North Tamar Churches

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

From the Parish Priest

I have had a lovely Summer! I have not had my Summer Holiday yet, I will be enjoying that when this letter is published, but in spite of working and being very busy we have had a lovely summer.

We haven’t done anything particularly exciting, or gone anywhere exotic, but what we have had is a very busy household with lots of visitors. We have enjoyed many a joyful evening in our garden, and round our dining table.

As someone who comes from a very small family, I am always in awe of the large family groups that appear in church for Funerals and weddings. Uncles, Aunties, Cousins, sometimes numbering into the forties and fifties, are quite a shock when you are from a family where you only have five blood relatives!

Despite having only one aunt, and no cousins, I can never truly say that I have a small family!  In fact I have an enormous and wonderful family. The rule is that Family may, or may not, include relations!

The members of our family that have come and shared the summer with us are all indispensable and much loved. It matters not if some are actually related or not, they are all essential members of our family and we would not be without any of them: even with some of their/our peculiarities!

We often hear of the Church being described as a Family, and that is quite appropriate, we are all related in and through Jesus. We may fall out and bicker, and not always agree, but we are a family and we should always look out for, care for and give thanks for each other.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

Although I could in no way be described as sporty, and I do not have the physique of an athlete! I do appreciate the endeavours of those who train hard to achieve greatness in physical endeavours. From my lovely comfy chair, I have partaken in the thrills and excitement of the Olympic games in Paris.

There was some excellent competition, and some wonderful surprises for some with gut wrenching disappointment for others, and yet what pleased me beyond words was the wonderful display of sportsmanship, comradery, and collaboration between athletes who despite being opponents in the pool or ring, or on the track or pitch, were able to celebrate with, and support, each other in their victory or loss, showing empathy and compassion to their fellow competitors.

How sad it was then, to have as the other major news item the horrific violence that has recently affected our nation. The death of those three little girls in Southport was a horrendous action, and I am sure that the Justice system will deal with it accordingly.

However, the deliberate manipulation of misinformation by some, and the vicious hatred that it unlocked in others, was a total disgrace. Communities, which already feel exceedingly vulnerable, were targeted, as were those whose duty it is to protect all of us and keep order. I am delighted that so many communities rallied round to protect those who were being targeted. Many churches and church leaders took their place in demonstrating what community life should be,and witnessed to the reconciling love of Christ in practical ways.

The saddest thing is that people will use Christianity, or a distorted version of it, as an excuse for showing hatred to those who are different. Real Christianity is hospitable and compassionate. Jesus demonstrated this in his own words and actions. Let us pray that we demonstrate real Christianity in our language and behaviour and call out False teaching when we hear it, and unglodly action when we see it.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

It is correctly said, that with enough thought and manipulation, you can find support or condemnation for everything and anything in the Bible. People have, historically, selectively used scripture to support the Slave Trade, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and many other horrific beliefs and practices. So we always need to be careful when people use Holy Scripture to back up their arguments. We need to read our bibles with care, thought and intelligence.

One of the most important concepts in Scripture, from the very beginning of Genesis and throughout the Old and New Testaments, is the importance of Rest. This is not human beings digging into scripture to excuse a few days off, but something that is part of God’s design for us.

Rest, Relaxation and Recreation: the Three R’s for the holidays especially! Even if we are not fortunate to be on Holiday this month, the Holiday season reminds us all of the importance of taking time for ourselves. This is something that we see in the Creation Story, and in the life of Jesus.

There is a reason why a Day of Rest is one of the Commandments!
So please, make sure you give yourselves some time for Rest and Relaxation this summer, so that we can all be recreated, full of life and energy, to live our lives to the full and witness to God’s love.

With love and prayers,
Philip

Dear friends,

I am getting to the age where there is a real danger that I view everything through an illogical pair of rose-tinted spectacles! Perhaps I should be diagnosed with a case of chronic Nostalgia!

It is so easy to look back at times that seem to be better in hindsight and pine for the familiar rather than accept the challenge of new things and new ways. All of us must hold in balance the things that are part of our past and upbringing with those things that are part of the present. The result of this may sometimes be excitement, and others disappointment.
I do not want to harp on, but one thing that I do feel is not the same, to the detriment of society is the lack of respect and civility within our political and civic leadership.

However much the political leaders of my youth passionately held their opinions, they, on the whole, respected the good motives behind those with whom they disagreed.

Thirty Years ago, the whole nation was saddened and shocked by the death of the then Labour Leader: John Smith. The respect in which he was held by the then prime minister was evident in the gracious tribute John Major gave from the dispatch box. He said at one point “John was, by necessity, my opponent, but was never my enemy!”

I feel that there is so much encouragement in our national life to separate us from, and deny the value, of those with whom we disagree, rather than come together to, respectfully and civilly, work together for the good of our society.

I hope and pray that all our election candidates and those who aspire to political office will demonstrate this in their behaviour and language over the election campaign and also in the aftermath when some will be elevated to power and others disappointed.

“God created Man in his own image. Male and Female he created them.” We must be so careful not to deny someone’s worth and value to society based on their political opinions, skin colour, religion or any other human division.

May we work at being role models for our leaders, as much as we hope our leaders will be role models for us.

With love and prayers,
Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

For us, June is going to be a very busy month. 

You will see the notices and advertisements for the various events posted around the community and elsewhere in this magazine. I do encourage you to come and join us in all our celebrations and gatherings.

One of the things that I am most excited about this month is the visit from the Choir from Radebeul in Germany.  They are a church choir from a benefice of Lutheran parishes just northwest of Dresden and are coming to spend a week in West Devon to enjoy our lovely countryside, hospitality, and weather!!!  Added to that they will be singing around the area and county.

Do please come and hear them and meet them. There are many opportunities to get to know them and to share fellowship, time and music together,  including an informal shared music evening and Barbecue at the Fox and Grapes.  In a world where there is so much division, we should take every opportunity to make friends and build relationships with our fellow human beings wherever they are from, and whatever their background.

On their final Sunday with us the Revd. Christof Heinze, who is coming with them, will be preaching at Lewtrenchard, and we will be having a bring and share lunch to say farewell to them.

So please join me in welcoming our friends from Germany and making this a week for all of us to look back on with joy and gratitude.

 With love and prayers,

Philip