A Sanctuary for Lent

Beverley Minster is full of the most amazingly beautiful decoration and stunning art. At first glance this chair is neither beautiful nor stunning. But I sat in it last night as president at our Ash Wednesday Eucharist, hearing words of challenge and promise from Fiona my colleague. We may be flawed ‘dusty’ people, and the Ash Wednesday liturgy asks us to remember this. But in the beginning dust is taken and shaped into the image of God. Lent – forgiveness and healing – is about dusty people becoming the new creation.

This chair is the ‘Frid Stool’. It is saxon, and predates the norman and gothic Minsters here. It is a physical connection to John of Beverley, founder of the eighth century monastery which is the origin of everything in modern Beverley. It is highly polished where 1200 years of hands have rested on it, and I added my polish last night. It was in the building when Thomas Becket was Provost of Beverley, before he went on to other things.

Over its history the Frid Stool has become the symbol of sanctuary. Beverley was a sanctuary town, where, if you had committed a crime which demanded death, you could claim sanctuary and your sentence was commuted – often people were sent abroad. The whole town had this function, and there are crosses on our boundaries to define the geographical limits of this provision. But the Minster was the heart, and the stool has become the focus of this story. Sit here, it says, and you will be saved from death.

Lent asks us to assess our chances of salvation, openly and honestly. We have little chance by ourselves. The sentence is clear. We are dusty people. In the sanctuary offered to us in Christ we have hope. The sanctuary seeker knew they should die, but could be offered life. So with us. The Frid stool, semi-circular, wraps you up. The love of God enfolds us. From death comes life. From dust the divine spark. From darkness light.

General Synod Thurs 9 February

Morning lovelies. Less media interest on us today, obviously, but some important stuff. We’re talking about Additional Eucharistic Prayers for use when children are present. All the speeches have been wildly positive – and those of us in the Liturgical world will remember that there have been calls for this kind of material for twenty or thirty years.

The only issue will be now be whether those who want to make further detailed changes will do so using the clunky ‘recommittal’ process. Hope not.

And we didn’t…and the Prayers will go to the House of Bishops. The point I liked in the debate was that others apart from children might benefit from the prayers – like the deaf community, and I hope the House of Bishops will listen carefully to that and perhaps change the Note at the front to reflect it.

I’ve come out for coffee, so am missing some legal business which relates to Women Bishops but does not, I hope, affect the substance of the debate.

General Synod February 8 2012

Good morning all. I left you abruptly yesterday, so you didn’t hear about the debates and discussions I myself missed. Synod rejected a call from the Diocese of Chichester that a Deacon could become an Archdeacon, and heard about a new way of the Anglican Communion being involved in matters of relief and development – a body called the Anglican Alliance for Relief, Development and Advocacy.

I was however present at the service at Westminster Abbey which expressed repentance for the expulsion of presbyterians in 1662 (which led ultimately to the formation of what is now the United Reformed Church), and hope for continued closer working between our denominations. It was well done and spoke much. I was also sitting right underneath a pulpit in the Nave which is said to have been occupied by Cranmer. Special indeed.

Today Synod has worshipped together in Communion (with the theme of Seeking Guidance from the Holy Spirit and with a fabulous reflection from the Archbishop of Canterbury about seeking God’s future, not our own), and heard from the Bishop of Durham about the  situation in Nigeria.

Nick Baines has blogged profoundly about Nigeria here - Im sorry I wasn’t present.

General Synod Tuesday 7 February 2012

Good morning all. Sporadic updates from Tuesday’s business if you can stand them. Do look at Twitter – #synod

Scroll to the bottom to check at what point I left to go to coffee, or fell asleep.

10.00: we are debating the Fees set for Weddings and Funerals. We agreed last year that there should be a change to the way we do this, and that they should be broadly uniform across the country. We also agreed that they were very low before, and that they should be raised to reflect the work that goes in to them. But when it came to actual figures (last July) we didn’t like the way these principles were applied.

The new proposals are much more flexible, and tread the tightrope between us being the NHS (free at the point of need) and a private hospital (providing services which it is recognised cost money). My own reflection is that there has to be a balance, and that around £400 for the legalities of a wedding is absolutely fine. There is flexibility to vary fees where they need to be, and for the majority of weddings and funerals the church is the least expensive element of the day.

There are lots of amendments seeking to change the figures on offer, so we’ll see.

General Synod Feb 2012 – Monday

I hope that my public notetaking gives a useful flavour of Synod’s workings. We’ll be under great scrutiny because of the votes on Women Bishops, and I’ll add my bit…The blow by blow stuff will better followed on Twitter – look for #synod, and you can follow me @RevJFletcher

Interesting atmosphere as I sit in the gallery. Feels like an electricity substation, with lots of cracking restrained power, waiting for the big stuff to happen. Can’t imagine what it must have been like in 1992 over Women Priests.

We’ve sent Her Majesty the Queen our best wishes on this day of her accession to the throne. The example she has set puts a lot of what we do into perspective. And we’ve debated the Agenda, which is a chance for people to say what they think we should have been talking about. Gay Marriage, and the Economic situation were favourites, giving an opportunity for a nice joke about Jags in Surrey and Two Jags in the Northern Province.

Twittering and Discipling

A Sermon preached at Beverley Minster 15 Jan 2012. On John 1. 43 – end

As far as I can tell I last preached on this passage twenty years ago, give or take 5 days. A lot has happened since a reasonably slim chap in his early thirties with two small sons and quite a lot of hair last spoke about Nathanael and Philip and good things coming from Nazareth. Think back to what life was like for you in 1992, and what you have now that you didn’t have then. I’m thinking particularly of the way that our means of communication have changed. Some people had mobile phones which you needed a sherpa to carry for you. Your computer stood alone, and there were disks and they were floppy. Few people beyond computer science departments had the internet and world wide web.

 So there is no reference in my last sermon on this topic (which as it happens was written with a ‘pen’ on ‘paper’ and placed in a ‘Filofax’) to the image which first struck me as I looked at John 1 again. John the Baptist speaks about the Messiah. The next day he sees Jesus and says ‘Here is the Lamb of God’. The next day two of John’s disciples, perhaps encouraged by John, start to follow Jesus. One of them is Andrew, and he rushes to tell his brother, Simon. Immediately Jesus gives him a new name. The next day Jesus ups sticks and goes toGalileein the north. He finds Philip, who follows him. Philip finds Nathanael, and he follows Jesus too. It’s breathless stuff. According to John the Evangelist it’s taken three days only for Jesus to be publicly revealed as the Messiah, and to gather followers in the south and the north. And the image I thought of as I read this? That if Jesus was on Twitter he would be said to be ‘trending’ – one of the most talked about subjects on the internet.

Rules for Reverends – the Xtra Factor

Greetings Ruleteers. A couple of seasonal ones in this week’s top ten.

111. Christmas happens on December 25th every year. It is amazing the number of times you will not realise this until it’s too late.

112. If you have the NRSV on your smartphone you can update your Facebook status during worship and pretend you’re reading the Bible.

113. There is probably a way of remembering which of your robes is in which of your churches, or your house. If you’ve discovered it, please let the rest of us know.

114. Never be afraid to admit that part of you is in it for the dressing up.

115. There is absolutely no way you can look at your watch when in a deep pastoral situation without the other person noticing.

116. Most church problems are sorted out by the people who know in the car park afterwards. Not worth having the original meeting at all, when you think about it.

117. Visitations are only made by Angels, Archdeacons and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not all Visitations are the same.

118. At least with Alpha you get food.

119. Everything is fair game as a sermon illustration. Especially your children. They’ll love you for it.

120. Store up the questions that only God can answer on the other side of death. There’ll be plenty of time to get them answered. Or maybe they won’t need to be.

Rules for Reverends: The Next Generation

Somebody stop me…

101. On paper Carol services look like they are going to be really long, but are shorter than you think.

102. Work out how you respond best to conflict, because there will be some. The Body of Christ is made up of human beings, after all. And the Holy Spirit doesn’t help. Look at Corinth.

103. No, the compilers of the Lectionary didn’t know what they were doing.

104. If you buy a thick cassock because all churches are cold, you will only ever work in warm ones.

105. There is no such thing as a quiet toy.

106. Never overestimate the power of a lone bagpiper to evoke a sense of lament.

107. If your worship group has a drummer, pray that they are the most musical person in the building.

108. People who have worshipped in the same church for decades have rarely looked around it properly. Preach about the windows or a carving. They will be amazed.

109. Church bells must be divine. Humans ring them. God knows why.

110. Don’t mess with the Flower Arrangers.

 

Rules for Reverends X

We’ve made it to 100. Should there be more?

91. It’s only when you’re in the pulpit and coughing that you realise you’re not sure whether the jug and glass have been there for five years without being changed.

92. Gardening is only therapeutic when your parishioners can’t see you doing it. When they do they think you’re taking too much time off.

93. Answering machines are superb, but you do need to listen to them.

94. If you need a decent policy for something, ask your friendly Methodists. They’ve got loads of good ones.

95. No surprise is more pleasant than a letter from the Bishop by return.

96. Never underestimate the power of a nun to get conversations going. Especially on public transport.

97. Fill in attendance numbers carefully, and review them year by year. Some trends take time to make themselves felt.

98. Never handle any cash. If you have to, get a witness.

99. People are very coy and very careful about their giving. Be coy and careful back, but make sure they know they are appreciated.

100. Working harder at this job won’t get you any more money. Unless you become a Bishop, a Dean or an Archdeacon. And who wants to be one of them?

Rules for Reverends IX

Can’t stop now…

81. There is probably a very good reason for Deanery Synods.

82. There will be one key which unlocks the drawer which has all the other keys to the building and safes in it. This key will be in plain sight somewhere.

83. There is nothing clergy like better than following other clergy in a procession. That the one at the front knows where they are going is taken a matter of faith by those behind, and is a proof of the existence of God.

84. Most people’s worst nightmare is a Vicar with a guitar. This situation is helpfully relieved by saying ‘I know. I am your worst nightmare. A Vicar with a guitar’. When tuning up, give them a bit of All right now (Free) or Thunderstruck (AC/DC). It works for me.

85. There is nothing so very wrong with wedding photographers. When there is, do give them some feedback.

86. Take great care over finances, and learn to read a balance sheet. The level of giving as a barometer of the spiritual life of the congregation.

87. Being on the committee of another organisation is a good way of realising that perhaps the PCC isn’t so bad after all. Or recognising that, actually, it is.

88. The law of buffets is that the optimum arrangement of food and plates has not yet been discovered, and that all the other ones are achingly slow.

89. Loud shoes in stone floored churches are much to be encouraged.

90. The contents of the flower cupboard are a mystery, one not to be explored without prayer and fasting.