Golders Green Parish Church – Newsletter

13 July 2021

 

This week’s edition includes:

• Update from Tony;
• Zoom Links
• Sermon from Archdeacon John;
• Women Leaving Prison – Hilary Cotton;
• Wednesday Prayer Time;
• Book Recommendation- “How to Eat Bread”;
• Prayers, hymns, and broadcasts;
• Zoom links;

 

Update from Tony
 

Reminder: Wednesday Evening – Together for Prayers

Join Zoom Meeting

Sermon from Archdeacon John

 

In the letter to the Ephesians, attributed to the hand of St Paul while in prison, there is much written about the need for unity in the church, where Jew and Gentile are reconciled and united by Christ Jesus who has broken down the dividing wall of hostility in our lives and brings peace and unity to our world.
 
Our reading from the letter begins at verse 3 this morning but I want to turn for a moment to the first verse that for some reason the lectionary has omitted this morning:
 

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus

This is a greeting from time and place very different to ours and yet it as much of an encouragement now as then.
St Paul himself is reminding us that we are God’s holy people. Holy people. Not set above anyone else but apart for a reason, not our own vanity or sense of worth, not for our ambitions and accomplishments but for God’s glory and the purposes of the gospel. This holy life is one that is given us by the “will of God” v1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. This is not a condition we find ourselves in or have created by our own efforts - but as a result of God’s will.
 
And what is it that God wills for you and me this morning? It is one and the same as it was yesterday and at the very beginning – to be God’s Holy people.
 
And where does that holiness come from, the will of God and our faithfulness to Christ. V1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.The Greek word for faith that is used here is “Pistos”.
In Greek, the root word from which we get 'faith, the noun is PISTIS, 'believe', the verb is PISTUEO.  Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the lord is working, even though we cannot see it. it is both what we do and what God does, and St Paul puts this in the context of Christ Jesus.
 
It is a reminder that at the times in our life when we no longer have the imagination or strength to have faith in God, God is still faithful to us.
St Paul makes it clear that our faith is not in our selves, not in the many and varied ways in which we seek to secure our place in this world but in Christ Jesus – lit the anointed Jesus: The Messiah Jesus. The Saviour Jesus.
And so here in the first verse of this letter to the Ephesians we are dramatically reminded of the main theme of the whole letter, indeed our lives as Christians – that God’s will is for us to be in Christ Jesus.
To be in Christ takes us to the two images of the church – St Pauls image of the body in which every member has a place and a role and St John’s image of the vine where every branch must remain, be in to be part of the vine to be fruitful.
As we are encouraged to remain in Christ and, holding the images of the church as body or vine in our minds, we acknowledge that this cannot be a solitary journey, Faith is not an individualistic task Holiness cannot be found where there is no unity, where anger jealousy pride or fear divide Gods children one from the other.
 
Last week I read a brilliant article on Leadership matters from a group of faith filled people, calling themselves the Public Square, reflecting on the terrible brokenness of our country in particular our failures around hospitality and welcome for refugees. The article looks at the leaders of our time and sees in their actions and words the very seeds of our distress and division. Sally Barnes will be able to share more with you if you are interested.
 
 
 
Here is a brief extract;
 
Bad leadership, unethical and uncaring, sets a tone that signals anything goes, with no obvious boundaries for managing self-control, ethical behaviour, or hate-filled attitudes. It is all about “me” and what I want. I can behave as I like no matter how much harm it causes; I do not have to think about “you”.
This seems to be the climate we are living in today, with a government that perpetuates hostile attitudes to those who are seen as being outside their narrowly prescribed “norm”, as not part of the club: the “foreigner”, the refugee, the asylum seeker, those who are poor, homeless or who look different. Government business is focused on how immediate friends, relatives and associates profit financially, whether qualified or not, while they receive large handouts that keep the money in the circle: no ethical, open advertising… No, let us do it our way - undercover, while people are more preoccupied with Covid, hoping no one will notice.
Well, that's a bit political you might say to me this morning. And you would of course be right. it is and so is the gospel.
 
In our gospel reading St Mark tells us of an extraordinary episode in the midst of the ministry of Jesus and his disciples demonstrating the consequences of bad leadership, poor judgement, vanity, and the misuse of power.
 
But we don’t remember this story in Mark 6 as just another example of an Empire’s violence, or a corrupt regime.
 
For some reason Mark thinks this murder is an important piece in the story of Jesus. But the funny thing about this episode in the drama is that Mark does not really explain why we should think it is important; Mark does not tell us why John’s death is significant. He does not explain how this bit of information fits in the story of Jesus of Nazareth.
 
Right after the story of John’s beheading, as in the verses before St Mark’s focus is on the ministry of the disciples and if we read on where our gospel ended this morning we returns to the disciples’ adventures as if the past 16 verses—the ones we just heard this morning—did not even happen. Except that he just spent all that time telling us about it. What’s Mark up to?
 
By placing this death in the middle of the Gospel, Chapter 6, St Mark is placing a story about a tragic and senseless death in the middle of a far greater and more important story. The story of the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
 
And this maybe is the way in which St Mark is suggesting we understand our life and the lives of those around us. Because of the importance and significance of the death of Jesus our view of death is transformed, so that there is no truly senseless or meaningless death. When we consider John’s beheading, just as we should when we hear and see the victims of the violence of this world today, we do so in the context of the death of Jesus.
 
John’s death is significant because Jesus takes into himself the wounds of all victims as he breathes his last on the cross.
 
Jesus’ crucifixion gives John’s beheading significance, and in turn brings a new understanding and hope into the face of loss and tragedy so that death does not have the last word. This is the case for John the Baptist, and it is now true for every other senseless and tragic death since that of Jesus.
 
And if death is important so then is life – the life of each one of us. It is in the writing of St Paul that we see this most clearly articulated. He, that is God, destined us for adoption as his children though Jesus Christ v5 of the first chapter in his epistle to the Ephesians.
 
It is because through Jesus Christ that we enter a relationship with God like that of a child with a parent – precious and loved that we find the ultimate meaning in the meaningless fact of death because in v7 In him, Jesus Christ, we have redemption through his blood….
 
 Let us therefore in the prayers we offer today and every day in the week ahead, echo the words of St Paul as he writes to the Ephesians:  Blessed be God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
 
 

Women leaving Prison – breaking the re-offending cycle
Hilary Cotton

Chaplains in prisons do all sorts of things. They do the expected things, like running Sunday services and study groups, praying with people, breaking bad news, visiting those who are in trouble or self-harming. . They also run courses to help people come to terms with what they have done by doing what is called ‘restorative justice’, where they explore all the effects of their crime – on the victims and the wider community, and the effects on themselves, their families, and their own communities. This brings them face-to-face with a victim of crime (not usually their own) who describes what happened to them. Prisoners are often shocked to hear the victim’s story, as they have never thought about this before. And that small encounter can shift their feeling, thinking and behaviour in remarkable ways.
 
‘You’re in here AS punishment, not FOR punishment’. That’s a quote from ‘TIme’, the recent drama on BBC about a teacher imprisoned for killing a cyclist whilst he was drunk driving. His mother says it when she is visiting him after he has been beaten up by fellow-inmates. In this series, the prison chaplain offered safe space, gentle but firm support, encouragement, and challenge to ‘do better’: she was a star.
 
Whatever you think of what prison is for, I hope you would want people to emerge from serving their sentence with the intention not to commit another crime. But here it gets really difficult. You are released with £46 (soon to be increased to £72) and your belongings. If you are fortunate, you will be met by family or friends, and re-absorbed into a loving, supportive community who will give you a second – or further - chance. But what if you do not have that? Probation services will try and find you accommodation, but often that means an appointment with the local authority housing department the next day. How likely is it that they will find you somewhere to live immediately? And of course, women are especially vulnerable if they find themselves on the streets…..so the cycle goes on.
 
What can chaplains do to help? One example: Making Connections is a programme run by the Chaplaincy at HMP Send, a women’s prison in Surrey. It aims to bridge the gap between prison and living a crime-free, safe life in the outside world. Each prisoner who wants to, works with a volunteer mentor from six months before their release date on how they want their lives to be in two years’ time. They think about where they want to live, who with, how they will get enough money to live on, and how they will fill their days. They also work on how to rebuild relationships with their family, often including their children who will have been looked after by others in their absence. How will they avoid temptation to commit crime again? For many who have got ‘clean’ in prison, how will they avoid getting back onto drugs, and the crime cycle that so often follows?
 
Prison can be the safest place for many women. They have had utterly dysfunctional lives, and to be in a place where they are fed, have space of their own, and someone is looking out for them, is respite from the outside world. So, getting them to plan and build their confidence that they can manage an ordinary life, and that there is help out there, can be a huge relief for them.
 
One of the most important things that Making Connections mentors in prison aim to do is to find each prisoner a volunteer mentor who will meet and work with them after their release from prison. Their mentor is not their friend – they are a safety-net, helping them work out how to navigate their new world and resist all the pressures to give up – the bureaucracy of housing, social services and DWP, people who despise them for what they have done, difficulties in family relationships, and so on. In some ways, I am amazed more ex-offenders do not find themselves back inside without really realising what was happening.
 
But having a mentor make a huge difference. Making Connections has reduced re-offending. So have other similar schemes and community support efforts.
 
Many mentors belong to churches who have signed up to the Welcome Directory: aiming to offer welcome and support, without judgement, to prisoners on release. No one can mentor without good back-up, so being part of a group supporting prisoners within a church is important. Maybe your church could think about becoming a Welcome Directory church? Many women are released in London and having someone to have coffee with and talk about what it’s like to return to life ‘outside’ with all that’s changed and all that’s difficult, can be so important to keep someone on a safe and crime-free path.
 
Coming out of prison into a new sort of life takes huge amounts of courage and bravery, every day, and requires lots of support. Chaplains and others do their best, and volunteers work hard, to equip people to make the transition safely and successfully. Please do pray for those involved in this work, and for those who succeed or fail on their release from prison. God loves them, just as they are, and we are called to love them too.

Book Recommendation

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