for a meal out.
The first course was a bit scary but the rest of the
meal was fine! Soon after, we were back to a more
serious state of mind, at the Menin Gate. This was where
the nightly ceremony is held in commemoration for
those lost in World War 1. Masses of wreaths had already
been laid the previous weekend and the big space filled
up very quickly with people who wanted to join in with
the prayers. Sarah and Rachael were the two Guides
chosen to lay our wreath, and Oliver and Ben represented
the Scouts. As soon as they stepped forward dozens of
people started taking photos! Once the ceremony was
over, we went back to the hostel and unwound in the
games room while the leaders relaxed elsewhere. We had
to be in bed by 11pm, and Gillian was not amused at
12.15am when she found us still running up and down the
corridors! On Sunday morning we went to look around one
last cemetery at which Rachael's relative was buried.
There was row upon row of gravestones, with different
religions and cultures lying next to each other. Some of
them were as young as 16. The readings and phrases on
some of them were really moving. Once again we laid some
poppies then left in time to get the ferry. We had a
fantastic time during the weekend.
From the Editor
Last year we had Vision for
St. Faith’s that resulted in From Vision --- to
Mission (the outcome of each of the Vision group
discussions). Now we have Kairos for the
Portsmouth Diocese to identify needs and
resources (there is a roadshow at All Saints’,
Catherington on Monday 15th March at
7.30pm – all are invited). All of these discussions will
result in changes and nobody, least of all older people,
like change. However, with church attendance’s down, not
enough clergy entering the ministry, the upkeep of old
church buildings continually rising with less money
available, a realistic approach has to be adopted.
Deaneries have been invited to produce a Kairos
five-year plan from 2005 for each area or cluster of
parishes. Will this result in the rationalisation of the
number of churches? For our parish, remember that Christ
Church Centre had to close in 1996 through lack of
resources. Last month in Faith Matters (page 7)
we reported on news from the General Synod and the
recommendations being made and this month on page 7
another proposal is reported. At the time of going to
press, it was reported that the Church of England had
opened the door to allowing formal blessings of gay
relationships and had overturned the long-standing
teaching that homosexual behaviour is sinful. My
daughter Colleen was taking my granddaughter Jenny to
school the other day when they passed a mouse that had
been run over by a car. Jenny asked her mother if they
could take it to school and give it some water. Colleen
said it was dead. After school Jenny was still upset
about the mouse, and Colleen said "Look don’t worry it
is probably running around in heaven with Speckle and
Scamper" (the two guinea pigs Jenny had had and who died
a year ago). Jenny retorted "But you said the mouse was
dead, how can it be running around with Speckle and
Scamper?" Now that took some explaining from Mum to a
five-year-old! Beryl and I attended a very nice
coffee morning at St. Nicholas Chapel on Valentine’s Day
and were made to feel very welcome. We thoroughly
enjoyed coffee and heart-shaped scones! I am conscious
of the fact that Faith Matters is "The Parish
Magazine of St. Faith, Havant with St. Nicholas,
Langstone", and that there are very few articles
from parishioners of the chapel or information as to
their activities, e.g., how many people of St. Faith’s
knew of the coffee morning? I met the editor, Mike
Rogers, of the Langstone Village Association’s
newsletter, The Langstonian, and I will now
receive a copy of their quarterly newsletter. However, I
would welcome articles from St. Nicholas’ parishioners,
as Faith Matters is also your magazine.
I have been informed that Cosmo Gordon Lang (page 4)
married Audrey Currie's parents - Walter Silk and Emily
Barrett - in June 1900 at St Mary's Church, Portsea and
that her parents had a high regard for him.
Colin Carter
Quiz Night
There will be a quiz in the Church
Hall on Saturday 13th March at 7.30pm. Teams
of 8, so come along with a team or we can make up teams.
Cost £6 per person, includes a ploughman’s supper –
bring along your own drinks. Proceeds to the Restoration
Appeal. Names with payment to Sandra Haggan.
Havant Remembered High Days and
Holidays
An exhibition is to take place in the
Church on 24th and 25th April to
include photographs and memorabilia under the heading of
Havant Remembered – High Days and Holidays. If
you have anything which we might be able to use please
contact either Ann Buckley or Sandra Haggan. We would
like to make a special feature of weddings in St.
Faith’s Church – did you or someone in your family marry
here? We are hoping to have a special preview evening on
Friday 23rd - (there will be a charge of £5)
– more details to follow. We are hoping to serve tea and
coffee during the weekend and will also need help with
stewarding the exhibition – if you can help in any way
please let Ann or Sandra know.
Kairos
There is to be a Deanery Roadshow on
15 March at All Saints Church, Catherington which
will comprise both a broad vision of Kairos and a
focused look at our local situation. All parishioners
are invited to attend. Many will know of this initiative
of Bishop Kenneth but, in case you have missed out, here
is some background. The word Kairos is Greek and
means a watershed, an opportune moment, a decisive
turning point or a season that God has given us to think
afresh about all that we do. The Roadshow is the first
of a four-part process in which the next stage is a time
of study and prayer in parishes between Easter and
Pentecost, followed by an audit of the needs of our
community between July and December and, finally, the
creation of a deanery-wide five year plan during the
first half of 2005. As Bishop Kenneth wrote in his
letter which was read out to us in January, the purpose
of Kairos is to reflect on how the Church can
grow and flourish now and in the years ahead. You are
all welcome to attend All Saints on 15 March.
Burns Supper – 24 January
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit
Some 40 plus parishioners enjoyed a
Burns Supper in the Church Hall. The evening was
organised by the Denvilles Ecumenical Church. The haggis
was piped in and dinner served. There were after dinner
speeches, Rabbie Burns poems, Scottish songs sung,
Scottish dancing, hand bells rung and Auld Lang Syne
sung.
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
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