Extracts from the Parish News for October 2008.

(We are sorry that for technical reasons we cannot reproduce the magazine in full.)

Vicar's Letter

These last few weeks, I have felt a huge sense of relief when the weekend has come, knowing that at least for a couple of days we could have some respite from the news about the economy collapsing and the stock market leaping around a like jet propelled salmon. Sunday became special again in the space it was offering. Special too, in the way that Sunday worship can be -  in people coming together to imagine and to speak of another way of being in the world. To sing, to hear stories, to pray and to be together, drawn not by the rather fragile loyalties of brand or status or achievement, but by sharing a common story about God’s dream for us on earth.

I have been particularly struck by some of the words Paul wrote to those early Christian communities. He was reminding them, to be kind and patient with each other; to build each other up and encourage each other; he reminded them of their need to be generous and caring to those who may be having a hard time. Paul invited his readers to shape their lives on the pattern of Christ’s life. In the parables he left with us and in the memories of how he lived  and shared his life , he gave us, if you like, a map, to help us find our way. What he said and did was provocative and subversive of the status quo of his time and it led to his death. What we remember and celebrate each Sunday is the dangerous memory of his public crucifixion and his coming back to be with his friends and followers in ways that were astoundingly new and surprising. That has been the experience of those who have followed Jesus through history and have tried to make sense of the world in which they live using the coordinates of the map he gave us.

In these anxious, troubled times, don’t let anyone tell you that there is no alternative.

With every blessing for the month ahead

Jonathan Morris

Vicar in Haselbury Misterton and North Perrott