Newsletter: February, 2006

Strength through prayer

“So Jesus travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.” (Mark 1 v 39)

A well-known fast-food chain once offered a small toy as a free gift for every children’s meal bought. News about the offer travelled fast, and sales rocketed. But then something else started happening when some people bought their children’s meal, they threw it away, and just kept the accompanying toy to add to their collection. Whatever your feelings about the nutritional value of the food on sale, the purchaser was missing the point. The toy was intended to encourage people to eat a meal, not to become an end in itself.

Human nature makes us all prone to grasping our immediate wants without necessarily looking further to find our deeper needs for feeding satisfied. It’s a situation faced by Jesus in the passage in Matthew’s Gospel as his ministry becomes publicly known.

When Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law at her home in Capernaum, the whole town is on the doorstep within hours. News of Jesus’ action has spread like wildfire, but as this is the Sabbath, people restrain their impatience to seek out the healer till Sabbath’s end at sunset. Then they all arrive at once.

Jesus rises to the unforeseen public occasion. With gentle authority he sets free those afflicted by illness or demons, meeting many needs, intervening miraculously in troubled lives. But though the situation has arisen spontaneously, Jesus is not caught off-guard as he knows the danger of those demonic forces that would push the pace of his ministry by revealing his full identity at the inappropriate moment, and he silences their schemes.

You can imagine the exuberance of this local community as they suddenly discover a miracle-worker in their midst, and their sense of celebration as so many healings happen. No doubt this means a late night for all, yet Jesus is up before dawn, making his way to a solitary place to commune with his heavenly Father. After the exertions of the previous night’s ministry, Jesus seeks to draw on God’s strength and power through prayer, and remain grounded in God’s will. He needs to go a little distance to ensure some uninterrupted time alone. As day breaks at Peter’s house, the busy-ness continues, and the disciples and the crowd search frantically for the elusive healer. When Peter finally tracks Jesus down to tell him of his overnight popularity, he assumes he is the bringer of glad tidings. Jesus’ reply is unexpected. Far from rushing to respond to this opportunity for further ministry, Jesus declares that he and his disciples are to set off immediately in the opposite direction.

Jesus is moving according to his Father’s purposes, not to the people’s agenda. He is far more than a miracle-worker, he is the Messiah. Moreover, Jesus is aware that the miraculous healings will get in the way of his fuller mission to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom. Those who seek Jesus solely to satisfy their immediate needs may miss the full significance of his ministry. Jesus cannot allow such superficial vision to predominate and obscure God’s deeper plans. However tempting it is to respond to everyone’s demands, Jesus focuses on doing only what God has called him to do. Thus he walks away from Capernaum at peace in the pathway of God’s purposes.

As we serve Christ, we face temptations that threaten to take us off-track. It can be hard to resist responding to every need that comes our way, especially when this can give us the immediate reward of being wanted and appreciated. Yet giving in to such pressure can divert our energies from doing God’s will.

We may find circumstances or other factors trying to push the pace by insisting we do more, that we run before we can walk. Can we, like Jesus, say “no,” and silence the powers that would drive us to over-activity and rob us of the peace of living in God’s timing?

Just as Jesus sought out space to be with his heavenly Father, we need to set aside time to pray and listen to God, receiving his renewal before we give out again. Such space does not often occur naturally; we have to seek it out deliberately.

By staying dependent on God through prayer we become secure in his unending love for us. This sets us free to respond wisely to those obvious needs that seem so urgent, but may not be where God is calling us to serve him right now.

NEWS IN BRIEF
You will have heard about the horrific attack on a student in Englefield Green Cemetery in December and that the BBC Television Crimewatch team visited Englefield Green on 23rd and 24th January to film both inside and outside St Jude’s Church and in the cemetery.

Although this was scheduled to be shown in their programme on Tuesday 31st January, we have now heard that it has been deferred until 22nd February at 9.00pm on BBC1.

NEW VICAR
You will be pleased to know that we have now been served our formal notice telling us that we can get on with the process of replacing the Vicar. At the meeting on 13th February, we will finalise the Statement of Needs for the Parish and submit this and a few other forms to the Bishop as Patron of the Parish including a request to advertise the post. Once this is done, we begin the task with the Archdeacon of Dorking to select our new person.

CANDLEMAS
In bygone centuries, Christians said their last farewells to the Christmas season on Candlemas, 2 February. This is exactly 40 days after Christmas Day itself.

In New Testament times 40 days old was an important age for a baby boy: it was when they made their first ‘public appearance’. Mary, like all good Jewish mothers, went to the Temple with Jesus, her first male child - to “present him to the Lord”. At the same time, she, as a new mother, was ‘purified’. Thus we have the Festival of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

So where does the Candlemas bit come in? Jesus is described in the New Testament as the Light of the World, and early Christians developed the tradition of lighting many candles in celebration of this day. The Church also fell into the custom of blessing the year's supply of candles for the church on this day — hence the name, Candlemas.

The story of how Candlemas began can be found in Luke 2:22–40. Simeon's great declaration of faith and recognition of who Jesus was is of course found in the Nunc Dimittis, which is embedded in the Office of Evening Prayer in the West. But in medieval times, the Nunc Dimittis was mostly used just on this day, during the distribution of candles before the Eucharist. Only gradually did it win a place in the daily prayer life of the Church.

THE CHURCH CLOCK
We have now obtained approval from the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the work needed to overhaul the whole mechanism including the automatic winding gear. We now need to apply for the official Faculty and then can go ahead with the work which will cost about £1400. One or two people have kindly donated some money towards this and we would be very grateful if anyone else felt able to help with this bill. Donations may be sent to the Churchwardens c/o 11 Willson Road, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey TW20 0QB.

THE REV TOM BAYLISS
Many of you will know that the Revd Tom Bayliss will be leaving us in February. Tom is the Minister at the Egham United Church with responsibilities in the local Methodist Church circuit (and therefore, us as well). His last service at St Jude’s will be the 9.30am on Sunday 5th February and his very last service in this area will be on Sunday 12th February at 6.30pm in the United Church, Egham.

To show our gratitude for Tom’s ministry here, we will be making a presentation to him just before he leaves. If you would like to be associated with this present, please send your contribution to Brian Hooker, Churchwarden, 11 Willson Road, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey TW20 0QB. Cheques should be made payable to St Jude’s PCC. It would be good to be able to give Tom a worthwhile gift from St Jude’s United Church as a reminder of his time with us, so all donations will be very welcome.

Please try to send your contribution by 11th February so that we can make our presentation in Egham on the 12th.

WANTED — A GOOD HOME
We have a pair of wrought iron gates each measuring 131cm wide x 89cm high. Anyone interested should contact the parish office on 434254 (evenings) — a donation to the Parish Centre Appeal would be welcomed.

SATURDAY AFTERNOONS
As you may know, we keep St Jude’s Church open for visitors each Saturday afternoon between 2.00 and 4.00pm. To do this safely and adequately requires at least 3 people at all times. To keep this running, we must have a rota of people who would take a turn — obviously the more offers we have, the less often each one would have to do. If you can help with this, say, once every two months, please contact the Churchwardens (telephone numbers are shown above) or by email to saturdays@stjudeschurch.info. Your help would be appreciated.

FROM THE REGISTERS
Holy Baptism
(22nd January) Harold Corrigan

Funerals:
(9th January) Peter Hall.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

STAINES AND FELTHAM METHODIST CIRCUIT
There will be a Circuit Conference called “Fresh Expressions of Being Church” led by the Revd Graham Horsley at Staines Methodist Church (Thames Street, Staines TW18 4SD) on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th February.

It will consist of:
Saturday
10.30am–12.00noon Understanding you cultural context
3.00–5.00pm Changing shapes of Church
Sunday
3.00–5.00pm Getting Fresh? Where do we begin?
6.30pm Circuit Service

LENT 2006
Ash Wednesday falls on 1st March this year and details of Lent Groups available at the time of going to press are as follows:
Tuesday evenings (8.00pm) at 12 Larksfield (Roy and Cassandra Gouriet on 01784 435602).
Tuesday evenings (8.00pm) at 9 Larksfield (Bob and Sue Kensey and John and Maria Walsh on 01784 438392)
Thursday mornings (10.00am–12 noon) at 29 Alderside Walk (Val Ward on 01784 436541)
Sunday evenings (8.00pm) Location to be announced.
Each group will select its materials — for more information, please telephone the appropriate person.

WOMEN'S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
The Women’s World Day of Prayers is Friday 3rd March and the local service will in the Church of the Assumption, Harvest Road at 2.00pm when the theme is Signs of the Times written by the Christian Women of South Africa.

COFFEE MORNINGS
Coffee Mornings and Afternoon Teas at St Jude’s Church are being given a rest for a while.

Coffee is served in the Porch of the Methodist Church building in Victoria Street at 10.00am on the first Saturday of each month. February’s will be on the 4th.

CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY 2006