Faith Goes Walkabout – Page 25 – Thoughts and reflections

Wind and flames

On June 12, 2011

In church seasons, community, theological

sunset Pentecost Sunday 12th June 2011

The best gift of all!

The Holy Spirit

Someone said the other day, what would have happened if Jesus had been born into our time, do you think he would have used emails, the internet, gone on long haul flights?

I’m sure he would, but the fact is that he can work wonders without electronic and technical communications, just wait and see.

Pentecost, the start of the church.

Jesus had been taken to heaven and now his gift, as promised, the Holy Spirit came in flying style to the disciples.

The church and Christianity started here!

At the feast of Pentecost there were a group of about 200 followers, the disciples, and Mary, mother of Jesus and his brothers. A sound from Heaven, like a strong wind appeared and tongues like fire rested on them.

If it happened today just imagine the scenes it would have caused.

It could have been used on a scene for Dr Who, but there are things that even a Time Lord can’t do.

A brief address is under Faith and Practice.

Sue Martin

Beating the Bounds on Rogation Day

By faithgoeswalkabout

On May 30, 2011

In church seasons, community, pastoral, theological

Rogation Sunday at East Walton Sunday May 29th.

barley

A service in the tiny hamlet of East Walton for Rogation Sunday and along with Farmer Bill Lewis we enjoyed a service in church followed by the traditional ‘ Beating the Bounds’ around the parish boundaries.

Rogation Sunday is always before Ascension Day and comes from the Latin verb, rogare meaning to ask. To ask, to seek and to find. The sermon for the day is on the Faith and Practice page and links the asking and seeking to following pathways and finding your way in a theological meaning.

And after the service we made the first stop into the barley field for a small glass of beer and a prayer. The next stop was at the very old ash tree in the field of sheep and lambs, looking very parched. We found our way to the village green and the sign before the next stop in Dilys’ garden for a glass of wine and then a trek across the common to enter a beautiful garden for a picnic and several different sorts of cakes.

What a real sense of community, a great day!

Revd Sue Martin

Easter Sunday , Alleluia, Christ ok Risen!

By faithgoeswalkabout

On April 29, 2011

In church seasons, theological

Easter Sunday

Matthew 28:1- 10

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

What a week!

Quite a story, starting with the triumphal ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the humble donkey. Crowded streets, the place packed with people preparing for the feast of the Passover, Jesus turning over the tables in the temple, the Last Supper in the upstairs room, for fear of being found, the long night in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the capture by the soldiers, Jesus coming before Pontius Pilate, the crowds calling for him to be crucified and the release of Barabbas.

And then the crucifixion.

Saturday, the holy day for the Jews.

And so to Easter Sunday, the good news that Jesus is risen. Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Remember I am with you always to the end of the age.’

The true message of Easter, Jesus is alive and with us now and forever.
God sent his only son to be with us to show his love for all his people.

The sermon for Easter given at St Nicholas church Gayton can be seen on the faith and practice tab.

Revd Sue Martin

Donkeys at Church

By faithgoeswalkabout

On April 23, 2011

In church seasons, community, pastoral, theological

Palm Sunday April 16th 2011
St Mary’s Church East Walton, West Norfolk

Our second Country Church service with style.

donkeys in lane

Staring at the church we followed two young donkeys down the lane on this beautiful morning. They were quite skittish and enjoying the attention but walked into the churchyard with the young and older followers behind. With a bit of extra encouragement and a stronger pull on the rope they walked into church and stood in front of the nave.

At the first hymn, ‘We have a king who rides a donkey’ they were taken into the front box pew. An unfamiliar sight in the traditional box pew and I couldn’t help wondering what the last users of the pew would have thought.

donkeys in stall

We said goodbye to them after the hymn and they were taken back to be put out in the grass field just behind the church.
Jesus, of course, travelled on the young donkey, not on a grand horse but on the humble animal, the beast of burden.

More details and sermon are on Faith and Practice section

Revd Sue Martin

Curate in the Gayton benefice

I’ll be there for you always! Mothering Sunday April 2nd 2011

By faithgoeswalkabout

On April 9, 2011

In church seasons, community, pastoral, theological

I’ll be there for you always! Mothering Sunday

Livvie4 4th Sunday in Lent 3rd April 2011
Hebrews 12: 22 – 24
John 9

This is what it means to be a Mum, never far away, even though the miles may separate us. Always there, ever present, ever by your side.

Of course not all of life is as wonderful and romantic as that. Just think for moment of all those times when being a Mum or a parent is just plain hard work, never in the right place, always wearing the wrong thing, saying the wrong words….

Being a mother so what does it mean,what are the words that it conjures up; love, care, nurture, encourage, guide, friend, supporter, healer, teacher, the list goes on and I’m sure you can add lots to it.

Quite a list but yet the best thing in the world. Celebrate with us on this Mothering Sunday.

Revd Sue Martin

Lambing Service

By faithgoeswalkabout

On March 25, 2011

In church seasons, community, pastoral, theological

Lambs and Springtime, New Life and New Beginnings

lambs
At a very special new service style we held a Lambing Service at Abbey Farm East Walton in the Lambing Shed on Sunday 20th Feb. at 2.30pm

On this cold winters day we walked through the barns and round the farmyard into the lambing sheds. Wellies were definitely needed and warm coats, scarves and gloves wrapped even the smallest children and toddlers.

And what a wonderful group of people arrived for the service, families, children, grandparents, older couples, young teenagers, and of course the sheep. The ewes with their new born lambs, some with twins, some with triplets and the orphan lambs or kadhi lambs that needed feeding from the bottle.

Farmer Bill had arranged straw bales in front of the expectant ewes so the backdrop for the service and where I was to stand from was surrounded by the sheep – a flock indeed!

In the horsebox at the open shed doors was Rachel with mugs of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, a very welcome touch of warmth.

At the start of the service people were seated on the straw bales and with mugs of steaming hot chocolate in hand. We sang All things bright and beautiful. The sheep were stunned into silence!

I talked about the lambs and new life, signs of spring. Farmer Bill found a very special bucket that the sheep recognised at once. No looking back from this point!
I started to get a little more serious in my talk but was completely drowned out by the sheep behind me who were definitely in the limelight with their loud Baa’s .

Undeterred I continued with the prayers and found that the sheep, now thoroughly getting into the spirit of things were responding with a choral ‘Baa’ at the pauses.

We finished with Morning has Broken and then went on to feed the lambs and have more hot chocolate.

group

A wonderful way to join together, who needed all the words that I had ready.

The lambs and the sheep said it all, new life and new beginnings in action.

Revd Sue Martin

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Faith in the World Prize

By faithgoeswalkabout

On February 2, 2011

In community, pastoral, theological

Some of the really big issues are just the things that young people really feel passionate about. They want to feel empowered to be heard. They have some great ideas and they are much more in touch with modern thinking.

The competition is about enabling young people to have a chance to express their views. Do they feel that faith is a vital part of modern day living? Does faith give young people chance to make connections between issues and ideals associated with faith?

Some of the titles are;

Do you need to be religious to be good?
How can one person improve the lived of the world’s poorest?
Is believing more important than belonging?

To enter the competition you need to be between 13 and 21 years. And the topics make a really good talking point for groups of young people.
The full details are available on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s website and also on the Norwich Diocese website.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said,

“If we want to nurture a really articulate public argument about the great issues of our times, we have to make sure that younger citizens have the confidence to make themselves heard. One of the most depressing things that can happen to young people is a climate, whether in school or out of it, that gives them the message that they’re not worth listening to…And if you believe that religious faith is one of the things that quite rightly gets people talking, for and against, it is important to help younger people make the connections between the issues of the day and the ideas and ideals associated with faith. They may want to argue furiously against it or they may discover that it has more to say to them than they expected. But it is wonderful when there is an environment in which those connections can be made.”
Archbishop Rowan Williams, 15th January 2011

So, time to get writing

Sue Martin

From Advent to Christmas

By faithgoeswalkabout

On December 22, 2010

In church seasons, theological

nat As the shortest day brings increasing darkness and wintry weather so our Advent calendars move close towards Christmas Day.

People rushing from shops to home, travellers stranded at airports or in planes, caught in the snow on trains and in the roads.

And then on Saturday, all will be calm.

At Faith Goes Walkabout look for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Just some thoughts, prayers and the odd sermon too. Hope it gets you thinking or at least just a chance to read.

Look out for Church of England website and Norwich Diocese too. The BBC have a great programme running this week, called The Nativity.

Sue Martin, Faith Goes Walkabout

Renegotiating Value; Bonus or Pro Bono

By faithgoeswalkabout

On November 2, 2010

In Faith and business

‘Bonus vs Pro Bono’ is the second in a series of Renegotiating ‘value’ seminars and seeks to explore the value of inspirational leadership in business. The seminar will be held in the St Martin’s Hall at St Martin-in-the-Fields (Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ) on Thursday 4th November between 4.00 and 6.30pm.

SmithMartin Partnership is pleased to work with Faith in London’s Economy who are delivering this series of seminars concerned with ‘values’ . Looking at the way our economic system is geared more to the development of wealth for its own sake rather than being socially beneficial and sustainable with a sense of stewardship around our most vulnerable members of the community.

Join us at St Martin’s in the Fields on Thursday 4th November for an interesting and thought provoking afternoon.

The seminar speakers are:

* Peter Hyson (Change Perspectives Ltd) has specialised in leadership development, working with both individuals and strategic teams to boost high performance. He has clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. His consultancies have included working with Directors in Professional Services, promoted because of their exceptional technical skills, to adjust to learning people-leadership skills; and a major Organisation Development project with a Government Department to re-assess its work-culture. He says, “After at least four separate careers, the key theme – and what excites me – is helping people and organisations exceed their expectations, to feel they have power and influence.” These portfolio careers also reflect an eclectic range of business skills and interests, including story-writing, for both business and pleasure and he will shortly be publishing a book about coaching and the “third IQ” – spirituality. His favourite management development insight is “The great coach is the one who brings out the greatness in others” (Nancy Kline)

Baroness Uddin is a Labour Peer and was the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords. Born in Bangladesh and brought up in England, she is an advocate of social reforms and equal rights. A formidable champion for women, Lady Uddin was invited to the House of Lords in 1998 for her contribution to the advancement of women’s and disability rights. She began her professional and political career in the 1970’s, in the East End of London, developing a number of leading edge and well-regarded services and organisations. Many of these have since come to be accepted as benchmarks for sustainable development and community engagement. Baroness Uddin has served on the Government’s Select Committee on European Affairs and has chaired several Government task forces, under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s office, the Home Office and the FCO. She also chaired the Government’s Task force on Ethnic Minority Women Councilors.

To register for the seminar, which costs £5.00, phone 020 8599 2170 or email jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Sue Martin

Renegotiating ‘value’: what faiths offer 21st century business leadership

By faithgoeswalkabout

On October 1, 2010

In Faith and business

file A series of seminars are organised in London, seeking to explore the benefit and challenge of faith traditions in leading sustainable businesses, through three seminars.

Profit vs Prophet (7th October)
Bonus vs Pro Bono (4th November)
Shareholder vs Stakeholder (tbc)

It is being organised by FILE, Faith in London’s Economy, a part of MILE, Mission in London’s Economy.

Taking on the issues will be:

Peter Hyson (Change Perspectives Ltd); Bruce Irvine (The Grubb Institute); Jay Lakhani (Hindu Council UK); Abigail Morris (ResponseAbility); Mannie Sher (Tavistock Institute); and Baronness Uddin

The first seminar is on Thursday 7th October at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

Profit v Prophet’ – making money & making a difference, are they opposed?

The three speakers, Jay Lakhani, Abigail Morris and Mannie Sher are able to provide a varied and stimulating set of responses to the above question.

A blog has been created for the Renegotiating ‘value’ seminar series with the intention of furthering discussions between those involved and of the issues raised by seminars themselves. This gives the latest information about the seminar series and a chance to contribute to discussion of the issues.
To register,come along to the centre and contact Justine at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

Faith and work together on a walkabout journey. Blog created by Sue Martin