Resources

CW81: Called to be present

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In August 2018 I was appointed as the Derbyshire Agricultural Chaplaincy’s first chaplain to young farmers. Coming from a farming family and married to a farmer’s son I’ve seen first-hand the day-to-day challenges faced by the farming community.

CW81: Chapel-le-Dale Church

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A new book on small places of worship has picked St Leonard’s, Chapel-le-Dale, as one of Britain’s finest examples. Sitting high in the Dales, north of Ingleton, this beautiful church began life as a chapel of ease for isolated farming folk in the 17th century. It then served as a graveyard for the Settle to Carlisle railway workers and their families who lived in a nearby shanty town while building the Ribblehead Viaduct and nearby Blea Moor tunnel. A stone memorial to those workers is held within the church.

CW81: From chaos and absurdity

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‘God has rescued us from chaos and absurdity and called us into the life of his kingdom.’

Earlier this year the US government experienced the longest period of shutdown in its history in a fight over a border wall costing billions of dollars. At the same time Brexit was dominating the political agenda in the UK. And a picture of an egg got 25 million ‘likes’ on Instagram. If ever there was chaos and absurdity, we seem to be living in a world which both revels in and generates it.

CW81: Holy Habits

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Holy Habits is a way of forming disciples based on Luke’s picture of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. It explores and encourages the practice of ten disciplines or ‘holy habits’ that Luke presents in the passage: biblical teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, giving, serving, eating together, gladness and generosity, worship and the making of more disciples. It is a way life for all, from young children to those in residential care.

CW81: Kirkheaton Cairns

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Since Old Testament times God’s people have used stones to mark places where God’s presence has been felt in a tangible way. In the story of Jacob and Laban (Genesis 31:46-48), for example, the two men sealed their relationship by building a cairn as a pillar of witness to their agreement.

This year our little chapel in the West Yorkshire village of Kirkheaton were keen to put Jesus at the heart of Christmas festivities and decided to use painted stones to do this. At one café church in early December we decorated stones using acrylic pens and a bit of varnish, writing ‘Jesus’ at the centre of each stone and surrounding it with simple decorations.

CW80: Building hope-filled communities

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It’s official: good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Rural churches play a key part in enhancing the well-being of local communities. As well as encouraging social connections, churches help local people to find an eternal perspective in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

CW80: Church, Community and Doodling

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I have just been writing a detailed response to a public consultation about the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC). There are a whole host of issues related to the impact of the construction of this massive project: compulsory purchase of homes, removal of public footpaths and highways, re-routing of villages, damage to the environment, road closures, loss of animal, bird and insect habitats, stables and farmland.

CW80: Community, music and fun

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Swinton Village Choir started with a simple premise: meet for a few weeks before a community Christmas event and prepare a few songs to supplement a programme of sing-a-long carols and performance pieces by local children. Many of those who came along had never sung in a choir before but enjoyed singing Christmas songs and thought it would be good fun. The local music teacher agreed to lead rehearsals and actively encouraged participation and laughter in equal measure, so no one felt intimidated.

CW80: Deep wells and green pastures

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When people think of Leicester, many immediately think of a Midlands ex-industrial red-brick city with a multi-cultural flavour. These days they also recall a King found in a car park and the underdog winners of football’s Premier League. However, the vast majority of the Diocese of Leicester is actually rural.

CW80: Encountering God – sacred spaces

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Historically, church buildings were not just places for worship but a space for the wider community to come together and use. Going back to these community roots can offer today’s buildings a new lease of life, while also encouraging more people to encounter God in His holy place.