North Tamar Churches

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

As many of you know, due to recent — and not so recent — events in our families’ lives, Katie and I are in the position of reviewing and sorting out vast numbers of archive documents and photographs that we have inherited from our parents.

There are packets and packets, and album after album, of small black and white photos — mainly of anonymous faces — staring out at us.

“I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
— Matthew 25:35

The context of these pictures is a million miles away from our lives now, and it is so easy to forget the real lives behind the faces staring out.

But these were real lives of real people — not characters in a book or a play — but human beings made in the image of God, each carrying the likeness of Christ in their faces.

The same can be said for the faces we see today on the screens of our televisions and phones, or in our newspapers — people whose lives we hardly recognise, as they struggle with war, violence, statelessness, and extreme poverty.

It is so easy to ignore — or even deny — the humanity of people who are different from us. And sadly, the language sometimes used by those who claim to lead us to describe fellow human beings can be uncaring and unchristian.

Whatever opinions we may justly hold regarding the security of our nation, the stability of the world, or our society, we must never remove the humanity from those whose situation is desperate.

History — and the present — is littered with examples of people being denied their God-given human dignity by others who believe themselves to be superior.

Jesus walked, talked, and ate with all the groups of people that the authorities of His society regarded as enemies or worthless. And we must always work to demonstrate the priceless value of each and every human life — wherever that life is from, whatever language they speak,
whatever the colour of their skin, whatever situation they find themselves in.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Christmas Already?!?

Dear Friends,

This may seem a bit soon, but I am preparing for Christmas and need your assistance!

Between Advent Sunday and Candlemas (basically all of December and January), we will be hosting six major Mission Community events—one in each of our parishes, but for the benefit of all! These will be in addition to our usual activities. I hope to have a full timetable of these ready for the next magazine.

One of these events will be a Crib Festival—a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the Nativity scene and enjoy the many beautiful interpretations that adorn our homes, schools, and churches.

We would love to have as many cribs on display as possible. If you have one or more—we would be very grateful if you’d consider lending it to us for the festival.

Whether it’s:

• Been in the family for years
• Made by the children at nursery
• Knitted by a favourite auntie
• Carved as trench art during the wars
• Made of wood or plastic
• Old or new
• Crafted locally or brought from afar

—We would love to include it, along with its story, in what we hope will be a wonderful festival leading into Christmas.

The Crib Festival will take place the weekend before Christmas, concluding with a special Carol Service.

More details will follow, but I wanted to give everyone plenty of notice so we can prepare the best display possible.

Those of you who know me well will know that I hate the early celebration of Christmas. I love Advent to be a season of waiting and hoping, and I so enjoy the excitement of Christmas Eve and the joy of the Christmas season—but that doesn’t happen unless someone has done the preparation in advance.

So… if you would like to be part of this year’s celebration, let me know—and it will be wonderful to have you on board!

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

As I write this, thousands of people are packing up their tents and attempting to start the journey home after attending Glastonbury. No doubt many of them are looking forward to a long-awaited shower!

There are many great music festivals taking place over the summer, which people either attend or enjoy in the privacy of their own homes thanks to the broadcast media. But for me, there is only one, and that is the two-month musical extravaganza we call The BBC Proms.

Everyone knows about the famous Last Night party, but not everyone is aware of the importance of the Proms to the international music scene — the encouragement of new composers, the commissioning of new works, and the availability of affordable live music.

The Proms today are very different from the first season in the Queen’s Hall in 1895, but they are still the same Proms. They have grown and developed, become more diverse — both in the music performed and in those who perform, attend, and listen. They are, arguably, the most important classical music event in the international calendar.

What happens in the Church of God now is very different from what happened with the apostles, in the Celtic Church, at the Reformation, or in the “great days of the Victorian era” — but we are the same Church. We grow, develop, and evolve, building on what has happened in the past to be the very best version of the Church that we can be.

Sir Henry Wood, the founder of the Proms, was passionate about introducing new and often controversial pieces to audiences. Many of these were initially met with derision but are now firm favourites in the hearts and minds of many radio listeners and concert-goers.

As the Church continues to evolve under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we engage with new ideas and new concepts — many of which will at first seem foreign or strange — but which often end up being eternally treasured. After all, Harvest Festival was at first just Parson Hawker’s bright idea!

I look forward very much to hearing a mixture of old favourites and new, challenging music in this year’s Proms — and equally, I look forward to some reassurance, challenges, and growth in our church life.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

I would like to begin my letter this month by thanking all those of you who have been so kind and supportive to me over the past three months.

Inevitably, my mother’s illness and passing have had a disruptive effect on our church routines, and I thank you all for your patience.

As I write this, we are almost at Midsummer, and nearly halfway through the calendar year. The “busy times” in our church life are now behind us, and we enter the long period of Green, or “Ordinary Time,” when we are asked and encouraged to live out the story of Jesus in our daily, ordinary lives.

“Ordinary” is such a strange word, as in God’s love, all things are extraordinary. I hope and pray that you will work daily to proclaim, in your words and actions, the extraordinary grace of God that we have been celebrating in the life of Jesus over the past six months, and now celebrate in our own lives.

Our church life, particularly when we gather for worship, should be a joyful celebration of God’s love in our lives. We have been blessed recently with some wonderful celebrations of weddings and baptisms, where God’s love and joy have been utterly tangible and present.

This is not something that can be manufactured by the priest or leader, but something that happens when the worshipping community gathers with the intention of living in and celebrating the love of God in their lives.

Over the summer, let us work to infuse all our worship and gatherings with Christ’s hospitality and joy, and encourage others to join us in this wonderful vocation.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest
Thy Kingdom Come – 29th May to 8th June 2025

Every year, Christians across the world pray from Ascension to Pentecost for something special. For eleven days, over a million Christians from all denominations and in 90% of countries worldwide are involved. They pray that people among their friends, colleagues, families, and neighbours who haven’t yet come to faith in Jesus may do so.

Prayers are said for people to hear the Word of Jesus and feel the Holy Spirit.

This year, in the North Tamar Mission Community, we are holding a prayer meeting every Thursday for five weeks starting 8th May. These will be held between 6 and 7pm in St Mary’s Church, Lifton. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments, including cake, will be available.

There will be a service at Exeter Cathedral on 8th June to celebrate the end of Thy Kingdom Come for this year. Please see our website or contact your local church for further details. Everyone is welcome.

Further information is available at: nabntmc@outlook.com or exeter.anglican.com.

Peace and blessings,
Nicola

From the Parish Priest

Dear Friends,

I have mentioned on more than one occasion the statues of the 20th-century Christian Martyrs on the West Front of Westminster Abbey. They are a collection of faithful and brave Christians from across denominational divides, who lost their lives because of their commitment to Christ and his teachings.

One of them is, of course, an image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who lived through and campaigned against the appalling injustice of a racially segregated society in the USA during the fifties and sixties. His community, and his family, lived through very dark days indeed.

He is quoted as saying, “Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” This is something I am reminded of when I am out and about after dark in this beautiful part of God’s Kingdom.

Sadly, the past few weeks have ushered in at least the potential for very dark days, and I have had a number of conversations with people who are concerned and frightened regarding the changes there have been in the world order in recent times.

Dr. King is right, though. Sometimes the glory of what is good can only be recognized when compared with the contrast of what is wanting. As Christians, we are not only looking up at the brightness of the stars, but also at the brightness of the resurrection of Jesus. We can be too easily tempted to see the resurrection life as something that only happens on the other side of death, rather than something we are called to live here and now.

Sometimes, as Dr. King and other Martyrs have demonstrated, proclaiming the resurrection life can be a dangerous thing to do. But we follow a Savior who put himself at risk for others.

As we work towards the annual commemoration of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, let us hear Christ’s call to proclaim the good news of his love, peace, justice, kindness, and compassion—and loudly and joyfully proclaim it.

With love and prayers,
Philip

Dear Friends,

The spring months are a busy time in the Christian year. In our worship, we are busy keeping Lent and preparing for Easter, and that quite rightly demands our effort and energy. Just to complicate things, the spring months are also when church business, such as the ratifying of accounts and preparation of Annual reports, needs to be done.

There is one other important piece of administration that needs to be done this year, and that is the complete revision of our Electoral Rolls. This means that if you wish to be regarded formally as part of a church’s congregation, you need to fill in the appropriate form, even if you have been part of the electoral roll for a number of years.

The Electoral Roll forms will be available in all our churches, and we can also send them out digitally or by post if you are unable to pick one up yourself.

Do please let your friends and neighbours know, as it is important that we inform as many people as possible so that our church role realistically reflects our membership. It also gives all of us the opportunity to review our commitment to Christ and His church, both in the time we set aside for worship and service, and in supporting the church with our effort and considered financial support.

Our church buildings and the living stones that make up our church communities are a heritage and legacy that has been left to us to build upon and hand on to the next generation. I hope and pray that this year, we will all be able to take steps to strengthen our church life so that we can continue to worship God and proclaim His love in word and action.

With love and prayers,
Philip

Dear Friends,

A new year is always a time for looking forward with hopes, and resolutions, and for beginning new things.

At the start of the Church’s year we launched our new Saturday night worship service at Kelly. I commend it to you as we continue our pilgrimage of discovery with our Vigil liturgy.

I am delighted to announce another new initiative in our worship together.

February sees the start of our new GIFT service (Growing In Faith Together).

This is a new venture for us and is a service designed particularly for those who are very young, and those who live with them and care for them. That does not mean that those of us who are older in years cannot learn from it, or grow in it, and I invite you all to come and join us in this new venture at St. John the Baptist Stowford on the third Sunday of each month starting on the 16th of February. The service will be short, fun, and very different, with fellowship refreshments and fun afterwards.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear Friends,

A vicar is always thinking ahead when it comes to Christmas, and although it seems to get earlier every year in our shops and high streets, Christmas starts appearing on my desk in the summer!

Although our shops are now full of cards and decorations, the Church’s reaction to the annual remembrance and celebration of Jesus’ birth has been on my mind for a very long time already.

We will all be very busy preparing our homes, schools, offices and communities for Christmas with decorations, food and gatherings, but this year, particularly, with the appalling loss of life in the Holy Land and in the surrounding countries, let us all think about what welcoming the Prince of Peace into our homes and hearts actually means.

I invite everyone to come and join us in celebrating and pondering the great mystery of the birth of Jesus Christ, and how we can be messengers of that peace in the communities we live in.

You are all welcome to join us for any and all of our services, in which we will pray for the peace of the world and the well being of this and every community.

I wish you a very happy, holy and peaceful Christmas.

With love and prayers,
Philip

Dear Friends,

The North Tamar Mission Community is very excited to announce the start of a new initiative in Christian Worship within our six parishes.

From Saturday 30^th November 2024, we will be giving the church and the community another opportunity to gather together to worship God and enjoy fellowship together.

So many people find Sundays such a busy day, and there is a long tradition of recognising the biblical tradition of the day beginning at dusk the night before.

So we are introducing a Vigil Service (the first service of Sunday) at 6pm every Saturday evening at St. Mary’s Kelly, starting on the eve of Advent Sunday, which is a very special occasion.

These services will be quite different to what we are used to in our churches on a Sunday Morning. They will last half an hour and be followed by half an hour of fellowship together, including Tea and Crumpets and the opportunity to have some fun together.

Everyone, of every age, including the very young, is welcome to join us, and to join in!

We look forward to welcoming you to our new exciting venture.

 With love and prayers,

Philip