St Nicholas & St Barnabas Churches Kenilworth

"Reaching out for God with love and encouragement"

On Sunday 28th September thousands of people will be inviting someone special back to church with them. People lose touch for all sorts of reasons, but millions would come back with an invitation. On Back to Church Sunday in 2007 people in more than 2000 participating churches welcomed back 20,000 friends. To put it in a local context one church had 16 people return including a family of three who had been away for five years.

Back to Church Sunday began in Manchester Diocese in 2004. It has now gone nationwide and averages ten new people per parish per year. However, ‘success’ isn’t about numbers. If only one person comes back to church then it’s been worthwhile. Jesus made that clear in his story about the shepherd going in search of the one lost sheep.

As always there will be posters and advertising but the research shows that what people respond most to is a personal invitation by word of mouth backed up with a card. Up and down the country there are lots of people who used to go to church who for one reason or another have stopped coming.

Back to Church Sunday is a simple but imaginative way of offering people a way back.

In late August invitations will be available in church and between now and then we need to be thinking and praying about who we could invite. For the person who has not been to church for a few years coming with someone else make all the difference.

At St Nicholas and St Barnabas we have some wonderful stories of people coming back to church which we have been hearing about in the ‘Testimonies at Ten’ series. These stories are inspiring evidence that, as the Bible tells us, ‘with God all things are possible’.

When it comes to services on the 28th September the tried and tested advice from around the country is, do what you would normally do, but make sure you are being particularly sensitive to the needs of those returning.

For those who like a quiet reflective service there is the 8.00am Communion. At 10.00am on the fourth Sunday is the month the Awakenings service enables us to take part in a more contemporary style of worship while at 6.30pm we can enjoy a traditional choral evensong form the Book of Common Prayer. Depending on who you are inviting it’s important to mention that at 10.00am there are also the various children’s and young peoples groups.

The Church Times describes the Back to Church Sunday as evangelism at its easiest. It’s about being able to say three phrases: I’m going, it will be good, and would you like to come too?

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On Easter Sunday morning Kenilworth awoke to a carpet of snow. It was a timely reminder that Easter is all about the unexpected, about shocks and surprises.

In the Bible we read the story of Jesus’ friends finding his tomb empty and slowly, very slowly realising he was not dead, but alive. That has to be the greatest shock and surprise of all time. The resurrection of Jesus is mind blowing and hard to get your head around. However if anyone gives the resurrection just a passing nod, then they have no idea of what it’s about. They need to think again because it’s nothing less than awesome.

The amazing thing is that the same power- the power of God – which raised Jesus from the dead, can be at work in our lives. Ever since the resurrection, the power of God has been turning lives around. Think of Saul who, after persecuting the Christians, became their greatest advocate, or John Newton the slave trader turned preacher and writer of Amazing Grace, or Mother Theresa who gave up the security of a country convent to nurse the dying from the streets of Calcutta, or Jason Robinson the England rugby player, who gave up a life of fast cars, girls and drink when through a fellow player he discovered Christ or Jonathan Aitken, the Conservative minister who came to faith while in prison.

These are just a few of the well known stories, but just as important are the millions of unsung lives which witness to the transforming power of God. Every so often on Sundays between now and the end of the year, we will be hearing the stories of how some of our congregation came to faith. It will be a reminder that we are all called to be agents for transformation – sometimes in secret and behind the scenes, sometimes in public and upfront.

The power of God enables us to keep our focus on Jesus and his way of living and that’s all about dying and rising. It’s about laying things down in life and letting go, in the belief that a fuller richer life will follow for you and others. When we come to church, and especially during the forty days of Easter, we are saying among other things, that we want to follow the counter cultural pattern of Jesus life. This is all about being dead to sin and self and alive and alert to the things of God. When this happens we need to be ready for the unexpected, and for a God of surprises.

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Just before my selection conference for the ordained ministry, l came across this verse from 1 Peter 5; ‘Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be’. The verse became my ordination verse and a verse l have carried with me through my three years here at St. Nicholas and St. Barnabas.

‘Being willing’ has elements of both obedience and faith about it. It says that, although l may fail and make mistakes and although l may at times appear stupid, l am still nonetheless willing to give it a go and try for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

I’ve had the joy and privilege over the last three years of working and ministering with you in times when together, we’ve been willing to take a chance and give it a go. I remember for example our afternoon of outreach in Abbey Fields, getting the Children’s holiday club off the ground, transporting elderly residents to church for afternoon tea so that we could worship and enjoy each others’ company, rehearsing drama for church services and introducing the puppets, singing silly worship songs and baking a cake with the help of twelve Rainbows on Mothering Sunday! Times when together, we’ve been willing to follow where God has been calling.

Before l came to Kenilworth, someone in the Diocese told me that Richard Awre was the best training incumbent they had. He was right. My personal thanks go to Richard for his time, commitment and patience, but above all for being willing to place his confidence in me (a tremendous act of faith!). But my thanks go to all of you for the love, prayers and support you have given to Su, Jess, Elliot and me and for allowing us the privilege of walking on this journey of faith with you. As l prepare to move on after Easter, to be Priest-in-Charge of Harbury and Ladbroke and Missioner for Southam Deanery, l go, knowing that l am as ready as l can be and yes, l am willing to follow him there. That doesn’t mean l am not scared or anxious (l am!) but it does mean that l am willing to give it a go, because that’s what God requires.

And what do l want to say as my parting shot? Well, as God’s people at St. Nicholas and St. Barnabas, keep ‘being willing’ to give it a go for God, take risks and be willing to think outside the box. Be willing to love each other and this town radically and recklessly because then . . . . .well, just watch what God will do!

For all that has been – thanks, For all that will be – Yes!

Yours as ever,

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"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," said Mark Twain and the same could be said of religion.

Twenty years ago, the mass media had written it off and Gerald Priestland talked about keeping the rumour of God alive. Nowadays, religion simply won’t go away. Whether or not you think its dramatic reappearance is for the good, its renewed public profile cannot be denied.

Back in the 1980’s commentators talked about living in a post Christian age, today their successors are wondering if we are moving into a post secular age. Amazon tells us that their fastest growth area is in religious books and religious studies is now the fastest growing subject at A level. 7.6 million people attend church at least once a month. This is a long way down on what it used to be, but nowhere near as far down as was predicted and still more than those who go to the football. In a recent poll, 71% of the country said they are religious but among those working in the TV industry it was only 21%. The media are discovering that they are not as representative of the country as they once reckoned.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons for their investment now in some very high quality peak time religious broadcasting. Last year channel 4 ran ‘Priest Idol’ and ‘Make me a Muslim’ which in a light hearted way, targeted a new religious generation. Back in 2005 the BBC ran ‘The Monastery’ and ‘The Convent’ which placed five men and women in a Benedictine Community for six weeks.

Since then there has been Extreme Pilgrim with Peter Owen-Jones and this Holy Week (the week before Easter) sees the BBC Passion, a major drama which will go out each evening from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. The cast will include Joseph Mawle as Jesus and James Nesbit as Pilate. Focussing on the last days of Jesus’ life it will prompt believers and unbelievers alike to think about him. This Easter the country will be talking about Jesus. Let’s make sure that we are a part of the conversation.

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At the beginning of December we heard from the National Lottery that they would not be awarding St Nicholas Church any money to help with the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal. At first, this may have appeared to be disappointing but let us think it through.

Using Lottery Funding can mean that there are all manner of constraints on how the building is progressed. Now, we shall be free from these and will be able to control the work to suit our needs.

We can now work towards what we know that we can afford. The total raised locally is now standing at £66,500 which is an amazing amount to have been realised within a year.

Obviously, there must be some revision of the original plans and this will be undertaken in the next few weeks. Changes can be made and still provide us with many of the improvements we had envisaged. The new plans will need to be seen and agreed by the Parochial Church Council before they can be announced.

The working group feels that this is a significant next step towards realising our goal. We are working together to create a Parochial Hall for the use of the whole community. It is important that we now know where we stand and can move forward with the task in hand.

Before the Gift Day, Richard recommended that we read Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians chapter 8 v 1-5 to help us to plan our giving. If you continue to read verses 10-12 of that chapter, Paul urges the Corinthians to get on with their work with the means they have available. Is this an instruction for us too? God’s grace has brought us this far. He has encouraged us by the generosity of the donations that have been forthcoming. He will continue to direct us if we continue to look to Him for guidance.

Heather Alford

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Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, contains strong images of being ready and preparing for Christmas. In fact the whole of society, not just the church, it seems has adopted Advent big time – many children have Advent calendars, our magazines contain 'countdowns to Christmas' giving us lists of the jobs we need to do so that our Christmas celebrations will be stress free and joyful. We seem to be preparing for Christmas earlier each year. It does bother me though when you walk into Tesco, as l did last week and the Christmas tree is up and you have to do your shopping to the joys of 'Oh l wish it could be Christmas every day' by Wizzard, blaring out and it's still only mid November!

So we all know what preparing for Christmas is about – or do we? A particularly powerful image of Advent for me is of 'watching and waiting'. Advent traditionally has been a season of the year where we take a step back and reflect on what God's coming to us in the baby of Bethlehem really means. Sure, the Advent season is about all of us preparing for the great Christian festival of Christmas - buying and wrapping the presents, decorating the house, sorting out the food, even arranging the family visits! But Advent is more than this. It invites all of us to take some time out to think about Jesus' coming, not just as an event in history, but his coming to each of us every day of the week in whatever lives we lead.

So, take some time during Advent to stop, think and reflect. There are some good books on the bookstore in Church that can help you with this. But whatever you do, don't rush through this wonderful season of our year. Savour it and allow God to slow you down a bit so that you might watch and wait and then be truly prepared to celebrate the greatest event the world has ever known with real joy.

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November, in which All Saints, All Souls and Remembrance Sunday fall, is a good month for thinking of the positive Christian teaching about death.

Last month, James Woodward spoke at the St Nicholas Commemoration Service for those whom we love but see no longer. In his book "Befriending Death", he emphasises that the way we embrace our dying while living is fundamental to our well being.

This theme of befriending our dying is based on three convictions.

The first is that death itself is not important; death is simply the moment when a person ceases to live. What is important is not death, but dying and how we embrace this.

The second conviction is that what we call living can in fact be rightly seen as dying. From birth, we begin to die and we embrace a range of losses throughout our lives.

The third conviction is that our struggle to live in the light of our coming death is always charged with deep meaning. In part, our salvation depends on what sense we make of it all, in the light of our faith in God. No wonder that writers, poets, preachers and artists have given this subject such great attention.

Our lives are a wonderful and mysterious mixture of giving up and not giving up, of surrender and resistance; a continual series of dyings and deaths, leading to new life. In these paradoxes, both living and dying and dying to live, we encounter God.

As we think about these things, it's well worth looking back over our lives and spotting the key moments of death and rebirth: perhaps redundancy, failed love, leaving people and places, making new friendships, helping children grow into dependent adults. These and much else shape the meaning and course of our lives and prepare us for our ultimate dying, death and resurrection.

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I was stopped in my tracks some time ago when I overheard someone say; 'Is there really much point in harvest festival nowadays?' A good question especially when one considers that these days many of us buy our food, particularly fruit and vegetables, from one of the big supermarkets. Shelves are packed with food from around the world and available all year round. As a child, I remember the pleasure of having new potatoes or strawberries when they came 'in season' -sadly, we've lost much of that.

Years ago of course, Harvest Festival was a time when people gave thanks for the local harvest, for all that the summer had produced for the table, reflected in the words of the harvest hymn; 'All is safely gathered in 'ere the winter storms begin'. But times have changed. So, is there really much point in Harvest these days?

Well, yes, I believe Harvest time, as a season in the church's year, is a good time to thank God for all we receive throughout the year. In a world where something like two thirds of the population experience real hunger: yes, we need to give thanks especially for so much we take for granted. I also believe that harvest time is as good a time as any, to reflect on the ethics of our shopping. Do we continue to put money into the pockets of the big supermarkets or should we make more of an effort to shop locally?

There are some good farmers' shops and greengrocers in Kenilworth that sell locally produced food. It may take a bit more effort to use them but it's well worth doing so - we reduce our 'carbon footprint', we support local farmers and growers and it'll help us all get back in touch with the traditional sentiments of harvest.

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Sunday 14th October is Harvest Festival and a very special one too, because it’s also the Gift Day for the renewal and refurbishment of the Parochial Hall. This is very appropriate because it's about a vision of the Hall reaping a great harvest for the wellbeing of the community. It's about a Hall equipped for the 21st century with attractive, varied and flexible facilities.

After extensive consultation we have already made application for grants of £250,000 but these are only normally forthcoming if we show a commitment to raising funds locally as well. The good news is that over £14,000 has already been raised and for the Gift Day we have set the church and community the target of £60,000. This is the sort of figure that is often raised at gift days around the country and when you break it down it becomes manageable.

Before you go any further find a bible, turn almost to the end and find the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 8 and verses 1 to 5. Now that you’ve found the place, sit yourself down and read from verse 1 to 5.

It’s about the giving of the early Christians in Macedonia. It wasn’t just good, it was great. So what was their secret? Their overwhelming recognition of God’s grace. The word means the undeserved kindness or generosity of God shown in Jesus Christ. They could not get over the fact that they were the beneficiaries of this life changing grace.

It was this that made possible their remarkable response to Paul's collection for their fellow Christians in Jerusalem. The hallmarks of the Macedonian’s giving needs to be ours too:

Looking at the Bible passage we see that they gave:

The Macedonians response revealed the extent of their love for God and their eagerness for the growth and wellbeing of the church. Let us pray that their story may be our story on 14th October.

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