One of us … Happy Christmas

I met Jesus Christ this week. Your reaction to this will be either: How impressive, what a holy man our Vicar is. Or on the other hand what a poser ? A religious extremist !

When I took holy communion to an elderly woman who lives alone in great mental anguish, I was with Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. When on Christmas Eve we hosted a lunch for the homeless, I met with Jesus Christ abandoned by his disciples and maligned by the authorities, because that is how things are for the many in this town whose lives are precarious. They are a problem…fortunately at Christmas there are many good-hearted volunteers who are happy to welcome them. And there’s Jesus again, in the smile and the hospitality of the volunteers, reaching out with love.

Not on a sunny hillside in 1^st Century Palestine but on a wet Lancashire hill, but there he was looking with love on the needs of those who are poor, addicted, seeking refugee and asylum from war. I met with Jesus there, in the Christian, the Muslim, the unaligned.

He just keeps cropping up. This is the insight of the incarnation, that God was made flesh and dwelt among us. (And at Christmas we hear his words echo “Whatever you did for the least of these you did for me)

The incarnation is a wonderful thing. It changes the way we see the world. If you accept that the Creator of all, God our Father has an ongoing relationship with us through the Holy Spirit then you will see signs of God made flesh, the incarnation, of Jesus as you make your way in this world.

A wonderful thing.

Christmas is a time for wonder; aren’t the carols good at getting us to gaze in awe and wonder. Have you looked at the crib? It’s survived another year of curiosity by our children. There are few chips and cracks, and perhaps you can see the glue in places. What’s really wonderful is that our God should come to us, should lower himself, empty himself, says St Paul in human form, in a manger, in a nowhere sort of place called Bethlehem.

That says something about God’s love for human kind and for all living things on this planet which he made. He loves it, that includes you and me. That’s why it’s worth looking after each other, and caring for the planet, because Christmas says it all matters very much.

That’s truly wonderful that he should come as one of us. Not only for the Christians, not only for Brits or Brazilians, but as a human, for allthe people of the world. It’s hard to get your head around such a good news message. 

Some years ago there was a hit single by Joan Osborne entitled One of Us It was her only hit, from a song written by Eric Bazillian of the US Rock band the Hooters.  

What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home

It’s a provocative, rude question…. But as the song goes on it, it becomes clear that answer to the question is that God has come as one of us, is with us on the bus on the way home, and is found in the face of our neighbour. God as one of us. 

The incarnation is good news but does it mean anything in our lives ? True, the language of the incarnation may be strange to many, that’s true, but I think we have an instinctive sense that there is something of the divine at the heart of everything that is good, that matters.  It’s not all up there, in the sky. Immanent as well as transcendent, you could say.

I hope that’s still at the heart of our sometime rather commercial Christmases. God is there, in that crib at the Church, and to be met along the road to the shopping centre, if you don't rush !

The incarnation matters so much. Because of this God made flesh we get involved in the work with the foodbank and the young carers and make tea for homeless folk.

Many of us are involved in inter-faith work in the town, and have had the joyof many good conversations particularly with Muslim friends. The incarnation of Jesus Christ encourages us in a direction of friendship and mutual respect, because if God is one of us we are going to meet Him/Her in those who are different to us. We cannot lock the incarnate God in a denomination or a nationality or even a faith.  It’s a wonderful world, as the song goes.

So this Christmas (and with the Epiphany it lasts for several weeks) please look out for Jesus Christ.. you will meet with him, in the neighbour, in friendship of the needy, in your hearts too I pray. I hope you get caught up in wonder, at God with us, God as "one of us" even. Rejoice because our heartfelt yearning "O Come O come Emmanuel" we sang,  has been answered. 

Welcome to the Saints' Club Amelia

The Church of England recognizes two Sacraments, two holy practices that point to the big and marvelous works of God. These are Baptism and Holy Communion.

We make a lot of Holy Communion. So much so that we give it lots of names: Eucharist, Mass, the Lord's Supper, the Breaking of Bread. But we don't spend so long thinking about Baptism. It's something that happened to us when we were young and not totally with it, and for some of us (your Vicar included !) that's a long time ago......

The last Bishop of Warrington used to encourage candidates for Baptism to remember the anniversaries of their baptisms by lighting the candle they were given.  After all, those of us who are married remember our wedding anniversaries, why not remember the anniversary of our baptism? Why not have another party, exchange gifts ?

We have two names for this sacrament: Baptism and Christening.  I rather like the term of Christening, it brings in to our consciousness the life and work of Jesus Christ to whom in a Christening we commit ourselves, and seek to model our lives after. As the spirit of God worked in his life so we know that it can work in our lives. Of course you could say the image of God is already within little Amelia and within each one of us.  That's true.  But we seek to commit ourselves to developing and growing all that is of Jesus Christ within us and to grow in his life and in his potential.

This is the season of All Souls and we remember the faithful departed, those Christened before us who committed themselves to the way of Christ,  at a special this evening at Saint Mary's in the Baum. At the service we will remember those who have died this year and the others whose anniversaries and memories are special to us. There is a theme of death in the baptism service today because  - listen to the words - we bury our old life in the waters of baptism and we emerge from the water of baptism reborn in Christ, a new creation. And when we are in Christ there is no death, only life in all it's fullness. That's good news for us old ones.

This is indeed a sacrament which tells is all about all God's marvelous work. That work goes on day to day.  Baby Amelia welcome to this new community - the Church. You are part of this new creation .., and you have lots of new friends in what we call the Communion of Saints. Look around you see at all the windows, notice the Martyrs, the Apostles, the Saints - you are now part of their family as well.  And there are others whose picture should be there; think for a moment about who is missing.  There are no pictures of the "ordinary" people of this town who have lived and loved, done acts of love and mercy and charity.

We will remember the departed when All Souls is celebrated this evening. This morning we celebrate the living in the festival of All Saints The Communion of Saints is a great club to belong to ... you'll get your membership card later - where people work together for the Kingdom of God, a time and a place where all will be just perfect. That's an important job... it needs you.

Baptism and Holy Communion - two great Sacraments. On this festival of All Saints we are having both.  We can remember our christening all those years ago and the great promises made by our godparents.  Let us live up to those promises and together with you Amelia we shall build the Kingdom of God in this green and pleasant land.

Perfect Love

There is the hymn “ O Perfect Love” by Dorothy Frances Gurney. It’s a substantial hymn. There is the song by Simply Red “Perfect Love”  - that’s not so memorable. The Bible verse from 1 John 4.19 is memorable:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

There is a lot of fear about these days. We hear this weekend from Lady Warsi that David Cameron is adding to the Islamophobia, fear of Muslims by his recent speech. Our Greek friends must be worried about what happens next. And many of us in the Church are frightened of change and wonder what happens next. And we would not be human if we did not have fears for ourselves and our families. We are human after all and we are mortal.

So there is a lot of fear about – at a national level, a church level and a personal level.

We hear today how the disciples are frightened too (Mark 4.35-end), trapped in a boat with their fearless leader in the mother of all storms. Rather insensitively, he says to them “Why are you afraid, do you have no faith ?” But they are afraid.

Sharing a foil blanket

Wendy and I went out with the Rochdale Street Pastors on Friday night. It was a quiet night but not without incident. What I noticed was how precarious and frightening life on the streets is for our homeless citizens. Do you know where they sleep? The car park under the Police station is now closed to them and so a favoured place that is safe and dry is behind the wall near the BT building. Jean and Linda bought some chips for two regulars, and I was struck how willingly they then shared them with another homeless man they bumped into. You see you need your friends on the street, when you are homeless. There is something very practical about loving one another- it helps  keeps you safe. Love cast out fear. 

Choosing love even if it hurts so much

God does amazing things in the hearts of some human beings. The shootings in Charleston in the USA have chilled me to the bone. Was it racial hatred that drove the alleged murderer Dylann Woof ? It certainly was not love. We can easily imagine the fear of our sisters and brothers in Christ when the shooting began. Some of the victims have spoken at the remand hearing. One said through tears, to the young white man“Lord have mercy on your soul. I forgive you”. There is perfect love here – in the brave faith-full choice of love over hate. God does amazing things when people choose to love although every fibre of them says hate.

Crossing to the other side

We live in our “comfort zones”. Our homes keep us in the part of town we would prefer to live in. To a large extent we choose where we live and who we worship with. Yet, there is for all of us an other side, a place where we do not go. Perhaps there is an other side in all of us too.

The disciples are crossing to the other side, and Jesus is taking them. They don’t want to go, they have heard the stories about how bad things are over there, what those people are like. Jesus has tried to teach them in parables and show them that this other side is where God is to be found but they wish to remain (safe they think) in the myths of the times about baddies and goodies, and clean and unclean. For Jesus it is faith and the search for God’s truth that takes you over to the other side. There is nothing to fear.

Notice the lake which they cross is called a Sea by Mark., bringing to mind the Red Sea, that great story of following God to freedom and the story of Jonah who fled from his mission, apparently because he was unconcerned with the fate of those suffering oppression under the imperial city-state of Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). Thus Jonah, like the disciples here, was caught up in a “great storm”. This is a significant crossing, much more than a gale on the Beaufort scale.

The disciples have to be dragged into the boat by their teacher, because God is concerned with bringing liberation to those on the other side. We Western Christians are called to journey over with Jesus in our day too. Out of our comfort zones, from the old to the new. It scares us. But our faith tells us that the other side is not beyond the pale, that love can take you there, that the storms are in our minds.

Pope Francis has given us a great teaching this week in the Encyclical Laudato Si’. He talks about the possibility of a transition to a new world where we can live together in harmony with the poor and the creation. At the moment we are killing the world in which we live, and hurting the poor horribly. In this town and round the shores of the Mediterranean.  How much God must be hurting when he sees how we behave. Yet, like the black church going woman in Charleston he says I forgive you. Change! Come with me to the other side.

Let us get into that boat, and may perfect love cast out fear. 

PS Check out the Love Greater website

Costly Love

Mardan Church

It was so sad to hear during the services on Mothering Sunday from members of our congregation who are Pakistani Christians about the attacks in the churches Christian neighbourhood of the Pakistani city of Lahore. The BBC reports that more than 70 people were hurt in the explosions, which targeted worshippers attending  at All Saints and the RC Church in the Youhanabad area.

I have met the former Bishop of the Diocese of Peshawar, the Rt Revd Mano Rumalshah and remember him talking about how the Church ministers in what he calls a hostile land. Straddling the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Diocese of Peshawar exists in one of the most hostile settings on earth. Taliban forces take refuge in this area, as part of the diocese encompasses a buffer zone or “lawless” area between the two countries where global powers engage in the war against terrorism. According to Bishop Rumalshah, no real border exists because one tribe of people represents the majority population of both Afghanistan and the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan (or NWFP) within the diocese.

All Saints, Lahore

The Gospel is lived in this most difficult situation. Mano describes the Church as “not a church for the poor, because there are too many. We are a church of the poor." The Diocese of Peshawar serves the poorest of the poor with medical and pastoral care as well as educational training. “Anyone who walks through that door is a child of God,” Bishop Rumalshah says . “It’s a costly love, a sacrificial love. It is a precious love.”

That love is an inspiration to us. I pray that we resist the fear and blame that can abound after violence, and work together with all people of faith against terrorism and hatred.

The Good Society

What's your vision and hope in this General Election year ? And I don't mean which way are you going to vote. I am asking the bigger and harder question about what vision you have for the Good Society ?

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke we are invited into Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God. It's a reality now we are told and we see signs of it in the Gospel stories but is also something hoped for, something that we need to work and pray for.

Our faith is historic but also engaged with the past, the present and the future. As we say in the Eucharist: "Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again." It is this sense of being part of God's people through all time that gives us a unique take on the present. We see the present with the wisdom of the past and the hope of the future.


I was very taken with the theme for Church Action on Poverty Sunday on the 15th February. This year they are asking us to explore Visions of a Good Society, in the light of the Wisdom of the Bible and the experience of people from our parishes who suffer from poverty.They describe their vision as believing "in the unique value of every human being, created in the image of God. We know that if we work together, we can Close the Gap between rich and poor, and build a society which will be happier, healthier, safer and fairer."

I wonder what vision of the Good Society the people of Rochdale have ? It would be interesting to talk about this with them and to share the insights and challenge of Christian faith. I am sure our Muslim friends would have much to contribute too. Proverbs 29.18 says "Where there is no vision, the people perish". I hope this year in town, church and nation we shall have a vision of a Good Society.

Pilgrimage

Some of my best conversations have taken place when walking. Whether with friends or strangers the walking somehow oils the process of meeting others. And even more so when there is a common

St Chad's Church Tower

purpose, the same destination, the shared goal, as in a pilgrimage.

My vicar friend Andy blogs about pilgrim walking. It becomes for him a way of looking at the world.An excerpt from his blog: "There is also something about walking, thinking and reflecting at the same time.  Is there a connection to tacit knowledge where you learn by doing things with your hands?  Perhaps a variant of it?  Certainly it was good to reflect back on the last year which has been hard and good........."

I have been helping plan a pilgrimage for Saturday 14th February. We are working with the 3 Faiths Forum and local Churches and Mosques to organise a walk from Rochdale Parish Church, St Chad's to the Golden Mosque and then to St Edmund's, both in Falinge. In the spirit of the Three Faiths Forum, which is a partner, we hope some of our Jewish brothers and sisters will be able attend.* Along the way we will hear a bit about the places of worship we are visiting, and when we arrive at St Edmund's there will be food and refreshments, and some short talks on the theme of Pilgrimage in the different faith traditions.

A still image from the film Still Point

And there will be a film, Still Point, which has been produced to get us to think about sacred spaces and places of pilgrimage. I am looking forward to the conversations we will have, and to what we will learn about the Creator of all from each of our traditions. The walking will open our eyes and hearts.

* A bit about the Three Faiths Forum: They describe themselves as building understanding and lasting relationships between people of all faiths and beliefs. And to the question "Why is this work needed?" they reply: "In our diverse societies good relations between our communities are essential. Without these ties, myths and prejudices flourish, often leading to racism and intolerance. Our programmes break down barriers and find ways for people to work together to improve their communities and society. By building new inter-communal relationships we make positive social change possible."

Train Tracks to Remembering

I have been asked to read at the forthcoming Holocaust memorial day for Rochdale borough. It's to be held at Middleton Arena on 27 January. It is a privilege to do this and look forward to it, with some heaviness. For these are dark and difficult stories, of hatred of minorities, of poisonous myths, of the mechanics of genocide... and we see them occurring still. So it will be poignant. It was chilling to hear of the attacks on the Kosher supermarket on the 9th January, reminding us all that anti-semitism is still around.

I remember reading Martin Gilbert's book Holocaust Journey whilst in Poland in holiday in 1998. I kept looking at the train tracks and thinking to myself: It was those rails that took millions of Jews, Gays and Trades Unionists to their death.

I am sure that it is true that we are what we remember. We become the stories we tell and retell. I have come to see this particularly in my research into what we say and do in Church. When we forget to pray about certain things, or never mention the earth, or the poor, in our Holy Communion, then we begin the process of forgetting. It begins innocently enough, but ends with others' suffering.

It was striking to see on TV the leader of the West London Synagogue talk about Holocaust Memorial Day. I was very impressed that when asked about how the Jewish community felt now after the Charlie Hebdo events, she kept turning the focus back to the difficulties that all minorities face. She wanted to remind us that it wasn't just about Jews. Although the Holocaust is most principally about the attempted extermination of the Jewish people, it's a horror that is done to other minorities, still. Generously she spoke about Muslim minorities in the UK.

That was generous remembering that resulted in action for justice and peace for others. You can see that in their web site. They are doing interfaith work, running a night shelter with local churches.... very impressive. All this (let me call it) "beyond our own" thinking reminds me of Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous words:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Thank God for the journalists that remind us of the plight of the other beyond our own kith and kin. (I hope us priests and religious leaders do this too, but I know sometimes we fail.) With brave journalists and film makers in mind, I am looking forward to seeing the forthcoming Programme Holocaust: Night will Fall on Channel 4 this Saturday. It's about the filming of the liberation of Auschwitz and why the film that was made was not shown and the burden those who film such atrocities carry. They do us a service in helping us remember what we may prefer to forget.


 In that film, we shall no doubt see those train tracks again, to remind us of the horrors of holocaust.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/poetry/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller#sthash.b83cdi0W.dpuf

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/poetry/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller#sthash.b83cdi0W.dpuf

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/poetry/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller#sthash.b83cdi0W.dpuf

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me - See more at: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/poetry/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller#sthash.b83cdi0W.dpuf