The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on our lives as a church family over the past six months has been immense. Who could have thought that we would have to close our church building, or that we would resume worship in such strange circumstances? One of the things I’ve missed most about not meeting physically in church is singing hymns, and I know I’m not alone. I want to reflect for just a few moments on what it is about hymns that makes them such a special part of our communal worship.
I imagine that most of us grew up with hymns, and remember them in the deep and lasting way that we remember things learned in childhood. I can still hear my mother’s voice trilling away in the kitchen, ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, / All our sins and griefs to bear!’ At the Salvation Army Sunday School I attended, we sang rousing hymns like ‘Stand Up! – Stand Up for Jesus’. On Sundays, metrical psalms were always part of the service, along with the great evangelical hymns.
One of the earliest hymn writers in England was Isaac Watts, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and he realised that the power of hymns is emotional and psychological as much as intellectual. He wrote hymns, he said, to give voice to ‘our Love, our Fear, our Hope’. These words sum up beautifully why hymns are so important in our lives and worship as Christians.
In singing hymns, we express our love – for the Creator God, for our saviour Jesus Christ, for our fellow-Christians, and for our neighbours. We address through hymns our deepest fears – of suffering and death, of doubting our faith, of losing those we love. In singing hymns together, we find encouragement and hope. They strengthen our confidence that God cares about us and walks with us at every stage of life, and that a day will come when he will establish mercy and peace, truth and justice in his everlasting Kingdom.
For about the last twenty weeks I’ve been sending Mary our churchwarden a hymn to include in her weekly emails to members of the church. I write a little paragraph about my chosen hymn, give a link to a performance on YouTube, and provide the words. Watching and listening to hymns on YouTube cannot of course replace the experience of singing them together in church. But I believe that it does something to keep the hymns we love alive in our minds and hearts. It perhaps encourages us pay more attention to the words – hymns are a form of poetry, after all, and the words matter. It is striking how ecumenical many hymns are. Protestants and Roman Catholics happily sing words written by Charles Wesley as well as John Henry Newman: they unite us in a way that practically nothing else does.
I know from emails I’ve received that many people have appreciated these weekly hymns, and felt blessed by them. Sometimes a particular hymn awakens a memory of a loved one, or of a special occasion, but often people simply say how much they enjoy and feel uplifted by hearing the familiar words and music. Hymns allow us to express our collective faith, using our minds, our bodies, and our souls. I hope that when we resume full worship we will do so with a fresh sense of thankfulness for the great hymns that are such a gift to us as Christian people.
Having recovered from the stresses of the hybrid ZOOM from St Andrews, last week was back at home for a gentle ZOOM communion having abandoned St Euny as a ZOOM venue even with Bishop Hugh there!
This Sunday is another experiment. The Rector, (Caspar) will be with the curate (Graham) leading the service from St Stephen’s Treleigh. There will be a laptop in front of the Altar broadcasting all the spoken word, Caspar will be monitoring on another laptop which will also pick up a different view of the church and a portable loudspeaker will be attached for hymns. Meanwhile, I shall be at home with the ZOOM service, complete with hymns on a PowerPoint broadcasting to the folks at home and playing the hymns for those at home and those in church. Or at least, that is the plan.
My desk set up for Sunday Service- weekday Morning prayer is rather simpler. I once joined in from my mobile phone on the top of Carn Brea…… I listened as I walked. The only problem was that the microphone unmuted in my pocket and all me cheery good-mornings were broadcast to the group until I realised and because it was my ZOOM account no-one could turn me off! oooops. I have not tried that again.
The ZOOM services are worth working at and trying new things as I think they will be with us for the foreseeable future. While there are folk who cannot get to church but are able to get online there will always be a need. The future has to be breadth of provision and a move away from a narrow one service fits all diet.
As I am always advising other folk to look after themselves and to take a break occasionally, next week I am taking a break from all church activities and ZOOMing. (With the exception of a school governors ZZOM on Wednesday!) The Monday Coffee and Conversation in Solomon’s Porch will continue as usual hosted by able volunteers who would love some company and good discussion- but I will be walking elsewhere 🙂
I shall be praying on clifftops, across beaches and along tracks!
I love the Gospel tale this week- it reminds me so much of my year six classroom…. “Its not Fair!”….
Colin by Allan Ahlberg
When you frown at me like that. Colin,
and wave your arm in the air,
I know just what you’re going to say:
‘Please , Sir, it isn’t fair!’
It isn’t fair
on the football field
if their team scores a goal.
It isn’t fair in a cricket match
unless you bat and bowl.
When you scowl at me that way, Colin,
and mutter and slam your chair,
I always know what’s coming next:
‘Please, Sir, it isn’t fair!’
It isn’t fair
when I give you a job.
It isn’t fair when I don’t.
If I keep you in
it isn’t fair.
If you’re told to go out, you won’t.
When heads bow low in assembly
and the whole school’s saying a prayer,
I can guess what’s on your mind, Colin:
‘Our Father… it isn’t fair!’
It wasn’t fair
in the infants.
It isn’t fair now.
It won’t be fair at the comprehensive
(for first years, anyhow).
When your life reaches its end, Colin,
Though I doubt if I’ll be there,
I can picture the words on the gravestone now.
They’ll say: IT IS NOT FAIR..
Th Workers in the Vineyard
Just like Colin in the poem….
Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go;
So it struck me that as ministering folk some of us can be a bit like that with our ministry…… just mull over some thoughts about how you feel about your vocation, your role and your skill, and then ask yourself, “How am I encouraging and developing the skills, vocations and capacity of others?” They might not be able to do things as well as you yet but don’t we have a responsibility as Readers to foster the talents in others without thinking “it’s not fair!” because we feel we are not being used? Perhaps someone would like to reply and we will post it next week.
Please pray this week for all those fabulous folk who are being ordained or licensed in the the coming weeks as they prepare for their various ministries.
A Rather Curious St Andrews View in a Zoomed Service.
Dear Colleagues and esteemed others,
It has been another full week finalising the services for the Licensing next month, planning Post Licensing Training with Martin Adams and attempting to cope with the latest Corvid type news which, if nothing else, ensures that ZOOM services are needed to continue in one way or another.
Candidates Admitted and Licensed 2020
3rd October in the Cathedral
v Deborah Katherine Crocker to serve in the Tamar Valley Benefice
v Matthew Terence Frost to serve in “St Germans Group with Antony and Sheviock Benefice”.
v Penelope Jane Leach to serve in The Benefice of St Just in Roseland and St Mawes
v Sandra Massie to serve in the Benefice of St. Keverne, St Ruan with St. Grade and Landewednack
v Deborah Anne Mitchell to serve in the All Saints Higher Town and Baldhu
10th October Zoom Service
v Roy Groves Cooper – to serve in The Benefice of the Callington Cluster
To be Welcomed:
v Christopher Harvey Clark who has PTO
v Michael George Waring to serve in the Benefices of Poughill, & Kilkhampton with Morwenstow and the Parishes of Stratton and Laucells
The Cathedral Service is strictly limited to 30 souls including clergy so I hope someone will be able to video it to broadcast later. I am not planning to take up one of those vital numbers.
At the ZOOM service those licensed in the Cathedral will repeat their promises along with Roy- of Roy’s Sunday Scribblings fame. All are welcome and the link will be sent out with the email. Should you miss it and wish to attend at 11 on 10th- just ask!
In your prayers this week please pray for Miriam and all readers who cannot currently minister in the way they would wish because of Ill-health or personal circumstance.
Please pray for those about to be licensed and all who are preparing for those services.
Jim
This week we had the first Post Licensing Training evening meeting so sort out the programme. Bishop Hugh dropped in at the beginning and asked everyone to introduce themselves and to say what they do when not in church, Readers, after all, have their feet both in church and in the community. It set me thinking:
- When I am doing stuff for school like governance – safeguarding and staff well being is that non church? I consider both tasks as being born out of Jesus command to love one another as he loves us and to love our neighbours as ourseleves.
- When I am walking most days between three and four miles and greeting people with a cheery ‘good morning’ and often stopping for a short conversation am I doing something that is non-church?
I know perfectly well what +Hugh meant….. but its the way my brain works! Anyone I meet is my neighbour, part of God’s world and worthy a smile as much as any pew-dweller.
Canticle
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
Chaplains Blog – Stardate 13.09.2020
Jim’s further adventures in ZOOMLAND as we head ever deeper into Corvidtide.
Having had weeks at home running reasonably successful ZOOM services we headed to St Andrews Redruth this week to attempt to combine the church and ZOOM services, for which everyone I spoke to (both in the Church building and behind the computer screen) was universally appreciative and supportive.
The best thing about the corvid-restricted season in the Redruth Team has been seeing the very best in people – Christians showing much love and compassion and desire to worship and to pray having a go at pretty much anything we have tried. Of course there are always the odd dissenters behind the scenes like the person who filled in a recent questionnaire with contradictory but entirely negative answers but thankfully I did not have to talk to them….. and anyway they would not be watching me or indeed read text on a computer so I am pretty safe.
Last week I spent some hours rehearsing, testing sockets and leads and was all set for the service even with some praise from the Amazing Malcolm, our octogenarian organist as he came into church to the sound of “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven” belting out of the church PA.
The set up was as follows:
- Rector, Caspar’s phone as a ZOOM window pointing at the church congregation and
- his laptop as another ZOOM window on the new lectern (which John Doble might actually have made for this very purpose from an old pew) in front of the nave altar ZOOMing the president, the gospel reading and the sermon.
- My laptop was attached to the large projector and screen and running the PowerPoint and YouTube videos of hymns for folks both at home and in the pews. One of the home ZOOMers was to read the epistle!
It was going to be wonderful: we had tested everything, found out how to get rid of the weird echoes and howling feedback and finding the perfect volume settings for the congregation to hum to behind their face coverings.
It was only once the service began that things went wrong. My laptop refused quite arbitrarily to reject any communication with the lead to the PA which meant that the hymn would only play through the tiny projector speaker, or the laptop speakers…… and we could not hear the reader at all. We had to resort to an emergency external speaker. Folks at home however did get a reasonable experience even if they did have to endure the sight of me overheating and getting short of breath, patience and ideas behind my dashingly attractive lighthouse pattern mask. I nearly threw the wretched thing across the church at one point. Thankfully, Caspar ‘forgot’ to record the first part of the service for which I am most grateful so most of my public consternation does not appear on YouTube.
We learned lessons and there was a much that was good. The home congregation loved being part of church and seeing folks come up for communion. They loved the personal welcome and the chat afterwards- especially when the Rector, the Church Warden and the Organist all took time to come and talk to them.
So mightily encouraged, we decided we would try the same thing for Bishop Hugh’s visit to St Euny Church this Sunday for Mining Sunday.
One Friday morning, a Rector a Curate and a Reader went into a church……… We discussed where to put the screen and the projector and how to tap into the P.A. for the sound and tested it all out. Phones and laptops were positioned, projectors angled and microphones tested. Brilliant!
The thought was that Caspar’s BT wireless hotspot hub thingumajig would host a couple of laptops in church and I would operate everything else from my study at home. So after an hour or so I went home to try out the links.
I got online.
I Zoomed
They Zoomed from St Euny
The gadgets all talked to each other
The video froze and unfroze, the sound spluttered and wobbled and the hotspot hub went on strike under the pressure of so much responsibility.
We discussed…… this time on a stuttering ZOOM connection. St Euny is down in a valley whereas St Andrews is high on a hill (this does not altogether accurately convey churchmanship) but probably goes some way to explaining the Wi-Fi issues. We could not be sure enough of the reliability of the kit to risk it. Our Zoom congregation have been so wonderful that we did not want to chance leaving them in a zoom limbo at some point in the service, nor did we want a less than reasonable sound in church so we decided that for this week the church service and the Zoom service would be two separate entities. Curate Graham and I will be ZOOming as normal and Caspar will video the church service for folks who want t catch up with it later. Or at least that is the plan…… J
Next week back to St Andrews; Sue has given me a visor so I can escape the mask. Aren’t God’s people wonderful and worth making the effort for!
The comfort of my study desk and a fibre optic broadband……. much easier than actually being in church with just the laptop…… but!!
The Blog will appear here….. in the meantime listen to these chaps on the stairs!
I had a look at the website offered here and there appears to be a lot of good stuff……
Dear Mr. Seth,
I invite you to visit our website, New Pilgrim Path: www.newpilgrimpath.ie and, if you find it useful, to bring it to the attention of your parishioners.
The Internet offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. “New Pilgrim Path” is a website aimed at sharing with fellow travellers of all Christian denominations the wealth of online spiritual resources we have discovered and continue to discover.
The website features daily prayer, online retreats, reflections, sacred music, poetry, religious broadcasts, and much more. The site was launched in Advent 2016.
Each week, we feature a ‘Website of the Week’. We send a description of the featured site several days beforehand, so that parishes have time to feature it in their newsletter for the following weekend.
If you would like to receive this weekly email, please click here: Contact us. If we do not hear from you, you will receive no further unsolicited emails. | |
Helen Gallivan