North Tamar Churches

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

This year the Month of April opens with the annual celebration and remembrance of Our Lord’s Passion and death in Holy Week and Easter.

The days from Palm Sunday to Easter Day are of the utmost importance to the whole church and to each and every Christian, and, as I do every year, I invite you to join us as we recall in a sacred pilgrimage the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

The Services at this time of year have evolved over centuries to enable us to experience the love of God in the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.  With Six churches, all of the events of Holy Week are Mission Community events and are open to all, whichever building they happen to be in. I look forward to joining you for worship at this special time.

On a more practical note, we have made two decisions regarding our worship going forward.

First, it was agreed that from now on all Mission Community services on a Sunday morning will be at 11am rather than 10am. This allows for a better transition from worship to lunch, which we will now try to have together at all Fifth Sunday Celebrations.

Secondly, after three months of having Evensong at St. Mary’s Lifton, on the Second Sunday of each month, as an experiment, we have decided to continue for the rest of the year.

On a personal note, May I thank all of you who have shown so much kindness to myself and my family after our recent bereavement. Although we are saddened by my sister’s death, we are also strengthened by the Christian hope of the Resurrection which we will all be celebrating this Easter.

I hope and pray that the joy of Easter will fill all our lives.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

Well, we had a relatively normal Christmas!  We could travel and gather together, we could sing together in church and enjoy each other’s company in our homes.  I was able to be with my mum at new year for the first time in three years!

When things go wrong, or when we are stopped from doing what we usually do, there is always the temptation to look back at what we used to do and wish for it. That is completely understandable. However, we also have opportunities to look at what we could and can do now. This may even mean changing some of the things we do.

This month sees Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent when we are asked by the church to REPENT!  The word repent has all sorts of overtones and undertones which are not always helpful, but it actually means to TURN AROUND. Lent has traditionally been the time when Christians have concentrated on the way we live our lives, on turning round back to live as Jesus calls us to.  In some ways much of the traditional Lenten practice has been replaced in secular society by efforts such as Dry January which are about personal discipline and wellbeing.

The Christian church has been encouraging its members to live lives in love, prayer and service for all of its existence. In Lent we are called to think about how we can be better Christians, people, husbands, wives, employers, workers… by following Christ’s Call to live in his love.

I invite you all to use this time as we prepare for the great feast of Easter to explore God’s love, and join us for our worship across the benefice, and to our Lent exploration Group on Monday evenings, as we look towards what God is calling us to do and be in 2023.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

John Betjeman begins his wonderful Christmas Poem with the words:” The waiting Bells of Advent ring…” and by the time you are reading this Advent has begun. It is a time for watching, waiting, and preparing. It is traditionally a time of excitement and expectation which is often swallowed up by the mad dash for Christmas Shopping. In church though, we try to keep the season of Advent as a solemn time of preparation to welcome Jesus into our lives. Not just as the baby in the Crib at Christmas, but also into our lives, day by day.  Advent Calendars and candles and the famous Advent wreath with its five candles are all ways of counting down and building up towards the great festival of the Birth of Jesus.

As we approach the new year too, there is always a tendency to look back on the past year. It has been a momentous one nationally, with the death of Her Majesty the Queen, and the accession of King Charles. Politically there was great upheaval, an undeclared war in Europe and an unprecedented financial crisis. The scars and effects of the Covid Pandemic have also cast a long shadow in all our lives.

In Advent there is a tradition of looking back into the Old Testament to look for signs and hints of the coming of Jesus. So, as we look back at what has been, for many, a very tough year, let us look for the signs of God’s goodness and hope in the past year: Events that have united or inspired us, acts of kindness that have moved us, works of art or education that have uplifted us all tell of the hope that God gives us for the future.

We approach 2023 with hope in the goodness of God and with renewed commitment to make this world a place that reflects his will, purpose, and kingdom.

May I wish you a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous, and happy new year.

 With love and prayers,

Philip

From The Parish Priest

Dear friends,

The Autumn colours, together with the earlier onset of darkness are letting us know that we are approaching winter and the end of the year. That means that many of us are getting quite busy planning and preparing for Christmas. Yes already! Well, let’s be honest, there have been Christmas goods in the shops for weeks!!

I am not a great fan of early Christmas, but I am a fan of ADVENT. A time of watching, waiting and preparing. “All good things come to those who wait” is a proverb that means a great deal to me at this time of the year, and on Advent Sunday, the last Sunday of this month, the church starts to look forward with eager anticipation to the celebration of Jesus’ birth, with themes of hope and light.

There are so many stories around us that seem to be about darkness and despair. I hope and pray that as we approach the Advent Season we may all be given new hope in and through the love of Jesus, and be ready to welcome him with real joy.

With love and prayers

Philip

Dear friends,

As I write this letter, I am sorting out all the arrangements for the celebration of Harvest Thanksgiving across our churches.

Since Victorian times, the celebration of the Harvest in the Autumn has become part of our annual pattern of events. The Farmers sow, nurture and reep. We then thank God for his gifts.

The harvest, or lack of, has been a major news item over the past few weeks. A combination of the hot weather, lack of rainfall, and other world events such as the war in Ukraine has meant that the world faces a shortage of food, and the inevitable rise in the cost of food for the customers in the shops.

I read in an information leaflet this year that approximately, worldwide,  One Third of all the food grown prepared, packaged and cooked for human use is thrown away before it is eaten. And yet there are still millions of people who are starving in this world. This is a disgraceful situation, and something that all of us can do something about, not only by lobbying those who make policy and decisions, but also in the way we manage our own households.

Thanking God for his gifts in Creation does not mean taking them for granted.

This harvest, let us think again of the effort that goes into providing our food, and the real human cost of wasting the earth’s valuable resources.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From The Parish Priest

Dear friends,

It was such a joy on every level to celebrate with you in the various Platinum Jubilee events that have been organised across our local communities.

Her Majesty’s amazing achievement, combined with a two-year deficit in gathering together made all our Jubilee events eagerly anticipated and much enjoyed by all of us.

Celebrations such as these are one-time expressions of what makes us tick as villages and communities, and reflect the community action and activity that takes place day by day.  This community activity needs to be fostered continually, and as we approach the summer, let us all recommit to being good neighbours to each other so that the community spirit that was reawakened and noisily celebrated across the Jubilee weekend may continue to flow in the DNA of our community life.

Jesus commands us to love our neighbour. This is not always easy and can sometimes be hard work, but the result of working to love our neighbours, bears abundant fruit which gives glory to God and makes our communities a great place to live.

With love and prayers

Philip

From The Parish Priest

Dear friends,

There is much excitement in all our communities in anticipation of the events to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.  From Beacons, to concerts, to children’s races, barbecues and celebration services. There is a lot going on!

I have not known life without Her Majesty on the throne, and have very fond memories of, as an eleven year old, being fully involved in the celebrations for her Silver Jubilee in 1977!

These celebrations happen not in their own right, but as a result of the everyday life of our nation, and the contribution to it from her majesty. These great events are an opportunity to celebrate the everyday, and for us to appreciate how fortunate we are to live with the freedoms and blessings of this nation and time.

That does not mean that we rest on our laurels, we must always work for our society to reflect the values of God’s Kingdom, and that we do in the way we treat each other, and care for those, near and far, who do not share our good fortune.

Congratulations to Her Majesty, and Best Wishes to all of us as we continue to make our society fit for the King of Kings.

With love and prayers,

Philip

Dear friends,

The lengthening of daylight hours, and the reappearance of colour in our gardens announce that Spring is well and truly on its way.  There is much more activity around the Rectory Bird Feeder, and that brings cheer to us all.

Daffodils and Snowdrops, Blackbirds and Dunnocks were not restricted by Covid Regulations and they are just getting on with their normality.

Our Normality has been severely restricted over the past two years, and for some of us this time has been very hard indeed.  The hope of “getting back to normal” has always been there as a faint pinprick of light at the end of the Tunnel.

Unfortunately, the appalling events in Ukraine seem to have dimmed what light was there as we are all trying to understand what “war in Europe” actually means, and as we, quite rightly, look at what we can do as individuals and communities to assist those whose lives have been utterly destroyed by Evil.

In the middle of this very dark time, we celebrate the Joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ. The utter and total Triumph of Light over Darkness symbolised by the Lighting of Fire and Candles.

That same celebration will be taking place in shelters and hiding places under the bombardment from enemy forces in Ukraine.

Just as Daffodils are not restricted by rules and regulations, neither is God’s love negated by Human action.  It may well seem to be impeded by the wickedness that Humankind is capable of, but the Easter Story tells us that Christ’s light and Power is boundless.

Those of us who claim to be Children of the Resurrection should use every opportunity to shine as lights in dark places. Let us witness to the Light of Christ’s resurrection by demonstrating his love in caring for those for whom light and peace seem but a distant dream. In putting pressure on our elected officials to work for an end to this conflict and to show hospitality and mercy to refugees.

I do hope that you will be able to join us for our Holy Week and Easter Services, and join us in praying for those who have neither the safety or freedom to celebrate Easter in their own country.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

Have you had a well disciplined start to the year?  How are your New Year Resolutions going?

Did you join in with Fry January, or a Veganuary?

It is amazing what human beings will do to challenge ourselves to look after our bodies and souls. But there is nothing new, and if you are still looking for something to work with to “improve yourself” could I humbly suggest keeping Lent.

Lent is not a miserable time, or it should not be! It is a time to think about how much God loves us, and how we can respond to that love. That means thinking about ourselves, how we relate and behave towards each other and God, which can sometimes make us feel a little uncomfortable, but that is because God’s love is so beautiful.

Lent is not just about giving things up, it is about exploring more fully God’s love for us. In our churches we will be following the Live lent, daily programme, which will be both online, and also uses a attractively designed booklet which will be available in all of our churches.

Lent has two purposes, for us to discover how we can be better Christians, and to prepare for the commemoration and celebration of Jesus Passion, death and, resurrection over Holy Week and Easter.  Great events are always better when they re prepared for properly, so I invite you to join me and our church communities in keeping lent together so that we may grow in love together and rejoice together at Eastertide.

With love and prayers,

Philip

From the Parish Priest

Dear friends,

The month of November is, in church, community and national life, a month of remembering.

Whether in church: remembering the great saints of the Church, or those loved ones that we still miss and mourn on All Saints day and All Souls day, or around bonfires in community and family groups on the 5^th November, or standing round a War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday as a nation, remembering those who have given their very lives in service of our country.

What we are doing, in all these acts of remembrance is making sure that essential parts of our community, be they the great characters of the past, or events that have shaped us, are held and treasured and learned from.  The Act of Remembrance that we repeat day after day and week after week does exactly the same thing. “ Do this in Remembrance of Me”  Said Jesus to his disciples.. and we do… we make sure that Jesus, and his example of love and sacrifice are central to who we are and how we love each other.

———————————

When Bishop Robert came to install me as your priest 22months ago, I was looking forward to all the things we would do as Mission Community and Benefice: the worship,  community outreach, and working together.

Unfortunately, Covid came, and for most of the past two years, we have had to deal with a situation that has caused havoc in almost every area of church, community and family life.

Despite the difficulties of the past few months, we are still called to be a community of Christian people, and so I would like to invite you to a celebration of our partnership.

There is nothing like an approaching New Year to gather our thoughts and to encourage us to make resolutions for the future, and we are going to celebrate this new year. NOT in January, but at the start of the Christian Year on Advent Sunday. So please, do come and join us for a Joyful Celebration of our shared mission at 10am at St. Mary’s Lifton Advent Sunday, 28^th November. Everyone is welcome, and Katie and I are looking forward very much to welcoming you to the Rectory for a Celebration Lunch at the Rectory afterwards.

Let us start our new year off as we mean to go on:

with joyful and prayerful worship, friendly Christian fellowship, and Hope in Christ for our growth in faith, understanding and strength of numbers.

With love and prayers,

Philip.