St Mary’s News Items July 2021

From the Registers
We gave thanks for God’s gift of life at the Funerals of Eva Gwilliams, Netta Plews and Sheila Clark.

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Joan Newman – In Memoriam
There probably have been numerous tributes to Joan Newman of the Catholic Church who died in April, but here is a fond memory of her from St. Mary’s.
Joan was the representative from the Catholic Church on the Ecumenical Committee of Open Door. We met each month to talk about teething troubles, problems and to think up ideas. Joan was always wise and calm with Open Door always at heart. A lovely lady and a great influence on the success of the Rev. Peter Sutcliffe’s project.
We all owe her our respect and thanks.
Margaret Auty.

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Open Door
The fortnightly Open Door Zoom meetings continue to thrive. Thanks go mainly to the dedicated volunteers who turn up regularly. We usually find plenty to chat about and the odd Bingo session is popular. I think it is possible, if the demand is there, that we may keep this communication link open even when all the restrictions are lifted.
But for volunteers and visitors, who have not joined in with these meetings we know you continue to ask the question, “When will Open Door start running it’s sessions in the Parish Centre?” Unfortunately, we can not be sure. Currently, we are investigating details relating to the ‘Risk Assessment’ we will be required to put in place and that does not happen overnight. By the beginning of August we should have sorted this out and before this recent new variant outbreak we hoped by then we would be able to offer at least a couple of sessions to those of you who would welcome the door be opened again at the Parish Centre.
We live in hope.
Joyce Russell

Burley-Tereli Friendship Trust – July 2021

A team of six runners, ranging from young and fit to – well, let’s not go there, – are running the Ilkley Half Marathon on July 11th, to raise funds for the Burley-Tereli Friendship Trust (https://www.btft.org.uk/). BTFT raises money for projects in Tereli, a village in Mali twinned with Burley-in-Wharfedale. It funds famine relief, well-digging, and supports healthcare and education. There are no admin costs, everything raised goes straight to good causes. Last year Tereli was attacked by bandits, all the animals were stolen, 12 people killed and much of their grain stores burnt, so it was a tough year for them. Things seem calmer just now and we were able to buy them more millet to tide them over. It was also a tough year for the charity because there were few opportunities to fundraise, so any help you can give, large or small, would be much appreciated!

We have a sponsorship page at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/
TeamBTFT to make it easy, but if you don’t want to do it online, I have a sponsor form and I’m happy to accept donations.

We really appreciate anything you can do to help bring in a little money for this very worthy cause.

Thank you! Janet Squire and the BTFT Trustees

Here is a little more detail about a recent well digging project BTFT funded through The Joliba Trust. The changing climate with erratic rainfall is creating a debilitating water shortage because traditional earth-dug wells cannot withstand sudden floods and the lowering of the water table. The photos show the Dogon village of Dissoroly and the new well.

Afietou, one of the village women, wrote about the difference the well has made.

‘Before the well was dug, the water chores alone took us 9 hours in time. We did not know what it was to rest…. No-one can imagine what we have endured during the 5 year water insufficiency. Even when we were ill, we were obliged to fetch water…… We thank the grace of God and the project for this beautiful gift which has saved everybody.’

Letter from Ros – July 2021

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your warm welcome – after 7 years living in Istanbul it was time to ‘come home’. By the time you read this letter I will have been home for about two months. I am living in a home that I have owned for 14 years but only lived in for 4 years. One chapter has closed and now it’s time for a new chapter living nearer to family and friends.

There is a sense that I can echo T S Eliot’s words (from Little Gidding Part V):
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

Moving back to Istanbul was a time of exploration, of getting to spend time with Turkish friends, making new ones and being part of both a Turkish and English language Anglican Church. I am conscious that although I have returned to my home that a lot has changed in Burley and in UK which I am learning about as I unpack my shipment from Istanbul and settle back into life here again.

Over the last four years I have written a history of Christian women who have lived in what is now modern-day Turkey. Women who span the last 21 Centuries. I am in the process of publishing the English version on Amazon and will let you know when that is published. I embarked on this project knowing of a few well-known Christian women from the area. My book tells the story of about fifty-three women who have lived in what is now Turkey. In the first century, Turkey was known as Asia Minor and with other provinces was part of the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor of the Roman Empire in York – his statute which is outside York Minster marks that fact. He eventually became sole Emperor and moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, a city we now know as Istanbul. He established his city in the fourth century and oversaw the Council of Nicaea that met at Constantine’s insistence, to clarify Christian belief. On most Sundays we say the Nicene Creed which was a product of that church council.

During the last few months I have enjoyed joining St Mary’s for Sunday services and after church coffee time by zoom. It has helped me get to know the church again and learn about your lives here. Thank you for welcoming me warmly to those zoom sessions.

I have enjoyed the teaching about prayer and intimacy with God. We all struggle with being intimate with God and the sermons based on John Eldridge’s ‘The Sacred Romance’ were a challenge to my way of knowing God. The Spanish mystics, in their desire for intimacy with God, were taken up with the Song of Songs, an Old Testament book, that describes the yearning of two lovers for each other. It is also a picture of our yearning for God and his desire to be known by us. One way of becoming more intimate with God is to learn to be silent in God’s presence. To set aside a couple of times a day when you sit in silence in the Lord’s presence. Learning to listen for his voice and to feel his presence with us. Start with just five minutes or less and gradually increase the time you spend in silence. I use a timer to tell me when my time is up – it saves paying more attention to the clock than to the Lord!

Someone shared with me the following parable about listening:

A young ruler is sent to the master to learn the basics of being a good ruler. The master sent the young man into the forest and tells him to return only when he can describe the sounds of the forest. When the young man returns, he describes the sounds of the birds, the crickets, the leaves rustling, the grass blowing, the bees buzzing and the sound of the wind in the forest. The master tells him to go to the forest again and listen to what else he can hear. For days, the young man sits silently in the forest listening to the sounds he heard before; then suddenly he begins to hear faint sounds unlike those he had heard before. The more carefully he listened, the clearer the sounds became. The feeling of enlightenment enveloped the youth. “These must be the sounds the master wished me to discern,” he reflected.

Quickly he returned to the master and reports what he heard, “when I listened most closely, I could hear the unheard – the sound of flowers opening, the sound of the sun warming the earth, and the sound of the grass drinking the morning dew.” To which the master replies, “To hear the unheard is a necessary discipline to be a good ruler.”

This story can be applied to our desire to learn to listen to God. It takes time and intentionality to learn to listen and hear God. It is easy to give up and think we are getting nowhere but just by giving over a few minutes a day we can gradually learn to listen to and hear God speaking to us, meeting with us and reassuring us of his presence with us and with our world. The prophet Elijah met with God on Mount Horeb. He heard what the bible describes as ‘a sound of sheer silence’ (1 Kings 19:12). A dramatic encounter.

We are now in the long season of Trinity, with only the Feast of the Transfiguration, as a notable festival during this season. Trinity finishes with us celebrating ‘Christ the King’ on the last Sunday before advent. The liturgical colour is green – the leaves, the grass, the plants are green and the green shoots in spring indicate growth. I believe that it is good to see Trinity as a time of growth, perhaps in a way that we don’t during the other seasons of the year. A time of steady growth through the spring, summer and into the autumn. A time perhaps for some of us to grow in our experience and knowledge of God through learning to listen to God in silence.

May we have a growthful and exciting Trinity season as we listen and respond to ‘the sheer silence’.

Ros

What is the Alpha course? July 2021

Did you see the signs for the Alpha course? What is it? Who is it for?

Joyce asked me if I’d like to put a few words together on my thoughts about the Alpha course so far. Anyone who knows me will tell you that ‘few words’ are impossible for me! Now I do have two other collaborators, Elizabeth and Emma, so I may get away with more words?

The questions in the title were going around in my head, so out of curiosity I asked Alastair if he would add my name to his list to join the Alpha course. The first session was on Wednesday 28th April, so we’re about half way through the course. There was also a session on Saturday morning 12th June, for two and a half hours. The subject, The Holy Spirit, would usually be discussed over a weekend. So it had been greatly condensed.

So, what is the Alpha course?

From the Alpha.com website,

‘Alpha is a series of interactive sessions that freely explore the basis of the Christian faith. No pressure. No follow up. No charge.’

Who is it for? It is for anyone and everyone, whether you believe in God,
Jesus, the Holy Spirit or not.

We meet over Zoom and the sessions last for approximately an hour and twenty minutes. The structure is small groups for discussion centred round a video. Each group has a facilitator and each has the same questions, based on the topic of the week, to ask to their respective groups. Elizabeth, Emma and I are in different groups and we’re all very impressed with the sensitivity and skill of our respective facilitators. We enjoy meeting with our respective group and respect the opinions of others in our groups. I feel very ‘safe’ in my group in that I can ask any question or respond to one of the facilitator’s questions, without feeling uncomfortable, ignorant or stupid.

The videos are interesting. Some of the subject areas covered to date include ‘Who is Jesus?’, ‘Why did Jesus die?’ ‘Why and how do I pray?’ ‘How does God guide us?’.

Alpha is the brain child of Nicky Gumbel who was brought up in the Jewish faith and is now a zealous convert to Christianity. In the videos, there is an attractive young couple who travel the world and approach the public with fundamental questions, which the public often laughs off or reply to in one sentence. Some of the videos include testimonies from people who have experienced terrible events in their life. One person had never been loved from being a child, another abused their body. There was a murderer and an addict. Someone cared enough to introduce them to the Alpha course and it has totally transformed their life for the better, as they were introduced to Jesus.

Our views on the course so far:-
Elizabeth – ‘ The positive side is, it is certainly thought provoking and affirming. The negative side for me is I find Nicky excessively confident and pleased with life, but he is an actor and he has used his life (and his family ) to spread Christianity. ( I find The Peace difficult in church so you will understand I am not an extrovert). Alpha cannot provide definitive answers but that is the nature of Faith.

It won’t be a Damascene conversion for me, but it has given me food for thought and I will read the Bible. Alpha is about one being offered hope and strength in return for personal effort, a good deal definitely.’

Emma – ‘In 2002, I was travelling and working in Australia, and I happened to do an Alpha course in Sydney. It was thought provoking and I met a great bunch of people.

The course has been challenging and we have had some lively discussions, with tricky topics. There are familiar and new people in our group. Nicky Gumble gives you course material, and then space to think and relate topics to your own life. My spiritual journey has progressed but continues. Kindness and humility for me are key qualities to hold in your heart, and trying to keep God at the centre of our daily lives. Through these challenging times, it is reassuring to remember we never walk alone, and the power of prayer is restorative.’

Val – Although of pension age, I still consider myself a ‘beginner’ with regard to my knowledge of the Christian faith and that of the Holy Trinity. Always willing to learn, I joined the Alpha course. Having gone to church off and on throughout my life, pray to God and end my prayers ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord’, I was never very sure about the Holy Spirit. The Alpha course has explained everything. Saturday’s session on the Holy Spirit was such a moving experience for me. I feel at peace, more confident to talk about Jesus in a sensitive, persuasive way being guided by the Holy Spirit.

So far, for me, the Alpha course has been enlightening, challenging and inspiring. I could continue but I’m hoping that this article has whetted your appetite to learn more for yourself, about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and that it will inspire you to join any future Alpha course. (I have just learned from Alastair that he is planning another Alpha course in the near future).

God bless you all in Jesus name

Val, Elizabeth & Emma

PCC Meeting – June 2021

Notes from the Online PCC meeting, 15th June, 2021

Welcome and introduction: Alastair welcomed us to an informal meeting. There were two items to discuss.

  1. To approve the Contract and the job description for Nerys and Sara.

Val noted Susan’s point about what action to take if one of the job sharers resigns. After consideration the options were too restricting and therefore decided to leave it open. Their job security would not be affected, and it would be the responsibility of the PCC to find a new person.

Catriona raised the question of ‘out of pocket expenses.’ Alastair said that they would be reimbursed.

Alastair proposed that a vote was taken to approve the Job Description and the Contract. All in favour.

2. Church Redecoration

Alastair asked John to take us through the findings of the exploratory work carried out on the plasterwork prior to redecorating. John explained that redecoration was not the word to use. Multiple problems have been found which will cost a lot of money to correct.

• Behind the Wainscoting which was added in the 1930s, it was found that the wall behind was very damp. The Architect discovered that 20 years or so ago, the steps into church were changed, and a raised pathway was constructed. The method of construction has caused the rain water on the path to run down to the walls of Church which is then held against the wall without draining away. There should have been a slot drain. It could cost £10000 to fix the problem.
• There is a large crack above the first stained glass window which is due to poor workmanship.
• There is also a hairline crack between the window and the roof. There are 8 cracks between the 12 windows. This is something that we could live with; the building will not fall down.
• Approximately 12½% of the plaster within the main body of the church needs to be chipped out replaced and repainted over.
• The Chancel wall and plasterwork is in very poor condition. It is leaching salts from the stone which is causing problems. This needs to be lime plastered.

The challenge for the PCC is to decide:-
What do we absolutely have to do?
What would be nice to do?
What does the architect think should be done as a once generational thing to do? This would cost in the region of £75.000
A lengthy discussion ensued.

John is going to have a further word with the Architect and try to get him to reduce costs. The church will not be available for 6 weeks during the works. Tim Greenbank, who did the Scout and Guide building and would be a good person to do the work, will be approached. The programme could not start until the 12th September, and would be finished at the end of October.

It was decided to give the documentation to Tim Greenbank for him to price it accurately, and also get an accurate scaffolding price and find out when he would be able to do the work.

As soon as we have Stephen the Architects final report, and the costing from Tim Greenbank, then we meet up again.

The meeting ended with some prayers.