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The Parish Magazine
of Saint Faith's Church, Great Crosby

Saint Faith’s Prayer for Mission
 

Faithful God, in baptism you have adopted us as your children,
made us members of the body of Christ and chosen us as inheritors of your kingdom:
bless our plans for mission and outreach; guide us to seek and do your will;
empower us by your Spirit to share our faith in witness and to serve,
and send us out as disciples of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
 

AUGUST 2005






Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many people strive for high ideals; and everywhere the world is full of heroism.

Be yourself, especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Found in Old St. Paul’s Church, in Baltimore, Maryland circa. 1692. Writer Unknown.



 

From the Ministry Team: August 2005
 

Glimpses of the ups and downs of the fishing industry on the waters of Galilee shine through the story of the Christian gospel. The crew of Simon Peter’s boat on a memorable occasion had an embarrassing success. Their predicament stemmed from a catch too great for them to handle alone. They beckoned to their partners in a neighbouring vessel to come and help them with their haul.

For us the inspiration of the incident springs as much from the partnership as from the boom in business. These partners in industry soon became partners in life, sharing a newly-found master, discovering together a calling, free from competition and rivalry, yet increasingly stimulating and strangely enriching.

So they left their nets and all that their lucrative fishing involved. They took to journeying overland. Their new work, carried out in partnership, as they set forth two by two, filled them with surprise and joy. They discovered people in a new way; catching them alive, yet not dominating them, nor possessing them; they shared good news with them and found among strangers a touch of kin. They were partners in spirit.

Christians from the first were clearly called to partnership. They shared Christ’s life; with one another they experienced a common life; they were often persecuted when they were seen as a strong and, to the outsider, a formidable fellowship. Someone called the Church “God’s co-operative society”.

In this divine society, there were leaders and teachers; authorities and specialists, also, formed a tradition which developed and took the shape described in history.

The leaders, when at their best, were conscious that they still remained servants. Teachers, too, confessed that they had much to learn from those whose gifts were hardly intellectual, but certainly God-given. The powers in each generation were wise to seek inspiration and guidance from among the simple and the humble poor. There were instances in this Christian society of last becoming first, and the first being last. Partners in Christ transcended class and clique.

Some partnerships felt the strain and broke the link. The good, no less than the clever, succumbed on many occasions to the temptation of going along alone. Schisms and protests emerged from complicated scenes where all in the common life shared the responsibility of dispute and division. Misplaced zeal lost sight of compassion; personal ingenuity cast a cloud over mercy and forgiveness.

Partnership in our day has a refreshing and encouraging sound in a Church far from united. Partners in the business of Christian mission have goods to handle more costly and formidable than is readily appreciated.

No single method of serving God, no particular style of committed spiritual life, no blanket blurring of cultures and personal characteristics can declare the love and wisdom of God ‘in all its different forms’.

Broken partnerships are on the mend when all become learners, when each one teaches another, when a more generous understanding and a more positive tolerance bind up what has been severed, and tragically wounded.

With my love and prayers

Fr Dennis


Thanks

Bill and Joan Tudhope and Dr. Tim and Marjorie Bougas would like to express their profound appreciation to the family of St. Faith’s for their help in making the wedding of Judith and Jason such a hugely memorable occasion.

From Fr. Neil’s dignified and enjoyable service; from the printing of the service sheets to the catering, the flowers in church and in the hall, the table decorations, the music and choir, the wedding cake, the waiting on, the canapés, and not least the way Jackie Dale allowed us to use her house for storage for so long.

Our guests could scarcely believe that this wasn’t some high powered professional outfit rather than the efforts of a band of dedicated volunteers – the St. Faith’s “Strike Force”.

So many of our guests and friends foreign and local, remarked on the homely, unstuffy atmosphere, the great welcome extended to them from St. Faith’s. From first to last this was an occasion we will treasure for a very long time.


From the Registers
Funeral
23 June 2005 Neil Thomas Baillie
Holy Matrimony
2 July 2005 Jason Bougas and Judith Tudhope
Holy Baptism
3 July 2005 Lewis Carl McMahon, son of Carl and Paula


St. Faith’s Holiday Club
1st – 5th August

The doors open for the third annual Holiday Club at St. Faith’s at 10.00 am on Monday, 1st August, and it is due to the tremendous effort and enthusiasm from all the volunteer leaders and helpers that it is able to happen.

The Holiday Club is open to children aged between 5 and 11 years and booking forms can be obtained from me.  Places are offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis for up to 50 children.  Places are going quickly but there are still a few left.

The children look forward to a fun-filled week of activities and outings, sports and games.  As this is the Year of the Sea we have chosen The Sea as our theme and look forward to seeing lots of pirates, sharks, jellyfish and many other exciting sea creatures.

Joan Tudhope  474 9923



 

Summer Feast Days and Celebrations

Saturday 6th August
The Transfiguration of the Lord
10.30 am Eucharist with hymns

Sunday 14th August
4.00 pm Barbecue for S. Mary’s and S. Faith’s congregations in the Vicarage Garden - all profits to Medic Malawi

Monday 15th August
The Blessed Virgin Mary
8.00 pm High Mass followed by drinks in the Vicarage Garden
Preacher: Martin Jones (ordinand-in training)

Almighty God
Who looked upon the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and chose her to be the mother of your only Son:
grant that we who are redeemed by his blood
may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
(the collect in the Church of England’s ‘Common Worship’  for the Feast of Mary, 15th August)



Ordination Report
Fr Neil

On Saturday 25th June members of our two parishes, as well as people from the parishes of Kirkby, S. Columba’s Anfield, S. James’s Haydock and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, gathered on the steps of S. Paul’s Cathedral in London to join the long queue of people seeking to enter the Cathedral for the ordination of Deacons. We were there to support Derek Hyett. In true ecumenical style the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool got a little bit of a look-in, in that Derek’s ordination stole was made by Sister Anthony, whose work is well known at S. Faith’s in the Stations of the Cross.

A total of 36 women and men were made Deacon by the Bishop of London in a ceremony which lasted just over two hours. The sermon was preached by Bishop Michael Marshall, a frequent visitor to S. Faith’s, and it was good to hear him again. Bishop Michael had led the retreat for the ordinands prior to their ordination.

Those ordained had come from different parts of the globe, a reminder that even when the Church of England is tempted to be inward-looking, we are part of a world-wide family, even if relationships are a bit tense at present!

Following the lengthy service, newly ordained deacons gathered on the steps of S. Paul’s for pictures with family, friends, bishops and dignitaries. We offer Derek our best wishes as he begins ordained ministry and look forward to seeing him when he is next home.

Please remember too those in training for a specific ministry, including our own Martin Jones (for ordained ministry) and Cynthia Johnson (Reader Ministry). Please give thanks too for those who have found their vocation here in S. Faith’s, most recently Denise MacDougall as she gives thanks for the first anniversary of her ordination as a priest.

Remember, O Lord, what thou hast wrought in us
and not what we deserve;
and as thou hast called us to thy service,
make us worthy of our calling;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 


First, the Bad News ….?

August is a (relatively!) quiet month on the church front, which leaves room for some articles which might otherwise have been squeezed out. There follow two pieces which give contrasting views of the Anglican Church. The first, from The Times, underlines the undoubted financial problems facing our church; the second, from The Daily Telegraph, is more optimistic, appealing as it does to the traditionalists who still undoubtedly constitute the great majority of Anglicans. At a time when the Anglican Church worldwide is threatened with schism over the ongoing ‘gay issue’, and the Church in our own nation faces further damaging controversy over the prospect of women bishops, this second article may make for more comforting reason than the first…
 

‘Church admits cash shortage threatens a third of clergy’
By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

A cash crisis in the Church of England is forcing bishops to consider radical moves including cutting clergy numbers by up to a third and  making worshippers meet in each other’s homes, The Times has learnt.

A report to the General Synod says the Church has allowed itself to drift apart from society, undermining its mission to the whole nation. Some parts of the Church are little more than a club for existing members, the authors say. Spelling out a deep-seated need for change, the report proposes solutions such as cutting the existing clergy numbers of about 9,400 by more than 3,000, training more laity to work unpaid and closing churches.

One diocese is already considering a plan to persuade congregations to forsake traditional church buildings and worship God in the living rooms of fellow churchgoers instead. The report suggests that wealthy dioceses and cathedrals could forego the thousands of pounds they receive from central funds for paying bishop and clergy stipends. The money could then be redistributed to poor areas. The report even posits that ultimately, the Church’s national assets, worth more than £34 billion, could be dismantled and denationalised. However, while acknowledging the ecclesiological merit of such an approach, the report rules out denationalisation for the foreseeable future because of the prohibitive cost.

The report is produced by the Church’s resourcing mission group, chaired by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Right Rev Peter Price and will be discussed by the General Synod in York. It addresses the need for a far-reaching solution to the twin problems of falling church membership and rising costs, in particular the costs of keeping the Church’s thousands of Grade 1 listed buildings in good repair and of paying clergy pensions and stipends.
Since the 1980s, when the Church lost millions of pounds in property, the funds available from the centre to support parishes have dwindled. Parishioners have to give more each year to enable their church to pay its quota to the diocese, a  ‘voluntary’ contribution that many believe amounts to a tax on worship. The burden grew when the Church demanded that parishioners also pay towards clergy pensions.

More than half of the Church’s 16,000 parish churches have fewer than 50 members. Average weekly attendance in 2003 was 1,187,000 compared with a figure in 1968 of 1.6 million.

The Anglican Church is blessed with substantial resources compared with the Christian Church elsewhere in the world, but the report acknowledges that in many places it is having trouble affording its ministry. It says the main problem facing Church is not financial, but relates to its values and priorities.

Arguing that this is not a time to ‘tinker at the edges’, it says the Church must be mobilised for mission as never before.

The structures and systems of the Church still bear the imprint of a pastoral era which assumed a predominantly conforming population, The Church of England needs to be turned around by God and move in a different direction.
 

…and the Good News?
Quentin Letts

On a recent Sunday 150,000 people went to Glastonbury, la-la’d about love and peace, heard a sermon (from Bishop Geldof) and were given hours of airtime by the BBC. On the same Sunday, up and down this bruised old land of ours, at least eight times that many souls quietly entered Anglican churches and dropped to their knees, as they do every week of every year. The dress code was slightly more formal than at Glastonbury - the evangelicals have not yet taken over completely. But these 1.2 million people, who also sang about love and peace, were given almost no media coverage.

In the mixing suites and editorial conferences of modern Britain the Church of England has few friends. Loose-shirted formulators of fashion do not think much of the Church. That is, they neither approve of it nor do they afford it much thought. It has been this way for perhaps 25 years.

Last month Cherie Blair helped write a book called Why I Am Still a Catholic. From the way the last Pope’s death was reported it was as though Henry VIII had never happened. Good luck to the Catholics, though. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor is a man of dignity. His dwindling flock was stirred. And how comic it was, amid the tears at John Paul II’s passing, to see our secular politicians and newscasters draw their faces into masks of piety as they struggled to understand the deep-rooted laments in Rome.

Anyone who so much as steps foot in a church tends to be described nowadays as a ‘devout’ or ‘committed’ Christian. The terms are accompanied by assumptions of toothpaste sincerity. This, to use a non-ecclesiastical term, is balls. There are many reasons for going to church, and although a strong faith and holiness are greatly to be envied, they are by no means prerequisites for attendance at matins.

It is time someone published a collection of essays entitled Why I Am Still an Anglican, because it is time we realised how lucky we are in our official Church. It is time our vicars were thanked for their good works, their stoicism and their general lack of hysterics. It is time we stopped assailing the Church of England and, as they say at Glastonbury, bigged it up.

I go along every week primarily because I love singing hymns. There’s little to beat a good blast of ‘Praise My Soul’ or the Cathedral Psalter setting of the Te Deum before lunch. I suppose I also go because I love the Book of Common Prayer, which the churches in our part of Herefordshire still use, and because I want Cranmer’s cadences to drip into my children’s minds. This is partly a cultural thing, partly aesthetic. Religion is there, too, in the background, but I would not dare claim to understand or believe fully in every part of the liturgy.

Churchgoing is a communal affair. I don’t meant that sign of the peace nonsense, which makes me feel awkward, but the sense of slow-burn fellowship that can develop with one's fellow parishioners. A pressure group was recently sniffy about how some parishes are now little more than ‘clubs’ for their congregations. What’s wrong with that? ‘Clubs’ (a Bad Thing in 21st century-speak) are no more than another way of saying ‘strong communities’ (Good Thing).

I go to church for the smell of the flagstones, the Rizla rustle of the  Bible, the flicker of candles, the shiver of pride when the priest blesses our youngsters, the taste of the fortified wine and the sense of completeness when returning to one's pew after Communion. All these things say ‘Sunday’" to my body and my being. In a world so full of false prophets, they help guy the week to something solid. And then comes the moment when the service is over, when the children can dash into the graveyard and skip around tombstones. It is something I did as a child and I am glad my children do it, too. It lends harmony to the chime of passing years.

None of this is wildly philosophical or worthy. Where’s the concern for Jesus, for the Church's mission, the affirmation of doctrine? Aren’t churchgoers meant to listen to every  word from the lectern? Sorry, but I sometimes day-dream.

Critics often accuse the Church, particularly the Archbishop of Canterbury of failing to show moral leadership. They say that today’s Anglican clergy are weak. Archbishop Rowan is mocked not only for his beard but also for failing to froth like some fundamentalist mullah. I prefer it this way. Maybe this is a very English and Protestant thing, but I want my relationship with God, if it exists, to he a private thing. I don’t so much want to be told what to believe, as to he shown how. Rowan Williams seems rather gently brilliant at that.

His stance on sexuality, tolerant but discreet, suits the age. In our area last year we welcomed a new curate, a jovial, big-haired woman who spoke up well in the pulpit and seemed a thoroughly good egg. Then a national newspaper reported, excitedly, that our new curate had started life as a man. I half expected the parish to be outraged but quite the reverse happened. Nonchalance is but another way of saying tolerance, and tolerance is a proper Christian characteristic. That’s what happened.

Our curate, with her rich tenor singing voice, is exceedingly popular and is soon to be ordained. (A traditionalist friend of mine opposed to female vicars, meanwhile, is still trying to work out whether or not it is doctrinally OK for him to take communion from her!)

Fire and brimstone is still there in the Book of Common Prayer, should your taste run to that sort of thing. ‘Cursed are the unmerciful, fornicators and adulterers, covetous persons, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards and extortioners,’ growls a commination just before the Psalms. To this the response, if not ‘Amen’, is either ‘blimey’, or a mumbled, ‘now you put it like that, Lord, is there any chance you could perhaps please have mercy on our fragile, flawed beings?’ None of us, not even our priests or archbishops, is perfect. But I reckon the dear old Church of England is a fine and forgiving institution, and way less feeble than  strangers and critics presume.
 


I'm Fine, Thank You…

(found in Betty Winsor’s personal papers)

There is nothing the matter with me
I’m as healthy as can be.
My pulse is weak and my blood is thin,
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

Sleep is denied me night after night
But every morning I find I’m alright.
My memory is failing, my head’s in a spin
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

The moral is this as my tale I unfold,
That for you and me who are growing old,
It’s better to say ‘I’m fine’ with a grin
Than to let folks know the shape I’m in.

But how do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well, my ‘get up and go’ has ‘got up and went’
But I really don’t mind when I think with a grin
Of all the grand places my ‘get up’ has been.

Old age is golden’, I’ve heard it said,
But sometimes I wonder when I get into bed
With my ears in the drawer and my teeth in a cup,
My eyes on the table until I wake up.
Ere sleep overtakes me I say to myself
‘Is there anything else I could lay on the shelf?’

I get up each morning and dust off my wits
And pick up the paper and read the ‘Obits’
If my name is still missing I know I’m not dead
So I have a good breakfast and go back to bed.
 



 

The Waterloo Connection

The centre pages of this issue (follow Waterloo Connection links from hom page for picture galleries) again carry pictures of the recent visit to Sierra Leone by the delegation from Crosby. Since their return, the embryonic steering committee has met regularly to take forward the complex business of setting up long-term links between the two Waterloo communities. Kathy Zimak has been joined on the committee by Fred Nye, so that St Faith’s will be well represented in the months ahead! It is intended to set up a website to link the communities and give news of what is happening and planned to happen at both ends of the developing link. This writer will be managing that site – but our own church website will of course carry all the news and pictures – and you can see 25 of Kathy’s pictures, with explanatory captions, on there now. Below Kathy writes further about her experiences.

Let There Be Light!

How much we appreciate the long days of summer: the wonderful early mornings and pleasant evenings in the garden make it difficult to imagine the dark hours of winter when we always seem to have lights on in the house. Those who live nearer the equator do not have this contrast in their lives: sunrise and sunset times vary little and by six o'clock in the evening all is in darkness in Sierra Leone. But unlike here, it is not always possible to switch on an electric light to shut out the dark: in the capital Freetown electricity is rationed and for most citizens a rota system operates. Only on one evening a week if you are lucky can you read by electric light. On the other days candles are the great standby, although these are also an expensive item for many. On our recent visit we met a young man, Alfred Ishmeal, who is studying at the university in Freetown: he works in his spare time with one of the Christian Aid partners in the capital: funding his studies is a difficult task. He invited me to the house where he is lodging just before sunset.  The family were busy trying to complete their day’s tasks in the last vestiges of light - preparing the meal, bathing the children, getting ready for the next day - for it was not their turn for electricity. Alfred studies for his degree by candle light on most evenings. During our audience with the Vice President of Sierra Leone the electric lights suddenly failed, without exciting any comment from our hosts who were obviously used to such occurrences.

In Waterloo itself few houses if any have any electricity: I visited a Baptist primary school which was operating in the church, four classes in the same space - all with more than a hundred children in each class.  There was no electricity and the church was very dark even at midday. It was virtually impossible even on the front row to see the board, a traditional wooden one on an easel. There were no resources: the teacher - a young man who is unqualified and therefore unpaid except in the form of meals and accommodation provided by the parents - had the only text book which was propped up on the top of the blackboard though few could have taken advantage of it in the gloom. One of the questions from our survey of the schools was about sanctions and rewards; the prizes often included a candle for study.

The contrast with our own schools could not be starker. I visited a local secondary school last week which had the latest technology, most teachers having at their disposal digital projectors:  in the large Arts theatre to mark the G8 summit Year 10 were watching a very moving presentation prepared by one of their number in his I.T. lesson: the projector beamed on to a large screen (ironically enough) powerful images of poverty in Africa.  Our children have so many benefits in our technological society: the children of Waterloo, Sierra Leone have none.

Teachers who take primary school classes from the inner city to the Crosby Hall Educational Trust centre say that the children are amazed by the darkness in the village at night and often gaze for the first time at the galaxies above. The night skies in Sierra Leone are incredibly beautiful, the stars undiminished by the glare of street lights that blot out the sky in our own cities. Nevertheless the frequent absence of electricity creates real obstacles in life as communications can be difficult: access to computers is possible for some residents of Waterloo who work in Freetown and can therefore use email, though this can be costly.  Telephone lines are unreliable: the advent of mobile phones has been an enormous boon however and made communications much easier. Despite their deprivations the people are generous with this facility: I was touched after the recent bombings in London to receive a phone call from the chair of Governors of one of the schools asking if the people of Waterloo Crosby were safe and well!

Those who pay a fleeting visit to Freetown may never be aware of the great difficulties faced by people living within a stone’s throw of their hotel. For us too it was a great relief to return at the end of a long hot and humid day to return to an air- conditioned room with hot water and electric light. As an official delegation we were accommodated in one of the best hotels in Freetown: how symbolic this was of our privileged existence in the Northern world!  Bob Geldof has brought to our screens the images of Africa in an amazing way but we can always turn off our sets and return to our usual oblivion. As we turn the tap and switch the kettle on for a cup of tea, families in Waterloo Sierra Leone are going to the well for water and lighting the wood fire. God grant that we now use the opportunity  to share our good fortune with another community in a meaningful and effective way.

Kathleen Zimak

The Waterloo Prayer

Thank you for all the gifts that we have shared today;
especially Lord, we thank you for:
the gift of friendship,
the gift of love,
the gift of community,
the gift of hope,
the gift of companionship
and finally the gift of faith.
Amen


Views of the Vicar

If he visits his flock, then he’s being nosey;
If he doesn’t, he’s a snob.
If he preaches for longer than ten minutes – it’s too long;
If he preaches for less, then he hasn’t prepared a proper sermon.
If he runs a car, he is worldly;
If he doesn’t, he is always late for appointments.
If he tells jokes, he’s flippant;
If he doesn’t, then he’s far too serious.
If he starts the service on time, his watch must be fast;
If he’s a minute late, he’s keeping the congregation waiting.
If he takes a holiday, he’s never in the parish;
If he doesn’t, he should get out more.
If he runs a bazaar, he’s money mad;
If he doesn’t, there’s no social life in the parish.
If he has the church redecorated, he’s extravagant;
If he doesn’t, then the place is shabby.
If he’s young, he’s inexperienced;
If he’s older, then it’s time he retired.
But when he finally goes mad or dies of exhaustion
There’s never been anyone like him!

From the Catholic Herald via the magazine of St Mary, Davyhulme


Funny You Should Say That…
 

I was walking across a bridge the other day and saw a man about to jump.

I said, ‘Stop! Don’t do it.’

‘Why shouldn’t I? He asked.

‘Well, are you a Christian?’ I asked.

He said: ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?’

‘Protestant’.

‘Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?’

‘Baptist.’

‘Wow! Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?’

‘Baptist Church of God.’

‘Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?’

‘I’m Reformed Baptist Church of God.’

‘Amazing. Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?

He said, ‘Reformation of 1915.’ I said, ‘Die, heretic scum,’ and pushed him off the bridge….
 
 



  

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