Seeing and being seen

I am married to a Scot so we celebrated Burns Night on January 25th, despite being in exile in England. My husband recites the Address to the Haggis written by the poet Robert Burns and at the end of the recitation stabs the haggis with a flourish, as is the tradition. He uses a sgian dubh (a small ceremonial knife) to do this which belonged to his father, and which his father wore to work every day, tucked into the long socks he wore under his kilt.

Why on earth am I telling you about this?

Because recently after taking part in an ecumenical service, a very different poem written by Robert Burns came to mind. Burns’ poem about an insect sprang unbidden into my mind while I was reflecting on taking part in Ecumenical Vespers in honour of the late Pope Benedict at Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral, at the kind invitation of my brother President of Churches Together in England, Cardinal Vincent Nicholls.

Burns’ poem about the tiny insect he spies crawling on a woman’s hat is written in the Habbie dialect and form, and sees Robert Burns musing that the insect does not observe class distinctions and regards all human beings equally, as potential hosts, and so lands on us all. Burns concludes his poem with these words,

‘O wad some Power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us!’

English translation: help us see ourselves as others see us!

I think these lines sprang up in my memory because the kind and generous invitation to the Moderator of the Free Churches Group (currently an ordained woman) by the Cardinal was an invitation to me to cross over a threshold into the shared grief and memories of those present who belonged to a form of the Christian tradition which was not my own. I was invited to share in the memories of those who had loved and respected Pope Benedict for his intellect, his rigour, his deep theological exploration of Jesus of Nazareth, his generous engagement with others, his prayer, and his long ministry and service of Roman Catholicism. For a moment during the service of evening prayer, with the Psalms sung in English rather than the traditional Latin, I was able to enter a space with other Christian brothers and sisters and see them differently.

The Service of Evening Prayer was beautiful. The Motet by Henry Purcell was sung by the choristers,

Now, now that the sun hath veil’d his light

And bid the world goodnight;

To the soft bed my body I dispose,

But where shall my soul repose?

Dear, dear God, even in thy arms,

Then to thy rest, O my soul!

And singing, praise the mercy

That prolongs thy days.

Hallelujah!

The sermon was given by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams, apparently without notes. The generous ecumenical welcome enabled us all to participate and to worship profoundly. The music of hymns and responses sung by the choir was beautiful. The closing hymn was “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (written by Charles Wesley, Anglican priest and poet, and the cofounder of the Methodist movement with his brother John). Cardinal Vincent told me he had chosen this hymn because it was sung at the funeral of Pope Benedict and he had found himself following the Pope’s coffin as this was sung, moved to tears at the lines, “Changed from glory, into glory”.

You might still be asking why is she telling us this and where do those lines of Robert Burns fit into this reflection?

After the service concluded there was a reception to which all guests were invited, and Cardinal Vincent (again without notes) spoke of his greatest and deepest memories of Pope Benedict during his visit to the UK. At this moment he chose to remember Pope Benedict speaking and telling stories about Jesus with a group of children who listened intently and carefully. Cardinal Vincent chose not, at that moment, to remember a man described as God’s rottweiler, a theological conservative or traditionalist, author of 60 books, a reflective theologian Pope, but rather someone who kept a group of children enthralled and in doing so was fully present to them in that moment.

I continue to reflect on how we see ourselves and how others see us. We can delude ourselves about who we are, how we interact with others, how we behave, how we present ourselves. Others may misread us, not grasp the whole of ourselves and focus on a tiny part of who we are and what we do. We may, in our memories be partial and incomplete.

It is only in our relationship with God that we are fully known, attended to and seen in all our incompleteness and frailty, and in that relationship to be “changed from glory, into glory”, redeemed and transformed to be the person God created us to be. In Psalm 139 we celebrate that it was God who made us and that there is nothing in us which God does not see,

“Your eyes see all my days”.

Whatever our character, and whatever we are and do, at the last and at the end of our days we stand before our Maker and cast before God “our crowns”, lost in the wonder, the love and praise of God. We are all creatures of a Creator God who creates and re-creates us, and all the world.

Every blessing

Revd Helen Cameron

Moderator of the Free Churches Group

MEETING AGAIN - THE DISSENTING DEPUTIES 2023 at Free Church House 16th May, 6pm

This is a warm invitation to members of your church to join us here at Tavistock Square on 16th May 2023 at 6pm, when our distinguished speaker will be Sir Les Ebdon CBE, Chairman of the Governors of Spurgeon’s College and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire and former Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.

He will speak on “The Importance of being a Free Church today”, exploring the relevance of the principles our forebears held dear, especially the freedoms they fought to obtain and their continuing importance. It should be an evening of exceptional interest.

The “Dissenting Deputies” were established as elected lay people, working with the body of Ministers, in 1732 to fight for the removal of restrictions which excluded the churches and people we now call in the “Free Church” tradition from many areas of public life. We maintain this annual society to honour their work. Free speech can never be taken for granted. The body also keeps alive our historic right of direct approach to the Monarch. Today, the Free Churches Group carries out the Deputies’ functions relating to government, as we will hear during our very brief formal proceedings.

It would be really helpful to know, in advance, something of the numbers attending. Please return the attached form by post or email. Respecting our historical structure, it would be appropriate formally to nominate two “Deputies”, but all are welcome. Please display the poster. Our income is limited, and a contribution would be very welcome to help cover our meeting costs.

We know that Sir Les will give us a stimulating evening. Do come.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Rochester Keith Salway

An invitation letter is available to download here.

A poster is available to download here.

The Dissenter form is available to download here.

New Year Message

New Year Message from the General Secretary of the Free Churches Group. Read it HERE..

‘Shaping Worship: Creation’s Climate Crisis – responding in faith’

Wednesday 15 March 2:00-5:30 on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85184771951

‘Shaping Worship: Creation’s Climate Crisis – responding in faith’

We have arrived at our Earth Environment’s Crisis/Kairos Moment – how can worship help us wake up?

Spring Conference sponsored by the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain

Presenters:

• Bible Power – Can the Bible wake us up to Climate Chaos?   - Revd Dr Rosalind Selby (URC), Principal of Northern College, Manchester

• Time for listening – worship to wake us up   – Revd Phillip Melstrom, Church of Scotland

• People Power – Can we wake up our congregations?   --  Steve Hucklesby,  Policy Advisor for JPIT, Joint Public Issues Team.  Waking up to the climate emergency, our Christian faith, and preserving the planet as Christians (worked 10 years in conflict and post-conflict settings in Africa and Asia)

• Science – Can the truth wake us up?     - presenter TBC, hopefully, a Scientist from Norway

Isaiah 24:4 NRSV

The earth dries up and withers,

the world languishes and withers;

the heavens languish together with the earth.

The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; 

Everyone is welcome to attend.  For more information, please visit Here.

For the Zoom link, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85184771951  (Meeting ID: 851 8477 1951) 

contact:    worshipwordsmatter@gmail.com

Racial Justice Sunday 12 February 2023 – Stephen Lawrence

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24)

22 April 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the racist killing of Black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in Eltham, southeast London. In many respects, Racial Justice Sunday is one of the many legacies of Stephen Lawrence’s life. As such, in marking RJS, churches are remembering a young man who in life aspired to be an architect, but whose legacy has seen him become an architect for justice, equality, dignity and unity.

This anniversary is a key moment for church and society on these islands. Stephen’s killing was very much Britain’s ‘George Floyd moment’ as it clearly revealed the ugly face of British racism, in terms not only of the hatred of those who took this young man’s life, but also of the institutional variety that characterised the appalling investigation into his killing. Akin to all such tragedies, it is a moment for reflection which will enable us to assess what, if any, progress has been made since that tragedy.

Resources

Racial Justice Sunday resources are produced by CTBI’s sponsoring churches. The resource for 2023 will provide readers with opportunities to pray and take action on racial justice-related matters.

The first part of the resource includes excellent liturgical and creative prayers prepared by Phill Melstrom, the Worship Development Worker at the Church of Scotland. This material provides multifarious entry points for any engagement with the subject matter. Equally, we have outstanding worship-related material written by Mark Sturge, a prime mover with Black Majority Churches that will resonate especially with those from Pentecostal congregations. Both items capture the richness and diversity of devotions and worship in our churches.

The second part of the resource includes a variety of reflections from Christians who were around at the time of Stephen Lawrence’s killing. It also features contributions from younger racial justice champions who reflect on what Stephen’s murder means to them as Christians living in a world that is still grappling with racial justice.

Richard Reddie, Director of Justice and Inclusion, CTBI

Download Racial Justice Sunday 2023 – Stephen Lawrence (PDF)