|
Our
New Minister is the Revd Elisabeth Caswell.
She is also the Area Minster for
the Coventry & Warwickshire Area of the URC. |
Thought for the month
Each month we publish in the Church Magazine a message from our Minister
Pastoral Letter November 2009
We
enter now the season of remembering "Remember, remember the fifth of
November Gunpowder, Treason and Plot!"
Well, it may not feel that much like that trip down memory lane, more an excuse for a wonderful firework display, but it does,
perhaps, set the tone for the mixed feelings of the season. November
5th is about a foiled terrorist attack; it's also about men
being tortured and executed.
And then we come to Remembrance Day, the 11th November itself,
and the Sunday nearest to it: two solemn moments when we pause to remember the
dead of world wars and of terrorist conflicts.
But in the solemn remembering and the prayers for the bereaved
and the maimed, we also make space for festivals and parades,
celebration of national pride. For some that is stirring mixed
feelings, so they now wear white poppies, and focus on prayer for peace, rather
than red poppies which focus on the suffering of war.
Either
way we affirm what we live through together as a nation, and the risk and cost of protecting our life. People of all faiths and
none stand round the Cenotaph together, knowing that if we forget the pain and
the cost we are breaking faith with those who died.
As a wise man said, "Those who refuse to learn from history
are condemned to repeat its mistakes."
Yours
in His service,
Liz.
Pastoral Letter October 2009
As I sit writing at my desk I
seem to be surrounded by a sea of charity requests. It is no longer just in the
build-up to Christmas but all the ear round that we receive urgent requests from
the charities we support to increase our giving, or to send another
"special" gift now. I my 'we' because I assume that this is true for
others!
Similarly, most Sundays now seem
to be designated for some special cause or campaign. Worship Leaders face
endless choices about which such "special" Sundays should be observed.
Once a year at Church Meeting we
decide together which charities we support with our Communion offerings. But
that is a minor commitment compared with the regular appeals placed before us as
individuals.
So, how do we decide where to
give our support? Sometimes it's easy:
we give to charities where there is some personal or family connection, or which
we have supported for a long time. And giving money, even in a time of
recession, is the easy part easy compared with choosing to belong and share
in the campaigning work in some way
As Christians we will always be
looking for ways of reinforcing and supporting the values of the gospel, not
always through specifically Christian groups, but by working with those who
support the marginalised, deprived and persecuted. We will probably also be
prayerfully considering how to put energy behind campaigns that affect the
well-being of the whole human family, indeed the whole of creation. So expect to
hear more about climate change campaigns, including "Stand Up and Take
Action" on l8th October..... what's that? Well, you'll just have to be
there to find out!
As we move on from our
celebration of Harvest, of God's abundant Owing in all creation, we turn to an
autumn of sharing our talents and time through church life, and through the
wider community where we on give and serve and live out our faith.
Yours in His service,
Pastoral Letter September 2009
Welcome
to a new season of church activity. The calendar year begins
in January, the financial year in April and the Church year traditionally
starts in Advent. However, for all practical purposes, the beginning
of the new academic year in the autumn is the real "new year"
in local church life. Many activities have halted for a summer break,
and most of us will have enjoyed some time away from home; now we return,
activities resume, and we plan ahead.
There
are some things in the pipeline to look out for: in September we
shall welcome Mrs Mhari McLintock as our student minister. Mhari
is just starting her second year of training at Northern College in
Manchester. She lives in Coventry and is a member of West Orchard
URC. For two days each week she will be working with Liz, gaining
experience of different aspects of local ministry. She will also be
involved in a community placement, and will of course spend some of each
week in Manchester. This is known as a short placement,
but although her hours will be limited I am sure that we will benefit
greatly from Mhari's input into our church life.
At
the end of September we celebrate Harvest Festival. On Saturday 26th at 6pm there will be a Harvest Supper
a simple meal with dancing
and entertainment suitable for all ages (tickets, adults £4,
children £3, will be available from the Elders). On Sunday 27"' at 11 am
we shall have our Harvest Service which is a Parade for the Guides,
Brownies and a special welcome for the newly-formed Rainbow
company. This includes our 1% giving for Commitment for Life.
The harvest theme this year is "Plenty for All". The harvest gifts will
be distributed to those in need by the Leamington Mission.
Two
further events to prepare for are the Promises Auction on October 17th
everyone should have received details of how to participate
and, a bit further ahead, a Christmas Coffee Morning on
December 5"h (not November as originally planned).
So there are plenty of events to keep us connected, and at the heart of
it all our regular Sunday worship and the steady service of loyal groups
who care for people and buildings, provide activities for young
and old and meet for prayer, study and preparation as we seek
to go on growing in faith and love. Welcome to this new year!
On
a personal note, may I thank you all for the many cards, e-mails, gifts
and visits during my convalescence from surgery. It was all much appreciated. I
am hoping to reward you by being able to be more active and mobile than
previously!
Yours in His service, Liz.
Pastoral Letter
July/August 2009
In June we watched
hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of Tehran in protest at the
suspected fraudulent election results. A few of these people never made it home
again.
You have to feel
passionately about something to take to the streets. I wonder what we feel
passionately about? At the June Church Meeting we spent time responding to the
URC Mission Committee's request for feed-back concerning our mission priorities
for the next ten years. Again, the question is, in each congregation and across
the church, what do we feel passionately about?
Of course it is our
behaviour which reveals what we really care about. So two things which have
happened recently give signs of our priorities at Abbey Hill. One is the re-modelling
of the upstairs space used by Junior Church; a generous anonymous donation has
allowed the construction of new storage units and redecoration, together with
the removal of redundant kitchen items. The money raised in February by the
Kitchen Committee is funding mats, cushions and bean-bags for a comfy, quiet
area. We value our children and want them to enjoy their time on Sundays.
The second thing is also
practical: a few months ago the Managers agreed to place a range of re-cycling
bins in the schoolroom corridor to encourage responsible management of our
rubbish. It is really encouraging to see how well they are being used, relieving
the pressure both on land-fill sites and our wheelie-bin! Huge thanks go to
Winnie for initiating and managing this.
Young people, and the
environment two obvious concerns that people are willing to do something
about. There will doubtless be more as the year rolls on and our conversations
at Church Meeting take flesh.
At the time of writing I
have just heard that my operation has been brought forward to Monday 22nd June,
so I hope it will have taken place by the time you read this. Whichever way it
goes I look forward to the autumn when things return to normal! In the meantime
I hope you all have a great summer.
Yours in His Name,
Liz.
Pastoral Letter
June 2009
It
is hard to believe that Graham and I have been living here for a whole year,
but June is the anniversary of my starting ministry with Abbey Hill and the
Coventry and Warwickshire Area. We are both grateful for the friendship we
have been shown, and for your patience on finding that you had acquired a
minister with a significant physical disability - the pesky arthritis.
Now
the time approaches (July 2nd, God willing) for my hip replacement surgery,
and the weeks of recovery which will follow. I am glad of the example of so
many others in the congregation who have successfully negotiated such
operations and the strict rules for the period of convalescence. Yet again
David and the Elders, and Jane and the Worship Group will have to "pick
up the slack" and take on extra work - many thanks to you all for your
graciousness in doing this.
As
others of you know all too well it is frustrating being unable to do all that
one would hope to do, and in some ways I feel that I have hardly begun! So I
look forward to the autumn, with the expectation of increasing activity.
At
the same time periods of illness and convalescence bring their own blessings,
if we will receive them: space from the tyranny of routine; time to read and
think without the necessity of producing something as a result; time to
reflect and pray at more depth.
June
will, I hope, be a busy and productive month before the weeks of enforced
rest; a fitting prelude to our second year of serving God together.
Yours
in His service,
Liz.
Pastoral Letter
May 2009
May is a heady time of exuberant
growth and vivid colour; hedgerows and verges are frothy white and fields
yellow and green. New leaves glisten in the sun.
And for us, too, church life
goes into overdrive. It is the month of gifts offering our gifts of
thankfulness to the local church on Gift Day (May 10th) and sharing in
giving and collecting for the needs of others in Christian Aid Week (May 10th
17th). Both these things give us pause for thought: our regular,
thoughtful giving to the church is a "given", as we might say; the
amount will vary from person to person because our incomes and means are
different, but the commitment to give regularly is part of our belonging to
the church, and of our belief in what God is doing through the church's life
and witness.
So what is Gift Day for? To my
mind it is for that response of gratitude as we thank God for special
blessings during the year. It is also a sign of our hope, our willingness to
embrace whatever God has in mind for Abbey Hill in the future.
Christian Aid Week compels us to
see the wider responsibility of giving: we are called by the gospel to a
sharing of resources, a generosity of spirit and action, that takes us beyond
our own circle of family and church into all the world.
The greatest threat to the peace
of the world in the future will surely be the vast inequalities of wealth and
resources, even basic resources like water, which divide the nations, and
which are exacerbated by the credit crunch and by climate change. Christian
Aid Week is a small but vital link in the chain of re-balancing wealth which
is part of our quest for justice and peace.
So here comes May, beautiful
May, season of gratitude and giving. Enjoy!
Yours in His service, Liz.
Pastoral Letter April 2009
In 1987 1 went
with a group to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem we entered a building and then
started to descend the staircase: it was a long way down. At the bottom a large
room opened out we were now at what would have been ground level in Jesus'
time. And there the archaeologists had discovered and laid bare an area of
cobbles and pavement; in the paving slabs was carved the rules for a game, the
game the soldiers played with condemned prisoners, dressing them up as mock
kings, pushing them around, spitting on them. We were standing by Gabbatha, the
judgement seat where Pilate faced the crowds, and the soldiers rammed a crown of
thorns on Jesus' head.
There are
arguments a-plenty about the exact site of the crucifixion. But here was
evidence, confirmation both in the carved figures and words, and in the change
from indoor to outdoor floor surface, that we were in a location where Jesus
stood on that Friday morning before he was killed.
None of us was
expecting this. It was just part of a long day of visits. But here, as by the
shores of Galilee, we knew that we were in contact with the heart of Christ's
story, our story.
At this season
each year the Church makes an effort to help each worshipper to enter into that
history and recall its significance. And the more we participate in each part
the more the whole may be grasped. The wonder of Easter will be all the richer
for having walked behind the cross on Good Friday; and communion on Easter Day
will gain deeper meaning if it follows communion on Maundy Thursday, the last
supper.
Of course the
world goes on, and we are not always free to worship; but if we embrace the
opportunities we do have, we will be honouring our Lord as well as deepening our
faith. And the Lord who is Spirit, who is not confined to Jerusalem or Galilee,
may surprise us again with his living presence.
Yours in His Name,
Liz
Pastoral Letter March 2009
February has
been a month of surprises well, not total surprise, it is winter after all,
so snow can hardly be surprising. But this was apparently a "major snow
event": the deepest snow for eighteen years fell in some places. Here in
Kenilworth it was enough for sledging on Abbey Fields, building snowmen and a
few days off school depending which school you go to.
We spend so much
of our lives thinking that we're in control that it is quite salutary to be
reminded that we cannot plan and control everything life is more dangerous,
and more fun, than that.
Our forebears
often used to acknowledge our dependence on God by putting the letters "D.V."
after the announcement of a forthcoming event. "Morning worship at 11am
next Sunday D.V.". "Starters and Puddings evening on 7th March
D.V.". The letters stand for the Latin tag which we translate "God
willing". Of course, that begs a lot of theological questions, but it does
at least point us in the direction of humility (we cannot control everything),
and of the delight of finding God in the unexpected, unplanned and even the
unwanted events of life.
Whatever is
unexpected the calendar and the Church year give us familiarity we are in
the season of Lent, and house-groups give us the opportunity to go on exploring
God together with friends from the other churches. Details are in this magazine
and on the lobby notice-board.
We shall also
have the delight of welcoming four friends into church membership of Abbey Hill
at Communion on 15th March. (It was going to be in February, but
someone's work plans have forced a change...). And at the very end of the month,
29th March, we are expecting to welcome a local family and their
friends to a service of thanksgiving and blessing for their children: an
opportunity to share the love of the One who welcomed little children.
Yours in His Name,
Liz.
February 09
February,
shortest month, and before it is out we shall enter the season of Lent. The word Lent
derives from an old-English word meaning "lengthen", and refers to the
gradually lengthening days of late winter, early spring. It recalls the forty
days Jesus spent in the
Judean wilderness preparing for his public ministry; a time of searching thought and testing
motives and priorities; a time for prayer and self-discipline as God's will was
sought and embraced.
So the
Church keeps the six weeks leading up to Easter as a time of self-examination, repentance
and preparation: we seek God's will for our ministry as His people today. We
seek to understand the cross and the resurrection
afresh
One of
the spiritual disciplines which help us in Lent is joining with others
from the different churches in the community to think and pray
together. There will as usual be a variety of groups meeting on a weekly basis
at different times and venues. The list of these is not available at the time of
going to press so please watch out for the details in the weekly notices and on the
lobby notice board.
Meanwhile,
under the Vision4Life banner, Abbey Hill has already begun a
regular monthly gathering for bible study and prayer. The Good
Book Club meets at the manse on the first Wednesday of each
month from 2.30pm 4pm.
This
month there will also be two evening groups at the manse on TUESDAY 17th and
TUESDAY 24th at 8pm. Hopefully these will pave the way for a regular
evening group for faith-building and mutual encouragement. Do come along if you would
like to help in shaping
such a gathering. (Please do tell Liz if you are coming... especially
as 24th is Shrove Tuesday so there might be pancakes!)
As
you know I am Area Minister for half my time, and this currently includes
being interim moderator at Radford Road Church in Leamington. When I am not preaching at Abbey Hill I shall often be leading
worship elsewhere, and won't be sitting in our congregation quite so
often. I shall therefore rely on you even more to let me know of any illnesses
or other problems.
Yours
in His Name Liz.
December
December, month of the shortest day and
longest night, is of course dominated by Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ,
the Light of the World. But most of the month falls in the season of Advent -time of
preparation for the Arrival, the coming of the long-awaited One.
We pack so much into Advent!
Rehearsals, concerts, plays carol singing, baking, decorating, wrapping, partying. ...
When we finally get to Christmas Day maybe we are exhausted. But Advent was meant to be a
time of inner preparation, the fast before the feast; time to prepare ourselves again to
ponder the meaning of Christ's coming, and to receive Him again into our lives.
This Christmas we shall also be
celebrating a wedding. Sometimes, rather like Advent and Christmas, the preparations for a
wedding can overshadow the main event: the lifetime of marriage which follows. But, like
Christmas, the real joy is the lifetime relationship rather than the costly preparations.
Christ, who lights up our world with
the light of hope, is present with us long after we pack away the tinsel and re- cycle the
cards. With us always.
May God bless you and yours with a
truly happy Christmas; and may we use Advent well to celebrate the Christ who continually
arrives, and never leaves us; the light who still shines in the darkness.
Yours in His Name,
Liz.
The Minister wrote the November Message
November
The five Sundays of November will
certainly not be dull - please keep focussed, or you may turn up at the wrong time, or
miss something special!
We keep Remembrance Sunday on 9th
November, and that means an early start (10am), a short service, and then a walk down to
the War Memorial for combined worship.
The following week, 16th
November, will be "Operation Christmas Child". I have heard a rumour that it
won't be a service (whatever that is). How
wrong you can be. It will be a time to offer our gifts for girls and boys in deprived
countries (see the articles in the September and October magazines) in the context of
worship for all age groups. It will be an opportunity to make some children we will never
meet very happy -and have some fun at the same time.
Of course, you would have expected that
to have been our monthly Communion service, but Communion has been moved to the fourth
Sunday, 23rd November. At this service we hope to receive several friends into
church membership; although those who can't manage that date will be welcomed at a later
one. Do come along to express the loving welcome of Abbey Hill to these new members, and
perhaps to re-connect with your own sense of commitment as we gather round the Lord's
Table together. Incidentally it's called "Stir Up Sunday"... but more of that on
the day.
The month concludes with services to
mark the beginning of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas. There will be a
morning service in our own church, and then an afternoon Advent Carol Service for Churches
Together at 4.30pm at St. Francis' Church.
A rich and varied diet of worship
awaits us this month; may it nourish our faith and encourage us in our daily discipleship.
Liz.
Briand Woods-Scawen wrote the October message
A Broad Church
We say that someone has broad shoulders
when they are able to carry weights which would otherwise cause them to crumble. The
reference to "broad shoulders" usually implies carrying of mental, emotional or
other non-physical burdens which we are all called upon to carry in our lives at one time
or another .
A "broad church" similarly
has the ability to cope with a wide range of spiritual issues, cares and concerns, without
crumbling under the stress.
A broad church is inclusive rather than
exclusive. It is tolerant of a wide range of opinion. It is open to new ideas as its
members respond to life's changing situations. It is a church composed of pilgrims
accompanying each other on life's journey rather than an institution which instructs its
members what to think and believe.
Jesus was himself broad in outlook.
This earned him the criticism of the narrow minded church people of his day who denounced
him for eating and drinking too much and mixing with the wrong sort of people. It was this
narrow mindedness which eventually led to his crucifixion.
Fred Kaan, that fine modern hymn writer
and former member of Abbey Hill Church, opens one of his hymns with the words "The
love of God is broad like beach and meadow". Jesus would have been happy to sing
these words with us.
Abbey Hill is called to be a broad
church. We are open to everyone. And our collective shoulders are broad enough for anyone
who is in need of comfort or support in carrying a burden at any time in our journey
through life.
Brian Woods-Scawen
Elizabeth
Caswell wrote the September message
At the tnduction Service in July the
church gave me a new translation of the New Testament -for which, many thanks! It is
called "Good as New: a Radical Retelling of the Scriptures", by John Henson. One
of the things we agreed to do at the last Church Meeting is to participate in the
Vision4Life initiative of the United Reformed Church, and the first year of this, Advent
'08 to '09, is focused on the Bible.
As a nation we used to be known as
"the people of the Book". People laboured and died for the sake of giving us the
Bible in English, freely available to all. The Bible in the mother-tongue was at one time
considered so radical and politically dangerous that translators and printers were
persecuted.
Perhaps we do need in our day a radical
retelling of the scriptures, not just because a familiar text may lose its impact, but
because the level of familiarity with the Bible in society is now so low that its imagery
and context confuse rather than communicate. However, the meaning remains the same, and it
is still as explosively radical as when Jesus and his followers first spoke and taught.
From December this year we shall
therefore be looking at different ways of enhancing our knowledge of the Bible and our
delight in scripture. In the meantime, to get us in the mood, there are two short series
in our Area, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. If you're interested you will
be welcome. You will find details on a following page.
Of course there's nothing particularly
radical about a church which reads the Bible. It's when we listen to it, discuss it and
live the truths at the heart of it that things start to happen.
As I write these words the Manse Open
Day is about to take place. So, if you came we do hope you will call again; if you were
not free, then do drop in some other time -or ask me to visit you. I look forward to
getting to know you all in the days ahead.
Yours in Christ's service,
Liz.
Wedding: congratulations to
Jennifer Jackson and Robert Banks who were married at Abbey Hill on 121h August.
Elizabeth Caswell wrote the July/August message
Message from the Minister –
It is a great joy to be sitting here in
the manse in Greville Road, grateful for the warmth of your welcome, and looking forward
to working together over the next few years.
Graham and I really appreciate the hard
work and investment that has gone into updating the manse, and we are well on the way with
all the unpacking -just a few boxes remaining. The Induction service on 5th July is the
public acknowledgement of this new phase of ministry, as we all rededicate ourselves to
God's call.
For some of you the wait for anew
minister will have seemed particularly exacting as you have shouldered extra
responsibilities; Abbey Hill is fortunate indeed in the quality of its leadership and the
range of wisdom and skil1s present in its membership. Now we move on together, partners in
God's mission, seeking to discern God's way for us.
Over the last few years the United
Reformed Church has been engaged in a process of seeking to catch God's vision of what
kind of Church we are meant to be. The process has led to a self-understanding that we are
"called to be God's people, transformed by the gospel, making a difference in the
world." My prayer is that we at Abbey Hill will embrace that vocation and walk on
together in faith and hope (and love, of course!).
Many of us will be taking some holiday
during July and August. May we all be blessed with refreshment and new strength for
whatever God asks of us.
Yours in Christ's service,
Liz.
Peter Muckersie wrote the June message
Arriving.
Last month we went to Vienna. We flew
from Birmingham to Bratislava and the plan was to go on by bus to Vienna -all of this was
to have been arranged by the airline. We arrived in Bratislava and found the bus stop.
There was no bus and we waited for nearly two hours but still no bus. We eventually
arrived in Vienna but only after a lot of anxiety and a bit of anger. This story is not
yet complete but we will tell you if you really want to know.
Arriving in a new place is both a
thrill and a worry .So much depends upon the folk who are at the other end. When we
eventually arrived at our hotel, we were met by a charming receptionist who made us feel
most welcome
So here in Abbey Hill Elizabeth and
Graham are arriving in our midst. We have planned a warm reception and we now have to open
our hearts and share our lives with them.
The church is always challenged by new
arrivals and our church is going to find, hopefully. a number of "curious" folk
who arrive in our midst in the next few months. The quality of their reception will be a
vital fact in deciding whether they return to visit us again.
The easy greetings are to our
familiar friends; but the most important ones are to the strangers who we know nothing
about at all. We can look forward to making a lot more friends in this way.
The May message was written by David Connelly
May -the month which marks the
beginning of warmer weather, when we can look forward to the bright and productive summer
months. The whole world seems happy in May as flowers and trees vie to show off their
beauty.
The old ballad said, 'But the
merriest month in all the year is the merry month of May' and it would be hard to disagree
with that.
It begins with May Day when all
the ladies should rush out early in the morning and wash their face in the dew. This will
ensure an excellent complexion for the rest of the year!
And for the men -on the 29th (Oak Apple
Day) men should wear an oak apple or leaf to mark the return of Charles lion that day when
the monarchy was restored. Anyone who forgets should be whipped with nettles -sounds very
painful.
Old customs may have little
relevance today but May is a wonderful month, marking the end of bad weather (we hope) and
a happy anticipation of lots of good things to come.
And as a church, this May is important
as it marks the end of our period without a minister as Elizabeth Caswell will be arriving
at the end of the month and I am sure we can look forward in anticipation to lots of good
things this summer as minister and congregation get to know each other.
However, as most of you know, it is not
easy leaving ones well established home and moving to a strange place. Please Pray for Liz
and Graham as they bring to an end their time in Cambridgeshire and for the fellowship at
Abbey Hill as we prepare our welcome.
We live in exciting times!
The April Message was written By Colin Ritchie
"Spring has Sprung
The Grass is Riz..."
I confess that I am not
the world's best or keenest gardener, and I don't know about you but I always have mixed
feelings when I look out of the window at the garden and realise that I now actually have
to mow the lawn .
For me, the first cut is always the most
difficult, the grass has not been mown for the previous 5 or 6 months, it is now long and
the ground underneath is quite bumpy (mainly due to my lack of preparation in the Autumn).
However, the garden does look so much better once it has been done and of course there is
that lovely smell of freshly cut grass. Spring has sprung!
This activity also allows me the
opportunity to take the first real look at the garden for many months and it always both
amazes and fills me with awe that despite the winter weather and my lack of gardening
skills, the daffodils will either be in bloom or just have finished, the tulips and other
spring flowers will fill the garden borders with different colours and the buds can be
seen on the bushes and the trees. In other words, Life, in all its wonder, is returning to
our gardens.
This is one of God's many gifts
to us, as is our ability to appreciate nature.
So if, like me, you struggle with
the lawnmower for the first grass cut of the season, take a moment to look around you and
remind yourself of the natural beauty and wonders of God's world, and thank Him.