From the Registers

Funeral

Saturday 14th June. Leake St Mary. Dorothy Robson, 73, dearly loved wife of Geoff, who was lately Treasurer of Leake Parishes. She died suddenly and unexpectedly - much missed by Geoff, their sons Robert and James and their families ……… and by the congregations at Leake.

Boing, Boingg, Boinggg …………… in bounces Zebedee. Has Springboard left us with the same decisiveness in our relationships with others? Have we gained a little levity in our approach to others? Springboard sets out to loosen us up as a church, to make us more open, outgoing and attractive. Keeping the roof on does not have to absorb all our energies and preoccupy us. In fact we are in a good position to be more open as most of the churches in the Hillsides are very sound. (With the possible exception of Cowesby, which is due for a roof appeal in the next two years - for recladding the spire with slate.)

For the church to succeed in being more open and welcoming, and ourselves to be more outgoing, we need to be more relaxed. This is possible on at least two counts if we recognise the state of grace our faith in Christ gives to us. Firstly, if we take, say, Matthew 6 (verses 25-end) and the references to stress and anxiety, we need not worry about the morrow. We have new confidence in life and ourselves and God, just as bride and groom have confidence in each other as the foundation for a good marriage. If we look at some more teaching, on the Mount, from Matthew 5, the Beatitudes themselves explain something of that state of grace that we need to express and display. The 1st and the 8th Beatitude are in the present tense - blessed are those and they’re in the kingdom of heaven. The other six are futuristic, about being happy (the same word as blessed, Makarios, but its other meaning) because, confident of being in the kingdom, we exude and claim a happiness. More poignant still is that the first “happy” contrasts with those who mourn. But heaven is where the hollow in our lives is filled ……… thus “mourn” gains comfort, “meekness” gains the earth and a “hunger” gains satisfaction - as one would expect. The next three are about reaching out Godwards to attain that acceptance ………… and see God, and be recognised as a son of God. Our outlook needs to be a new outlook, along those lines.

Furthermore many will know the story, as did the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke) and the Ethiopian Eunuch in his chariot (Acts 4), but they will still need explanation. Sometimes we will need to go back to what is taught, as Josiah did, when being too “caught up and away” distances us from our roots. Here the Church is guardian, but whilst we need to pray and meditate in the workplace, and “hallow the everyday”, we also need the Church to focus our worship and ensure we are as well fed spiritually as the works canteen might sustain us physically.  In the end we need to be like the picture from a Northumbrian parish church, where the face of Christ is made up of all the faces of the parishioners. Each parishioner has a sure belief in Christ - despite individual differences - and there they are, side by side in that same belief. From this Springboard we step off together - rather than somersaulting individually into the crowd - with added zest or bounce. Boinggg, boingg, boing. May our church be a jumping off point where we express the Christ we live. Best wishes for the summer!

When I hit 30 I decided it was time to put something back into society. I was the Deputy Editor of The Lawyer newspaper and all day spoke to people who earned lots of money and probably didn’t give back as much as they should. While I was criticising them for that, I was in the same boat - so I quit my job and took a big pay cut to work for CAFOD. I do go into dangerous areas and see some terrible sights (recently in Iraq), but I get a lot out of this job. I also meet amazing people, which is really inspiring. I keep thinking: “If these people can do so much with so little, imagine what I can do.” Fiona Callister, writing in She, July 2003.

The State of the Countryside 2020 - a further comment With reference to the paragraph in the May H.P.M., it is encouraging to read, in the latest issue of CPRE Countryside Voice, of the Rural Housing Enabler project now current in certain villages in Kent.

Foxhunting - as a matter of interest, has anybody actually seen a fox kill a hen, or hens …………. and the devastation created!

To the Editor of Computer Bulletin, May 2003: In the light of recent correspondence dealing with the dire state of the IT industry (market conditions, IR35, outsourcing, poor quality, politics) can I make some positive suggestions and even recommend some alternative career choices for ex-IT workers: redundancy counsellor, bankruptcy practitioner, government spin doctor, retirement (no minimum age) or media pundit on any of the above. Helen Abbott, MBCS