Branching Out - Summer
Letter From The Manse
One of my favourite stories that I have used in school and church is Jesus’ Day Off by Nicolas Allen. It tells the story of Jesus being recommended by his doctor to have a day off, because his work and ministry just isn’t going right. So, Jesus spent his day off doing cartwheels across the desert, going on a donkey ride, going swimming, having a picnic, and (my favourite part of the story) playing catch with his halo. But in the story Jesus feels guilty for having some time off; for not helping anyone, he feels like he has wasted the day. So he talks to God about it, who tells him, “Where you did your cartwheels, fountains of water appeared in the desert… where you threw your halo and ate your picnic, the trees bloomed with fruit… when you went swimming, the fishermen had lots of luck… and whoever you passed on your donkey, felt instantly happy.” The story ends with Jesus being glad he has taken the day off.
I told this story in my July assemblies last year to think about summer holidays and how we all need time off (especially their teachers!) so that we can be refreshed and ready for what comes next. At these assemblies it was a new school year. But it can be being ready for another week, feeling refreshed after a holiday or just stopping to feel ready for the rest of the day.
I’ve found since working, that rest is vital, because without it we can “burn out”, make ourselves ill or stressed and just feel so tired! But this story makes me think about how we feel when we get time to ourselves. It may only be a children’s storybook, but I wonder how many of us feel a bit guilty when we have time to rest, and when we do get time to rest, I wonder how many of us are glad that we did.
At the time of writing I am beginning the count down to my Ordination retreat. A week gifted to us by the church as a time to rest and reflect on our journey before the step of Ordination. As I started to prepare for this time, I felt guilty, because I’m not the only one who needs a retreat! But as I get closer, I’m looking forward to this time, not only because I get to catch up with my friends from college, but because I’m looking forward to some time to stop and to reflect on the journey taken in the past 9 years to get me to Ordination. I’m also looking forward to stopping and having some time to rest!
In the past few weeks I’ve been reminded of the story of creation, specifically the 7th day…
“By the seventh day God finished what He had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day because by that day He had completed His creation.” Genesis 2: 2-3
I’ve been reminded because even God needed a day off, a day to enjoy what had been created! I can imagine God sitting with His feet up, drinking a mug of tea (and eating cake), reading a book enjoying the world around Him that He had just created. The sunshine, the gentle breeze, the sound of birds, people laughing and enjoying themselves. Ok… perhaps that’s me explaining what I like do with my time off. But you get the idea!
Rest is supposed to be something we enjoy, something that makes us feel better, full of energy, renewed and refreshed. It is also something we all need to make time for! So my hope for all of you over this summer period, is that you get time to rest, to be refreshed, to enjoy the sunshine (please don’t blame me if it now rains all summer!) and just to get time to stop and take a breath.
I hope you all have a very restful and blessed summer!
God Bless. Love, Katie
Readings In The New Testament
Matthew chapter 19 vs.16-30 tell a well-known story of the rich young man, a story which is also in Mark and Luke.
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ ” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
We must assume that v.16 is a genuine approach to Jesus by this young man. He finds the ways of Christ attractive and asks what he must do to follow them. The first response from Jesus is that he should follow the commandments. This produces an odd reply, ‘Which ones?’ Surely the young man did not expect Jesus to tell him that some of them could be broken? Probably he is seeking guidance on the following of the complicated Jewish Laws which we have referred to on many occasions. Jesus makes it easier for him by summarising the later commandments. Oddly, there is no mention of the first four commandments relating to obeying and honouring God. Perhaps there was something about the young man that told Jesus that he was already following these.
V.20 indicates that the man is aware that there is more that he should be doing, he just has not recognised what it was. V.21 must have come as a shock.
We are told in v.22 that he was not just rich, but very rich, with great wealth. This wealth has not produced a rewarding life for him and he is seeking more. Jesus sees that the riches he has are a barrier between him and God and presents the challenge to him. The challenge is a step too far. The response of the young man shows that Jesus was right, the love of his wealth is dividing him from God and also from properly following the commandment that he should love his neighbour as himself.
In v.23-24 Jesus tells us that riches can be a very difficult barrier to surmount. It is dependent on the effect that the wealth has on the individual. First it may give a person a feeling of superiority, that their wealth and possessions make them better than others. Second it can cause greed, not just for more wealth, but also to protect the wealth from being used for the benefit of others.
The first effect is shown by so many in society, perhaps including ourselves. The way we dress or speak, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, the schools we went to, the jobs we do, the entertainment we seek, the holidays we take. Any of these can produce a feeling of superiority, that others are less than us.
The second is an indictment of our societies’ worship of money. The way that bankers and others, particularly recently, have lined pockets with wealth that is staggering to most of us is an indication of a society losing its way. Lotteries attract ticket buyers with the promises of ‘more millionaires’. Yet this is going on in a society where child poverty is increasing, food banks are becoming a new permanent part of our country and the size of the division between the wealthy and the mass of the population is becoming larger every year.
How a society reacts to these problems is a measure of its health and its recognition of its obligations to the poorest and weakest. Jesus is saying that failure to deal with the poor is a condemnation.
That there are those who have acquired great wealth and then used it for the benefit of others is a sign that not all is lost. There are many who down the years and even today have been great benefactors in society, there are too many who have not.
David Battye
Letter From S6 Fundraisers
4th June 2015
Dear Cliff,
I am just writing to let you and the church members know what we have achieved so far with our table top sales and being able to use the church for free to hold these events.
In September 2014 we held a coffee morning/table top sale which raised £114.00 for Macmillan Cancer Trust.
In November 2014 we held a Baby & Toddler nearly new sale that raised £135.00 for the Neo natal unit at the Jessop Hospital.
In May 2015 we held a table top sale that raised £100.00 for Mesothelioma UK (a charity that supports people with asbestos caused cancer).
I hope like us you agree that our efforts have been worthwhile and we are very grateful for all your help and the Church providing us with premises to do the Sales. We hope that you will let us continue to use your premises when it is convenient and if so we would like to hold another event in September.
I would also like to let everyone know that we do not take any of the money raised for ourselves we only use enough to cover the market licence, postage and other expenses that we can’t avoid!!
So, on behalf of S6 Fundraisers, thank you again for all the wonderful cooperation that Wisewood Methodist Church and its congregation have given us.
Best wishes,
Diane Patchett (Chairperson)
S6 Fundraiser
A ‘Not for Profit’ Group Raising Funds for Local and National Charities
Musical Notes!
Recently I was in conversation with Paul Horton of St. Thomas’ Church at Philadelphia. He was interested in the old Whit. Monday Hymn Sings in the local parks. I was able to show him my collection of Hymn Sheets – the earliest being 1936 – and he was wondering if it would be possible to re-create these events in some form. It is difficult, after all these years, to recall what huge events these Whitsuntide Gatherings were in Sheffield’s Parks. My own memories, of course, are of the events in Hillsborough Park. Fifteen Churches and Sunday Schools, led by Loxley Band, paraded from Taplin Road to the Park. The roads were lined all the way with onlookers who then went into the Park to take part in the Service, using the specially selected Whitsuntide Hymns. Each School had its banner carried proudly aloft and there was great excitement. The School who led the parade usually provided the conductor for the hymns and when I was first privileged to do this in 1960 it was estimated that 5,000 people were present. Huge crowds! This was replicated in many other Sheffield Parks. The hymns were selected by a Committee of the Sheffield Sunday School Union and many of the hymns were specially written for these selections. One of the composers who contributed several hymn tunes over the years was the world renowned Sir Henry Coward. Born in Liverpool, he came to Sheffield as an apprentice cutler but, educating himself, he became a teacher and later a head teacher. His interest in music developed from a tonic-sol-fa class and in 1876 he founded a choir which became the Sheffield Music Union. He remained its director until 1933. In 1937 this choral body was merged with the new Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus which, of course, still operates today. Henry Coward became a Doctor of Music and conducted many societies e.g. Leeds, Huddersfield, Newcastle and Glasgow. In 1911 he embarked on a worldwide tour with his amateur singers. Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were all visited. What an incredible undertaking in the days before air travel was even thought of!! Of the hymns he composed for the Whit. Sings he used Sheffield locations as titles i.e. Norfolk Park and Brocco Bank. One of the titles puzzled me at first. It was called ‘Iris’ - then I realised that he had set the words of another Sheffield giant – James Montgomery – who was editor of Sheffield’s newspaper, Iris. Henry Coward died in 1944 at the grand age of 94.
Other contributors to the Whit. hymns are perhaps less well known but closer to us. In 1950 one of the hymns was written by Rev. William Boote who was then minister at Hillsborough Wesley and the tune was composed by Ron Greaves also of Hillsborough Wesley and later, of course, Wisewood.
Yes, Whit. Monday was a great day but when the Government set up our modern Spring Bank Holiday, Whit. Monday, due to its moveable date, was not always a holiday and the great Whit. Gathering declined…
John Garrett
Mental Health Matters Conference 2015
On 5th-7th June this year, I attended a national conference run by the Methodist Church at Cliff College in Derbyshire all about mental health and the church’s response. Here are a few of my notes from the initial keynote talk. Understanding Mental Illness – talk by Gill Dascombe (Vice-President of the Methodist Conference): What is mental illness? Any illness affecting emotions, thoughts or behaviour that has a negative effect on someone’s life or of their family or friends.
History of attitudes and treatment of mental illness:
A temple in Pergamon in the Ancient Greek empire hosted what could have been the world’s first ‘psychiatric hospital’. Treatment included music, massage, talking, exercise and medicinal herbs, and the patient and therapist would choose together what they thought the best combination of therapies would be. It is interesting that the first treatments began by looking at the holistic person, and were established in a religious environment! What follows shows how far we have moved from that, right round in a circle to the similar beliefs now held today.
By Plato’s time any illness was seen as a punishment, as invisible causes could only be attributed to the supernatural. Mental illness was viewed as the severest form. This could be linked to the curses for disobedience listed in Deuteronomy 28:28–29 - “The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.”
The Romans, however, turned to physical causes linked to the ‘four humours’ – blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. For example, they believed hysteria was caused by the misplacement of the womb (the etymology of our word hysterectomy), and so the treatment was to keep the woman continuously pregnant! In fact, it wasn’t until the 17th century that we realised that men are affected by hysteria too!
In Medieval times, thoughts turned back to the supernatural, this time to evil demons or spirits. This was the witch hunt era.
The 16th and 17th centuries became known as the ‘age of reason’ and asylums were built for observation, accommodation and treatment of the mentally ill. Treatment was not like we experience today, or how the Ancient Greeks did at Pergamon. One of the major asylums became known as Bedlam and now we associate that word with the chaos that was experienced there. Patients were often chained up and the asylum became a tourist attraction for people looking to be entertained by the ‘mad people’. This was an instance of demonization or mockery as a response to something we don’t understand or are fearful of.
It wasn’t until the incredibly recent 1950’s that effective treatments started to be developed. The mind and body were believed to be separate entities. Family traits were noticed as being linked to poor living conditions and addictions. The Victorian beliefs that some people were morally weak and therefore responsible for their own ill health prevailed, leading to shame and unspoken blame and a culture of telling people to ‘pull themselves together’. Nowadays we are beginning to realise that it is the illness that causes the lifestyle (living in poor housing or deprived areas), not the other way round. The eugenics movement sterilised or culled people they thought of as ‘defective’. Freud was the champion of the 20th century, leading to a more scientific approach with less judgment. He developed the idea of the subconscious, believing in strong links between childhood and development and established psychoanalysis and
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as treatments. Psychiatry focused on relief of symptoms rather than their causes. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM) was put together to allow consistent and universal diagnosis. We are currently on version 5. Effective drugs were developed, first for schizophrenia and then antidepressants.
Most recently, we have seen a return to care in the community rather than in institutions.
Symptoms of mental illness:
- Mood – depression/mania
- Anxiety – worry/fear/insomnia
- Cognitive – memory/decisions/behaviour
- Psychosis – hallucinations/delusions
Types of disorder:
- Organic (structural): e.g. Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, acquired brain injury.
- Functional: e.g. Anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia.
- These are just examples, there are over 200 disorders in DSM!
Some statistics:
- 70 million working days were lost last year due to mental illness, which is 24% more than in 2009.
- More people are affected by depression than any other illness, around 350 million people.
- News reports link 46% of violence and criminality to mental illness.
- 1 in 4 people have a mental disorder.
- Women are more likely to be treated than men.
- Men are 3 times more likely to commit suicide.
- 10% of children have a mental disorder and that rises to 50% for those in care.
- Depression affects 20-40% of the elderly.
- Only 1 in 10 prisoners DON’T have a mental illness.
- 50% of ill health is mental, but only 11% of the NHS budget is spent on mental health.
Remember, there is only ‘us’, not ‘them and us’.
How does all of this fit with Jesus’ declaration that he has come to bring “life in all its fullness”? (John 10:10). The Royal College of Psychiatrists claim that good spiritual care can help those with mental ill health.
In conclusion, we need to challenge prejudice, increase knowledge and compassion, fight stigmatising language and advocate political change.
Becca Byde (Community Worker)
What Links Far Lane To The Forth Estuary?
The answer to the above question is John Fowler. He later became Sir John and later still a baronet.
John was born in 1817 and was given the same Christian name as his father, who worked as a land surveyor and also a farmer in Wadsley. The family lived in Wadsley Hall, Far Lane, a building which was probably built in the 15th century, though very little of the original Hall still exists today. In its early days the Hall had its own chapel at the east end but this was partly destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth 1st although part of it remained until 1813, a year after the Fowlers had bought the Hall. John senior made his money as a land surveyor and his son was educated privately at Whitley Hall, near Ecclesfield.
John the younger trained as an engineer, concentrating on railways which were expanding rapidly around the country throughout his lifetime. He worked on the London-Brighton line, the Severn Valley Railway, London’s first underground railway, including what is now known as the Circle Line and many others.
However he is usually acknowledged for his work in constructing the Firth of Forth Railway Bridge which, of course, still stands today, linking Edinburgh with the north of Scotland. The work started in 1881, two years after the bridge over the River Tay had collapsed, killing at least 59 people.
The Forth Bridge was built as a cantilever bridge and has become one of Britain’s iconic engineering structures. It has always been renowned for being continually repainted, because as soon as work finished at one end it was time to start again at the other. Modern materials mean that this is no longer necessary.
Most of John’s engineering projects were successful, many of them in other countries including Australia, Egypt, the USA and Germany. However, he did have failures including a “fireless engine” which became known as “Fowler’s Ghost.” John stood as a Conservative MP but failed to get elected on two occasions. He married an Elizabeth Broadbent, in 1850 and had four sons the last of whom, the Reverend Sir Montague Fowler, 4th Baronet, died childless, in 1933, and so the baronetcy became extinct, unlike many of Sir John’s creations which stand to this day.
Sir John died in 1898 in Bournemouth, where he resided and is buried in Brompton cemetery, in London.
Ray Battye
Christian Aid Report
This year Wisewood Church raised a total of £1,457.70 for Christian Aid: earthquake appeal £320.00, charity walk £611.64 and street collection £526.06.
A huge thank you to everyone who has given, walked, collected, administered and prayed.
God bless you all. All my love and thanks.
Pauline