Get Ready ! Prepare ye

Are you ready for the festivities ?!

I have been taken this year with the adverts for sparkling jewellery. Swaroski. Should I shouldn’t I ?  All the advertising is playing on our anxieties about getting everything ready for Christmas. We don’t want to let anyone down, it has to be a perfect Christmas.

Be prepared. Fill up the fridge, buy all the shopping, ….surprise, delight your guests. (Perhaps at the back of our minds there’s compete too…)

So much of our economy runs on exploiting anxiety. Marketing creating needs that we can only satisfy by buying something. We know it’s wrong, and we know it doesn’t really brings happiness, but we do it anyway.

Unlike commercial Christmas froth Advent is a time of preparation for something profound. But what are we going to get ready for? How do we get ready for Christmas, for the arrival of the baby Jesus?

Each year we re-enact the drama. We pretend Jesus hasn’t arrived. It’s a very good practice because it means we have to refresh and renew ourselves. Jesus has come, this is historical and cosmic reality, he has been born in our midst, but we hope for more, we await his coming amongst us again. We have the perfect gift, but we look to the Lord God to save us.

I have been hearing in my head recently that’s opening song from Godspell. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

It speaks to me on several levels; personally, as a church and as a society.

I had the privilege of going on retreat with some people from this benefice (Christ Church Healey and All Saints) on Thursday. I got away from the busyness, the expectations, the church duties. I spent some time in silence. We looked at at the nativity story and let it talk to us. We used our imagination.  I think we each found that when we paused,… God spoke to us. This was an attempt at getting ready. It helped.

The trouble with our economy and social world we create to sustain it, is that it seems design to stop us from looking deeper, searching for the more important things. We have to break free and get ready, get prepared, get to a new level.

You don’t need to go away on retreat this week. Not everyone can manage that. However we can put ourselves in a place of silence, of openness to His coming, of repentance from all that diminishes the divine in us. We can be ready. And Gloriously, you can do this with no money, no shopping required.

We can hear the call of John the Baptist. His message was radical, and called people back to the important things. Turn back he said. Excessive consumerism wasn’t a big problem in his time, but I’m sure he would have spoken out against it ! A few locusts and some honey was all he sought. Jesus signed up to his movement by being baptised by him. He and many others were baptised in the river Jordan. But John pointed to the one who was to more than take over the mantle. Jesus

The second track of Godspell is called Save the People.

It’s written by Ebenezer Elliott who was one of the leaders of the Chartist movement in England, 1781–1849; known as the “Poet of the People,” and by his enemies as the “Corn-law Rhymer”)

WHEN wilt thou save the people?   O God of mercy! when? Not kings and lords, but nations!   Not thrones and crowns, but men! Flowers of thy heart, O God, are they!         5 Let them not pass, like weeds, away! Their heritage a sunless day!              God save the people! Shall crime bring crime for ever,   Strength aiding still the strong?         10 Is it thy will, O Father!   That man shall toil for wrong? “No!” say thy mountains; “No!” thy skies; “Man’s clouded sun shall brightly rise, And songs be heard instead of sighs.”         15              God save the people! When wilt thou save the people?   O God of mercy! when? The people, Lord! the people!   Not thrones and crowns, but men!         20 God save the people! thine they are; Thy children, as thy angels fair; Save them from bondage and despair!              God save the people!

A strong message, cloaked somewhat. A yearning for God to act, a prophetic voice, a yearning for a better world.

Solving the problems of an unjust society and damage to the planet begins with each of us doing some spiritual work. It is amazing to think that the future well-being of people and planet depends on us. (We don’t need to be terrified by this – we are not alone, we have the Holy Spirit). This doesn’t need effort or great holiness, rather a letting go and stopping.

So the first two tracks of this perhaps dated Album have given me a nudge – prepare inside and yearn for a better society.

So I Have been trying to pray through the news. Today I see that our MP Tony Lloyd is in Bangladesh supporting the needs of the Rohingya I hear…

Don’t write Christmas off as some do – as too materialistic, too empty.

I love the exchange of gifts. These can be precious tokens of love and affection, acknowledging our relationships and connections. As you may know, It all began with Saint Nicholas that wonderful Saint, from Myra in Turkey, Patron Saint of Russia. He cared for the poor and the outcast. One of the many stories about him was that when two girls lost their parents and were at risk of being drawn into prostitution because of poverty, he got the money to get them dowries. He saved them. Thus for our good Saint Nicholas encouraging the giving of gifts to the poor children was a way of caring for the poor.

We still give gifts – but has good saint Nicholas become a Bad Santa. Is Saint Nicholas losing the battle to Santa Claus (we have lost the Nic) ?

The good news is that this season, this time of year, can be filled with hope and joy. It is not irredeemable ! We can write our own new song for Godspell

Here’s my own thoughts for an advent song of hope. Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) will be to put it into words and perhaps music.. !

As John joined Jesus movement, so can we. We have been baptised into his new community, a world-wide church that lives for his mercy, his justice, his peace. As we recommit to day in this worship, we renew our commitment this kingdom

We are in Jesus’ cosmic time. The new testament reading tells us that one day is like a thousand years. We yearn for a new heaven and a new earth, and we need it, but it is here. We yearn for him to come, but he has come, and will come again.

When we follow him, here in cold Healey, he comes again

When we comfort his people (as Isaiah has God tell us) we find him alongside us.

Because what we have and what we yearn for is #Godwithus

(Follow the hashtag on Twitter if you can)

Our song this advent can be a song of yearning, a song of sorrow at injustice, but it must also be a song of hope. The messenger will come, has come, will come again.

We must stop telling ourselves lies about the world, we must seek the truth, we must make space for some depth, an encounter with pure truth and love born among us. But we must get ourselves ready, hungry even, for it. 

From 2 Peter:

Therefore beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without blemish or spot and regard the patience of the Lord as salvation.

Nicholas - Bishop at Myra

What are people like ?

Some are saints, some are sinners...you may say. Perhaps in the current age we would say : “Some are celebrities, some are scroungers”

We do have a way - don't we - of putting things into binaries, black and white, yes and no, good and bad, this and that. It works for computer code but I don't know if it works for human beings made in the image of God.....

Perhaps now more than in previous ages and certainly since the economics of the Thatcher era arrived, the neoliberal economics that makes the market its God, we have so many stories that make people other than ourselves...and so make it possible to cut their wages, to implement austerity.

We have heard the stories about those who are poor and how they are to blame for their property because of the lack of initiative, laziness, fecklessness etc.  In today’s Rochdale Observer the story about poor children not being ready for primary school can be told to us as poor parenting causing the problem. We know now how to respond to these stories - we blame rather than feel compassion or work for change.

We have seen the way some people talk about the homeless people we welcome into our churches.

Saint Nicholas, who we celebrate today did not condemn but reached out in love to the vulnerable. He was a fourth century Bishop of Myra in Asia minor which was in southern Turkey. He had a reputation for working wonders and he is known by many stories and legends. And they can't all be factual but perhaps all are true ! Many of these tell of his concern and love and care for children, how he fed the hungry, healed the sick and cared for the oppressed.  There is a particular story where he saved three girls from a life of prostitution by providing them with dowries and so developed the tradition of bearing gifts to children on his feast day.

This of course is the practice appropriated by our Christmas celebrations.  Nicholas is also one of the patron saints of Russia.

What was Nicholas like ? We call him a Saint and we can see that his sainthood is revealed in his life. He was motivated by love. Not by the way of talking about the world which has us put people in boxes where they are other than us. In the kingdom of God there is no such thing as celebrity or scrounger .....

This time last week at a tribunal we put our way of talking about God into action as we stood alongside a member of our worshipping community who was brought up before the Home Office accused of not being a “proper” Christian. We do not believe that and we stood together and spoke of her faith.

But deeper than the legal case was the human case. We believe that everyone who comes through that church door is a child of God, whatever their faith, whatever their nationality and economic status, they are made in God's image and we are welcoming Jesus when we welcome them.

This week a woman from Tunisia turned up at my door. She had two children and had a thousand questions about where to get help and support in Rochdale. So I brought her down to the Red Cross.

So welcoming newcomers to the town and to our worship is just one way we enact the Christian story. There are no Iranians or Aghani. No alleged celebrity or scrounger. All are precious.

Like Jesus we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, quoted in today's scripture: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me, he sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the Brokenhearted, to proclaim Liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners."

Because like Nicholas we welcome the little children, and the vulnerable

As the shops prepare to go mad with a material Christmas, we commit to the ways of love and care, of justice and mercy. When we think of gifts let's think of Nicholas gift of the dowries.

Let us learn from the vulnerable, hear their stories, and build a world they can live in

Jesus said: let the little children come to me do not stop them for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

Mark Coleman

Inspired by Molesworth and Cardijn

I had half an hour spare in Rochdale Town Centre yesterday and so I dropped into Touchstones local history library. The very helpful librarians gave me a folder on "the Parish Church" and so I skimmed some pamphlets of Dr Molesworth's sermons.

I was very struck in reading about this Vicar of Rochdale that the parishioners wanted him to publish his sermons. So much so that 15 of them, all men, including one Churchwarden, had written him a letter on 10th December 1849 demanding that he publish his sermon from the 2nd Sunday of Advent. This sermon, the letter tells us would "dispel some of the fallacies" around and that "it was an excellent exposition" of the task of the Church in "holy education."

Rather than talk about the disputes and contentions that gave rise to this letter, I want to reflect on communication. Dr Molesworth published a number of pamphlets in his time. There was one reflecting on the salvation of a Rochdale horse stealer who had been executed in London.

My question is how do we encourage each other to reflect on the world we are in, so that we can better live as Christians in it. Reading pamphlets was a good way in the mid 19th Century. Reading is a spur to deeper thought.  In every time Christian writers tussle with the issues of the day and write to encourage the faithful. For example, my colleague Amy writes a very good blog. Each week new Christian books are published.

How do we live as Christians in 2017 ? What helps us "practice" the faith ? When we gather for holy communion we stop our busy lives, and look at the world around us. We open our hearts and minds to our Father in heaven, and pray. I hope it helps.

Reading about that previous Vicar of Rochdale reminded me of a a priest from a different age and indeed Church who developed a good way of helping people engage with the issues of his time. He was Joseph Cardijn.

Joseph Leo Cardijn (13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Roman Catholic cardinal and the founder of the Young Christian Workers

See-Judge-Act is a pastoral method which grew out of his work as a Roman Catholic Priest, with Young Christian Workers in the 1940s. (NB thanks to Paul Skirrow for this summary)

In Cardijn's work, the young people were talking about their life issues in the factories of the day. In general terms they had many difficulties in their working lives. For example, one complaint was that the factories were dangerous. Cardijn told the workers to come back to him with a clearer description of what they could "See". To be more specific about what the problems were.

They would come back with their stories: the safety guard is left off to speed things up; the ventilation is inadequate and fumes build up; and so on.
On the basis of their stories Cardijn sat down to "Judge" with them why this was and who was responsible. They could then decide on the best way to "Act" to remedy the problem.

So the method is very simple -
See: look carefully at the world around you, the context you are in and the things which are going on there; Judge: think carefully about what you see and whether it measures up to the values you hold onto as a Christian; and Act; do something about it!


SJA groups can meet anywhere - churches, community centres, homes.

This method from the 20th century challenges us. How do we see in our time, do we hesitate at the judging, and do we act....

It continues today as the Young Christian Workers - indeed there is a special mass this week in Salford.

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By the way, there are some useful historical resources about the Church in Rochdale now available on the Link 4 Life web site.

Flooding - in Rochdale and Sylhet

Bangladesh and Rochdale

Rochdale has a large Bangladeshi heritage population. Many came in the 1960s to Rochdale to work in the mills and although that generation have got older, retired or departed, their children are part of a young and growing community, and connections with family in Bangladesh are strong. I have been several times to Wardleworth Community centre to break the fast during Ramadan at events organised by the Rochdale-Sylhet link. (Sylhet is the city in north eastern Bangladesh where many of our community have roots). Money is raised for projects and Bangladeshi Rochdalians keep in touch with the place and people.

Riverside Boxing Day 2016

The previous MP of Rochdale Simon Danczuk famously said that money should be spent on UK flood defences and not on Bangladesh. Bangladesh has suffered from 18 major floods in the 20th Century, some of catastrophic consequences. The 1987 flood inundated 40% of the country. Whether or not this was right, or good politics, is open to question - he lost his seat in 2017 !

Boxing Day 2016 was a shocking day. The the centre of Rochdale was hit by flooding as the River Roch burst its banks; there was much mess, disruption and cost. People from Church and Mosque, and communities of all backgrounds helped each other out. It was heartening.

Flood relief at St Barnabas Church

This shared human history is one way in which our town of Rochdale is entwined with the changing climate. Some of our residents originally from flood-prone Bangladesh have come to live in what we have come to accept (reluctantly) as flood prone Rochdale. We share the memory of the historic floods and are aware of the threat.

It's easier for us to talk about what we do to solve a problem than what we do to cause it. We Rochdalians also share some of the responsibility. The risk of the river Roch flooding is increased by all that has been built and manufactured in the town over the years of urbanisation and industrialisation. So, our Church buildings stop water being absorbed into the ground and speed up the process where it runs off into the river. Likewise our Mosque buildings and car parks, town hall, and new housing estates upstream at Littleborough. Those who came before us, seeking to develop the town have added to the problem as we do in our generation.... an uncomfortable thought.

We don't like to dwell on how we are part of the problem, but we are. The good news is that as we are all part of the problem so we can be part of the solution. We have common ground in our shared experience and risk of floods. Human geography, religion or race are often misused to divide one human from another. But here we in Rochdale, share the threat of floods with the people of Bangladesh. The memory of losing home and business, even life itself, to flood is a painful one, but it can inspire us to work together for a safer, less flooded, Rochdale and Bangladesh.

The MP was wrong to try to divide Rochdale from Bangladesh because we have much that connects us. Flood is a risk to many in the world and when we can pull together to help each other we should.

Be salty, be hopeful

In Matthew 5.13 Jesus tells his disciples that they are they salt of the earth, and that they should not lose their saltiness. If they have lost it, they need to become salty again, or risk being thrown out.

Salt ... well perhaps you remember all about it from school. It's sodium chloride. It's present in seawater with about 35 grams per litre -  that's about 3.5 %. Salt is essential for our lives, you find it in our bodies, it's essential for tissues. Salting is used in food preservation. How is salt produced - from salt mines or by the evaporation of seawater.

Salt has important place in religion. The ancient Greeks and Romans invoked their gods with offerings of salt and water. In our own faith, we learn that there are 35 verses which mention salt. Lot's wife was turned to salt as she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Paul encourages us to let our conversation be always full of grace and seasoned with salt (Colossians 4.6)

But for us, what may it mean ? I have been thinking about the warming climate. 2016 was the hottest year on record, and so was 2015 and 2014. The climate is warming rapidly. Graphs show the loss of sea ice. It's very worrying.

I have been active in campaigning  for governments to act and reduce carbon emissions, but - truth be told - I have rather lost heart. It feels to me that no one is interested, and there are so  many areas of life where my time and effort is demanded. But it's no-one's fault except mine.

I think I have lost my saltiness.

When we believe that what we do does not matter, or when we think we do not matter, then we stop trying. When we think that following Jesus is hard, and I do a lot anyway, and surely others are working on this, then we give up.

Rebecca Solnit writes;

Hope is a belief that what we do might matter, an understanding that the future is not yet written. It’s informed, astute open-mindedness about what can happen and what role we may play in it. Hope looks forward, but it draws its energies from the past, from knowing histories, including our victories, and their complexities and imperfections. It means not being the perfect that is the enemy of the good, not snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, not assuming you know what will happen when the future is unwritten, and part of what happens is up to us.

It seems to me that for us followers of Jesus Christ, following him to Jerusalem to the cross,  that we are called to be people of hope. Salty people of hope, believing in our God-given power.  Jesus trusted in God so we must trust that our following, our love in action, will not be in vain. We can be salty.

Dust, glorious dust.

Ash Wednesday 2017

Sermon preached at St Mary’s in the Baum on 1^stMarch 2017

There’s not too much dust here in this Church. It’s kept pretty clean and tidy. But there is dust everywhere… of course.

Today in our liturgy of Ash Wednesday we shall hear the words:

“Dust you are and to dust you shall return”

Dust is seen as the enemy of the house proud, it gets everywhere.

Are you wining your battle with dust ?

Do you have a Dust Buster – one of those little Hoovers or..

have you given up. Perhaps you only dust when family or the Vicar visits !

Dust and Soil have many ingredients. These include animal, vegetable, organic, inorganic. Dust has a lot of pollution bits in. Smoke particles.

We are not just thinking about house dust, we are thinking about soil. Soil is again something that develops from waste, rotted matter.

One day we shall return to the soil. One way or the other we shall be pushing up the daisies. I don't use that term flippantly – we shall play our part in the next phase of life.

Soil is a magical thing. It covers most of the earth, contains minerals, essential for the growth of plants. We would not be here without soil.

And already by thinking about soil we have a clue about the story of Lent and Easter. There will be death and there will be new life

Today we live in a world of virtual reality. We complain about the young people with their PlayStation and Pokemon Go… but is it really that we are in touch with reality.

We filter our news through our favourite newspapers and meet people who agree with us. We keep ourselves away from dirt and difficulty.

Our Bible stories today tell us of people who believe they are too good to get any dust or dirt on their hands. People who think they are above all that.

Hindu religion in India has a caste system, and the job of the lowest caste or out castes is to sweep up and clean the toilets. It's not for the higher castes to do. Mahatma Gandhi did not like that – he would make a thing of cleaning toilets for people !

Thus it was for the people that Isaiah tells us about. I bet they didn't lower themselves to do any cleaning up.

We hear that they are fighting. Not sharing their food with the hungry . They could give a fig for justice.

They think they are A class and everyone else C class

Mathew tells us about a similar type of Character. Pious and self promoting and greedy. They are storing up treasure for themselves while making themselves look all religious.

They have pushed all the dust and dirt away from themselves. Left it for others to clean up.

It's sobering to be told that we shall return to dust.

Lent is a time of stripping away, of bringing us down to earth.

We get airs and graces and we – like the people Mathew and Isaiah are writing about – think we are like Gods we live for ever and we don't need others.

There's something very wonderful too about soil. It gives life. It has death and the promise of new life all bound up. So with this time in the Church's calendar. We journey through death to new life.

Let's remember that we are but dust

Let's turn away from the sin that divides us from our brothers and sisters in need

Let's turn again to the God who makes things grow in the fertile soil of our human nature

Mark Coleman