Fr
Kevin writes
Memories…
Dear
Friends,
‘Remember,
remember the 5th of November…’ yes, its that month again, when we look back
both as individual people and as a Church community to remember the people who
have shaped our lives. All Saints Day
draws our attention to the great men and women of God who have shone for Christ
in their own generation and who have shaped our Christian understanding
today. All Souls Day is perhaps more
personal when we gratefully remember before God our own loved ones
especially. Again, on the 11th of the
month and the annual Remembrance Day, we are bidden to recall those who gave
their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.
We
all have memories, many of them very special and wonderful. However, of course,
it has to be acknowledged immediately that for some of us, these memories are
mixed with those of pain and loss too.
Whatever our experience, for all of us there are people and events which
have made us the people we are today.
How
do we use our memories? Of course we need to use this month to be grateful for
the good things of the past, whilst seeking the love and grace of God for
healing in our lives where we have been hurt or suffered loss.
But
I can remember being brought up sharp with a jolt when someone once said to me,
‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life!’. It is one thing to be grateful for the past or to seek healing
for the past, it is quite another to live solely in it. Whatever our history, whatever memories we
have - good or bad, the good news is that God is able to take us and use us, to
take and use our past even, to bring healing and to ‘give us a hope and a
future’. In other words, God has plans
for us: he can use the past for the benefit of the present and the future.
Nowhere
is this more clearly seen in church life throughout the land. In a changing and perplexing world, it is so
very tempting to turn the clock back, to restore the church to what it was when
we were children, which is usually a thinly veiled attempt to make us more
comfortable through churchy analgesia! But in God’s economy, he uses the rich
traditions of the past for the benefit of the present and future. In other words, we cannot go back; we can
only go forward. The wonderful, good news, is that as we journey into the future
both as individual people and a church, we are entirely safe in God’s loving
hands. Can we, will we trust him for this?
With
love and prayers,
Fr
Kevin.
Notes
from Fr Kevin
Thanks!
…to
all who helped to make our Harvest celebrations so terrific! Well done to all
who invited folk to both services on our ‘Back to Church Sunday’. The singing
in our All Age Parish Mass was most uplifting in a beautifully decorated
church. Thanks too to all who helped with the sale of produce and contributed
to a great buffet afterwards. There was a wonderful sense of community which is
at the heart of what our church is about.
Congratulations!
…to
Su Tarran who, having the past few years has been exploring her vocation and,
having undergone a very rigorous selection process, has consequently been
recommended for training for ordination to the sacred priesthood of the church. If all goes well on her non-residential
course, she will be ordained deacon in three years time and priest the year
after that.
To
produce an ordinand is a real sign of spiritual vitality within a church.
Because Su will be based at home we will also have the privilege of sharing in
her training at All Saints, for which I am her supervisor. Because it is important for Su as an
ordinand to begin to explore the new role she is moving into, she will take a
part in the leading of services including serving, assisting with the chalice,
leading intercessions and functioning as liturgical sub-deacon and deacon at
High Mass. I know that she will be able
to count on us all for our support. It
is usual in this diocese that once ordained, new clergy serve in a parish other
than their home; but we will at least have Su as she trains with us over the
next three years. Because the work of
training is hugely demanding, Su will have to withdraw from most of her
existing parish responsibilities, notably the choir and the finance and
communications groups.
Please
do keep Su, and her family in your prayers.
Patronal
Festival – 10 am Sunday 2 November
We
celebrate our Patronal Festival on All Saints Sunday with a said Mass at 8am
and a Sung High Mass with Children’s Activities (Sunday School) at 10am. The 10am Mass will be followed by Parish
Breakfast with drinks. This is an
appropriate moment to celebrate who we are as we seek to discover what and who
God wants us to be, so I do hope that everyone will make every effort to be in
church on this special day.
All
Souls Day
On
Monday 3rd November at 8.00 there will be a celebration of Mass on the Feast of
All Souls (The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed) at which we will
remember by name at this service those who have died. Please do add the names
of loved ones you would like remembered at this service to the list at the back
of church in good time. (They are not carried over from previous years.)
Please
put these dates in your diaries now!
In
memoriam: Canon Myles Raikes
I
was particularly saddened to hear of the death of Fr Myles Raikes, Vicar of
Hockerill 1953 - 1963. His name is
legendary at Hockerill for the sterling work he did to put the parish on a
sound footing and his legacy continues
today. He is fondly remembered by many
here and I wish to pay a sincere tribute to him, publicly and personally as
well as extend our our sympathy to his family at this sad time. May he rest in peace, and rise in glory.
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Updated 30.10.08