Reflections Blog

Dear Friends,

One of my greatest childhood heroes was the cricketer Keith Miller (he was an Australian but I forgave him) and a former World War Two fighter pilot. He was once asked how he handled pressure on the cricket field. He replied that 'pressure is a Messerschmitt up your ****. Playing cricket is not'.  To him life was about priorities.

In the recent past two controversial issues have come to the surface. The first has been the proposed decision by the Church of England to spend £100 million in reparation for past evils of the slave trade. The other has been whether the Anglican Church may or may not marry same sex couples in church, something that is threatening to tear it apart. They are two of many areas of controversy on both spiritual and moral grounds, ones where strongly felt opinions are rightly felt and expressed.

Far be it for me to be controversial lest it causes offence. But here I return to Mr Miller's famous words and apply them to such issues; instead of looking at them in isolation we need to look at the whole picture, seeing them in the light of the teaching of Our Lord and also of the vision we have of what the Church exists to be and to do. 

What might be our priorities? First to be a community for worship and prayer –not just in the context of coming to church but also aspiring to living true Christian lives. The Church is people, not buildings; we are the Church who meet in our churches. We meet to worship, and both there and in prayer we bring the needs and aspirations of those around us to God.

Secondly, we are here to serve, to give and not to take. This goes clean contrary to the materialism and self-centredness of the world as a whole. We represent an alternative world with an alternative vision of the world, with different values, a different focal point, with the future more important than the present. We are IN the world but not OF the world. 

Third we are here to care. There is so much suffering in the world today. Not just the great tragedies such as the recent earthquake in Syria but the running sore of world poverty. Not just well recorded tragedies that hit the headlines but those who are sick, lonely, disabled, bereaved. I love those words of John Donne: 'Any man's death diminishes me because I am a part of mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls – it tolls for thee'. 

Fourth, we are to draw others to believe as we believe. I know that the whole idea of so-called evangelism is out of date now and some see it almost as dangerous. But Christianity is not some kind of a woolly belief in a God of some sort, coming to church now and again and trying to live a decent life. Christianity is a way of life and it changes existence into living to the full. The Church is a living organization that exists for other people and in our own lives we must show that it works in practical terms.

You may think of other fundamental purposes for what the Church exists to do and to be; like another hero of mine (Winnie the Pooh) I am a bear of very little brain. But as we consider these matters that hit the headlines we need to think of them in terms of whether they will strengthen the vision, work and worship of the Church today. It is all about priorities, about the wider picture – not in isolation.

Something to ponder for Lent this month perhaps?

With very best wishes, 

Paul Lanham

Clare was a kind and thoughtful member of the St Ippolyts church community since moving to Hitchin in 1970. Over the years, she joined the Young Wives Group, coffee and church cleaning rotas, Bible Study group and was a Sidesperson, to name but a few. She was a calming influence at meetings and a happy, chatty guest at social gatherings. Her comments were considered and encouraging, and her opinions were greatly valued. Frequently asking after others and listening carefully to the replies, she was genuinely interested in the lives of those around her. She edited the PAX magazine for 30 years and always knew the details of events taking place within the parish and wider church community. She was a bell ringer for many years and loved the practice sessions as well as ringing for special occasions and regular Sunday services. As a keen walker, she enjoyed the annual pilgrimage to St Albans Abbey on Easter Monday and the walk around the parish boundary. Clare continued to walk to visit friends, into town or to church until the summer last year. She also very much enjoyed being outside in her garden - planting and weeding and watching the birds. She will be very sadly missed by everyone who knew her.

Fitz Larsen, Tracie, Wendy, and Diana

Dear Friends,

I still shudder at the memory of a junior school assembly one February day about forty years ago. Trying to tell them about Lent I asked if they knew about Shrove Tuesday. To my astonishment they gave a perfect reply. Trying to compose myself I did the same thing about Ash Wednesday and got an even more comprehensive reply. 'How do you know?' I asked incredulously and got the devastating reply, 'Please sir, we did it yesterday'. All I could do was to collapse with laughter and give up, thus proving that at times vicars deserve danger money as well as stipends – but don't get me on that.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22^nd. It is traditionally associated with abstinence as we prepare ourselves spiritually for the events leading up to Holy Week and Easter. But like Christmas and Easter it has both spiritual and secular overtones. People think of giving up something in Lent – smoking, drinking, chocolate are the usual targets. It's the incentive to slim or take more exercise or tidy the roof or garage. All very praiseworthy, especially the last of these in my case. The trouble is that they have a kind of negative aspect, that we should give up what we did before or change a previously tolerated aspect of our lives. And as someone who has been involved in clinical depression for almost 40 years I try and see beyond the negative to the positive.  

Lent may be an opportunity to go beyond these suggestions to how we might use it to deepen our spiritual lives. Courses for study, reading books, deepening our prayer and worship lives, that kind of thing. We need to think of Christianity as a pilgrimage into God rather than something static. It should be exciting, an adventure, something perhaps to live dangerously spiritually. Moving forward rather than clinging to what we have got. Lent is a time for spiritual refreshment, as we start to look forward to the events in the Christian calendar. It's something to approach positively rather than negatively, something to ponder in this grey and chilly month.

Being positive in a very different way since the last issue of Pax Judy has come to live at home after five long months in hospital. Sadly, she is now permanently disabled but as a family we are together again – and she is still alive. We have been enormously supported by the love and prayers of you all and we cannot thank you enough for helping us to this point. Phone calls, e-mails and visits are always welcome. If you don't know how to contact usplease ask Ginni, though if you want to visit us please warn us in advance. And as for Lent I shall be using it to continue to strengthen my voice so that it won't be too long before I can return to the parish after so long; we miss you very much! 

With our love,

Paul Lanham

THE TRAIN OF LIFE

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents,

and we believe they will always travel on our side;

However, at some station our parents will step down from the train,

leaving us on this journey alone.  As time goes by, other people will 

board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends,

children, and even the love of your life.  Many will step down and 

leave a permanent vacuum.  Others will go so unnoticed that we do

not realise that they vacated their seats.

This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations,

hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.  Success consists of having a good

relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of 

ourselves.

The mystery to everyone is:  We do not know at which station we

ourselves will step down.  So, we must live in the best way, love,

forgive, and offer the best of who we are.  It is important to do this 

because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our 

seat empty we should leave behind beautiful memories for those 

who will continue to travel on the train of life.

I wish you a joyful journey on the train of life.  Reap success and give 

lots of love.

I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train.

                                                                     Contributed by Clare Reid

BECAUSE OF JESUS

Before U were thought of or time had begun

God even stuck U in the name of his son

And each time U pray, you'll see that its true

You can't spell JesUs and not include U

You are a pretty big part of his wonderful name

For U He was born; that's why He came

And his great love for U is the reason he died

It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Contributed by Jennifer Veasey