Collect and Readings for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Hosea 11.1-11,  Ecclesiastes 1.2, 12-14; 2.18-23, Psalm 107.1-9, Psalm 49.1-12, Colossians 3.1-11, Luke 12.13-21

The Prayer for today

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in our hearts the love of your

name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the

same; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Our culture runs on consumerism, and one of the side-effects of that is an encouragement of greed and increase in the daily temptation through the media to us that security, happiness and peace of mind come from possessions and self-indulgence. It is a myth which has enough truth in it to be dangerous.  It undoubtedly helps to have enough to live on, but the wisdom of Mr Micawber holds true, all the same living within our means is happiness where finances are concerned, and sixpence over that is misery! Many know the misery of accumulated debts resulting from the pressure to live beyond our means and spend what we actually haven’t got.

It is a short step from being told that we haven’t got something to believing we need (rather than want) it, especially if we can see others who already have it. The ‘if only’s’ set in, with their accompanying sense of discontent and resentment. Equally dangerous is the possession of financial ’security’ which can kid us that we have no need of God, so that we shut down our spiritual antennae and grow increasingly oblivious to the needs of others and the glaring inequalities. The preoccupation with protecting what we own is good news for the insurance and home security firms, but bad news for the soul.

This week’s readings point out the foolishness of living in this way, and the wisdom of living with our security in the eternal things. Now that Christ has given us a new life, our insurance – or perhaps I should say ‘assurance’ – is kept with Christ in heaven. The whole yardstick of life is changed, and our time here recognised as only the first part of our full and lasting life. When we really grasp the implications of what Jesus has done for us, it is bound to alter our outlook on what is important to possess and what is of only minimal value.

It is not so much a question of giving away our possessions as changing our attitude to them and recognising them for what they are – pleasant comforts to thank God for, but lent to us to use, as good stewards, and in no way altering our real wealth and security.

Some things to reflect on:

·       Is it possible to live in our culture without becoming materialistic?

·       How can we help people see the value of this long-lasting spiritual wealth? And do we still need convincing ourselves?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Published: 27 July 2022

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Update following the meeting at Chelford Church on 4th July 2022 about the future of the Church of God in Chelford.

I would like to thank those who joined us for the meeting.

There were some key points which I made at that meeting which I have detailed below.

1. The Church of God is the people in community not the actual building which is the place we gather to worship.

2. The number of people who attend is small and there is an ageing demographic.

3. For a significant number of years, the overheads / expenditure of the parish has significantly exceeded its income which comes from regular giving or donations. Each Parish has to pay a contribution to the Diocese which covers the cost of the priest, their salary, pensions, training, housing and a small percentage which helps run the central diocesan support such as legal advice, pastoral support and other administrative support. This is called parish share.

4. Chelford currently has insufficient income to meet this monthly payment alongside its other day to day running costs. We have a parish share arrears of about £20,000 to the Diocese and this is rising on a monthon-month basis.

5. We have also just received the report following the 5 yearly inspection of the Grade 2* listed church building. This has identified urgent work estimated at a cost of approximately £200,000, but likely to be more. The oil-fired heating system is currently out of action and needs replacement.

What do we need:

1. More people to join us as regular worshippers who can help with some of the regular jobs that need to be done and also by becoming regular contributors to the church funds. Until we can ensure that we can cover our ongoing costs we have to seriously consider what options there are available.

The Archdeacon outlined the following possibilities:

1. Congregations increase and we become a thriving church community who can sustain the church building on a day-to-day basis and meet the costs of ongoing maintenance. It has to be remembered that the current building is difficult to get to, there is limited car parking space and the interior of the building restricts what events can be held.

2. The Church building is only used as a festival church for occasional services say 3 or 4 times a year. Whilst that means the Parochial Church Council passes responsibility for the building to a local Trust (if it can be formed) it needs to be maintained and heated to protect the fabric.

3. It can be offered to the Church Conservation Trust Homepage | The Churches Conservation Trust (visitchurches.org.uk) but they don’t have to accept it. It is not known whether they would accept this particular building.

4. It could become either Local Place of Worship or Chapel of Ease which reduces the need to hold a weekly service but doesn’t deal with the issues around maintenance.

5. The final option may be that the building needs to be sold but there is a lengthy process before any sale is agreed which involves the Church Commissioners.

Next Steps

1. Anyone who can become a regular member and giver is encouraged to do this.

2. Any thoughts or ideas for the future sustainability of the church should be shared with the Rev’d Fiona Robinson via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

3. At this stage we would discourage people from arranging individual fundraising events and ask that any ideas are shared so that we as a Parochial Church Council can consider the best approach on a community basis.

4. Whilst this needs to be agreed with the Bishop of Chester, we are planning that with effect from the beginning of October 2022, because of the issues with heating, all our Chelford Services will be held in Chelford Church of England Primary School by kind permission of Mr Brady the Head teacher.

5. We will hold another community meeting early in 2023 to provide an update on the situation and to reflect together on the experience of meeting in the school. This will be brought forward in the event that there is something material to report.

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Published: 16 July 2022

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Collect and Readings for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity – Hosea 1.2-10,  Genesis 18.20-32, Psalm 85, Psalm 138, Colossians 2.6-19, Luke 11.1-13

The Prayer for today

Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding:

pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may

obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who

is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

It is not God’s will that anyone should be lost; God longs for us all to be saved. Each one of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah was part of God’s loving creation and made in his image. Each person in Israel was known and loved. Those in every generation, who deliberately turn away and feed their selfish nature until they can no longer hear God’s prompting, are all cherished and of God’s making.

Today’s readings remind us of that immense parental tenderness that God has for us. He creates us full of potential and watches over our spiritual growth, ready to bathe us in his light, and drench us in his Spirit. The tragedy is that we so often refuse to let him give us the gifts necessary for our growth.

In the Genesis reading we are given this lovely example of a close relationship shared by Abraham with his God. He is full of respect, and perfectly understands the justice of the threatened destruction, but he feels with his God’s love the terrible sadness of waste and pleads for mercy on behalf of those cities. How his pleading must have made God’s heart sing, for here was a man loving in the broad and generous way he longed to see in all his creation.

The passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians urges his readers to let their growth in faith continue to flourish in Christ so that their lives overflow with thankfulness. It is not a question of everything happening at the beginning of our journey when we first commit ourselves. To grow, and to remain in close fellowship with God, we need constant filling up, feeding and guiding on a daily basis. The Bible, prayer and communion are gifts provided for us to use, and without taking God up on these gifts, our spiritual growth will weaken and become stunted.

In the Gospel for this week, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and the guidelines they are given have been valued by Christians of all denominations and traditions through the centuries. Luke links this teaching on prayer with a whole passage encouraging us to ask for what we need and ask persistently. God will never force himself on anyone; he waits for us to invite him into our lives, and that is why it is so vital that we do ask and seek and knock at the door.

If we look at many of his acts of healing, we find Jesus often gets people to state what they want; that is part of the healing because God likes to work in partnership with us, not as a take-over bid. So, he wants us to wake up each morning and ask that the kingdom may come, that we may have our daily needs provided – both physical and spiritual – and that we may have our sins forgiven and be guided safely through temptation. That way we shall be actively seeking the God who made us and loves us and has already all the gifts we need to bear fruit.

Some things to reflect on:

·       Do we assume God to be more tolerant of wrong than he really is, or doubt that he can really be as forgiving as he is?

·       How would you help someone to understand God’s character when they’ve prayed for something faithfully and it hasn’t materialised?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Published: 20 July 2022

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Collect and Readings for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Amos 8.1-12,  Genesis 18.1-10a, Psalm 52, Psalm 15, Colossians 1.15-28, Luke 10.38-42

The Prayer for today

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:

hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may

serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This week we are given a near-lethal dose of the bad news about human nature. The prophecy from Amos is particularly bleak and depressing because it paints such a true picture of the familiar materialistic, self-orientated world we know, both in society and in the secret places of our own hearts.

What hope can there possibly be? As humans we hold on to a vision of what it ought to be, and how we ought to live, but the disturbing truth is that we seem unable to haul ourselves above the selfish nature that drives us. We may see glimpses of nobility here and there in good men and women doing better than the rest of us, but the main tide is in the other direction, with no real possibility of widespread goodness. In Amos we read of that terrible prophecy of a famine, worse than thirst and hunger, which speaks of us being abandoned for our failure and locked out from all hope, as people struggle and search for the word of the Lord but never find it.

Into this misery and helplessness strides Paul, through his letter to the Colossians, like a being from a new and different dimension, shouting to us over the centuries that we need not despair. Someone has done the impossible, and through Christ Jesus, stretched out between earth and heaven in love, God has been able to reconcile all things to himself. Far from being abandoned, he has been searching through the rubble and debris of our human situation and has come in person to rescue us.

Some things to reflect on:

·       Are individual lives reflected in the way society develops? Do our small sparks of Christian living affect society? Do our slips of behaviour matter to society?

·       Paul talks of his exhausting labour of love in spreading the Gospel. What Martha/ Mary balance should we be aiming for as Christians?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Published: 13 July 2022

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