Terror and love

The Archbishop of York has issued a

Statement of Condolence, Empathy and a Call to Prayer

Archbishop of York
Rt Revd Dr John Sentamu

I want to express my deep condolences to the families of those British holiday makers who were brutally murdered in Sousse, Tunisia. At times such as these, words can seem so limited and futile in the face of brutality and horror. To the bereaved and to those who were wounded in the attack - you are in the thoughts and prayers of many of us.

My thoughts also go to the family of the manager beheaded by his driver in Lyon, France; and to those murdered and injured in Kuwait.

There is a yearning amongst so many people to respond to these acts, to respond  in a way which builds up rather than destroys.

the statement continues here

~~~

In one sense the terrorist seems successful. He not only killed but also deeply damaged tourism in Tunisia, made westerners hundreds of miles away more anxious and afraid, and reinforced everyone's instinct to make ourselves more secure, more insular. He furthered the goals of a particular conception of an Islamic Caliphate.

Against this I wish to affirm that, however improbably, love is greater. It is greater than hatred, violence, anxiety and fear. 

God's love is not an emotion. It does not wobble or flicker in the face of rejection., It may grieve in the face of callousness, ideology, violence, selfishness but it does not give up.

In the words of St Paul:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love is the nature of God and, in the end, maybe beyond our experience, love will win out.

Restart

It's been a long time since anything was put on this site and it's high time I got going again.

I'm  going to try a slightly different mix, posting items of more general interest (though probably still largely Church of  England focused) as well as items specific to St Hilda's Church.

There's a wind beginning to blow through the C of E and I for one think it's a good thing. But, as always, it will be the detail that's critical an, at the moment, the detail is missing.

Under the suspicious heading of 'Reform and Renewal' there are two tests we know about:

• is the church able to pay it's ministerial costs?
• is  the church growing?

For any other organization these might seem perfectly reasonable tests. For the C of E they suggest the beginning of a change of culture which 

On the other hand, rhetoric, anxieties and hopes are always greater than reality. We will only know how much has changed, and what it cost (in the broadest sense) long after it's too late to do anything about it.

In the meantime St Hilda's is looking forward to celebrating it's first half century - in the hope and expectation of moving forwards into its second half century with optimistic faith and faithful optimism.

A celebration tea party

You are warmly welcome to join us on

Saturday 16 May 3-5pm

for a

Celebration Tea Party

remembering VE day 

70^th Anniversary

there will be sandwiches ~ scones ~ cake

music ~ singing ~ dancing

and a cheerful time for everyone

Tickets £4 (available on the door)

They're all coming to the dance (BBC photo)

Baptism at St Hilda's

I am very grateful to Chloe's family for giving us permission to use photographs from her baptism.

Chloe looking a little apprehensive at the start.

Chloe and her mother at the font

With an older child like Chloe we explain everything that's going to happen and make sure she's happy with each stage.

A candle symbolises the light of Christ - and our prayer
that Chloe will always live and grows in Christ's love and care  

A delighted Chloe having been baptised
and now looking forward to a party.

More about booking a baptism at St Hilda's

Stations of the Cross

You are very welcome to make use of this text if you wish, but please credit it with first being used at the Church of St Hilda, Marden in 2015. Thank you.