Month: November 2020

As Advent approaches…

Nativity by Kay Gibbons

A reflection by my friend Kay Gibbons

If Jesus were to be born today God would have a mighty problem (not that he has trouble with such things! He seems to overcome all sorts!)

Pubs are closed – so, no room at the Inn ? (takeaway pints doesn’t really get round this problem)

Three wise men are only allowed to travel great distances to buy things ( eg eBay purchases) but NOT to offer gifts.

Shepherds have to work from home so can’t travel beyond the field to visit others as they are already in a bubble with their sheep. 

Gatherings of more than 2 people from different houses are only allowed to meet in public places. Or is it 6? Or 8 ? Or maybe 15? 

We can’t have the holy family incurring a £10000 fine because others were overjoyed and wanted to meet up.

Think Angels would be allowed because there are no restrictions on drones in Covid legislation. So anything hovering is permissible,I guess?

So ,

How do we get round this??!!!

We are ALL in the Holy Nativity bubble and the star shines brightly above our heads and in our hearts. The Holy Nativity takes place in all of us, God born as one of us, in us as individuals and as the Church . It is up to us to get on our phones and on social media to let a somewhat disjointed world know about the Holy Nativity during a time of lockdown, of Covid and beyond! I’m sure the annunciation if it were to happen in this time of cyber communication would have been on Zoom,or maybe FaceTime. (But maybe not, God doesn’t necessarily conform – after all, Virgin birth ? Who could have thought that up ? He doesn’t always stick to the norm.)

Maybe not necessarily on our phones and social media. Just sharing the joy of the Holy Nativity in our lives with those we meet daily.

Love Kay

We will remember them!

A collage of some of the Poppy paintings

The beautiful village of Whitechapel near Garstang, in the Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has recently been the home of a special Poppy Factory. In this strange time of muted celebration of Remembrance, a group of children have been extremely busy creating poppies to decorate the church.

My friend Helen is one of the leaders and her own children aged 8 and 4 have kept Helen on her toes with their creative skills, They have been joined by other children of Messy Church at St. James’, where I had the privilege of being Vicar some years ago.

Helen sent copies of the Poppy paintings to The Royal British Legion and received an immediate response:
“Thank you, on behalf of the Royal British Legion for your support. We appreciate it.I would also like to pass a message on to your children. What wonderful drawings! So talented! I will make sure that the staff see these so that a smile can be brought to them as it did for me. Stay safe.”

The children not only loved making the poppy paintings but they also learned more about Remembrance Day. Helen was able to share with her children stories about their great-great grandfather who was a soldier in the First World War . Being a Lancastrian of farming stock he looked after some of the horses. The children were fascinated to hear about how his horses pulled cannons into battle.

These remembrance stories, handed on from generation to generation help us to engage continually with Remembrance as a witness not only to the overcoming of violence and conflict but also as a celebration of the human spirit which strives for the victory of love and goodness over darkness and evil.

This is a continuous struggle made all the more poignant in this time of Covid.

St. James Parish Church, Whitechapel

Jesus of the Scars

Jesus of the Scars
If we have never sought, we seek thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,

We must have Thee, O Jesu of the scars.
The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is thy balm?

Lord Jesus, by Thy scars, we claim Thy grace.
The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a God has wounds, but thou alone.

Edward Shillito

This is one of the War poems that I treasure. It was written by the Revd Edward Shillito, a congregational minister. In 1919, after the First World War had ended, Shillito tried to make sense of its horrors by contemplating the Wounded Christ who through His Crucifixion offered to all a way of making sense of the insensible, or, at least putting the carnage, death and deep suffering into some sort of context. The God who in the Crucifixion of Jesus shows that the scars of war, as with all human suffering, ultimately finds it healing in the self -sacrificial love of Jesus.

There ia a fourth verse, which was the penultimate one but which is rarely quoted in Remembrance services today.

If when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are; have no fear;
Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.

It alludes to the appearance of Jesus after the Resurrection to his disciples.
Its poignancy lies in the words “We know today what wounds are.” In the remembrance of all who gave their lives and suffered in wars and conflicts and those who have faced the darkness of incurable illnesses, we know today the bitterness of pain but, as Shillito reminds us, we also know the countersign – the Love of God stretched out for us on the Cross. A love that is not and cannot ever be defeated.