121 CV Thought for the Day – St.Peter, St.Paul and Trinity II
by
Didymus
Evensong Readings:
Acts Ch.3, vv1-16.
Gospel: John ch.21, vv1-19
We will be celebrating St.Peter and St.Paul on Wednesday next, but I have anticipated in the choice of readings the memory of our two leaders of the Christian faith following the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
The two readings are Luke’s wonderful account in the Acts of the Apostles of the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Peter’s words to the lame man are quite riveting to the Christian: Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
The Gospel records the forgiving of Peter by the Risen Jesus. Both readings are illustrated here.
Sitting here, writing this particular Thought for the Day in glorious hot sunny weather, truly the West Country is paradise on earth, with the beauty of the villages, the landscape with animals, farmers working the land, and the glory of the trees and hedges. The beauty of Creation seduces us away from the problems and worries of the world, of which there are of course many. Far too many.
Petertide is when the Church ordains people who have been selected from those offering their lives. After a period of intensive training and practical experience, each ordinand is presented to the Bishop, who lays hands on each one and prays that the Holy Spirit will influence their lives for good in the times to come. The ordained person is a deacon, who wears the priestly stole across, like a sash. A year later, working under an incumbent, the deacon is priested, the stole is worn as a scarf, and which permits presiding at Holy Communion and all the privileges reserved to the priesthood. It is an occasion when all that one hoped for in serving God starts to become reality. We must remember those to be ordained along with “our” priests in our prayers.
With the damage suffered by the church, reduced congregations, a reluctance to take part in church governance, particularly in finance, as I have remarked several times, the church is in a tailspin. It seems that the parish level is waiting for a lead from above, and at a senior level none is given. What is clear beyond peradventure is that the ability of a Diocese to continue to pay stipends to all its priests is now in doubt, and there will have to be change. The cost of a stipendiary priest must be about £60K with everything taken into account – a few years ago it was £52K. Will some priests need a second job in future? “House for duty” is a contract where a priest has a home, in return for which services and some pastoral duties are fulfilled. It was regarded by Bishop Tim as unfair, since often a priest was called upon when not on duty as part of the contract. It is.
It leads a simple soul like your author to ask where deacons and new assistant curates are to find livings (parochial posts) ? With NSMs (non-stipendiary ministers) who own their houses and meet their costs it must be even more complex. Clearly there is a need to replace retiring incumbents, but many priests continue officiating in retirement – indeed this Diocese is strongly dependent on its retired priests. This fine but not a substitute for a priest visiting his/her “flock”.
One really has to ask the question – do we need a church structure which separates one Christian from another? Are we not all believers, equal before God? St.Peter, in his first letter, asked:-
Ye are a chosen generation, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
That of course leads to a further question – what is the church? Is it everyone who is an active believer in God and his Son? If so how does it reach out to people in welcome, teach and, discreetly, lead? Or should it include the more inert people who respect and abide by the Christian life and no more? The question is important because there are an awful lot of them, and they are the ones we only see at baptisms, weddings and funerals.
This not something which can be kicked into the long grass. The lives, beliefs, careers and employment of many people – not only priests – will be affected if we continue to drift into atrophy and then oblivion. I am sorry to grumble yet again but the Christian faith is important to me. It has been my foundation for much of my long life, as it has been for many others. It is precious.
St.Peter, by El Greco
AMEN