November 2008

Rejoice | The Art of Listening | 150th Anniversary | Remembrance Sunday| E.G. Scouts

Quiz Night | UNICEF | Methodist building | Bishopsgate W.I. | From the Registers | Calendar

Rejoice

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:12)

St Seraphim of Sarov lived in Russia in the eighteenth century. He spent much of his life as a hermit in the forest, where people would come to visit him, hoping for help, advice and healing. One day a disciple of Seraphim's came to him, much troubled by the question of how we can be sure that we have the grace of the Holy Spirit. Nothing that Seraphim could say, whether teaching from the Bible or from the lives of the saints, could reassure the man.

Finally, Seraphim said, "Look at me." When the man looked at Seraphim's face, he saw it so brightly illuminated that he could hardly keep his eyes on it. But Seraphim said, "And that is how you look to me, too. That is how we know that we have the grace of the Holy Spirit, because we see each other with God's eyes."

It is a good Sunday school illustration to say that a saint is like a stained glass window: he or she is someone who allows the light to shine through them. In the Gospel passage for All Saints Day, Jesus does not explicitly talk about saints, but the people he commends are those who see the world under a different light from most of us.

This passage is called "the Beatitudes", or blessings. "Blessed" is probably best translated as "Congratulations are due to", or something rather less obviously religious than the term "blessed" has become in general usage. Jesus is commending people for a choice they have already made, a way of life that they are already following, not offering them some vague spiritual commendation.

Interestingly, Matthew's version of the Beatitudes is much longer than Luke's. Luke has only four Beatitudes to Matthew's nine, and Luke's are very clearly connected to Jesus' own ministry to the poor and the marginalised of society, whereas Matthew's seem to be a reflection on a whole new way of seeing the world. These two are not incompatible, because Matthew's Beatitudes do seem to be born out of Jesus' own reading of the prophets, and his own teaching about what God wills.

So, for example, "the poor in spirit" are certainly those who face material poverty, but they do so knowing that wealth is not a sign of God's favour, and that possessions can dull love for God. Likewise, "those who mourn" may well be those who face actual suffering and bereavement, but who also hurt for the gap between the world that God made and desires, and the world that human sin has created.

The meek and the people who hunger for righteousness, like the merciful and the peacemakers and the pure in heart, are people who actively seek to change their own lives and the lives of those they meet so as to bring it more and more in line with their vision of God's world. "Meekness" does not equal weakness here, but gentleness and kindness towards others, and purity of heart is no abstract quality but a strong trust in God's just commandments.

All of these are qualities that any good teacher of the law would recognise as praiseworthy. But in the last Beatitudes, Jesus ties all of these qualities in with his own mission and the lives of his disciples. Those who follow Jesus and try to live out God's call on the world and on their lives will undoubtedly suffer for it, just as all those who challenge the structures of selfish materialism do. But they are not for one moment to doubt that they are doing God's will, and helping to make God's light shine through them into the world.

Our understanding of sanctity can often be a bit wishy-washy, as though goodness is almost an absence of something, rather than this almost fierce resistance that we see in the Beatitudes to standards that are not God's.

The Beatitudes urge Jesus' disciples to share Jesus' own longing, the longing so vividly expressed by the Old Testament prophets, for a new heaven and a new earth. But we are not just to yearn for it, we are also to begin to live it now, in our care for those who are poor, in our desire for justice, in our willingness to turn away from violence and selfishness.

We have all met people who, like Seraphim of Sarov, seem to shine with the brightness of God's own light, but perhaps we do not realise how easily that could be us, as we demonstrate God's love to others by our prayer and by our action.

ART OF LISTENING
Listening is sometimes described as a lost art? How important is it that we, the Church, listen to others? Canaan Ministries and St Jude's United Church offer you the opportunity to improve your listening skills.

A five week course starts this autumn and finishes in the New Year.

Venue: The Village Centre (Methodist Building in Victoria Street)

Time: 7:30pm coffee 7:45pm start - 9:30pm finish

Tuesday November 4th Session 1 - Introduction: Areas of need in the community. What can you do to help? What the Gospel has to offer?

Tuesday November 18th Session 2 - Listening skills. Basic skills. Looking at a biblical model. Putting it into practice.

Tuesday 2nd December Session 3 - Knowing your boundaries. Confidentiality / supervision. Legalities.

Thursday 15th January Session 4 - Listening to God. Wisdom. Offering personal prayer.

Thursday 29th January Session 5 - Dealing with some specifics - case study - resources that are available to us.

Costs - £2 per session. This would be £10 for the course.

150th ANNIVERSARY
On 28th October 2009, St Jude's Church will be 150 years old. To celebrate this anniversary throughout 2009, there will be regular events of many kinds. The celebrations have been launched with a special calendar featuring some spectacular photographs of places of significance in and around Englefield Green. These calendars which will make excellent Christmas presents for family and friends, are available for you buy at £6 each from the Church and from the Christmas Market which will be held in St Jude's School on Saturday 22nd November from 2.00pm.

The concerts and recitals have now been finalised as follows:

3rd January at 4.00pm - Organ Recital by Geoff Chew

7th February at 4.00pm - Students from Royal Holloway Music Department

7th March at 4pm - Organ Recital by Sam Rathbone

4th April at 6.00pm - Piano Recital by Val Ward

2nd May at 4.00pm in Royal Holloway Chapel - Summer Concert

6th June at 4.00pm - Mosaic Choir directed by Karen Falkner

4th July at 4.00pm - Vocal Recital by Ruth Hopkins and Edward Small (piano)

1st August at 4.00pm - Jazz Trio - Two Bats and a Bass

5th September at 4.00pm - Mixed Recital - local musicians

3rd October at 4.00pm - Voices Anon Choir directed by Guy Bunce

7th November at 4.00pm - Students from Royal Holloway Music Department

5th December at 4.00pm - Christmas Concert - Brass and Organ

UNICEF GIFTS AND CARDS
Joan Wintour will be selling UNICEF cards, calendars, gifts, etc after the 9.30am service on 16th November and 7th December. She can also be contacted at home on 01784 437796. UNICEF supports children in need in over 150 countries (including Afghanistan and the UK). It is within the UN family but depends entirely on voluntary contributions from governments, institutions and individuals.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
The annual Remembrance Day service will take place at St Jude's Church at 11.00am on Saunday 9th November following an act of remembrance at the War Memorial outside at 10.50am.

QUIZ NIGHT
This fund raising evening (for the Parish Centre Appeal) starts at 7.00pm and provides light refreshments. Tickets are £5 and you are invited to bring your own drinks with you. We suggest you have early supper at home and join us for a fun evening.

METHODIST BUILDING
Please note that the Methodist Church in Victoria Street is now to be known as The Village Centre.

ENGLEFIELD GREEN SCOUTS
The Scouts are holding their monthly car wash on 1st of November at The British Legion car park in Larchwood Drive (off Bond Street) from 10.00am-2.00pm (all proceeds to the Poppy Appeal this time).

BISHOPSGATE W.I.
Bishopsgate Women's Institute will be holding a Coffee Morning on Thursday 13th November 10.00-11.30am at the Jurgens Centre, Harvest Road. Stalls include Handicrafts, Bric-a-Brac, Cakes, Books and a Raffle. All are welcome.

FROM THE REGISTERS

Holy Matrimony:
(26th September) Howard Rawley and Cypriella Kyprianou; (4th October) Alexis Xenonos and Rianna Hurst; (10th) Adam Williamson and Andrea Hill; (11th) Tim Nutman and Noelle Floyd; (18th) Patrick O'Driscoll and Michelle Power.

Funerals:
(7th October) James Peck.

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CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER 2008

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