From the registers

Baptism January 2nd. Leake St.Mary. Alfred William, infant son of Mark and Jo Badminton. The family are part of Boltby parish as a rule!

Funeral January 7th. Leake St.Mary. John Hines, 76, of Borrowby, beloved husband of 'Nita, father of Margaret and grandfather to Stephan and Jamie, great-grandfather of Samuel Joseph. Sometime R.A.F. and Health Service Chef. Born in Middlesbrough.

Christmas seems to have been very short and sharp, with many shops removing their Christmas decorations in the New Year rather than by 12th Night. Lent follows hot-foot: it is not a time for Sales but rather for taking stock. With that in mind, we have three speakers this Lent for "Food for Thought". We start with looking at a useful spiritual discipline, Confession, with the help of Fr.Matthew from Ampleforth. Then we have two lady Professors of Theology, Morna Hooker from Cambridge - a specialist on St.Matthew's Passion and St.Mark - and Ann Loades from Durham - specialising in modern theologians and women's spiritualism. So these two ladies will share their spiritual journeys with us and I hope this will both provoke us and encourage us to reflect.

I think it is particularly appropriate to encourage confession this Lent as we live in a world that stirs up many anxieties and much stress. Recourse to other therapies - because they dwell on the past rather than release us from the past - is misplaced: if we set proper downloading (to use IT jargon) against a proper spiritual discipline with a proven track record we are clearing the air and setting the inner self at ease. Confession is about release, so we can move on. It is about progress.

James 5, v.16: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." If you pray for someone, or offload negative thoughts about someone to another, already your attitude to that person is more positive - so harbouring any grudge is less likely. Faith, to be of any value to any of us, needs to be used and needs to be constructive. That is how The Kingdom of Heaven is built. It is a spirit of "open-ness" - it is the way to love one's neighbour.

If we look at the general confession we can take stock of our failings under the various headings that divide us from God and others - so that confession in any form is a useful bridge to restore full contact of ourselves with others. At another level you could call this plain honesty, but it is 3fold: honest with the self, honest with others: honest before God. It is hard to escape the Trinity!

Bonhoeffer (04.02.1906 - 09.04.1945), described a Christian as "not being religious in a particular way ….. but to be a man - not a type of man, but the Man that Christ creates in us … Jesus calls men not to a new religion but to Life." ("Letters and Papers from Prison" SCM 1971, pp.361-362). Bonhoeffer argued that "the Church needed conversion to the world". However, the thrust of his letters and papers from prison are a dialogue, a confession, with a particular friend Eberhard Bethge who commented "Living, but no, rather dying and being damned, constitutes the theologian, but not understanding, reading and speculating" to quote Luther (p.792 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collins 1970). He was shot by the Nazis for his complicity in the July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler - as he saw such violence as being the lesser of two evils. (Not something that justifies the removal of Saddam Hussain in view of the aftermath of the 2nd Iraq War.) A prophet is, perhaps, not without honour in his own country - but a glance at the Bible tells us that for the most part prophets were persecuted, hounded and rejected by their community. So whether Jesus or Bonhoeffer the prophet speaks, is silenced, and is heard again from beyond the grave. Before the war the Nazis suppressed the church and forbade fundraising. Bonhoeffer was forbidden to lecture or write or remain in Berlin - yet he was provided with passes to travel to Stockholm to meet Bishop Bell of Chichester in 1942. A year later he was arrested …… a year later than that event he was shot (above). To the end he practised being a confessing churchgoer through conversation and dialogue with others. It is something of this that we need to recapture for the Church to be relevant in our lives, and our faith effective and meaningful to others.

Confession: find a new lease of life with a friend ……… Best wishes

"If one raises the stakes, the odds get longer ……. That is the best part of life. One can't argue if the gamble is lost, after all one is more than ready to take the winnings and run". From a letter by the late Tim Goggs to his parents. Tim Goggs was confirmed in 1991 in Over Silton Church. He worked in Afghanistan with the Hazardous Area Life-support Organisation (HALO) while he waited to enter Sandhurst. But he loved the work so much that he started to work full time and forget about an Army career. The story of how he died, in 1992 from burns sustained after his mine-clearing tank was blown up, is briefly told in the March 1999 H.P.M. A more graphic account, by Guy Willoughby, can be found in the April 1996 issue - he was awarded the George Medal for his bravery in rescuing Julian Gregson from inside the burning tank . ….. Tim's own legacy went towards the Fund, which is administered by Christian Aid, and reports on the Fund appear from time to time in this magazine. There is also a report by Tim's father, Quentin, on a visit paid by himself and David Hampson to the Herat area of Afghanistan in the September 1996 H.P.M. - quote: "Afghanistan is a marvellous country - full of contrasts. We were impressed by the dignity of the people……"

The name of Chris Moon is also synonymous with Tim Goggs: August 1997 and May 1999 H.P.M. In March 1995 Chris was working as a mine-clearer for HALO in Mozambique when a mine exploded under him, destroying his right leg and arm. Nevertheless he took part in the London Marathon in 1996 with a time of 5hr.39min. - he used to joke that HALO stood for "Have a Leg Off"! - and in 1999 his book "One Step Beyond was published by MacMillan. Both Chris Moon and Dave Hampson have given talks on Afghanistan. The above has been composed by reference to past issues of the parish magazine, and I am also indebted to Judy Dinwiddie for notes from Christian Aid News, July/September 1996. So, Maundy Thursday, 8 a.m. at Kirby Knowle, we start a simple circular walk, in memory of Tim, round by the drove road and back by the Siltons, usually finishing by about 4 p.m. (opt-out exits available).

The September Lunch at York Racecourse, with The Rt.Hon.Miss Ann Widdecombe as Guest Speaker, raised £5,000 after expenses. 591 people attended.

For the Hambleton & Richmond Child Carers November Fashion Show – an evening of glamour and glitz – at Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, £900 was raised after expenses.

MY SINCERE AND GRATEFUL THANKS GO TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED THESE EVENTS. Mrs R.Woods, Coxwold. And,

on Saturday 5th March at 7.30 p.m. at St.Oswald’s Church, Sowerby, a concert by the MOWBRAY SINGERS. A varied programme to include: Handel – Coronation Anthem, Vivaldi – Magnificat and Pergolesi – Magnificat. Tickets are £6.