October 2008

New to the Green by James Rattue

Bible Sunday | Coffee Morning | Hallowe'en | 150th Anniversary | Remembrance Season| E.G. Scouts

CDs Available | Methodist Area Day | Methodist building | Harvest at St Jude's | From the Registers | Calendar

Bible Sunday

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

At the end of World War II downtown Warsaw was almost totally levelled. Only one skeletal structure remained on the main street, and many devout Poles regarded it as a shrine. It was the Bible Society HQ and the words carved in its only remaining wall were clearly legible from the street: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

Mark Twain said, "It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that cause me trouble, but the parts that I do!"

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that until heaven and earth passed away the law would remain (Matthew 5:18). In this passage he says his own words will outlast even heaven and earth. The law will pass away with the rest of creation, but Jesus' own words will remain. It's the sort of staggering claim that makes us ask whether Jesus is mad, manipulative, or telling the truth. And if it's true, then we must fall at his feet, learn from his teaching and follow his way.

October 26th is Bible Sunday and I have two questions: How do Jesus' words sit within the rest of the Bible? And can we trust that our Bibles really contain his words?

How do Jesus' words sit within the whole Bible? Although he made staggering claims for his own words, Jesus held the Old Testament in the highest regard. These sacred books were Jesus' scriptures. He revered them; he lived by them; he taught from them; he regarded them as God's word. But Jesus also interpreted these scriptures. He fulfilled the prophets and reshaped the law. This doesn't mean the Old Testament is redundant - far from it - but for Christians it must be read through the lens of Christ and his teaching.

How about the rest of the New Testament? These books comprise authoritative insights on Jesus and his teaching, written by some of his earliest followers. We believe they're inspired by the Holy Spirit and, along with the rest of the Bible, seal up in a written message all we need to know about God's will for our lives. Notice then: Jesus is the centre. The Old Testament flows to him and the New Testament flows from him. Jesus' words interpret the old and they inspire the new.

But were Jesus' words preserved and transmitted reliably? Over the last 50 years, an enormous amount of scholarly work has shown how accurately people in non-book cultures preserve precious teachings through memory and repetition. But Jesus' disciples would also have made written notes, which were also used in the writing of the Gospels.

There are those who, according to their own criteria, claim that most of what Jesus says in the Gospels can't really be trusted to have come from him. But a recent book (Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham, 2006) by the Professor of New Testament in Aberdeen, Scotland, argues in depth that all four Gospels are closely based on eye witness testimony. If that's true, we have even better reason to trust the reliability of the text.

So what happens when you read the words of Jesus trustingly? Usually they speak to our hearts and lives; we want to pray; we feel called to live by these words. And we find that as we pray, the one we're meeting in prayer is the same person we encounter on the Bible's written page. The Holy Spirit has brought Jesus to us by inspiring the original writers and brought us to Jesus as we seek him in prayer.

Reading the whole Bible trustingly - with Jesus at the centre - praying from it and applying it, really is essential to Christian living. It's how we come to know Jesus better, and how we allow Jesus' words to permeate our souls. As St Paul said, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."

Jesus' words were remembered because his hearers were struck by a truth they could trust. They wrote down the words of today's Gospel reading because in their own generation they saw Jerusalem destroyed and realised this was the beginning of the passing of heaven and earth, just as Jesus said. The process may take longer than any of us think, but Jesus' words stand in the middle of the Bible and in the midst of a changing, crumbling cosmos. With majesty and grace they interpret both scripture and world. Read them! Pay attention to them! Let them comfort you when you're disturbed, and disturb you when you're comfortable.

NEW TO THE GREEN
I'm fascinated by the way different communities work, their various histories and characteristics. As an outsider to Englefield Green, the relationship of the parish to Royal Holloway strikes me very much. The link between St Jude's Church itself and the College is particularly close, as many of the congregation are or have been on the staff there, as academics and support staff as well. More generally, every year the village welcomes an influx of new students to the College who rent houses around the parish. But are they 'welcomed'? It would be no surprise if residents felt divided about the matter. On the one hand, students bring youth and life to the village and brighten the place up! On the other, quiet residential streets can find themselves suddenly hosting groups of young people who are not part of a family, and can be forgiven for wondering what might be about to happen. We can all be rather apprehensive when new neighbours arrive, and even more so if we get fresh ones every year.

Striving to be neighbourly might be a help. It need be no more than greeting newcomers when we see them, asking something about them and giving some information about ourselves; but it doesn't happen by magic. It requires a positive decision to make it happen, and I have to admit that I've been as lazy as anybody in the past regarding my own neighbours in Weybridge.

God instructed the ancient Israelites to tell themselves, every year, the story of their rescue from slavery in Egypt, as the Jews today still do. They were supposed to remember that they had been strangers and wanderers, and that even once they had arrived in their own land, it truly belonged to God and not to them. In the same way, our community and location don't belong to us forever; we have them, as we have all the good things we enjoy, on loan. They are all God's, to be shared and not hoarded.

Getting to know our neighbours won't necessarily make a community rub along smoothly: some people are less willing to be pleasant than others. But it may make those newcomers we are apprehensive about a bit less inclined to cause us problems, or more inclined to compromise if they do.
James Rattue

COFFEE MORNING
There will be a break in the Coffee Mornings on the first Saturday of each month for a while. These may start up again if a few more people offer to share in the work.

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 are being launched now 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. More details of the photographs (including a thumbnail of each picture) may be seen on the Church website (www.stjudeschurch. info) and orders may be emailed to calendar@stjudeschurch.info.

These calendars contain dates of some of the main events that will be organised in 2009 for everyone's enjoyment. These include a series of concerts (on the first Saturday of each month in St Jude's Church), festivals and historical and artisitic exhibitions featuring Englefield Green and its people.

HALLOWE'EN
Originally, it was the pagan celebration of the start of winter. Then it became the night before the Christian All Saints' Day. Now it's a commercial festival that children love and everyone else feels a bit nervous about - churches in particular. There can't, surely, be anything Christian about children dressing up as ghosts and witches? I think there can be, and this is why.

The author of Psalm 27 wrote 'The Lord is my light and my salvation; of whom then shall I be afraid?' There are real dark forces at work in the world, the very human ones we can see and understand, and spiritual ones we don't see. Whether or not we believe that there are such things as ghosts and witches, they represent things that are worth being afraid of. Yet when children dress up in their spooky Hallowe'en gear they mock the power of those forces. They show that they're not afraid, because God has conquered death and evil by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Even 'trick or treating' has its origins in the poor of the parish begging for presents in return for praying for the souls of the dead!

So at St Jude's we're planning to mark Hallowe'en and All Saints with a special evening service for children. We'll start outside St Jude's School at 6.50pm on Hallowe'en night and process to the church through the cemetery for a celebration of God's light and victory. Tall black hats, white bedsheets and plastic pitchforks are encouraged - in fact, expected!

James Rattue

REMEMBRANCE SEASON
On Sunday 26th October at 3pm we are holding the annual Family Memorial Service in association with Harrisons, the local Funeral Directors. Then on Monday 3rd November at 8pm we celebrate the Parish Requiem Mass for All Souls Day. If you would like any of your loved ones to be remembered and prayed for at the Requiem, please pass their names to James.

METHODIST AREA DAY
The Western Area of the South East District of the Methodist Church will hold its annual area day on Saturday 4th October, 10.00am-4.15pm at Woking Methodist Church. There will be addresses on Mapping a Way Forward and Making Connections, as well as discussion groups on various issues we are all concerned about. To see the list (it would be easier for the organisers it they knew our choices of topic in advance) please ask a Rita Berry or Margaret Willis. For children's workers there are sessions on using puppets and godly play, which need to be prebooked. It will be better to go by public transport.

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

SUMMER CDs AVAILABLE
For only £8 (with all profits directly benefiting St Jude's) you can buy an excellent quality CD of the concert held in the Chapel at Royal Holloway in June, which raised over £1000 for St Jude's Church. It features our own professional organist Sam Rathbone, singers Ruth Hopkins, Susie Harben, Kirsty Kinge, and Emily Revie, flautist Louise Bunce and many others. If you missed the concert, would love to hear it again, or would love for somebody else to have the chance to experience it, then now is your chance! Please email cd@stjudeschurch.info for more information and to order a copy.

ENGLEFIELD GREEN SCOUTS
Sadly the Scouts are no longer able to hold their car washes at the Holly Tree Pub, but The Sun pub in Wick Lane has kindly agreed they can hold the next one there. This will be on Saturday 4th October, from 10.00am-2.00pm. Please support them as they raise money for a new trailer.

HARVEST AT ST JUDE'S
Please note that the Harvest celebrations will take place at the 9.30am service on Sunday 5th October. The Harvest Supper will be in the Church Hall at 7.00pm on Saturday 4th October. Admission is by ticket (price £5) which are available in Church now. Any profts from this will be given to WaterAid.

FROM THE REGISTERS

Baptisms:
(31st August) Hamilton Davis; (14th September) Benjamin Mandl, Charlotte Underwood, Amelie Gates.

Marriage:
(20th September) David Whiteside and Gail Day.

Funerals:
(10th September) John Curtis; (12th) Stanley Ryall; (22nd) Kathleen Dyos.

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