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Reverend Ruth Dawson writes ....
Dear Friends
As I write this, we are in week 10 of lockdown, and the government is making the first tentative steps towards easing us out of the situation. Despite the challenges that isolation presented, the nation has responded in a positive way. Despite the closure of church buildings, the church itself has found many ways to serve people support them and to involve them in worship and prayer. It has been and will continue to be a testing time for all of us, possibly the biggest test we have faced since the second world war. Some people may have found their faith tested, but remember what Christ told us: ‘And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matt 28:20) Having so much time on my hands has enabled me to read, pray and
meditate so much more, and has grown my relationship with God. I have
reflected much on Psalm 66 verses 8 to 12; verse 10 reads ‘For you, O
God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.’ Verse 12 reads
‘You let people ride over heads; we went through fire and through; yet
you have brought us out to a spacious place’.
What a message of hope that brings us, but it also requires us to trust
God, something that is not always easy for all of us, especially at the
moment, when some people may feel even more sceptical about God.
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote a delightful little
book entitled “Tokens of Trust”, and it is one of the books I have reread
during my isolation, and I recommend it to you.. In one of the chapters he
tells of a young Dutch Jewess who during the terrible period of 1941 to
1943 and died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. She hadn’t been a pious
or conventional person, but during her imprisonment she became
increasingly conscious of God’s hand on her life, of the fact that he lived
and was with her. Her conviction and faith despite her horrific
experiences are like a lamp for me, a source of inspiration and a reminder
of the strength a belief in God and his love brings us.
We are Easter people, God is with us – we are not alone. Carry that
thought as we move through this crisis. I hold you all in thought and
prayer.
Yours in Christ
Ruth Dawson
Monthly Prayers for June
1st For all those celebrating a birthday this month and find themselves on
their own without close family around them during these strange times
2nd For those teachers facing uncertain futures in our schools as Head
teachers struggle with finding safe ways for the children and staff to
work in
3rd For those living in Darrowby Drive
4th For all those children and young people whose exams have been
cancelled this year because of the coronavirus epidemic
5th For our Ministry Team who are leading services either on video or by
telephone and those who receive them
6th For all those who are suffering failing health and other long-term
health conditions that prohibit normal life and their carers who have
faced many problems over the past weeks
7th For all those staff and residents in the Care Homes in Darlington
8th For all those staff who work in our psychiatric units.
9th For all those who work in our supermarkets
10th For all those around the town who knit shawls etc for the group called
Angel Gowns who give these to those babies who are stillborn
11th For all those lorry drivers who bring food to the warehouses and
supermarkets
12th For the skills of the surgeons in our local hospitals
13th For those living in Bellburn Lane
14th For those on our list for prayers for healing
15th For all those teachers and nursery leaders who have been looking after
the children of key workers
16th For all those we may know who have struggled with their mental
health that they may see a light at the end of a long tunnel of
darkness
17th For all those who cannot find peace only torment in these troubled
times
18th For all those who work within our police service both officers and
civilians
19th For all those who serve our needs in our local Doctors Surgeries
20th For those living in Hartington Way
21st For all those families who may have loved ones nearing the time of
their passing
22nd For all those Christians who live in fear of their lives in many countries
around the world as they are treated with suspicion & violence
23rd For our local council members and our local member of Parliament
24th For those who find themselves mourning the loss of a loved one
25th For the Inter Faith group here in Darlington bringing a deeper
understanding between the faiths in our communities as we all
struggle with dealing with the restrictions of movement and services
26th For all those clergy and lay people who bring solace to those who
mourn
27th For all those who work within our pharmacies and their skills and
knowledge
28th For the staff of the neo-natal unit and paediatric intensive care unit
29th For the catering staff at Age UK and the volunteers taking meals out to
those in need around the town and surrounding areas.
30th For our Government and Prime Minister as they try to get the country
back to some form of normality and those members of the medical
profession advising them.
FACEBOOK SERVICES FOR JUNE
TUESDAY 10am MORNING PRAYER from the Vicarage (Rev’d Lissa Scott)
FRIDAY 10am HOLY COMMUNION using traditional language from the Vicarage (Rev’d Lissa Scott)
SUNDAY 11am 6pm
COMMON WORSHIP HOLY COMMUNION from the Vicarage (Rev’d Lissa Scott) EVENING PRAYER live from the Churchwarden’s Loft (Gordon Tough)
SUNDAY/ WEDNESDAY
TELEPHONE SERVICE We will initially be offering pre-recorded Morning Prayer on Sundays at 9:30am and Evening Prayer on Wednesdays at 7pm. The telephone number for this is 01325527446 Services will remain up for a few days before being replaced by the next one.
SATURDAY
3pm
FACEBOOK FAMILY SERVICE
Songs, stories and crafts for you and your little ones
Visit the C of E online page
There is now a range of digital resources for to you connect with God at
this difficult time. These include:
Time to Pray app (https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray)
which is free and has an accompanying daily audio offering on
SoundCloud and iTunes.
Mental health reflections (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-
action/mental-health-resources/supporting-good-mental-health)
Tips to tackle isolation (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-
action/mental-health-resources/dealing-loneliness-and-isolation-five-
top-tips). Finally, there are the Church’s smart speaker apps, which
provide a range of Christian resources.
https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/our-smart-speaker-apps
More details at: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-
centre/church-online
All in the month of
It was:
250 years ago, on 11th June 1770 that English explorer Captain James
Cook discovered the Great Barrier Reef off Australia when his ship ran
aground on it and was severely damaged.
While the aborigines and the Chinese may have found the Reef – the
largest structure in the world made of living organisms – before him, Cook
made more of an impact. His ship, the Endeavour, unloaded ballast and
was re-floated at high tide, but extensive repairs were necessary, as well
as skill at navigating a way out through the labyrinthine coral.
Cook made extensive journeys to unexplored waters, particularly in the
Pacific. At an earlier stage, when he was charting Newfoundland, he said
he intended to go “not only further than any man has been before me, but
as far as I think it is possible for a man to go.”
Born in Yorkshire, he worked for a Quaker ship-owning family at Whitby
and started his sea life as a merchant seaman before joining the Royal
Navy. Later he attended St Paul's Church, Shadwell, in East London.
Although he had six children, he has no direct descendants.
He was killed aged 50 in 1779, during a scuffle with some natives in
Hawaii, but left a huge legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge.
200 years ago, on 19th June 1820 that Joseph Banks, British naturalist,
died. He was President of the Royal Society for 41 years, developed the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, into one of the world’s leading botanical
gardens.
150 years ago, on 9th June 1870 that Charles Dickens, British novelist,
died. His books include The Pickwick Papers, A Tale of Two Cities, Great
Expectations and David Copperfield.
He died of a stroke in Gad’s Hill Place, his country home in Kent, when
halfway through writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The last novel he
completed – most of them were written in regularly released parts – was
Our Mutual Friend, in 1865.
He had been born in Portsmouth in 1812, the second of eight children. His
family were relatively poor, and his mother wanted him out at work, so he
never received a formal education. Nevertheless, he edited a weekly
journal for 20 years and wrote 15 novels, as well as many other stories,
articles and letters. He was also a staunch social campaigner, particularly
for children’s rights and education.
As could be deduced from one of his most loved works, A Christmas Carol,
he was a firm believer in Christian elements such as compassion and
redemption, and he loved the New Testament, while having little time for
the Old or for organised religion. His parents were nominal Anglicans. He is
said to have wanted his stories to be seen as ‘parables’ emphasising the
teaching of Jesus.
100 years ago, on 11th June 1920 that the Colony of Kenya was
established. It was previously known as British East Africa. It gained its
independence as Kenya in 1963.
80 years ago, June 1940, was a dramatic month in World War II. Main
points include:
3rd The German Luftwaffe bombed Paris.
4th The evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk was completed.
Winston Churchill gave his ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’
speech.
5th The Battle of France began.
10th Italy declared war on France and Britain. Canada declared war
on Italy. The North African Campaign (Desert War) began.
11th The siege of Malta began.
14th German forces entered Paris.
17th French government minister Charles de Gaulle (later President of
France) relocated to Britain.
18th Winston Churchill gave his ‘Finest Hour’ speech.
22nd France surrendered to Germany.
30th Germany invaded the Channel Islands.
75 years ago, on 22nd June 1945 that the Battle of Okinawa ended after 82
days. This battle saw the highest number of casualties in the Pacific
Theatre of the war, with more than 12,000 Allies, 110,000 Japanese forces
and 140,000 civilians killed.
70 years ago, on 3rd June 1950 that the first successful ascent of
Annapurna in the Himalayas, was accomplished by a French expedition led
by Maurice Herzog. This was the first successful ascent of a mountain over
8,000 metres. Annapurna is the 10th highest mountain in the world.
PsychoIt was just three years before the first ascent of Everest. Annapurna
was a largely unknown mountain, and the team first had to find a way to
reach it, and then survey a possible ascent route before doing the actual
climb – an amazing achievement in one season.
The team had originally intended to climb the slightly higher Dhaulagiri,
but when they saw it, they decided it was impractical. They went on to
climb Annapurna without oxygen and survived extreme conditions which
resulted in the two summiting climbers, Herzog and Louis Lachenal,
suffering severe frostbite and surviving an avalanche on the descent.
At the summit the excitable Herzog said: "Never have I felt happiness like
this, so intense and pure.” Lachenal, who had been reluctant to make the
final attempt, said he felt "a painful sense of emptiness.”
This was the first mountain summit attempt that Nepal had permitted:
afterwards the Maharajah of Nepal greeted the climbers as national
heroes.
65 years ago, on 11th June 1955 that the Le Mans disaster took place when
a car span off the track during the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France. The
driver, Pierre Levegh, and 83 spectators were killed and over 100 injured.
It was the greatest loss of life in the history of motorsport.
60 years ago, on 16th June 1960 that Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense film
Psycho was released.
Also 60 years ago, on 28th June 1960 that the Six Bells Colliery disaster
took place in Monmouthshire. 45 coal miners were killed by a gas
explosion.
50 years ago, on 29th June 1970 that following the Vietnam War, US troops
were withdrawn from Cambodia.
40 years ago, on 12th June 1980 that Billy Butlin, British holiday camp
entrepreneur, died.
30 years ago, on 1 June 1990 that US President George Bush and Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement to end the production of
chemical weapons and to destroy existing stocks.
Also 30 years ago, on 22nd June 1990 that Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, was
dismantled. It remained an official crossing point between East and West
Germany until re-unification in October. The guard house is now on display
in a museum.
20 years ago, on 10th June 2000 that the Millennium Bridge in London
opened. It closed again two days later because it swayed uncomfortably
when people walked in step. It reopened in Feb 2002 after changes were
made.
Also 20 years ago, on 26th June 2000, the Human Genome Project and
Celera Genomics Corp announced that they had completed the first rough
draft of the human genome.
10 years ago, on 15th June 2010 that the Saville Report, an inquiry into
Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland in 1972, was published. It determined
that British paratroopers had fired the first shot, without warning. Prime
Minister David Cameron apologised on behalf of the British Government.
JUNE 1940 – a month to remember
June 1940 – 80 years ago – was a dramatic month in the Second World War,
and one which saw two of the most memorable speeches in English.
As the evacuation of Allied Forces from Dunkirk was completed, recently
appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons on
4th June: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing
grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the
hills; we shall never surrender.”
Surprisingly he did not broadcast it to the nation: it was not recorded until
1949, “for posterity.” When he spoke, the French had not surrendered,
and the idea that “in God’s good time” the USA might conceivably have to
ride to the aid of a ‘subjugated’ England actually depressed as many
people as it invigorated.
Two weeks later, on the 18th June, with the battle in France lost, Churchill
did address the country directly with a rallying call in what must indeed
have seemed a very dark hour. “The Battle of Britain,” he said, “is about
to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation.”
He concluded by saying that if Britain were to last a thousand years,
people would still say, “This was their finest hour.”
Dandelions!
Many of us actually like dandelions. Their amazingly cheerful colour always a smile to our faces. The not-so-neat- and-tidy gardeners among us can simply enjoy flowers where they grow.
The name 'dandelion' apparently derives from 'dent de lion' – lions' teeth,
owing to the tooth-like shape of its leaves. There are many different
varieties of dandelion, but they all have the toothed leaves arranged in a
rosette around the single flowers, each one made up of up to two hundred
[yes, really!] tiny florets on a smooth stem, that when picked, releases a
milky substance known as latex.
The golden heads, which close up at night, in wet weather, or if picked to
go in a vase, give way to the seed-heads we all know as clocks. Who
cannot remember proclaiming the time as a child, having blown the seeds
away, counting each breath as an hour? And who, if this happened in the
garden, remembers the reaction of a parent, or grandparent, to the
efficient dispersal of the seeds all over the vegetable patch or flower bed!
In the past, dandelion drinks and concoctions have been valued for their
medicinal powers in combating a variety of complaints, and the Victorians
used to cultivate them in order to fill sandwiches with the young leaves.
Fizzy drinks manufacturers still produce a variety known as Dandelion and
Burdock, and intrepid wine-makers can use the flowers to concoct a heady
brew.
The roots, some say, can be dried and ground up for use as a coffee
substitute. It is those same roots, long and strong, that our grandmothers
would water carefully, to the amusement of onlookers, in order to pull
them up completely. To many of us, dandelions are one of Nature's joys.
Remember traffic jams?
One good thing about the lockdown is that you’ll have spent less hours
stuck in traffic this Spring.
Recent research has found that in 2019, car-using commuters lost an
average of 115 hours stuck in traffic. No surprises that London was the
most congested, with people losing 149 hours over the year. After all,
London comes 8th in the world for bad traffic jams.
Belfast was the next worst, with 112 hours lost per commuter. That is
closely followed by Bristol (103 hours), Edinburgh (98 hours), and
Manchester (92 hours).
London and Edinburgh have tied for the title of UK’s slowest-moving city
centre, with the average speed being about 10mph.
No plastic please, we’re the
National Trust
National Trust is going to get rid of its plastic membership cards.
Replacing the five million membership cards with a paper alternative will
save 12.5 tons of plastic each year.
The new cards will be made from a strong and durable paper, with a
water-based coating. The cards will be recyclable and compostable.
The National Trust also has plans to almost completely remove single-use
plastics from its sites by 2022. It has already replaced all disposable food
packaging with compostable products. Next, it wants to remove plastic
drinks bottles and eliminate plastic packaging from its shops.
Beware soft drinks
Having just one soft drink a day in middle-age could increase your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Recent research has found that the sugar-laden drinks raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of clots that cut off blood supply to the heart or brain. It was found that daily consumers of soft drinks were 53 per cent more likely to have large amounts of a fat called triglycerides, that collects in vessels and arteries, compared with people who rarely touch sugary soft drinks. The study was done at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Cardiovascular disease is the UK’s number one killer, claiming 170,000 lives a year. It is responsible for one in four premature deaths.
Malcolm Hepper Framing Unit 27, Whessoe Road, Darlington, DL3 0QP
Tel: 01325 788186
Oils, pastels, needlework, photographs and mirrors
Opening Times: Monday to Saturday
10am – 4pm
Individual pre-payment plans supporting the local community
The truly independent family
company caring for your needs
Tel: 01325 482999 (24 hr)
Whitehouse Funeral Service
Cockerton House 11 West Auckland Road
DARLINGTON DL3 9EJ
(EASY) (MEDIUM)
7th June Without the Trinity, there is no Christianity
The Trinity is easier to say than to explain. Christians believe in one God,
made up of three equal Persons. It is fundamental to the Nicene Creed,
which sets out the definitive doctrine of the Trinity for more than two
billion Christians worldwide, including all Roman Catholics, Eastern
Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Reformed Christians.
The theologian Ian Paul, writing on the Book of Revelation, points out that
chapter five has a wonderful depiction of the Trinity in action. He writes:
“…another figure appears in the drama, the lion who looks like a lamb. …
Here is the one who fulfils the hopes of God’s people Israel, as the
promised anointed Davidic king who was to come. Here is one who is
fierce and powerful enough to conquer their enemies, and tear them
apart.
“And yet when John sees Him, He is like a weak and vulnerable lamb who
has been slaughtered, just as the Passover lamb eaten by the people, the
suffering servant who was ‘wounded for our transgressions’ and the lamb
offered as an atoning sacrifice. He is the one who was slain,
but now stands, and shares the throne with God, and with Him sends the
Spirit to enact His will on earth. Here we have the most explicit (and
perhaps the most complex) Trinitarian statement in the whole New
Testament.”
From the Rev Dr Ian Paul’s excellent blog at:
https://www.psephizo.com/revelation/what-does-rev-4-5-tell-us-about-
the-trinity/ (dated May 17, 2017
Trinity Sunday, celebrating our God
who is Three Persons
Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity has kept many a theologian
busy down the centuries. One helpful picture is to imagine the sun shining
in the sky. The sun itself – way out there in space, and unapproachable in
its fiery majesty – is the Father. The light that flows from it, which gives
us life and illuminates all our lives, is the Son. The heat that flows from it,
and which gives us all the energy to move and grow, is the Holy Spirit. You
cannot have the sun without its light and its heat. The light and the heat
are from the sun, are of the sun, and yet are also distinct in themselves,
with their own roles to play.
The Bible makes clear that God is One God, who is disclosed in three
persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. For example:
Deuteronomy 6:4: ‘Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’
Isaiah 45:22: ‘Turn to me and be saved… for I am God, and there is no
other.’
Genesis 1:1-2: ‘In the beginning God created…. and the Spirit of God was
hovering…’
Judges 14:6: ‘The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power…’
John 1:1-3: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him
all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been
made.’
Luke 24:49 actually manages to squeeze the whole Trinity into one
sentence. Jesus tells His disciples: ‘I am going to send you what my
Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with
power (the Holy Spirit) from on high.’
In other words, the sun eternally gives off light and heat, and whenever
we turn to its brilliant light, we find that the warmth and life there as
well.
MAF still flying
Saturday 20th June was meant to be the day when MAF celebrated its 75th
Anniversary of flying with a big celebration in London.
Not being able to meet with its many supporters is bitterly disappointing,
but MAF now wants instead to pray for its supporters, and to reassure
them at this difficult time.
As MAF explains: “with 75 years of pioneering mission to the remotest
places on earth, we know so well how isolation can threaten human
development, physical health and spiritual freedom. It is strange to think
that many of us in the UK will be experiencing the isolation MAF has been
flying to overcome across the developing world for decades.”
Internationally, MAF has been badly hit by Covid-19, with many countries
allowing only restricted access now. It is still doing what it can to
maintain flight operations to reach isolated people in need. Some recent
examples include:
Papua, Indonesia: MAF Pilot, Kees Janse, has been helping distribute
flyers, to educate villagers about preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Arusha, Tanzania: MAF Pilot, Kirstein Combrink, is still able to fly medics
out to remote areas, taking all the necessary precautions.
Sundarbans, Bangladesh: MAF Pilot, Chad Tilley, joined forces with the
Swiss Embassy to rescue a teacher and charity worker stranded in a
remote area. He flew them to the capital, Dhaka, just 90 minutes before
their embassy flight departed for Europe.
Wau, South Sudan: the WHO and South Sudan’s Ministry of Health
requested MAF to transport test kits to the north western city of Wau - a
two-hour flight from Juba. MAF Pilot, Wim Hobo, says: ‘We’re very happy
we can support their people in this way.’
Luau, Angola: MAF Angola Pilot, Marijn Goud, rescued two Canadian
missionaries from the remote village of Luau and flew them to Angola’s
capital, Luanda, so they could be repatriated.
Reflected Faith: a string of beads
As you pray or simply spend time
quietly at home, have you ever
thought of using a rosary? Holding
something can be very comforting.
A rosary has beads in groups of ten, a separation and then a single bead.
This is repeated five times in a circle and then there’s a different set of
beads on a single line from that in a pattern of single, space, three beads,
space, single and then at the end a crucifix.
A couple of years ago the Archbishop of York went on a pilgrimage around
the Diocese of York of which he is also the Diocesan Bishop; visiting every
Church of England church and church school. He was also welcomed into
many other non-church places and situations.
Wherever he went he distributed a set of ‘beads.’ These were in sets of
three beads, a space and a single bead repeated four times. At the
central point of the circle was a
wooden cross. As he spoke, he invited those around him to pray using the
beads and then to continue to use them in their own time and in their own
ways.
All of us in our different personal circumstances are living in some
isolation – as families with young children, teenagers, three generations,
couples together, young singles, and the widowed.
So many different situations but like those different strings of beads,
whether as a single or in small groups, each is part of the whole and
separated we may be but not alone.
This month: If you don’t have a set of beads just get some string and
make knots in it. As you pass the knots through your hands think of other
people, situations and places and do include yourself and your own
church. Perhaps say a traditional prayer on each bead or just use the
words, ‘Lord have mercy’.
Lockdown, you and IT
How are you getting on with technology? The coronavirus pandemic has
driven hundreds of millions of us to use it more than ever, as we sit at
home in frustrated isolation.
If you are used to digital meetings and Zoom, it is not a problem, but for
millions of grandparents wanting to see their families, or non-techie
people wanting to see their friends, it has been quite a learning curve.
So, is there a patron saint of computers and electronics and all the
difficult stuff?
Some people say the patron saint of the internet should be Saint Isidore
of Seville, a Bishop and scholar in the Seventh Century who wrote a
book called Etymologies or The Origins, in which he tried to record
everything that was known. That seems to be a good basis for sainthood,
or at least for the internet.
Another candidate is Saint Eligius who lived about the same time. He is
quite busy already as the patron saint of goldsmiths, metalworkers, vets,
the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), horses and those
who work with them. His main qualification seems to have been his ability
to make things.
My suggestion is Zebedee. No, not the character from The Magic
Roundabout but the father of James and John. After all, consider this:
“James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John…were in a boat with
Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. (Matt.
4:21)
Ok, it is not the internet, but Zebedee knew about mending a net which
would have had both good and bad stuff all over it.
Certainly, whenever I get in an IT muddle during this lockdown, I would
welcome any patron saint that was willing to help me!
MARY LAWSON – STAR OF STAGE AND FILM
Local girl finds fame and stardom
Mary Lawson was a star of stage and screen during the 1920’s and 30’s.
She was born in 1910 in Pease Street in the Eastbourne area of Darlington.
My mother lived next door to her and her name was Dorothy and she went
to Dodmire School as Mary had done before her.
Mary used to make a big fuss of my mother and bought her a beautiful doll
and pram and dressed her up in exquisite clothes. The two back gardens
stretched for 80 feet and Mary and my mother used to play there.
My mother used to take Ginger, the cat, for walks in the pram. He must
have been a very tolerant cat. He was an intelligent ginger cat and used
to round up the chickens.
My grandparents loved gardening and grew everything from beautiful
flowers to vegetables and fruit. They had a magnificent Victoria plum
tree.
My Grandfather was the head Gardener at the South Park. In his spare
time, he bred rabbits and I can remember his silver trophies displayed on
the dresser. He once bred Blue Persian kittens but someone put poison
down and they all died. He must have been heartbroken. He never bred
kittens again.
Mary had a sunny disposition and starred in dance groups from an early
age. She was always in my Grandparents’ house. She used to carry a
Pekingnese dog under her arm.
Mary’s mother died when she was three and she was brought up by her
father and older sister Dora. Mary’s father worked for the North Eastern
Railway Company and was a part-time Ambulance Man. Mary’s mother
was a music teacher who had a fine voice and sang with a local choir.
Mary had two older brohers, John and Francis James. Francis, known as
Frankie, lived in Neasham Road with his wife and two children.
One day, my Grandmother (known as Nanna Backhouse) was giving my
mother a basin cut. In those days, a pudding basin was put on the child’s
head and the hair below was cut off. She accidentally cut my mother’s
ear and she ran for Mary’s father to bandage it. My Mum can still feel the
mark.
At the age of 5, Mary sang at Feethams for soldiers wounded in the 1st
world war. She soon became a regular at Darlington’s Scala Theatre in
Eldon Street. In 1920, Mary had a part in Babes in the Wood and when she
was 12, she toured County Durham with a group of girls (which lasted for
three years). In addition to her pure acting ability, she was an exceptional
dancer.
She honed her acting and dancing skills in Durham and was spotted by
Gracie Fields. With Gracie’s support, she became a resident act at the
Mayfair Hotel in London.
Mary made her name in 1928 in ‘Good News’ at the age of 17. In 1929 she
toured Australia in ‘Desert’ Song and ‘Hold Everything’.
Mary’s sister, Dora, chaperoned her all over the world.
By the 1930’s she was established as a Musical Comedy star and went on to
act in 14 films with names like Vivien Leigh and Bud Flannigan as well as
11 stage show . Her last role was in ‘White Horse Inn’ at the Coliseum in
London in 1940.
Mary had several romantic affairs. In 1933, she was engaged to Maurice
van Raalte, heir to a cigar fortune but it ended in his sudden death. She
was going to marry a cameraman but caused a sensation on her
engagement to Fred Perry, world premier tennis player. He wanted to
marry her and then live in America but Mary did not wish to live there.
She married the son of the Dame of Sark whose name was Francis William
Lionel Collings Beaumont, He was known to her as Buster. They met
during the filming of ‘Toilers of the Sea in 1936’. He was a film
producer.
When Mary and Buster were married, she changed her name to Mary
Elizabeth Lawson but kept her stage name as Mary Lawson.
When the second world war broke out, Sark was occupied by German
military and Buster joined the Royal Airforce reaching the rank of Flight
Lieutenant.
In May 1941, Mary’s husband was serving in the second world war and he
had one precious week’s leave when he arranged to meet Mary, Dora and
friends in Liverpool. When they were there, the Liverpool Blitz occurred
and was at its worst, second only to London.
They had to go into the underground shelter at night. It was cold, damp
and crowded. People recognised Mary and she felt uncomfortable. On the
third night, they decided to stay in their room in Bedford Street, while
Dora and the others stayed in the underground shelter.
Bedford Street was bombed and they both died. Their bodies were pulled
from the rubble. Mary was only 30 years old.
They were buried in Kirkdale Cemetery in Liverpool but only Buster has a
headstone to remember him. Mary’s memorial is in the Civilian War Dead
Roll of Honour near St. George’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey, London and
in the films that survive her.
The Liverpool people who survived the Blitz, were made of strong mettle.
They were cheerful and made the best of things. It took many years to re-
build their completely bombed out city. My mother looks back with
nostalgia on her childhood friend and has a photograph of her hanging in
her lounge to this day.
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Looking for Hope
Amongst the Clutter
In this strange locked down season, because of the coronavirus pandemic,
I’ve noticed a change in the type of pictures posted on social media. In
place of the look-here-at-me selfies are snapshots of buds opening to
display the colours of spring.
Such hopeful images counterbalance gloomy statistics in the news media.
There are also more memory pictures – this is what I was doing on this day
years ago with people I love – I wish we could be together now.
While we’re not allowed to make the kind of memories depicted in those
pictures, we find comfort in memories we already have.
One thing I’ve done with this unexpected free time is to organize printed
photographs into albums. The photos and the albums have been there for
a while, waiting for me to get a round tuit. You remember the old joke?
Imagine people finding their round tuits in cupboards and drawers all over
the country. How would you use yours? To sow seeds that had not been
planted? To read the book gathering dust on a shelf?
What else needs tackling? Now may be an ideal time to face the daunting
corner where clutter lurks. Daunting because of what you may disturb
among age-old piles of unsorted belongings. Looking squarely at the past
may be an unwelcome prospect. It makes us face uncomfortable
questions. Projects we may never finish, equipment we cannot use any
more, objects of attachment from people we’ve lost. Isn’t that like what
we’re doing as a nation in these unprecedented times? Issues we have
been avoiding are suddenly highlighted through unfamiliar circumstances.
There is much talk about how we’re looking forward to getting back to
normal on the other side of this international crisis. Some people say they
hope things will have changed, that normal will not look the same as it
used to, because we have learned valuable lessons about what really
matters in life. It’s up to us whether or not we rise to the challenge, to
reorganize society more fairly, to care more for the environment.
By myself I cannot change the world, but I’m determined to look after the
little space that is in my care, not to let it be overwhelmed with needless
clutter. Be brave. Use this negative time to make a positive change in your
small corner. If you choose to sort it out, I guarantee that amidst all the
mess you will find at least one thing, however small, to bring you joy –
even if it’s just a clean and tidy corner.
Just a pint of social media for me, please
Even before the lockdown, social media seems to have been replacing the
role of pubs in socialising, as far as young people are concerned.
In 2005, an estimated 18 per cent of young people aged 16 to 24 were non-
drinkers. According to one study, that has now risen to 29 per cent.
“Online technology has made friends and family instantly accessible and
the role of pubs and clubs for initiating and consolidating social networks
appears to have changed.” So says Dr Dominic Conroy, a psychologist at
the University of East London.
Dr Conroy adds: “With the internet being used to initiate and maintain
social relationships, both romantic and otherwise, the use of alcohol as a
social lubricant may be less necessary.” He co-authored a recent study on
the subject with Prof Fiona Measham, a criminology expert at Liverpool
University.
We can claim the gift of sleep
Many of us have had our sleep patterns disturbed in recent weeks. After
all, a pandemic, lockdown and growing financial crisis are hardly
conducive to relaxation.
But the fact is that, whatever is happening out there, we desperately need
our sleep. It is vital for the proper functioning of our brain and heart.
Anyone who has ever been deprived of sleep for a period will remember
their ever-diminishing ability to perform complicated tasks.
Sleep can also help us solve problems. We go to bed struggling with a
decision to make or a relationship to resolve, and we wake up to find a
solution presenting itself. The old advice to ‘sleep on it’ is true: we see
things more clearly after sleep.
The Bible considers our sleep as a blessing from God. As Christians, we
can calmly commit ourselves to His loving care, secure that He who
watches over us “will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps 121:4). Knowing that
God is with us, we can let ourselves go.
If you are having trouble sleeping, why not memorise one of the verses
below, and repeat it to yourself as you lie in bed tonight?
‘I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.’ (Ps
3:5)
‘In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in
safety.’ (Ps 4:8)
‘In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He
grants sleep to those He loves.’ (Ps 127:2)
‘When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down,
your sleep will be sweet.’ (Prov. 3:24)
‘I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.’ (Jer. 31:25)
As the writer George MacDonald so aptly put it: “Sleep is God’s
contrivance for giving man the help He cannot get into him when he is
awake.”
Across 1 See 23 Across 3 Where the thief on the cross was told he would be, with Jesus (Luke 23:43) (8) 8 Invalid (4) 9 Blasphemed (Ezekiel 36:20) (8) 11 Adhering to the letter of the law rather than its spirit (Philippians 3:6) (10) 14 Shut (Ecclesiastes 12:4) (6) 15 ‘This is how it will be with anyone who — up things for himself but is not rich towards God’ (Luke 12:21) (6) 17 Mary on Isis (anag.) (10) 20 Agreement (Hebrews 9:15) (8) 21 Native of, say, Bangkok (4) 22 Deaf fort (anag.) (5-3) 23 and 1 Across ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of — to work it and take — of it’ (Genesis 2:15) (4,4)
Down 1 Struggle between opposing forces (Habakkuk 1:3) (8) 2 James defined this as ‘looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world’ (James 1:27) (8) 4 ‘The one I kiss is the man; — him’ (Matthew 26:48) (6) 5 ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in — , faithful in prayer’ (Romans 12:12) (10) 6 St Columba’s burial place (4) 7 Swirling current of water (4) 10 Loyalty (Isaiah 19:18) (10) 12 ‘God was pleased through the foolishness of what was — , to save those who believe’ (1 Corinthians 1:21) (8) 13 Camp where the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 men one night (2 Kings 19:35) (8) 16 ‘There is still — — — Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet’(2 Samuel 9:3) (1,3,2) 18 David Livingstone was one (4) 19 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (1,1,1,1)
MAY CROSSWORD ANSWERS ACROSS: 1, Stop. 3, Call upon. 9, Regular. 10, Octet. 11, Inner. 12,
Hudson. 14, Holy Communion. 17, Myself. 19, See to. 22, About. 23, Iterate. 24, Monarchy. 25, Stet.
DOWN: 1, Straight. 2, Organ. 4, Abraham’s faith. 5, Lloyd. 6, Puteoli. 7,
Note. 8, Cleric. 13, Innocent. 15, Lay down. 16, Ussher. 18, Enter. 20, Enact. 21, Balm.
How do you feel about your health?
Having a religious faith may well make you feel better about your health,
according to recent government figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published data linking religious
belief and health in an effort to “understand the circumstances of people
of different religious identities.”
It found that 66 per cent of Muslims, 68 per cent of Christians, 69 per cent
of Sikhs, 71 per cent of Buddhists, 72 per cent of Hindus and 77 per cent
of Jews were satisfied with their health between 2016 and 2018.
In contrast, only 64 per cent of non-religious people reported being
satisfied with their health during that time.
Michael Wakelin, chair of the Religious Media Centre, said: “I guess this
has something to do with an attitude of gratitude. If you are of the
opinion that God loves you and He created you, you are more likely to be
grateful for what you have.
“Also, if you have a faith you are more likely to be hopeful for a better
future, so that even if things are a bit tough now, they will improve in
God’s time.”
What kind of stress do you have?
These are stressful days. The towering storm clouds of coronavirus and
financial trouble are casting a long shadow over all of us.
Many of us deal with our stress by expressing it. Loudly! We lose our
temper, swear, shout and even throw things at our loved ones. We over-
react to various personal setbacks because we can’t retaliate against the
virus or the stock market.
But some of us do the opposite: we under-react. We display ‘quiet stress’.
“We quietly hold our stress within: we don’t speak up about how we feel.
And crucially, we become inert. We don’t act on situations that require
action.” So warns Jillian Lavender of the London Meditation Centre.
“We stay in unhappy relationships and unfulfilling jobs. We feel
overwhelmed, yet we ignore important admin tasks. We procrastinate.
Quiet stress creates an emotional paralysis that keeps us ‘stuck’ in
unhappy situations. Inaction is just as much of an inappropriate response
to stress as over-reaction is”
A further danger of ‘quiet stress’ is that instead of taking positive action,
people can withdraw into themselves, and turn to comfort eating or
drinking too much. This further lowers their immune system.
In danger from domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is soaring just now. Even as far back as early April, it was
up by 30 per cent.
No wonder, then, that charities are urging us to keep an eye out for
anyone in danger. The warning signs include bruising, repeated shouting
and all types of controlling behaviour.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you
dare not even speak, then use the silent solutions service by dialling 999
and press 55.
If there is no immediate danger, you can still contact the 24-hour
confidential National Domestic Abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Refuge, the national domestic abuse charity, estimates about 1.6 million
women already experienced domestic abuse last year, and that “self-
isolation has the potential to aggravate pre-existing abusive behaviours.”
Terry Waite - on coping with lockdown
Terry Waite spent four years in solitary confinement in Beirut. He says: “In
isolation, it is easy to become introspective and depressed. All of us, when
we are honest and examine ourselves critically, will discover things about
ourselves of which we are not especially proud. I had to learn how to grow
a greater acceptance of myself and work towards a deeper inner harmony.
“…. Today in lockdown, it’s important to keep yourself well. Don’t slob
around all day in pyjamas and a dressing gown. Dress properly and develop
a routine. It’s important to have a structure – get up at a certain time, eat
regular meals and so on.
“If you have faith, then that will give you resources to draw on”,
especially if you know some hymns, psalms and prayers by heart. “When I
was captured, they were there to call on.”
God in the Arts - ‘I am the true vine’
Jesus the Good Shepherd has been a popular inspiration for artists from the earliest days of Christianity. But this month we focus on another image that has been just as powerful and influential from the first centuries of the Church: Jesus the vine.
We think of grapes and the vine as symbols of the Eucharist and the
sacrifice of Jesus, but early artists borrowed their inspiration from Greek
and Roman sources with Dionysos (or Bacchus), the god of wine. For
pagan believers, wine was a sign of intoxication and renewal of life, and
Dionysos was a god who died and rose again. Under that influence,
sculptors would carve vines on Christian tombs as a sign of that promise of
new life.
But those artists were also influenced by the vine as an image of the
people of Israel in the Old Testament, with God as the vintner tending his
vine, as they were influenced by our Lord’s own words in St John’s Gospel.
When Jesus talked of Himself as the vine, He was pointing to two truths.
The first was the connection between the vine and the grapes: it was a
symbol for the intimate relationship between Jesus and His followers.
They are the grapes, because they receive their fruitfulness from Jesus.
Without Him, there would be no growth, no maturity, no fruit. ‘Whoever
remains in Me, with Me in him, bears fruit in plenty.’
The second truth in this image is the wine that can bring life a new taste.
Just as Jesus changed water into wine, His whole life was one of
transformation – bringing water to the thirsty, sight to the blind, light to
those in darkness, forgiveness to the sinner, and eternal life to those
burdened by this world and the reality of death. The wine is a symbol of
that goodness and flavour, both in creation and in salvation – the wine at
the dinner party, and the wine in the chalice in communion. Jesus as the
true vine brings that flavour and goodness to us.
Both truths speak out to us from this month’s image of Jesus in an icon. In
the Orthodox Church the icon is a window into the kingdom of heaven. As
we stand and pray before the icon, if we can bridge ‘the distance of the
heart’ (the space between the human eye and the icon), then God can
reveal His glory to us. Here we see the face of Jesus in a 16th century icon,
which is in the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens – the icon of
Christ the true vine. He looks out at us, the Gospel book in His lap and His
hands outstretched to bless the 12 disciples. The icon illustrates very
vividly that metaphor of Jesus when He says that He is the vine and they
are the branches. But those hands are also welcoming us to be with the
12: they invite us to offer our lives to live in Jesus.
Anselm Grün, a German Benedictine, tells how one of his fellow monks
wondered what a difference there would have been if Jesus had said, ‘I
am a slimming camomile tea.’ But no, He says to us in the Gospel and in
the icon, ‘I am the true vine’: live in Me like my 12 disciples and your lives
can be fruitful in my service.
PLACES IN THE NORTH-EAST CRYPTIC TOWNS AND
CITIES IN THE UK
1 Cyclist 1 Tub full of water
2 Multi-coloured clothing 2 Has a letter to spare
3 Oliver’s partner 3 Crank Miss Rantzen
4 Musical show 4 Half a score is alongside
5 Cut finely 5 Professor of rollers
6 Not an old fortress 6 A chocolate bar without for instance
7 Horse on open land 7 A person who is leaving
8 What the dentist says 8 People’s rock
9 Work of lumberjack 9 A complete bacon
10 Heavy metal opening to field
10 Shipsmen
11 Not an old small one 11 Tying meat
12 Heavy laundry 12 Latest fortified wine
13 Polished and in line 13 Religious skull
14 Person on foot 14 Tend fire
15 How Americans like eggs 15 Is this Piggott’s town?
16 Stroll along 16 There are no ends to a hairdryer
17 A thief 17 Where the steer (of the bovine family) crossed the river
18 Stop and blow a tune 18 One of the three R’s
19 Coloured form of transport
19 Almost speechless in front of the French chips
20 To view properties 20 A male, art of the torso with some hesitation
20th June Summer Solstice – longest day of the year
June, of course is the month of the summer solstice, the month of the Sun. Sol + stice come from two Latin words meaning ‘sun’ and ‘to stand still’. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. The Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, and the Southern Hemisphere celebrates in December. While the Druids worship at Stonehenge and elsewhere, here are some Christian alternatives that honour the Creator rather than the created. A Canticle for Brother Sun Praised be You, My Lord, in all Your creatures, Especially Sir Brother Sun, Who makes the day and enlightens us through You. He is lovely and radiant and grand; And he heralds You, his Most High Lord. St Francis of Assisi
God in All He inspires all, He gives life to all, He dominates all, He supports all. He lights the light of the sun. He furnishes the light of the night. He has made springs in dry land. He is the God of heaven and earth, of sea and rivers, of sun, moon and stars, of the lofty mountain and the lowly valley, the God above heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven.
God in the Sciences - A Scientist Reflects
on God’s Heart for the Suffering
Written by Dr Ruth M. Bancewicz, who is Church Engagement Director at The Faraday
Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. Ruth writes on the positive
relationship between Science and Christian faith.
It’s difficult as a scientist to hear information that is fascinating, but
which also involves so much suffering for other people. I worked for a time
in a leukaemia research lab. We had to let other people’s pain drive our
research without it crippling our ability to concentrate on our work. But,
writing this under lockdown, I have found myself – as a biologically-
educated bystander – avoiding looking into the science of COVID-19
because the reminders of its impact on people’s lives are everywhere that
I look.
One of the ways I have been managing my own feelings during the
pandemic is by digging deeper into what God has revealed to us about His
character, letting that fuel my faith, my prayers, and my actions. For
more academic types like myself, study – particularly of the Bible – can be
one of the primary ways we connect with God and hear from Him. It’s not
wrong to be comforted by books, so long as the contents turn our eyes
upwards and outwards.
First of all, God hears: “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted’ (Psalm
34:18a). In Jesus God took on human form, and He showed us His heart for
the world. When His friend Lazarus died, He wept (John 11). God is
“the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).
Human sin has affected the whole of creation, and I believe this is largely
the direct impact of our mismanagement of creation and mistreatment of
each other. COVID-19 may well be another animal’s friendly virus, pushed
by human activity into causing havoc in bodies where it doesn’t belong.
But God’s world remains good. It is still fruitful, praising Him, as Psalm 19
describes. Even pictures of a deadly virus can seem beautiful – especially
to a biologist! These good things are hints of the promised “new heavens
and new earth” mentioned in the New Testament. One day “creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8: 21), and for
everyone who follows God, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes”
(Revelation 21: 4).
Behind the debates about suffering is sometimes the assumption that God
doesn’t care. My experience is that God does care deeply, and He invites
His Church to care for those around them – especially the most vulnerable.
He is with us, He hears us and grieves with us, He helps us and promises a
better future.
Christians and the bubonic plague
of London
The Reverend Richard Peirson was one of the exceptions. Most of the
other clergy in the City of London had fled the Great Plague in 1665, but
Peirson stayed behind to look after the parishioners of St Bride’s Church,
Fleet Street, where he was Rector. The parish was densely populated and
the pandemic was catastrophic. The church’s register records 636 burials
that year in the month of September alone, with 43 interred in one day.
Houses of infected people were marked with a red cross on the door, with
occupants kept inside for 40 days. Handcarts were pulled along the city
streets to cart away the bodies; the drivers’ cries of “Bring out your
dead”, became etched in the memories of subsequent generations.
Relatives were banned from attending funerals.
The official count numbered 68,596 deaths in London alone, but other
estimates suggested two or three times that number. Bubonic plague – for
that is what it was – was incurable. Poor people were fatalistic about it
but complained that even their ‘spiritual physicians’ had abandoned them.
Clergy of the Church of England were often supplanted by non-conformist
preachers.
It wasn’t just the St Bride’s Rector who put his life in jeopardy by staying
at his post. While most wealthy people, along with King Charles II and his
court, escaped the plague-ridden city, Churchwarden Henry Clarke also
chose to remain at the church. When he succumbed to the illness, his
brother William took over. William survived for a fortnight.
Plague cases continued to occur sporadically at a modest rate until mid-
1666. That year the Great Fire of London destroyed St Bride’s Church and
much of the City of London. It was rebuilt to a design by Christopher
Wren, but almost obliterated once more in 1940 during World War II
before being restored yet again.
Today’s Rector, Canon Alison Joyce, says that compared with her
predecessor Richard Peirson, she has it easy. Like everyone else, she is
confined by the lockdown rules to her Rectory next to the church. But her
pastoral work continues, and she collates sermons and archive music to
create a Sunday webcast service. Alison writes, “these days it is a ministry
of telephone calls, emails and Facetime. I offer such practical help and
support to the vulnerable as I can . . . I keep a candle burning before our
main altar and continue a ministry of prayer.”
Alison says she is surprised when people regard the faith as a kind of
celestial insurance policy against bad things happening to them. The first
followers of Jesus knew that in dedicating their lives to following the
crucified and risen Christ, their discipleship would take them into the very
heart of darkness, not away from it. She adds, “Hope is no hope at all
unless it can engage with utter despair and meaninglessness.”
Blessed are the truth-tellers
(during the pandemic)
ITV News journalist and presenter Julie Etchingham, a practising Christian,
has defended the role played by journalists during the Coronavirus
pandemic.
She told the Christians in Media website, “Reporters are coming in for a
lot of flack for the questions they are asking government. But what else
are we for? We all get that this is a crisis like no other; that few in
government have ever had to navigate such a challenge.
“But, if we're still attempting to function as a democracy in the face of
this, then scrutiny is clearly crucial. Many in our frontline services and the
wider public are demanding answers. We are there on their behalf. We
don't always get it right. This isn't a moment to trip people up, but
urgently to get to the truth.”
As a Christian who has worked in communications for around 50 years, I
strongly support Julie Etchingham’s view. Now is the time for truth and
accuracy to be at the centre of all our communications.
So, yes we need to be praying for and supporting the front-line health
service staff, the public health experts, the scientists researching vaccines
to combat the virus, and the key workers keeping our societies running.
But we also need to be praying for and supporting the men and women
working in and with the media to publish, upload, broadcast and distribute
the most accurate information, without spin or distortion.
So here is a prayer for the media in these challenging days.
Loving God,
We pray for everyone working in and with media in these challenging
times.
Encourage all who seek to explain and interpret the fast-changing world
around us.
Embolden the truth-tellers, truth-seekers and fact-checkers.
Promote coverage that builds our shared humanity and where everyone
has a voice.
Bring clarity where there is confusion
Bring knowledge where there is speculation
Bring wisdom and insight when the way ahead seems unclear.
And bring us all to a knowledge of truth that sets us free, and helps keep
us safe.
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Valley of Dry Bones has a future hope
‘A dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. An' I hear the word of the
Lord!’
At this time of global pandemic, we live with stark reality of death and
life. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (37:1-14) was given when
God’s people were in exile in Babylon. They felt dead, being separated
from home and God! The vision answers God’s question: ‘can these bones
live?’.
We can also feel cut off from God, facing the loss of job, business, home
or health, with churches unable to meet on Sundays. This vision assures us
that God has power over death and can breathe new life into what is
hopeless.
When Ezekiel is told to ‘prophesy to the bones,’ God brings them back to
life: the bones come together and are covered with muscles and skin. He
then prophesies to the wind, from the four corners of the earth, to bring
the bodies alive. The physical bodies are then filled with God’s breath to
bring new life. The miracle of this story is that God not only makes these
bones live, but also brings the life of His Spirit.
The Covid-19 virus robs people of their life by suffocation, so that they
can’t breathe. Our hope beyond the pandemic is that the gift of God’s
Spirit will bring new life to our lives, churches and world. Life will
certainly look very different in the future, but we can be assured that God
is with us and that we are safe in His hands.
‘I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your
own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have
done it, declares the Lord.’(vs14)
Jesus calming the storm of Covid-19
The BBC ‘Today’ programme that was broadcast on Good Friday included
an interview with Hylton Murray-Philipson, a survivor of Covid-19. He had
been on a ventilator in Leicester Royal Infirmary, “reduced to the state of
a baby”.
The programme presenter, Nick Robinson, invited him to describe
memories of his time in intensive care. When he said one of the images
he had, in a moment of great distress and struggle, was of Jesus calming
the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and he would like to think this was Jesus
coming to him and helping him in his hour of need, Robinson suggested
this was partly because of the powerful drugs he had been given, “which
play tricks with the mind”.
Later, Robinson apologised and said he didn’t mean to demean anyone’s
faith. But what he had said also betrayed ignorance. While it is true that
pain-killing drugs can cause hallucinations, these side-effects are rarely
pleasant. It is not uncommon for patients to become agitated, anxious,
confused and even prone to violence. Their physical pain will have been
reduced, but that may have been at the necessary cost of mental
disturbance; the overriding experience being more like that of a storm,
than of a sea being calmed.
Back in the 1960s, it became fashionable for some groups to promote the
use of illicit drugs because of the temporary sensations they induced. John
Lennon of the Beatles said he had “such an overwhelming feeling of well-
being, that there was a God, and I could see him in every blade of grass. It
was like gaining hundreds of years of experience in 12 hours.”
In his new book, ‘Morality - Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times’,
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks chronicles the devastating long-term effects of
leisure drugs. He includes cannabis, which he calls a ‘gateway drug’,
because most of those who become serious addicts later, began with it.
So what was it that Hylton Murray-Philipson actually experienced, when he
was at death’s door in that hospital intensive care unit? He knew the
biblical story of seasoned fishermen, fearful of their lives because a
sudden squall threatened to swamp their boat. Did he recall their alarm
because Jesus, asleep in the stern, appeared to be unconcerned at the
very moment when divine assistance was most needed? Did not his
coronavirus-induced distress match theirs?
The Gospels relate that Jesus woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the
sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Is
that what Hylton experienced, too? He says it was.
‘How long, O Lord?’ – the lament of Psalm 13
As we struggle with the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic, we
might echo the words of Psalm 13: ‘How long, Lord? Will you forget me
forever?’ It is one of a number of lament psalms, where the psalmist cries
out in pain, because he feels abandoned by God. In our current
circumstances, these psalms enable us talk to God about our fears and
frustrations, while renewing our confidence in Him. What does Psalm 13
say?
Bring your complaint to God: The psalmist brings his pain and questions
to God: ‘How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day
have sorrow in my heart?’ (2). He is open with God about his complaints,
despite the anger he feels.
Ask boldly for His help: He goes on to ask for God’s help: ‘Look on me
and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him…’ (3–4). While avoiding
despair (‘there’s no hope’) or denial (‘everything’s fine’), the psalmist is
confident in God’s power to deliver.
Choose to trust Him: ‘But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices
in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to
me.’ (5–6). The lament is a journey to the point of renewing our trust in
God in the brokenness of our life.
The psalms of lament (eg. Psalms 10, 22 and 77) give us a prayer language
for dark times. They enable us to be honest with God about what is
happening to us and remind us that God has not abandoned us. He is a God
who is both sovereign and good.
‘Laments turn toward God when sorrow tempts you to run from Him.’
A prophet for our time of testing - Isaiah
The Scriptures stress the importance of desert experiences as essential
preparation for times of spiritual renewal. The desert is the place of
weariness, dryness and weakness which we all go through at times. The
35th chapter of Isaiah helps us to understand such experiences, and
reminds us of God’s purpose in uncertain times.
A Desert Place
In a desert season we are forced to see things as they really are. It could
be a time of physical illness or depression; stress or anxiety; questioning
or change. It is always a season of deep refining through repentance. The
desert offers us no places to hide; rather we are confronted with our sins,
hurts and weaknesses. We are called to repent of our desire for control
and acknowledge our total dependence on God.
A Desert Renewal
God promises to lead His people out of spiritual, emotional and physical
weariness into a place of personal renewal. There will be water in the
desert and crocuses bursting into bloom. These are signs of what God
wants to do in His people; to enable them to be strong and trust in the
new things He is doing in their lives.
A Desert Road
In the desert we cannot escape from the reality of God’s judgment and
holiness. The road back to God is described as a Way of Holiness, for it
demands both repentance and a holy lifestyle. However, there is also the
promise of laughter, joy and gladness as God’s people return to Zion, the
home of God’s presence and love
Learning to trust in times of trouble
A friend, writing about the challenges she is facing, says: "We never cease
to have invitations to trust, do we?" I tend to agree. Almost every day we
face circumstances that we cannot control, and for which the only way to
find peace is to trust in the loving wisdom of our faithful God.
Yet trust is never easy. It seems easier – and more natural – to worry or to
be afraid. It’s as if we feel we ought to be anxious, as if we really must
fret about things. Not to do so would be to not care. It’s our duty to carry
the weight of the world on our shoulders.
But is it?
Jesus seems to offer us an alternative. He says, “Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” (John 14:1) He offers Himself to
us as someone who is trust worthy, one who is absolutely reliable and who
will see us through. We are invited to entrust Him with our concerns, and
to hand over to His care the things that trouble us.
In his book Ruthless Trust, the writer Brennan Manning says: “Sometimes
it may mean more to God when we say, ‘I trust you’ than it does when we
say ‘I love you.’” When things are going well, the sun is shining and the
sky is blue, it is easy to love God. But when the storms are blowing, and
the clouds are dark, it takes a very special kind of faith to say, “I don’t
understand God, but I do trust you.”
This kind of faith delights the heart of God. Every trouble we face
presents us with another invitation to place our trust in Him.
1 Where will you find this
in church?
2 Where and on what will
you find this dove of
peace in church?
3 Where will you find
this?
4 Where can this portrait
be found in church?
33 Images of St. Matthew
and St. Luke’s Church to
test your knowledge
5 Where are these
numbers found?
6 On what will you find
this cross in church?
7 Where can this cross be
found in church?
8 What date did the
original church burn
down?
9 A special bear, who was
it presented to and for
what?
10 What am I?
11
12 What am I?
13 What is this found on?
14 Where will you find
these words?
15
16 I was a gift from St.
Mary’s Church on the
consecration of St.
Mathew’s
17 The holy spirit can be
found on what?
18 Where would you find
these “shining lights” in
church?
19 Where will you find this
cross and where did it
originate?
20 What are these?
21 Who sponsored this
window?
22 Where will you find
these fish in church?
23 Where will you find
this?
24 Where can this shield
be found?
25 What do I support?
26 What am I and where
will you find me in
church?
27 How many pipes does
our church organ have?
28 Where will you find
these flowers in
church?
29 Where can this be
found in church?
30 What am I?
31 Who are we?
(a) (b)
(c) (d
32 Who is this and where
can he be found?
33 What am I?
ANSWERS TO THIS AND THE OTHER TWO QUIZZES NEXT MONTH