Walk This Way!

 It’s an old Vaudeville  joke, it’s used in lots of films and is quoted in the current work being read by the AFC Book Discussion Group.

The rather odd Bell Boy is commissioned to show the guests to their room instructing them to ‘Walk this way’.  So, off they go, puzzled but copying his strange gait as they ascend the staircase.  It gets a laugh and can be used in countless contexts.

As a toddler, I’m told, I did much the same thing copying my grandmother’s walk.  She had a pin in her leg so couldn’t bend it.  So whenever I visited her at Rickmansworth both she, and the three year old me, would walk down Ricky High Street with a stiff leg – we must have looked quite a pair!

As Peter and his friends get to grips with what it means to be a disciple of Jesus they slowly (and sometimes it’s very slowly) come to realise that they have to Walk like Jesus.

At first Peter isn’t too sure what that means because, as we’ll see in Sunday’s reading, he’s still a bit confused as to who Jesus really is.  Part of him still wants him to be a powerful King, but Jesus will, from this point on, not only teach him, he’ll also show him, that he came to be a selfless Servant.

That’s why a cross is often the symbol of Christianity.  Jesus gave his life, selflessly serving others and he even lost his life doing so.

On a church youth group holiday to Scotland in my teens we stayed in an old castle.  A small room was set aside for private prayer.  One morning I crept in just to see what happened.  I sat in a corner out of sight and a minute or so later the leader of our group, our Bible Class Teacher, came in.  He didn’t see me, but I watched him.  I saw him read a few verses from the bible and then get on his knees to pray.

I remember nothing of what our Bible Class Teacher said during his talks that holiday, but I’ve never forgotten seeing this wonderful man sink to his knees as he committed a new day, and all us youngsters in his care, to God.

It made the deepest impression on me, for I thought then, even as I do now, that he was someone who Walked like Jesus.

…and so a few bits and pieces about church life…

…We hold our Church Administrator, Laura, in our prayers attending her father’s funeral on Monday.

…Next Tuesday both the Finance and Property Sub Committee and the Team Meeting will gather, coming together socially distanced, under the current guidelines issued by our denominations. 

…Next Friday we are going to be having a Zoom call with The Revd Edwin Quildan, the minister of our link church at Harlesden, North London.  It will be good to catch up with Edwin and share news together.

…and finally we are looking into the possibility of having live music in worship on Sundays.  Government and denominational guidelines now permit a small choir to sing in a service, about five people.  So, we are exploring the possibility of some, or all, of our hymns at the 10.30am service being sung by such a group.  If they did that from the chancel area, from the elders’ chairs, that would meet the social distance requirements both for them and the congregation.  We’ll see how our plans progress as the next few weeks unfold.

Wider Church Mission

 

We’ll be thinking in Sunday’s sermon, led by Erna, on what it means, amongst other things, to live not just as individual disciples, but as part of his Body, the wider Church of Jesus Christ.

At Amersham Free Church one of the ways we express our commitment to being part of something which is bigger than just the ‘local’ is through the mission contribution of £20,000 we make to our parent denominations from our General Fund offering.

It’s a delight for us to be able to help support the work of the Baptist Missionary Society with £5000, especially taking a prayerful interest in our Link Missionaries, Liz and Sergio Vilela, based in the port city of Bira in Mozambique.

Liz and Sergio, like us, are now in their fifth month of quarantine.  All the pre-schools that Liz worked with are now closed and will probably remain so until the end of the year.  However, she is doing some Play Therapy work with individual families.  She tells us that, even in quarantine, children regularly play together in the streets and are left at home on a daily basis because their parents simply have no option but to continue to go out to work even if the schools are not meeting.

Over recent weeks Liz and Sergio have helped to distribute 500 food parcels to folk in the community who are in need. 

Closer to home we are also delighted that £5000 of the denominational contributions goes directly towards the work of The Baptist Home Mission Fund.  This is a central fund that helps support smaller churches meet ministerial costs.  One such church is down the road from us, Bovingdon Baptist Church.  This year Margaret Howard and I were their Home Mission Visitors.  Unlike previous years, this year we visited via email!  We heard of all they were doing in LockDown to keep together as a church community.  I spoke to The Revd Mary Moody, the Minister on the phone.  And then we put together a report recommending that they receive another grant next year from the Home Mission Fund.  I’m delighted that this was accepted.  Along with other grants being made available to smaller churches in our area, Home Mission also funds the Baptist Chaplains at both Luton Airport (The Revd Liz Hughes) and the Hertfordshire University.

£10,000 of our mission offering from AFC goes to the United Reformed Church.  And we are very conscious this a year of change at URC Church House in London.  The Revd John Proctor, whose been a Bible Teaching Day speaker here at AFC, retired this month as URC General Secretary and he’s been succeeded The Revd Dr John Bradbury, former Vice Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge – and many folk at AFC will have heard him lecture there at various courses they’ve attended.

Change is also in the air in our local Thames North Synod as we prepare for the retirement of our Moderator, The Revd Dr Andrew Prasad. We prayerfully remember those who will be appointing his successor.

Our United Reformed Church Area Group, here in the Chilterns, is putting together a Video Service for Sunday 30^th August.  The Ministers have been meeting regularly throughout LockDown via Zoom and the service next week will be another expression of our togetherness in the Body of Christ.

So, we thank God for these various expressions we have at AFC of belonging not just to the local, but to the wider Body of Christ.

Church Focus

…It’s quite a thought that this coming Sunday's Audio Service is the 23^rd one that has been produced since Lockdown started, and that this morning’s in service worship is the 8^th occasion we’ve been able to come together in this socially distanced way.  All our thanks go out to those who make these variety of worship styles and media available to us.

…We continue to hold Laura, our Church Administrator in our thoughts and prayers following her father’s death, as the family prepare for his funeral on the 1^st September.

…We are grateful to all our organists who have returned and are helping us with worship.  Once again Graham is with us this week, and Laurence Beard returns to play next Sunday.

Sitting at the wrong end of the bus

 

On December 1^st 1955 she refused to give up her seat on the bus.

Rosa Parks was already sitting at the back end of the bus, in the coloured section and when the bus became full the driver commanded her to give up her seat to a white passenger.  She refused and the rest is history.

After being shown such injustice the black community of Montgomery, Alabama, boycotted the bus company for a whole year.  Rosa Parks teamed up with a new minister in town, The Revd Martin Luther King, and eventually she became known as the Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.

Rosa Parks wanted to keep her seat on the bus, she wanted to be treated with respect and to participate in her community’s life as a full human being.

She reminds me of on of my favourite bible characters whose story is told in Sunday’s gospel reading.  We don’t know her name, but we do know she met Jesus.  She’d heard so much about him that when he passed through her town she asked for his help, she longed for him to bless her daughter with healing and wholeness.  But, well, it was like she was sitting in the wrong end of the bus.  She was a foreigner, so at first it looked as if Jesus and his disciples thought a blessing could not be given to her.

This Canaanite woman in today’s story just didn’t give up, she even seems to remind Jesus that he had people from her nation in his family tree.  It’s as if she actually helps Jesus re-assess the Kingdom of God, this way of living with love and justice as a message without boundaries, open to all as our expression of one humanity under God.

Just like Rosa Parks, the nameless woman in today’s gospel helps us see the world differently.  It’s a process; and because it involves people changing their minds it can sometimes take a long time, yet it’s so worthwhile.  It’s an important part of our faith, to look at our world and lives and continue to ask the question: in the light of God’s Kingdom, God’s way of love and justice, is this how we should live?

In the end Jesus blesses the Canaanite women’s daughter with his healing and wholeness.

And in the end, in 2005, when Rosa Parks died, President Bush ordered that every American flag be lowered to half-mast for a women Time Magazine described as one the 20 most influential people of the last century.

And, in a highly symbolic gesture, from the day of her death to the day of her funeral, the Montgomery Bus Company ordered that every bus in the city reserve the first two seats and drape them with black ribbons – in memory of a woman whose greatest wish was simply to be treated with dignity and have the freedom to sit in any seat of her choosing.

We thank God for all who teach us what it means to live with the best characteristics of our humanity.

Church Life Focus

…We are thankful to Michael, Bob and Matthew who have now made it possible for us to use both the prayer desk and pulpit microphones, alongside the one at the lectern.  These now pick up sound both for the church service and the video recording.

…We recorded the August edition of Manse Talk last week and that’s now available on the church website.

…Next month we hope that a number of the sub groups of the Elder will be able to meet again, such as the Finance and Property Committee and the Partnership in Mission Committee.  The later will be looking at how we might continue to support the charities who have already been nominated for this year’s communion offerings.  We don’t want these charities to miss out

…And finally we look forward to Sunday 23rd August 2020 when Erna will be our preacher both on the Audio Recording and the 10.30 service.

Facing the Storms

During these summer months perhaps we dream of sitting on the beach looking out over the sparkling sea.  Or maybe we’ve managed to get away and actually spend time on a boat.

Lakes, rivers and seas may seem idyllic to us but in bible times they were viewed as places of terror, even death.  As one bible commentator I read recently puts it:  Israel didn’t have a surf culture!

The Psalms talk of the swirling rivers, and the last book of the Bible, Revelation, describes Paradise as a place where the sea will be no more.  For all us ‘coast’ lovers that’s a bit disappointing!

However, I do recall an afternoon on a boat that shook me up a bit.  We were brand new parents grabbing a late season, last minute holiday in Torquay.  During the week we went on one of the final trips across the bay to Brixham.  We boarded with the pushchair not knowing if this was really sensible.  As the swell got up we were horrified to see that the teenager driving the boat  (excuse my landlubber speak) did so reclining on his seat with a mug of coffee in one hand, steering the boat with his feet whilst reading the paper!  But we survived!

Lake Galilee, which will feature in Sunday’s gospel, was famous for its unexpected storms.  Even seasoned fishermen got caught out.  Matthew has two stories which are connected: Jesus stilling the storm when he was in the boat, and later, as he walked on the water, rescuing Peter as he began to sink.

It might feel to us, at the moment, as if we’ve all been through (and are still experiencing) a collective ‘storm’.  These have been worrying and anxious months and the waters have been choppy.

So, it will be good to look at the story once again of Jesus out on Lake Galilee, of the disciples in the boat and Peter sinking – and as we so we’ll ask the question: based on a chorus I used to sing in Sunday School: With Christ in the vessel – can I, can you, can we, really smile at the storm…?

CHURCH FOCUS...

…As from this Sunday face coverings in church are mandatory, unless you have a medical reason which prevents you from wearing one.   We have now received updated advice from Church Authorities stating that those leading th service, preaching, reading or praying, do not need to wear either a mask or a visor.  Our intention is to follow all this advice from Sunday 8th August until further notice.  The audio service will continue for the foreseeable future. 

…Whilst on the subject of face coverings, our church member, Olga Palmer has a friend making them for £8 and the proceeds are going to support a family who have had to flee from South Africa.  If you’d like to buy a mask from Olga do get in touch with her either on01494776392 or olgapalmer776@gmail.com

…And our good friend, Sylvia Parrott who has been worshipping with us during the Pandemic has also been making and selling masks, to support a community that she visited whilst on a WorkAid mission trip to Uganda.  This community has been flooded during Lockdown and there is now much hunger.  If you would like to lend your support please get in contact with Sylvia.

...We hold the family of Claire Tandara in our prayers as, on Thursday at 1.30pm, they will be attending the funeral for Claire's Mum, first at her church and then at the Crematorium in Ruislip.  We were so pleased to hear that Claire's Dad is now out of hospital and recovering.  Our thoughts go out to Claire, Vlado, Sophie and Alexander.

Wrestling with God

The Revd Andrew Fuller

I watched an episode of Priest School recently on the telly.  It’s set in the Scot’s College in Rome and charts the progress of trainee Roman Catholic Priests.  Last year’s new intake contained former teachers, lawyers, a DJ and a taxi driver.

It’s good that those of us called to full time service in the church come from a variety of backgrounds.

My first pastorate was in Kettering at a church named after its former minister from the 18th century: The Revd Andrew Fuller.

His image in one of the stained glass windows shows he was a robust, square jawed individual.  Read his biography and much is made of the fact that before becoming a minister he was a Pugilist: a wrestler or a boxer. 

Perhaps that stood him in good stead.  He lived at a time when strict Calvinists, like himself, thought God didn’t need our help sharing the gospel.  Fuller battled, he ‘wrestled’, against that way of thinking.  He convinced other Baptist Ministers that Christians should be active in sharing their faith and this group, in 1792, formed the Baptist Missionary Society – which still exists today.  Fuller became its first Secretary and William Carey its pioneer missionary.

It only came about because Andrew Fuller wrestled with his faith and the applied it in a new way as he came to a fresh understanding.

In this coming Sunday's reading from the Jewish Scriptures we’ll encounter another wrestler – Jacob.  And we’ll ponder the value that comes our way when we wrestle with ideas about God and life that can end up, not weakening our faith, but making it stronger.


CHURCH FOCUS

...…Our thanks to the Family News editorial team who have produced the August edition of church magazine this week.  It’s been emailed out to most of the congregation or posted through folks’ letter box if they don’t have access to the internet.  It’s a good read!

…Last week we recorded a new service of Holy Communion for July and August.  I hope this will be helpful to those of us who value coming together in this way around bread and wine.

Searching for Treasure

I love telling the story, one I found in a Church of Scotland book of Children’s Talks, of the little girl and her father climbing up a mountain in The Highlands one day in the school holidays.

By all accounts it had been a perfect father and daughter day; exhausting yet satisfying, until the little girl realised, as they walked back to the hotel, that she had left her bag up on the summit!  At first her loving father tried comforting her by saying maybe they’d find her another bag in town tomorrow.  ‘No Dad’, she replied, ‘you don’t understand…my bag has your camera in it’! 

Well, this Dad was a great Dad.  He loved his daughter so he urged her to be more careful with her belongings in future, and I guess he loved his camera too.  So, he walked with her back to the hotel to stay there with mum, and whilst they had tea he walked back up the mountain and retrieved both bag and camera!

It’s a lovely story showing how this great dad valued his camera and treasured his daughter.  We seek the best for those we treasure, and we go the extra mile for the people and ideas we love. 

Looking back, as a child I remember a few occasions when I lost something that meant a lot to me, or dropping something precious that had been entrusted to me. I recall feeling so upset until either my mother or grandmother stepped in, held me by the hand, and said: Don’t be so sad, let’s go out together and try to find it. At that point it felt so good to be looking for the lost treasure together.

In the Gospel reading for Sunday we’ll hear of the Merchant who went looking for the Pearl of Great Price.  Erna will be leading our thoughts and exploring with us what it means to be a seeker and finder of treasure.

In the meantime…please look after your bags!

CHURCH FOCUS

…Our parent denominations, the Baptist Union and United Reformed Church, have now advised us that, although not mandatory, they recommend that worshippers at church services attend wearing a face covering.

…Just to say that we are now filming the service and this may include a ‘wide shot’ of the congregation (from the rear of the church).  If you have any issues with this please speak to the duty elder who can direct you to seating which is out of view of the camera.

…Both Michael and Matthew have sent us notes of appreciation after receiving gift tokens from the congregation last weekend thanking them for all the work they have put into the audio services.

...Some folk have told us they miss picking up a copy of the sermon notes as they come to church.  So, from this week the notes will be published on the website (under 'Sermons') from first thing on a Sunday morning.

Coming to the end of a list...

For those of us who love making lists there is both pleasure and terror when we come to the end!

In Lockdown I know many people wrote down a list of long postponed jobs they hoped to accomplish.  Over the weekend I crossed out my last entry; the making of the family 2019 photobook. So, to celebrate…I made another list!!!

I looked up what you might call someone like me, an addicted maker of lists.  Here’s a list (!) of not very complimentary names:
Listophile
Listoholic (I rather like that one!)
Listomaniac!

Someone like Captain Tom has reminded us all that, even at a great age, we can still add new things to our list; good things, like his heroic sponsored walk for NHS charities.

We can rise to new challenges and in God’s strength add another line to our list!

Church Life Focus:

…It’s been interesting to watch the numbers tuning in to Sunday worship recently.  On Sunday 12^th July 2020, 43 attended Morning Worship, 52 listened to the Audio Service and 81 watched the Video Service.  We are grateful for these media and the way they are helping us reach the various strands of our congregation.  We long for the day when we can gather as one – and sing again (!) – until then we thank God for the blessings of modern technology.

…This coming Sunday, 19^th July 2020, was meant to be a COTHA (Churches on the Hill, Amersham) United Service at AFC.  Although that won’t happen, we were thrilled when St Michael’s suggested we might combine in putting together an Audio Service.  So, the ministers of all three churches have contributed recordings to this service, which will be broadcast on both the AFC and St Michael’s websites.  At our 10.30am service we will include some of the contributions and music from this recording.

…You might have seen that we have now included a Donate Now button our website.  We are grateful to both Bob and Laura for making this possible.  Many churches now have such a facility and it’s good that we now have this method as a possible way of supporting the work of AFC.