Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends.

As I sit down a little earlier than usual to write September’s letter, ‘treasure’ is cropping up quite frequently, in the news, and in the Bible readings set for this time of year. Eighty years ago, an excavation in Suffolk uncovered one of this country’s great archaeological wonders, the burial mound of the Anglo-Saxon King Raedwald and particularly the Sutton Hoo burial ship. The National Trust has established new exhibition halls and routes around the site to help visitors understand more about the treasures discovered there. These include an ornate warrior’s helmet and a gold belt buckle. More ancient still, in Egypt, Tutankhamen’s golden coffin has been removed for the first time since its discovery in the 1920’s. Dating back to around 1320BC, the coffin will now be restored by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

What do you imagine when you picture treasure? Items beautifully crafted from precious metals, sparkling gemstones set in silver and gold, ancient, awe inspiring objects of great beauty? The ancient kings, Raedwald and Tutankhamen were buried with all sorts of things to ease their afterlife. But the treasures discovered with them are not eternal. Tutankhamen’s coffin is showing signs of cracks and damage, whilst the Sutton Hoo helmet has lost its original strength and splendour. Material things will always fail in the end, however well-made and beautiful they might be.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells us not to worry about the loss of earthly things.
Instead, we are to strive for the Kingdom of God. God’s great love, and abundant life are an ‘unfailing treasure’, worth more than anything on earth (Luke 12:33). In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus likens the Kingdom to treasure hidden in a field, that we would give everything to purchase and possess (Matt 13:44). This great treasure is what we seek in the Lord’s Prayer, when we pray to our Father God, ‘your Kingdom come’. Jesus encourages us to stay alert to the signs of that Kingdom breaking into this world, and not be diverted by the sometimes-glittering distractions around us.

In September, we can look forward to further encouragement as we seek the joys
and benefits of God’s Kingdom. On Sunday 15th September, the Archdeacon of
Northampton will be the speaker at our Benefice and Partnership service at
10:00AM at Heyford Church. Please come along and listen to what he has to say to
us. And a couple of weeks later, at 10:00AM on Saturday 28th September, Rev
Roger Woods visits to lead our Away Day at the Chapter House in Weedon. Again,
all are welcome to join us for a challenging and exciting day. For catering purposes, please give me a ring and let me know if you’d like to join us.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen – 01327 344436

Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends.

On what is another wet and overcast day, it’s hard to believe that, as I write this, Midsummer’s Day is less than a week away, especially after all the rain we’ve had in recent days! I’m pleased to say, that despite the rain, plenty of cricket matches have been played in the Cricket World Cup, providing many hours of Test Match Special cricket commentary. For me, the soothing tones of the TMS commentators are a sure sign that summer is here, and a reminder of long summer holidays past, watching and listening to the cricket. Listening to snippets of cricket commentary has recently provided moments of rest and relaxation in what has been a busy few weeks. And there is more cricketing excitement to come as the culmination of World Cup is followed by the Ashes. With summer holidays looming, there is the chance of longer periods of rest and refreshment, and more TMS commentary!

Hopefully, the quieter days of the summer holidays also offer opportunities to experience more of God; in the brightness of blue skies and sunshine, in the warmth of the sun, and even in the refreshing summer rain. In praising our Creator God, the psalmist writes: ‘God is my King from the very start; he works salvation in the womb of the earth… With your finger you opened up springs and creeks, and dried up the wild floodwaters. You own the day, you own the night; you put stars and sun in place. You laid out the four corners of earth, shaped the seasons of summer and winter’ (Psalm 74:12, 15-17 – The Message). We know God through his works, through the things he has made, and here are a few suggestions of ways we might know God through the summer.

The summer is, for many of us, a time of holidays and exploration; visiting new
places, taking the scenic route, finding time to turn aside and satisfy our curiosities. And as Moses discovered at the burning bush, God is often encountered as we turn aside, as we explore the hidden nooks and crannies, and enjoy the open spaces of hills, forests and beaches. Summer is also a time to set aside our busy schedules, a time when the momentum of life slows, and we can find God in relaxation. We can set aside the pressure and busy-ness of work and school and find time to reflect and think. And as the Book of Genesis reminds us, God is the God of the Sabbath. Just as God rested on the seventh day, so he encourages us to rest. The summer holidays are great opportunities to stop and recharge our batteries.

I pray that this summer, you will indeed meet God; in curiosity and exploration, and in reflection, relaxation and rest.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen – 01327 344436

 

Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends.

Evidence of the divisions in our world seem to have come to the fore in recent days. There has been the controversy around the death of a participant on The Jeremy Kyle Show – ‘entertainment’ that seemed to depend on exploiting divisions within families – resulting in the termination of this programme by ITV. Elsewhere, the Institute of Fiscal Studies has launched a major enquiry into equality in the UK, suggesting that there are widening divisions between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ which threaten our democracy. Politically, the issue of Brexit is again highlighting divisions not just in the country, but also within the two major political parties themselves. And internationally, rising tensions between the USA and Iran again reminds us of the divisions that exist between nations. Human history would suggest that we are very good at division. It seems as though we need to choose sides, to identify ourselves as ‘us’, and have a ‘them’ to oppose. Our social inequalities and power structures somehow suggest that division is an intrinsic part of our humanity. Sadly, religions are not free from this tendency towards division. Differences in dogma, interpretation or emphasis create divisions within religious groups. In Christianity, for example, different denominations and opposing viewpoints on some of the major talking points of our day demonstrate that the Church is not immune to division. This is nothing new, for in the earliest church, deep divisions existed between believers from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds.

And yet, in Chapter 11 of The Acts of the Apostles, St Peter is told and shown that there is no place for division in the Kingdom of God, when God’s Spirit descends on a Gentile family, and they begin to worship God. Indeed, the Holy Spirit ignores all human divisions – social, cultural, religious and so on – and falls on all who believe. God’s Kingdom is all about removing divisions and creating one new community.

At the beginning of June, churches across the world will come together in praying ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ in a global prayer initiative started a few years ago by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. I will be taking time to add my prayers to those of people around the world, praying that we might see more of the unity characterised by God’s Kingdom; in our families, our society, our churches, our politics and the world. In the Kingdom, there is no place for division, and we are all offered the same identity, as the children of God.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen – 01327 344436

Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends.

My Lenten highlight was working with the children of Flore Primary School to create a prayer chain cross, which was later added to by parents, grandparents and members of the various church congregations. The installation is made up of hundreds of paper links, some cut from red paper, and some cut from various newspapers. The newspaper links represent our prayers, thoughts and concerns for the world. The children cut some of these strips from the ‘First News’ paper they read in school, representing the news stories that particularly caught their eye, and other strips were added from local and national newspapers. Were you to look closely at these links, you would see stories about Brexit, climate change, and the terror attack in New Zealand, alongside more local concerns such as the shortage of teachers.

In the midst of all our cares and concerns for the world are the red links that make up the cross itself. On the inside of each link is a little prayer of thanksgiving that begins “I am thankful to God for…” Each child completed a couple of these strips to get the cross started, and the cross beam completed. Other people then added their thanksgivings to the bottom of the vertical shaft of the cross.

The completed prayer/art installation measures one and a half metres across, and
over two metres deep, and hangs behind the glass screen at the back of Flore
Church. It’s very striking, catching your eye as you enter the church. The red links of the cross remind us that whatever is going on in the world, there is always something to be thankful for; family, friends, teachers, good food to eat, clean water to drink, a beautiful part of the world to live in, and so on. More than that, the red cross reminds us of God’s love; the horizontal beam stretching out to embrace the whole world, the vertical shaft going down and down, reminding us that God’s love reaches down to lift us up, however far we might have fallen.

God’s love for us – demonstrated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – is a love that is beyond measure. It’s an extreme, self-giving love that is not sensible or contained, but it is, I believe, absolutely, dangerously compelling. Whatever our faith, we need more of this kind of sacrificial love. For we live in a world that is becoming meaner and less generous; more suspicious of difference and less tolerant; more divided and less able to take the bold steps that are required to make peace. We need to know and share this self-giving love in our lives, and we need to demonstrate more of it in our families, our churches, our communities and our world.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen – 01327 344436