It’s been an interesting few weeks! As you read this I will just have had two weeks of holiday interspersed with a Minister’s Retreat on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne – and as I reflect on my experiences, I realise how fortunate I have been in coming into contact with some of Earth’s ‘Thin Places’.

‘What is a thin place?’ you may ask! In the Celtic tradition it is place that gives us an opening into the magnificence and wonder of God – and there is a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller.

A thin place, then, is where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glory of God. Contemporary poet Sharlande Sledge gives this description:

“Thin places,” the Celts call this space,
Both seen and unseen,
Where the door between the world
And the next is cracked open for a moment
And the light is not all on the other side.
God shaped space. Holy.

It is no wonder that thin places are most often associated with wild landscapes – and one such place I found was at the top of Helm Crag at Grasmere.

We were staying in Ambleside, thanks to a Christmas gift from our eldest son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lowri. After a particularly ‘full’ Lakeland Breakfast, Colin and I agreed that we should go out for a walk. It was a lovely day – so with guide map duly purchased – we set out on one of the ‘short’ walks suggested – only 3 miles! The trouble was that most of it was vertical!

Despite the fact that my body may have indicated otherwise, I did not have a coronary – and though it may have taken us a couple of hours, we did reach ‘The Lion and The Lamb’ (a rock formation at the summit). Once I had got my breath back, I sat amazed at the wonderful view, and contemplated the forces of nature which had shaped the landscape. This truly was a ‘thin place’.

Coming down was possibly more difficult than going up – and the muscles in my legs certainly made their presence known the following morning, when I tried to get out of bed.

Other ‘thin places’ were found on the route between Ambleside and Ravenglass, when we took the Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass – a car journey I will not forget for some time! As Colin commented – ‘we should come up here more often’ – to which I agreed. How about we all meet up there for worship one Sunday morning!!!

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is another of those ‘thin places’, but not because of the sweeping grandeur of the mountains. A first time visitor to the island, and staying at the Lindisfarne Hotel, I found that once the tide came in and the causeway was closed, there existed a sense of solitude and quietness in which you could palpably feel the presence of God. Even the multitude of birds and seals (sadly didn’t see any puffins) which love to make their presence known, didn’t detract from this. And there is definitely something to be said about living in a place where life is determined by the incoming and outgoing tide.

I suppose the challenge for me now, and for all of us for that matter, is to find the ‘thin places’ that exist in my day to day life! Happy searching!

Helen <><

Ways into prayer
As we go through life we all learn different things in different ways. Sometimes we learn by watching someone else. Sometimes we listen to a talk on a subject and take notes. Sometimes we look for new information on our own – in books or on the internet.
How do we learn about prayer? Reading books about it is not everything and even if we find good teachers we can’t just copy what other people do and expect prayer to come alive for us. That’s because prayer is not a skill we learn, or an idea we understand, but a relationship we grow into.
In prayer we try to draw closer to God, and learn how to let God come closer to us. Praying in this way is about recognising how God is with us all the way on our life’s journey. It’s also about tuning in to the ways in which God communicates with us and listening for God’s guidance.
Many of us worry that we don’t do this well and never ‘get it right’. That’s quite natural, because we human beings do things imperfectly, no matter how hard we try.
Thankfully, God is expert at dealing with our mistakes and encouraging us to try again.
Let’s use this time to try new ways of growing in relationship with God through prayer.

I believe that the ‘Year of Prayer’ will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore how we pray and why we pray, as well as how we can become more effective as a congregation in corporate prayer.
But it’s not all down to me!!!
If you have any ideas or suggestions that you’d like Christ Church to consider, then tell me about them and let’s explore together!
I will leave the last word to Mother Teresa, who is quoted as saying….
‘Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself’.

Yours in Christ,   Helen <><

Recently I was invited to take part in something called ‘Time and Space’, which is an accompanied reflection for Ministers, organised by the United Reformed Church. Great, I thought, another thing to add to the list of ‘things to do’!!
The invitation came in early July, at about the time when I was busy preparing for two very important events – the wedding of our eldest son, Daniel, and the wedding of Susan and Ian Lawson – so I thought how nice it would be to reflect on these two ‘firsts’ as well as the many other positive aspects of ministry.
Unfortunately, as I was soon to find out, life as a ‘Minister in Pastoral Charge’ is not always so gloriously happy, because in the space of the few short weeks, up to the time of me writing this, I seem to have experienced the whole gamut of emotions – as well as feeling like I’d just had a trip on ‘The Big One’ at Blackpool Pleasure Beach!
I came back from Minister’s Summer School to find that a much loved member at my Fulwood church had died suddenly – then I took the funeral of a Longridge Lodge Resident – then it was off to Wales for Dan and Lowri’s big day – then my brother arrived from Canada for a visit – then our daughter Charlotte had her Graduation in Sheffield (and very nice it was too!) – then it was the Funeral of the Fulwood member – then it was Sue and Ian’s big day – then the newest member of the Turver family arrived – at about the same time as my brother-in-law, Martin, died very suddenly. So, as I write, we are preparing to make another trip down to Portsmouth for his funeral, which I will be taking.
What has sustained me, however, through all that has taken place, is not only the love and support of my family, friends and members of both my congregations, but the love and peace of God, who has richly blessed me during this time.
So when I do finally find the ‘time and space’ to ‘reflect’ on my two years here in Preston, and on the beginning of my third, I will continue to thank God that He brought me here, and ask for his continuing support and grace which allows me to be alongside some wonderful people during the peaks and troughs that life brings us.
Yours in Christ, Helen <><

“What can I write for my pastoral letter”, I asked my husband and daughter the other evening. “How about ‘Keeping your faith in the political and economical climate’”, came back the reply! (Serves me right for asking!)

I was about to dismiss it, when I thought actually this is something which is affecting us all at the moment, in one way or another. Our newspapers are full of the ‘Ministerial Expenses’ revelations; European Elections and the threat of the BNP loom on the horizon; and the credit crunch has ramifications in all walks of life.

I suppose, firstly, we are reminded that no-one is infallible. Political party representatives who claim that they have just been following (and perhaps bending) the rules, have now been ‘found out’ – and hopefully whatever sort of system emerges from all the mayhem will prevent this sort of thing happening again.

Of course there have now been calls for the general voting public not to ‘punish’ those standing for the main political parties in the European Parliament by not bothering to vote at all, because of what has happened in recent weeks. We all have a duty of care in the way we use our vote, but not using it may mean that the racist and questionable views of those running for the BNP come out on top by default.

The ‘credit crunch’, the recession, whatever we call the financial climate at the moment, has had far reaching consequences for people all over the world and may take us years to recover from, and it’s hard not to be affected by news of those who have lost money, homes or businesses.

So do we as Christians feel we have an advantage when it comes to getting through difficult times in our lives? How do we keep our faith strong and positive, when all around us may be losing theirs?

Someone once said, ‘Faith is not faith until it’s all you’re holding on to’ – so I suppose when all we have is faith in the God who said ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have…. I will never leave you or forsake you’ – we will truly be able to
reply with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’ (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. is quoted as saying, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase” – so although we may not see the bigger picture, or be able to prevent all the evil which invades our world, putting our faith and trust in God, who loves us
unconditionally, will enable us to ride the storms of life.

I leave you with this last thought from D Elton Trueblood (American Quaker author and theologian), who said,

“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.”

Yours in Christ, Helen <><

As you [may] know, since September 2008 our son Daniel has been serving as a Medic out in Afghanistan, firstly in Kandahar then latterly at Camp Bastion. Just recently he was back in the UK for two weeks R&R and it was lovely to see him safe and well. Colin and I were overjoyed that he took the time whilst home, to make his engagement to girlfriend Lowri official – as in, he took her to buy ‘the ring’!!

Before he left, I asked him if he would write a few lines to let you know how the boxes of ‘goodies’ I’ve been sending out to him were distributed. The ‘Buddy Box’ at the back of church has become a familiar sight, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed and to let you know that I will continue to send them until the end of February.

The following piece that he left me to forward to you, explains far better than I ever could, just what your generosity means to those who are on the receiving end of it.

‘An Afghan Tale’

The sun starts to rise but the cold air hangs all around me, cutting through the thin desert trousers I’ve been wearing for the past 4 days. Mud and dust hold in what little heat there still is to my lower body, my upper body keeping warm through my armour and equipment.

The frost forms on the helmets in front of me and I look at my watch for perhaps the 5th time in the past minute; we’ll be lifted out of here any time soon…but no sound.

I look through the scope of my rifle at the compound to my front. A figure has come out; it doesn’t look to be carrying anything, probably going to pray, maybe going to make sure people know we’re here.

It’s OK though, we’ll be out any minute, but still no noise. It always amazes me how quiet everything is. The only time it’s this quiet back in Britain is when I’ve climbed to the top of a deserted peak.

More people begin moving out of that compound. Are they moving out or just around it? No-one seems to be carrying anything. They’re looking over at us, moving towards us. Are they just looking, or do they intend to do something else?

They’ve stopped, three of them looking in our direction. Maybe they’re just curious. I mean who wouldn’t be! If a foreign army was in Britain, on my road, I would probably want to see what they were doing as well.

These three seem to be just wearing their ‘dish-dash’ and don’t look to have any weapons. Would they have put any in their fields?

More movement from the compound – just kids playing.

The word is passed around…“HELO in, in one minute”. I check my equipment, get to one knee…I’ll be glad to get this day-sack off. It seems to get heavier every time I lift it up.

Standing up and moving towards the aircraft now – trying to move quickly across the ground, but legs have gone cold and stiff.

‘That helicopter came in quickly, I didn’t see it land’, I say. Still can’t see it with all the dust it’s kicked up, so I just keep following the bloke in front. One big step, then onto the helicopter…shuffle forward…move as close in as possible.

A couple more seconds then the earth falls away and we rise up…leaning forward…moving fast and low…getting out of the desertlike fields and back to base for a hot shower and some food.

Another op. down; one more closer to getting home, and no-one killed. A quiet one for me, but then it’s good when the medic has a quiet one.

I put a fresh uniform on and grab a couple of the boxes that have arrived from the Fulwood and Longridge Churches. I put them into the TV room where some of the lads are watching the football. They show their appreciation by digging into the goodies and express their thanks.

I then go back to the tent to clean my rifle and tuck into the box I’ve saved for me and the lads I share this ‘home’ with. They’re all out at the back of the tent where the sun is now high and the temperature is climbing.

We sit in a circle telling tales of our adventures and cleaning our rifles and kit, all the while drinking fizzy pop and munching the sweets sent by people we don’t quite know, but will always be grateful to for being so generous.

This is what brings us back down to earth…these couple of hours talking, laughing, joking, and eating…thankful we have all got through the last couple of days safe and sound. Having these packages sent over to us fills us with happiness, and reminds us of a place we all hope we’ll come back to very soon.

Dan
(Corporal Dan Higgin-Botham, Royal Army Medical Corp.)

NB: Dan will be home again in early April, and whilst I pray that he will return to us safely, that hope is extended to all those away from their loved ones, serving in our armed forces in difficult and dangerous circumstances. May God bless them and keep them safe.

Helen <><

‘Out with the old – in with the new’………. I know this is usually something we say at the turn of the year, but there has been a lot of it going on at the Manse lately!

You know the sort of thing that happens – you start one job and problems arise, which leads to other things needing to be done, and before you know it – you’re camping out in the living room with the fridge, the kettle, and the microwave, picking your way through the rubble to get to bed, and wondering if you’ll ever get back to normality! Things, however, are now beginning to get into a more ordered state and apart from a spot of decorating, the job is done.

It does beg the question as to why we start these things in the first place. Often it is out of necessity and sometimes because we just fancy a change. Regarding the Manse, it was definitely the former and not the latter.

However, it won’t have slipped your notice that the way the church is set out has changed. This is not because I wanted to catch all of you out but because we often need to look afresh at familiar things in order to re-evaluate the reasoning behind them. It is also not a decision which was made solely by me – after consultation with some of the church council, we decided that if we lessened the distance between the minister and the back of the church, you could still sit on the back row and yet be nearer to the front!

It also gives us a fresh perspective and provides a better space for those leading worship at some of our Advent and Christmas services. I have to admit, though, that I’ve never understood the mentality of ‘filling the church from the back’. If we go to the theatre or a concert – we like to be at the front because we can see and hear so much better. Why then, is coming to a church service any different? Are we afraid that we might become too involved; we might be noticed too much; or we might be asked to do something!

Let’s all take an honest look at why we do the things we do and admit that sometimes a fresh perspective can be a good thing.

Yours in Christ,
Helen
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It all began at the end of June, when I attended an EM2 (Education for Ministers) course at The Windermere Centre in the Lake District. Entitled, ‘The Word in the Arts’, we were given a rich feast of creativity and fresh engagement with the Bible, as well as some pretty amazingly creative food by the Centre’s Chef! We looked at Theology and Social comment in Cinema – 2000 years of the Bible in Art – and Handel and Cohen: Eschatology Set to Music. If that all sounds rather high brow, it wasn’t – just an honest look at how we see God in Film, Art and Music, and something which is very close to my heart.

Next, I was off to Ushaw College in Durham, for Minister’s Summer School, which dealt with the first of a three year focus on Mission. Here we discussed Mission in the British Context, looking at how social trends affect the spread of the Gospel and how Church needs to adapt in the way it exists within the community. Interestingly enough, we watched the 1986 film ‘The Mission’, which if you have never seen it, is worth a look because it shows how mission was carried out by 18th Century Spanish Jesuit priests. Our whole group was stunned into silence at the end of the viewing – which was a remarkable feat in itself!

A few days later, my travels took me to the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, for the URC General Assembly. This was my first full assembly, made even more special by being presented to the Moderator, with other ‘new’ ministers.

Last, but not least, came my ‘End of Year One’ EM2 Reflection weekend back up at the Windermere Centre. Here, all the new ministers who had started their journeys more or less at the same time in 2007, met up again to reflect and compare strategies for life in our various pastorates. John Campbell (Principle of Northern College, which trains ministerial candidates and the like), led us through such sessions as, ‘Spinning Plates: strategies for crash control and coolness’ – ‘Balancing Acts’ – ‘People, power and personality’, as well as looking at Gordon MacDonald’s “Law’s of Unseized Time” (from ‘Ordering your private world’, (c) 1984, Nashville). It was all designed to help us make the most of ministerial life, without hurtling head long into burnout.

Now, as I write this, I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of ‘real holiday’, so that by the time you read this, I will be refreshed and rested and ready to begin in September all that constitutes ministerial life here in Preston and Longridge in my second year here with you all.

Thank you for sharing your faith journey’s with me so far, forgive me if I haven’t quite lived up to what you were expecting, help me to change the things I need to change, as we continue to journey together as the people of God.

God bless,
Helen
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As I write this letter, I am in the midst of preparing to go on holiday! By the time you have read it, I’ll have been, enjoyed time in fresh surroundings, returned, and will probably still be trying to clear the backlog of emails, telephone calls and letters created by going on holiday in the first place! Sometimes you wonder if it is worth it!!

Of course, we all know that everyone needs a holiday – some time off – a change from the norm. But often it can be such a fraught time. Whilst it is meant to be a time for rest and relaxation, we often fill it with all those things we’d like to do, or places to see, or jobs we don’t get time for during our normal day to day life.

Holiday is a contraction of ‘holy’ and ‘day’ – i.e. special religious days. But this word has evolved by general usage to mean any special day of rest (as opposed to regular days of rest such as the weekend). In our world today it often seems that everything is done at breakneck speed and there are no special days of rest any more; no periods of ‘timeout’ when we can recharge our batteries, take stock, and re-prioritise things.

Yet we know that even Jesus took time off to be by himself, to reflect, to pray, and to get things back into focus – and for good reason. Everywhere he went during his ministry, he drew crowds of people wanting to hear him speak, wanting to touch him and be healed by him. Now, whilst he was fully divine, he was also fully human and therefore must have needed to escape from the pressures of life at times; so whilst on holiday I will be aiming to dutifully follow the example of Christ – trying to regroup and get life back into focus.

Over the summer, our church will be taking some ‘time off’ – not exactly holiday – but a break from the meetings and groups that would normally happen on a regular basis. It is a chance to enjoy long lazy evenings in the garden or maybe take a break away somewhere different. I pray that we will all be able to find a space to find refreshment and to relax and recharge the batteries during this time.

Yours in Christ,
Helen
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‘Love is in the air, everywhere you look around – or so the popular song goes. But is it? Today, as I write, many people will be celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. A day when, regardless of its origins, cards, flowers and chocolates become big business as we declare undying love to that ‘special someone’ in our lives. (Don’t worry; I did get a card and flowers from Colin!!)

But on the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be much love around. The Newspapers, TV and Radio, all report the violence on our streets; contentious issues seem to cause argument and ill-feeling; the Biblical teaching of ‘Love thy neighbour’ seems to get more and more difficult
each day.

However, do not despair – I came across this very heart warming story, which proves that love is not dead, but perhaps is something we need to work at.

‘My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they first met. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

There was no end to the place “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, under pillows. “Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture.

But there was a dark cloud in their life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded
by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane, and my grandfathers’ steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house any more. For a while, Grandpa would go to church
alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily” was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of her funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn’t begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

S – h – m – i – l – y : See How Much I Love You.’

As we move from Valentines, through the season of Lent, to the celebration of Easter – we are reminded once more that, whether or not we have been fortunate enough to experience the type of love in the story, there is a greater love.

The love that God showed to humanity, the love which saw His only Son die on a cross for our sin, the love which continues to forgive unconditionally, is ours – no strings attached!

When we look around our world, we may sometimes have to search around for the “shmily” notes; occasionally they are written boldly and un-missable; but never is the love of God hidden.

Maybe, when we gather round the empty cross on Easter Day, there should be written above it, in big bold letters…

See How Much I Love You

(Story adapted from ‘A Bucket of Surprises’ by J John & M Stibbe)

Yours in Christ
Helen
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The end of the year always seems to be such a rush. People preparing for Advent and Christmas; Rehearsals for Nativities and Carol Services; Cakes and Mince pies to be made; Cards to write.
Now whilst preparations in shops and stores seem to get earlier and earlier, I’m always caught in a last minute rush, and I doubt whether this year will be any different. In fact I seem to have far more to do now than I ever did!

The one thing that always takes me the most time is buying Christmas presents – I never know what to get! But, it is often said that we learn the most from our children, so perhaps we could take a lesson from this little girl…
There is an old story about a man who punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”
The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction once he realised the gift was for him. He opened the gift, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it?”
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her forgiveness. He kept that gold box by his bed for years.
Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

At Christmas time, we celebrate the fact that God gave us the most precious gift of all – His Son – God’s love in human form. So in a very real sense, each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from God. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God’s only Son, we have the access to eternal life. And so whatever we give or receive this Christmas there is no present more precious than a gold box filled with the love of God.

However and wherever you celebrate Christmas this year, may you always know the unconditional love of God, may His peace reign in your hearts, and His grace and strength guide you in all you do in the coming year.

Yours in Christ,
 Helen
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