The Revd Bruce Wakeling

It is a great shame that some people think Christians are against having fun. Because Jesus himself wasn’t averse to human company and enjoyment. The Bible shows him eating and drinking with others, and at Cana in Galilee, helping a wedding go with a real swing. He did not approve of self-indulgence, of course, nor of having fun at the expense of others. But he was very far from a tut-tutting killjoy, walking around with a disapproving frown on his face.

In fact, Jesus was really God’s great Yes to humanity. God may not approve of all human activity; but by taking flesh himself in the person of Jesus, he made manifest his love of humanity. He wants us to live, to thrive, to be healthy and fulfilled and happy. In short, he wants us to be WHOLE. He wants us to be the whole people only he knows we can be, not the much less that we all settle for.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 22 February this year. We so often think of Lent as a miserable time, a giving-up time, a time of denying ourselves things – which isn’t at all the same thing as self denial. Self-denial is a denial of self-not taking yourself too seriously, not thinking you are more important than anyone else – in short, travelling light through life thinking more of others than yourself, not worrying too much about what you look like or how successful you are. Those who manage to do that are rarely miserable but are refreshing to know. Just like Jesus.

There is plenty in the world to be miserable about, and we don’t do well to shut our eyes to it all. But we do do well not to be bogged down by it all. Why not let the thing you give up this Lent be negativity and a dwelling on the miserable aspect of life. As Jesus said, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you you of little faith? Therefore do not worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ [Matthew 6:25-331]

Bruce

Feb 2012

The Revd Bruce Wakeling

‘Christmas? Well, it’s really for the children isn’t it?‘ I wonder how many times I’ve heard that or something like it. And every time it has annoyed me! As I am now in my sixties, I could be said to have left childhood a long way behind; and I love Christmas. Yes, really! This Vicar loves Christmas, even though it does generate a fair bit of work. I’ve always loved Christmas, and no one is going to shut me out of the enjoyment of it just because I’m not young. But more seriously than that, Christmas really isn’t just for children and those, like me, who still haven’t grown up. It truly is for all.

When Jesus was born, most people didn’t notice. But some smelly shepherds whom nobody would have wanted to invite round – they did. Christmas was for them. And some foreign wizards, who got up to all sorts of things that good Jews shouldn’t do, they noticed. Christmas was for them. Although the Jewish people didn’t notice and were under brutal foreign occupation, it was their Messiah who had just been born. Christmas was for them. And one of the soldiers of that occupying force, the Romans, watching the baby who had grown up dying on the cross, declared him to be truly the Son of God. Christmas was for them. Whether you are young or old, poor or rich, happy or sad, whatever your talents, whatever your ancestry, whatever your beliefs or lack of them, Christmas is for you. It is for you that Jesus was born into our world in a stable and died for all on the cross. Christmas is for YOU!

As usual, we at St Andrew’s Church will be celebrating the awesome event of Jesus’ birth in a number of different events and services. ON the morning of Saturday 3rd December we have the Advent Event for children. From Saturday 10th to Monday 12th we are holding our Christmas Tree Festival, and on the evening of Saturday 10th there will be a concert of Christmas and other music. Our traditional Carol Service is on Sunday l8th at 6.30pm. And then the main events of Christmas – our Family Crib Service on Christmas Eve at 4.00pm and Midnight Mass beginning at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day itself we have the one service at 9.00am. And, don’t forget, Christmas has twelve days and runs into the Epiphany season, beginning on 6 January.

Christmas really is for all. Whether or not we see you at St Andrew’s Church over the Festive Season, may Christmas be truly blessed for you, and may the truth of God-with-us lighten your darkness now and always.

Bruce  Dec 2011

The Revd Bruce Wakeling

Do you watch ‘Who Do You Think You Are’? (presently on BBC1 and BBC 1 HD on Wednesday evenings at 9.00pm)? In case you don’t, it’s a programme about the family trees of famous people. Over the last few years we have learnt about the ancestors of such people as Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson and J K Rowling. Did you know that Stephen Fry’s ancestor came to Britain to run the sugar beet factory at Bury St Edmunds, or that Boris Johnson’s ancestors include a Turkish politician and a King of England? Of course, in an hour-long programme it is only possible to trace one or two lines of ancestry.

Every time we go back a generation, however, we double the number of ancestors; I had two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents. etc. If we all go back enough generations, we would seem to arrive at a figure that is more than the population of the world has ever been! This, of course, is because some of those individuals would appear again in different lists. Absurd as it may sound, it is reckoned that everyone of Western European ancestry is descended from the Emperor Charlemagne!

It all means that we actually are members one of another at a much deeper level than we realised, and it puts another layer of meaning on the idea of the Communion of Saints. Each of us is closely related to a crowd of people who stand behind us in the shadows of time, rather like Harry Potter looking in the Mirror of Erised. But we probably know nothing about them at all.

Each Autumn we are reminded that we are just the crest of a wave that has travelled far to be where we are and will travel on way past us. All Saints Day is the 1 November, and we now usually keep ‘All Saints Sunday’ on the nearest Sunday, this year on 30 October. We will have our All Souls Requiem on Wednesday 2 November at 7.30pm. And Remembrance Sunday is 13 November, when we remember the fallen in so many conflicts over the years. ‘Who do you think you are?’ often uncovers very poignant memories from the years of war.

It is important to remember that although we may know only a little about a few of the vast tide of humanity of which we are part, God knows them all. He remembers what everyone today has forgotten. He values those whom the world set at naught. And if we loved those who have gone before us, he loved and loves them so much more, and in him they are cherished for all eternity.

Bruce  Oct 2011

‘Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Those words are the first two verses of Chapter 13 of the Epistle to the Hebrews. We don’t know who wrote this letter; for although the King James Version of the Bible, whose 400th anniversary the English speaking world has been celebrating, attributes it to St Paul the Apostle, the translators did so because nowhere does it say who wrote it and they thought it must have been Paul. But it plainly wasn’t. That, however, is no reason not to value what the author said.

Hospitality has always been a holy and godly duty. It was very much so in the early days of Old Testament times, when folks were nomadic. In the Christian era, hospitality was especially the duty of monks and nuns. And it remains a Christian duty for all God’s people. God himself is welcoming, hospitable, loving – he welcomes us into the fellowship of the Trinity, invites us to eat at his table, and wills our salvation.

Earlier on in the year, a small group from St Andrew’s took part in a study group looking at hospitality and welcome and how we fare in this respect. Following on from that, we are to offer a further study course on the subject in the early autumn, and we hope that rather more people may be able to attend. As part of this, we are going to be holding a ‘Back to Church’ Sunday in September. Back to Church Sunday has been an organisation in the land for several years, although we haven’t participated before. This year, because of Harvest and other events, we will be holding our ‘Back to Church’ Sunday on 11 September, a week or two earlier than the national day. Although the day was originally intended to re-establish contact with those who had lost touch with the Church over the years, it certainly does not mean that those for whom the Church is a completely new experience are any the less welcome.

It is only too easy for us who have been worshipping for years to think of this or any church as ours’, when, of course, the church is Jesus Christ’s, and his loving welcome is held out to us all.

Bruce Aug 2011

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32-34)

As usual I want to begin by giving my heartfelt thanks to all those who have been serving the Church here in any capacity in this last year, whether or not they are continuing in office or retiring from it. Rushmere is blessed with so many more people who do so much (and mostly behind the scenes). Most of us don’t have to give these things a thought because others have got them in hand. Rushmere does not have people who are officially appointed as Elders, but we have plenty of people who get on with doing what Elders do but without the recognition. Thank you to them all.

Only someone who has spent the last couple of years on a different planet will be unaware that there is something of a financial crisis going on. The Church, this Diocese and this Parish have had financial difficulties for a number of years, but with the national and international monetary problems as well, things have got a lot tougher. This parish has in the past been particularly generous in its missionary and charitable giving, but last year the PCC came to the difficult realisation that it was unlikely to be able to continue to be so. We have a prime duty to pay our Parish Share (Quota), which is our contribution to the wider Church for its administration, payment of clergy, training, mission, etc. Unfortunately, because of the way the Parish Share is calculated, the more unrestricted income we raise, the more Share we have to pay – and by quite a large percentage. We had to acknowledge that we were unlikely to be able to do this and give as much as we have done to charity. Nobody liked this. And we would like to be able to reverse this conclusion. It is horrible to let down organisations that we have supported in the past, and especially when they will be hit anyway by the present economic climate. We want to be able to be generous again.

And so back to the beginning quotation. Firstly, Jesus tells us not be afraid. When things get tough it is easy to get dispirited, to say ‘What’s the use?’ and think of giving up. Problems can seem insurmountable. But this is God’s Church we are talking about, not some worldly business. We need to be wise in our dealings with money, but not let it rule our way of thinking. We serve a very different Master, and he says to us, ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’.

Thieves have come near our church building. They have tried to remove lead and they have removed part of the copper lightning conductor. They see this house of prayer not as something holy but as a source of minor plunder. We, however, see the building as standing for very different values. When our Lord Jesus Christ faced his ultimate showdown with the religious authorities of his day he demonstrated a very different kind of power and influence from them. And we, his followers, need to reflect the same mind. Our present circumstances provide us with an opportunity to be sacrificial, to reflect the values of the Kingdom of God, because it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Jesus reminds us, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’. It is those words, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that are carved on the gravestone of Albus Dumbledore’s mother and little sister. Although in the book there is little comment on those words, we come to see that Dumbledore had them put there because he had been seduced by power and glory into forgetting his family duties until it was too late for those for whom he should have cared. There is the suggestion too, that Harry is in danger of setting about his destiny the wrong way, until he comes to his senses. So, I suppose, the question is: What is our treasure? Where is our heart kept? Is it in a healthy bank balance, a fine church building, uplifting worship, welcoming fellowship, getting what we want out of St Andrew’s, Rushmere? Or is it in Christ crucified and risen, who calls us to take up our cross and follow him?

Bruce

The Revd Bruce Wakeling

Easter is late this year, isn’t it? I’m asked so many times how Easter is calculated, that it is worth saying how once again. Unlike other date-related festivals, Easter in the Western Church is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox. It’s a simple enough formula but can be a bit complicated in its working out. Basically, it means that if the Vernal Equinox (usually, but not always, the 21st of March) is a Friday and the day before the Full Moon (Saturday), then the Sunday will be Easter Day and on the 23 March – as early as it can be. But if the Vernal Equinox falls on a Full Moon, you have to take the next Full Moon, some 28 or 29 days later; and if that is a Sunday, Easter falls on the next Sunday. That’s why Easter seems to move about” as do all the other festivals that are calculated from the date of Easter. Simple. isn’t it? Well …

The short of it is that April sees very important events in the life of the Church this year. Passiontide begins on Sunday 10 April, and that week, on Thursday 14th, we have our Annual Parochial Church Meetings at 7.30pm. This is the day when we elect Churchwardens, Sidesmen and women, and PCC members, as well as think about all that we do as a church here. It is an occasion that all church members should try to attend.

Then, of course, comes Holy Week. Many people who only come to church on Sundays miss out on so much in this week, which almost amounts to a crash course in the Christian Faith. On Palm Sunday (17 April) we greet Jesus with palms as he rides into Jerusalem and stand with him in his Passion. On the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we are with him in quieter ways. On Maundy Thursday (21st) we gather with him for the Last Supper, and he washes feet and shares himself with us; but he goes out to meet his enemies and we leave him to do his great work – we keep the Watch in church ’till 10.00pm. On Good Friday (22nd) we have a Service of the Word at 10.00am and at 5.00pm Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’ makes a welcome return.

Easter Eve (NOT ‘Easter Saturday’!!) is Saturday 23rd, and at 8.30 in the evening we gather for the service that turns mourning into joy – the Easter Liturgy. The service begins in solemn stillness and darkness, but then we light the Easter Candle and declare Christ the conqueror of death and Eastertide begins. And then comes Easter Day.

If you have never tried to keep the days of this great week can I urge you to try it this year? Those who make good use of Holy Week would tell you that you don’t know what you are missing if you don’t. In text-speak: MIMO (miss it, miss out!)

Bruce

The Revd Bruce Wakeling

A Happy New Year to all our readers! Of course, by the time you read this the New Year will be well and truly underway and the days will be lengthening. Whether the weather will be warmer. we must wait to see – the winter has been cold enough up to now. Any new year looks forward, and now is certainly a time for that. On Sunday 27 February we bid goodbye to Angela, who has been Assistant Curate here since the summer of 2008. She came at the time of the celebrations for the 40th Anniversary of the Dedication of the new end of our church building, and her first service as a very newly ordained deacon was the Choral Evensong at which Bishop Nigel led us in our thanksgivings. It seems like quite a long while ago!

Since then Angela has been learning her ‘trade’, finding out what sort of priest she is, getting to know people and making her mark. Now she is taking another big step along the road of her ministry. Of course, the big step isn’t really a very long journey because she is leaving us to become the Priest in Charge of All Hallows here in Ipswich. It is a church and parish with which many of our congregation have links. But for all that it is a big step, with a massive increase in responsibility. We all want to thank Angela for her time with us and wish her well for her move. Let us all remember her and Matt – who has also played his part in different ways in our community – in our prayers in the coming weeks. Angela is to be licensed to her new parish on Monday 21 March, and I am sure many will want to go to All Hallows for that.

This means that we in Rushmere will also be beginning a new chapter in our life. The week before Angela leaves, we are having a special service on Sunday 20 February at 3.00pm. This will be a sort of ‘Wedding Praise’ to which we are inviting couples who have recently been married here. However, others may well wish to come to this to celebrate their own marriages, even if they were married elsewhere.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 9 March, and there will be the traditional Holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes at 7.30pm. Lent is a time for all of us to make a new start, to spring-clean our lives, leave the past behind and walk with Jesus into the future. Whether we are moving or staying put we all need, in a very real sense, to journey on with Our Lord, trusting that He has new and exciting things to show us all.

Bruce

The Revd Angela Oakey-Jones

At this time of year, I wonder how many Christmas cakes have been made in homes throughout the parish? I’ve managed to make one and I remember last year getting into a blind panic around 15 December because I’d not bought the marzipan, or set aside the time to ice the cake.

I couldn’t help wondering about the recipe I’ve always used. It’s from an old book which belonged to my grandmother, now long since reunited with God. The recipe doesn’t include raisins – but some always manage to work their way into the bowl, and cherries too. All this led me to think about the fruit in our lives, the results of our efforts in the workplace and in the home.

St Paul talks in his letter to the church in Galatia (modern day Turkey – softy, no seasonal pun intended!) about the fruits given to people by the Holy Spirit. He mentions love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ and I couldn’t help wondering what our lives might be like if we could work in one or two of these in our lives. Although in a cake recipe we can’t substitute the staple ingredients, like the flour, eggs or margarine, the way we choose to flavour a cake can make all the difference.

When finances are tight, when time is limited and tempers are beginning to fray, wouldn’t it be a super gift to show someone in your family – or a neighbour or friend – some love or joy or gentleness? These aren’t gifts that are going to cost us much in terms of money, but they really are able to give our lives – and the lives of those we love – a special quality which will set them apart; a quality which following Jesus can help us show to one another throughout the year.

The New Year will bring some changes as Matthew and I head off to minister among the people of All Hallows Parish in Ipswich. Although the faces will be different, the challenges may well be similar to those in Rushmere. May your Christmas and New Year be filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Angela

The Revd Bruce Wakeling

It is a great privilege for us who are called to be clergy, and to some extent all of us who are members of Christ’s Church, to help people celebrate important events in the lives of their families. It is particularly obvious when parents bring their children for Baptism, because this is usually administered when we gather together on a Sunday morning. But our Parish Church is also there to welcome them, even if many of us are not, when they come to make their marriage vows or bring their departed loved ones to commend them into God’s loving hands. Christians celebrate the wholeness of life, which is God-given, and also the ending of earthly life, because we believe it to be just another step along the road to fellowship with God through his Son Jesus Christ.

But, of course, we also celebrate the day to day events along that road – so we gather Sunday by Sunday to share in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, which Jesus gave to his disciples. And as part of that journey, we bring to our Lord the concerns we have for other people and the world. This naturally includes prayers for the sick and asking for healing. In the last couple of years we have had a few services which have incorporated the laying on of hands for those who are sick. Of course, we all fall short of the health and goodness for which God made us, and the Holy Communion itself is intended to heal us and set us on our way renewed. But sometimes it is a good thing (and it has always been part of the ministry of the Church) to make healing more explicit for those who would value it. Therefore, on Sunday 17 October, the day after St Luke’s Day, the laying on of hands for healing will be administered at our Parish Eucharist for those who wish it.

This time of the year, when days become shorter, and then the clocks change, we are reminded that whether we live or die we are the Lord’s and that his patient love is held out to us for all eternity. And so we will remember our loved ones who have died on Monday 1 November at 7 .30pm (and in this last year we have lost at least six regular members or former members of our congregation – Eric Owen, Gena Clarke, Dick Coe, George Davis, Lily Snowball and Rex Cansdale) and on Remembrance Sunday, 14 November, all those who have died – and are still dying – in war. For, in the words of St Paul, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Bruce

The Revd Angela Oakey-Jones

Summer is a Comin’ In

I wonder what your first thoughts are when you think of the summer’ Lighter evenings and time spent outside in the garden or at the beach come to my mind’ Perhaps you have children who will be on their long holiday from school, or other mixed blessings.

There is a great deal we can celebrate not only in summer but throughout the year. But, so often, the demands of our day to day living crowd out the simple pleasures. Why is it that a ‘Wii’ is so much more desirable than a walk on the heath, a simple picnic or a gentle day pottering in the garden? The pressures of life encourage us to see everything for what it achieves, rather than for what it is. We focus more on the cost of something than on its value – and I think there’s a danger that we’re losing out on life as a result.

I recently spent some time with some monks in Paris who work with the poorest of the poor in that city. They have so very little by the standards we take for granted. But they have a simple, attentive way of living which looks into people’s hearts rather than their wallets or their homes – because the people they work with don’t have those things.

On the August Bank Holiday, just as the children are preparing to go back to

school we’re having a classic car show outside St. Andrew’s and display of quilts

inside the church. There’s no entrance charge and there’ll be refreshments through the day and a barbecue in the evening. I hope it will give everyone in the parish a reason to get together and spend a little time getting to know one another no strings attached. I look forward to sharing more, simple, celebrations with you.

Angela