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You can keep up with the latest news from St Peter’s on

our Facebook page: St Peters Church, Bengeworth

and on our website: bengeworth church.co.uk

ST PETER’S DUTY ROTA

Main Service - 10.30 am

2nd Aug Trinity 8

Isaiah 55.1-5 Lucy Vincent-Daviss Romans 9.1-5 Ros Harvey Matthew 14.13-21 Mark Binney Intercessions Dave Cockram 9th Aug Trinity 9 1 Kings 19.9-18 Heather Staite Romans 10.5-15 Marian Grylls Matthew 14.22-33 Intercessions Marie Bomyer 16th Aug Trinity 10 Isaiah 56.1,6-8 Isabelle Lambert Romans 11.1-2a, 29-32 Dave Cockram Matthew 15.[10-20]21-28 Julian Bomyer Intercessions John Gordon 23rd August Trinity 11 Isaiah 51.1-6 Sally Ashton Romans 12. 1-8 David Daniels Matthew 16.13-20 Mark Binney Intercessions Lucy Vincent-Daviss 30th Aug Trinity 12 Jeremiah 15.15-21 Dave Cockram Romans 12.9-end Marie Bomyer Matthew 16.21-28 Intercessions Jane Richards

Making Christ Visible

in Bengeworth

St. Peter’s Key

August 2020 50 pence

St. Peter’s Church, Bengeworth

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KEY PEOPLE

bengeworthchurch.co.uk

Vicar: Mark Binney 424235

Missioner: Sarah Hewitt 429122

Parish Administrators: 446381 or beneficemail@hamptonchurch.org.uk

Churchwardens: Dave Cockram 832676 Marie Bomyer 421559

Safeguarding: Heather Uncles 48936

Honorary Assistant Priests: Julian Bomyer 421559 Nick Wright 443310

PCC Secretary: Jane Richards 870567 PCC Treasurer: Michael Freer 45028 Organist & Choir Director: Keith Biggin 710599 Verger: Pat Masters 41506 Pastoral Care Group: Ros Harvey 48793 Gardening Team Coordinator: Pat Coombs 442797 Parish Magazine Editor: Marie Bomyer marie@bomyer.co.uk 421559 Bible Reading Fellowship Secretary: Julie Archer 07899 923166 Church House Bookings Secretary: Heather Uncles 48936 Communion Assistants: Wendy Coles, Lucy Vincent-Daviss, Julie Archer, Brian Reid, Sandra Cockram, Shelagh Moore, Jane Richards, David Daniels, Peter Moore

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August 2019

Sun 2nd 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Parish Eucharist

Tues 4th 10.00 am Holy Communion

Sun 9th 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Morning Worship

Tues 11th 10.00 am Holy Communion

Sun 16th 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Parish Eucharist

Tues 18th 10.00 am Holy Communion

Sun 23rd 8.00am Holy Communion 10.30 am Parish Eucharist

Tues 25th 10.00 am Holy Communion

Sun 30th 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Morning Praise

Tues 1st 10.00 am Holy Communion

Prayer of St Aidan of Lindisfarne

Leave me alone with God as much as may be. As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore, Make me an island, set apart, alone with you, God, holy to you. Then with the turning of the tide prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond, the world that rushes in on me till the waters come again and fold me back to you.

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PRAYER SHARE

Collect for the Blessed Virgin Mary

Almighty God, who looked upon the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chose her to be the mother of your only Son: grant that we who are redeemed by his blood may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom; 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

Creator God who breathed this world into being, who is discernible within the harmony of nature, the perfection of a butterfly's wing, the grandeur of a mountain range, the soaring eagle and humming bird; thank you for this world which you have created. Thank you for summer sun, which reminds us that your creative breath is still alive and active. Thank you for the warmth of your love, sustaining this world, your garden . https://www.faithandworship.com/Prayers_Summer.htm#gsc.tab=0

St Oswald-commemorated 5th August

Lord God almighty, who so kindled the faith of King Oswald with your Spirit that he set up the sign of the cross in his kingdom and turned his people to the light of Christ: grant that we, being fired by the same Spirit, may always bear our cross before the world and be found faithful servants of the gospel; 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

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We’ve clapped the health workers and the carers. We’ve applauded Captain Tom. Medals are being struck and honours will be awarded for those who have given exceptional service to the community during the pandemic. Absolutely right. There are many heroes to be honoured.

But I want to spare a clap for the unheroes too. The unheroes are those of us who haven’t managed to do anything exceptional during the pandemic. We haven’t risen to the occasion, or given conspicuous service to the community. Frankly we hated the lockdown. Perhaps we were ill, or shielding, or furloughed from work, or working from home, and we found it depressing. We were confused by the disruption of our ordinary routines. We grumbled a lot. We never quite discovered an answer to that terrifying future question, ‘And what did you do during the pandemic, grandad?’ We didn’t even tidy the attic.

So why do we, the unheroes, deserve a small round of applause? Because we stuck it out. We hated every minute of it, but we kept to the rules, we stayed at home, and we didn’t put other people’s lives at risk. We were part of an enormous global effort to contain the spread of coronavirus and prevent it from killing yet more people. To that extent, we did our bit. We too saved lives.

That’s what we did during the pandemic.

A LETTER FROM

Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester

What did you do during Lockdown? It would be good to leave a record of this strange time, so that members of St Peter’s, our local community and schools can study the effects and our reactions to the

Pandemic Lockdown.

I would like to put together an archive of material to create this resource. There are already accounts from the last edition of the magazine and Jacquie has written an account which will be published in instalments.

What can you offer? It can be anything: a recipe you used a lot; a painting; a written account; a photograph of a key moment; absolutely anything to show how the times affected you and your family. Just bring it to church, or contact me so that I can collect it. Marie Bomyer

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GOOD NEWS

Janet Osborne

CHURCH HOUSE MAKEOVER – THANK YOU WYCHAVON!

Church House was built in 1922 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of St Peter’s Church. It must have been very solidly built as it appears to have undergone very little change in the meantime! Initially it had quite a large stage and it would be interesting to know what sort of productions took place there. David has just told me that he appeared in one, called “Dandy Dick”, directed by the Vicar, Revd Trippas’s, wife. A classic of comedy theatre, he says! He played an army officer and apparently looked very fetching in the uniform! At some stage, over 50 years

The Saltley Trust is asking people to help them conduct a small piece of snap research on Christians' experiences of discipleship during the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. The survey features 10 short questions on following Christ with 'head, heart and hands' through the crisis of the last few months. Director of the Trust, Dr Ian Evans, said:

"Over recent weeks there have been a few pieces of research on different aspects of the Christian response to

the coronavirus pandemic and various surveys on practical responses to the crisis by local churches, or church leaders' experiences of ministry. Arguably however, there has been less attention given to lay Christians' experiences of living, growing and being challenged and tested as individual followers of Christ during this time. In a small way, this survey seeks to address this gap. I hope that anything we find out can be used to inform local churches and their leaders about what Christian formation/discipleship development might need to look like as we slowly emerge from lockdown."

To help the Saltley Trust with their research and give your views on discipleship during lockdown, follow this link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/R13JHJ/ St Peter's Saltley Trust is a Christian educational charity supporting religious education and Christian discipleship.

SALTLEY TRUST

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Jewish Night Prayer Lord, let your light be only for the day, And the darkness for the night. And let my dress, my humble dress, Lie quietly over my chair at night.

Let the church bells be silent, My neighbour Ivan not ring them at night. Let the wind not waken the children Out of their sleep at night.

Let the hen sleep on its roost, the horse in the stable, All through the night. Remove the stone from the middle of the road That the thief may not stumble at night.

Let heaven be quiet during the night, Restrain the lightning, silence the thunder, They should not frighten mothers giving birth To their babies at night.

And me too protect against fire and water, Protect my poor roof at night. Let my dress, my humble dress, Lie quietly over my chair at night.

(The Nechum Bronze)

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Cast your minds back to the time just before lockdown and the decision of the congregation to return to having refreshments after the 10:30 am Sunday service rather than before - I know, it feels like an age ago! At the time, we were hoping to make a start at Easter but we were very much overtaken by events. Although we may still be a long way off having refreshments at the service, there is no harm in planning ahead. One of these days we will be able to stay on after the service for

a coffee and a chat, so it would be good to be ready for that when that time comes.

There was some confusion at the time about how this might work, so here is a summary of what I had in mind:

There was no plan to change the existing coffee rota, the idea was that it would continue as before.

There would be a separate rota of people responsible for clearing up the cups etc., putting away the table, tidying up and locking up.

The main door would be locked as at present and those remaining for coffee could leave by the door in the Bostock annexe. This would require one key to lock the annexe. We would probably need to get more keys cut but that could be arranged.

This system would reduce the commitment to locking up from weekly (as under the previous arrangements) to monthly or less frequently, depending on the number of people on the rota.

Several people told me at the time of the original discussion that they would be happy to help but I’m afraid I didn’t write down the names and inevitably have forgotten! If you are happy to participate in the new rota, do please let me know. I will then do my best to ensure that we are ready to go as soon as we are able to have refreshments at the service again.

REFRESHMENTS IN CHURCH

Jenny Law

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ago, the stage was taken down and the wood from the stage was used to construct the somewhat odd arrangement of utility style cupboards that are there now.

Over time, the hall has started to look very tired and in urgent need of updating. Thanks to generous grants from Wychavon District Council, we have now been able to start a phased programme of upgrading the

main hall. In 2018, we received a Wychavon Community Grant, for which we had to provide matched funding. This enabled us to install a drop-down screen for illustrated talks, to fit smart vertical black-out blinds to all the lower windows and to replace the old tables and chairs with new, brightly coloured chairs, tables and a mobile screen.

On 8th July, to great jubilation, we heard we had been granted £25,000 of New Homes Bonus funding to carry out further improvements to the hall. This phase includes relocating the existing fire exit doors to the side of the hall, removing all the cupboards and replacing them with a two-storey storage facility at the far end of the hall, and fitting a new floor. The work is starting immediately to take advantage of the Bengeworth Pre-School summer holidays. The Pre-School staff have valiantly emptied all their cupboards and found places to store all their equipment and resources, which are many and various. A mammoth task, which they completed in a couple of days at the end of a very tiring term, having continued to work and provide a vital service right through the lockdown. A big thank you to Karen and her team.

We are already preparing further grant applications for funding to enable us to carry out the next phase of improvements - replacing/repairing the leaking flat roof sections of the building, fitting double glazed roof lights and insulating the roof space. We feel we owe it to our loyal users, Bengeworth Pre-School, the first and second Bengeworth Brownies, Bengeworth Table Tennis Club, Vale WI and the martial arts groups to provide them with a facility that is, as the parlance goes, fit for purpose. And we hope to attract new users from our growing community to make use of a much improved and adaptable facility.

But for now our thanks go to Wychavon District council for the funding we have received, to Town Clerk, Stuart Carter, for his help and advice, to Councillors Martin King and Julie Tucker for their support and to all those who have helped to make this phase of the Church House makeover possible.

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with Teenagers and a Husband Permanently Working from Home

After a matter of weeks of already being in Isolation, I suggested that I share my experiences of this time. Marie decided that it would be nice to publish our differing experiences. So here goes.

I recall on Monday 16 March 2020 I visited Morrisons. Nothing particularly different about that, although it soon became evident that there was a feeling of panic buying. I even recollect a member of Morrisons Staff having a little joke about someone wearing a mask. When I went to pay, the queues to the Checkouts were all falling into one another. From my recollection the ladies in front and I enjoyed some idle but cheery chat. I recall that I had treated myself to a Thorntons Chocolate Cake as the following Sunday was Mothering Sunday and so I thought that I would have a treat. Between you and I, it was the last one. Anyway, I said to these ladies that I was alright because I had a Chocolate Cake and I would be more than happy to share it with them.

I arrived home relieved, particularly as the Staff at Morrisons had described this pattern of behaviour that day as being worse than Christmas. There was definitely something going on. By Thursday 19th March, De Montfort School had closed with Vale of Evesham School following suit on Friday. And this is where the story really starts.

I recall the first Sunday, Marie had passed on details to hear a message from the Archbishop of Canterbury who would be giving a message about the Coronavirus. It was to be shown 3 times that day and so I sat down at 10.00am to hear what he had to say. He was reassuring and positive. Mothering Sunday was not a write off. As I would on any other Sunday, I cooked a Roast Dinner and at Teatime I enjoyed a lovely piece of that Chocolate Cake I mentioned at the beginning of this piece. Monday came. Charlotte didn’t get up as she would on a normal school day, Marcus seemed to have a lie in and John, although up, was working from home. This was going to be a new norm for all of us.

Easter was not a write off either. Although Marcus and Charlotte are now teenagers, they were still happy to enjoy an Easter Egg each along with an Easter Egg Hunt around the garden later in the day. I also found an Easter Banner which we put up. We also listened to the 8.00am Service on Radio 4 and listened to the Bishop of Worcester’s Easter Message. We also lit a virtual candle and Mark had sent us an Easter Service which we followed, so again a different sort of day but nevertheless we certainly packed a few things into it.

The first 2-3 weeks, I was more than happy to stay at home. Although I hadn’t received a letter to Stay At Home, given that both Charlotte and I are registered as Asthmatic and

LIFE IN ISOLATION

Jacquie Gordon

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As a result of benefices being in different deaneries, the Bowbrook and Wychebrook group ministry will no longer exist. The Deaneries of Greater Dudley and Redditch & Bromsgrove would form the Archdeaconry of Dudley, the other four will be the Archdeaconry of Worcester.

The Church of England suggests that the size of a deanery synod should be between 50 and 150 members. Currently nine of our deaneries are too small, and the biggest deanery synod only has 59 members when full. By moving to six deaneries, synods would have between 70 and 135 members, helping to make them more effective.

However, having larger deaneries doesn’t prevent smaller mission areas meeting together, including with ecumenical colleagues. Mission and ministry structures might look different in different deaneries. For the largest deaneries, it might be that clergy preferred to meet in smaller chapters, and that a Sub-Dean could be appointed. Rural Deans will become Area Deans, as some parts of the diocese are not rural. We will also need to consider their workload, and whether some administrative support is needed.

Moving to six deaneries in this way also largely unites existing deaneries to ease the change process, with only the current Droitwich deanery being pragmatically divided into different new deaneries. Going to a larger or smaller number would lead to more disruptive change. All parishes will continue to have representation on deanery synod and larger deaneries would not be disadvantaged at Diocesan Synod as the number of places available to a deanery is linked to the size of that deanery (number of clergy, total of electoral rolls).

The concept of simplification was raised at the Open Conversations, where it was broadly supported. This proposal has been shaped by discussion with the Rural Deans and Lay Chairs, and with the Diocesan Mission, Pastoral and Resources Committee.

You can read the full document at: https://www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/content/pages/documents/1595936695.pdf

If you wish to comment please email: john.preston@cofe-worcester.org.uk.

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A CONSULTATION

Last week we launched a consultation on a proposal to reduce the number of deaneries from 13 down to six. All are welcome to contribute to this consultation, which will run until Friday 4 December.

Reducing the number of deaneries is an important step towards ensuring our diocese is fit for purpose going forward. Our current deaneries are very small and moving to larger groupings will offer more flexibility when considering where ministers are placed as well as provide a broader canvas for mission planning. It makes sense to carry out significant restructuring in one go rather than make a series of changes over time and also to align our structures more closely to civic ones – at the moment, the Metropolitan borough of Dudley is spread across three deaneries, and the City of Worcester is divided across two.

It is proposed to move to six deaneries, with each having a mix of urban and rural and a town (or towns) working in partnership with their rural outlying areas.

1. GREATER DUDLEY DEANERY uniting Dudley, Kingswinford & Stourbridge Deaneries. We examined establishing two smaller deaneries – Dudley North and Dudley South, but the natural dividing line ended up with too small a Dudley South.

2. REDDITCH & BROMSGROVE DEANERY made up of the current Bromsgrove Deanery plus the Wychebrook benefice and the benefice of Elmley Lovett w Hampton Lovett & Elmbridge w Rushock and Hartlebury and Ombersley w Doverdale currently in Droitwich Deanery.

3. KIDDERMINSTER & STOURPORT DEANERY uniting the current Kidderminster and Stourport deaneries.

4. WORCESTER DEANERY uniting the Worcester East and Martley & Worcester West Deaneries, plus the Saltway Team Ministry from Droitwich Deanery.

5. MALVERN & UPTON DEANERY uniting the Malvern and Upton deaneries.

6. PERSHORE & EVESHAM DEANERY uniting the Pershore and Evesham deaneries plus the Bowbrook benefice from Droitwich Deanery.

CHANGING OUR DEANERIES

Published: 28th July 2020

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having looked at the Asthma Website I decided that staying at home would be the best thing. We are very lucky to have a garden and we all took advantage of this. Charlotte and I started growing all sorts of things that we had found. Admittedly some of these seeds were slightly older than perhaps they should have been but we decided to plant them anyway and see what happens. You never know until you try!

Marcus did start Joe Wickes Keep Fit although that didn’t last long. Until our neighbour had his broken fence put back up, Marcus often enjoyed going to the end of the garden

and having a chat with our neighbour. It certainly passed the time.

Charlotte and I also started cooking more. I recall that having decided after 25 plus years when I cooked a lasagne which was thrown away because it wasn’t very nice that having found a kit I would give it a go and I was surprised to say that it actually worked and tasted very much as a Lasagne should. So, on one particular day, John was unable to find a Lasagne Kit and had brought home from the shops

Lasagne sheets. After a few words, he encouraged me to try it and low and behold I cooked a Lasagne from scratch. Not only that, but it tasted good. Other recipes included bread. My Mother had given me a Bread Maker; she hadn’t really used it and although I was never sure whether I would make bread I convinced her that I would have it. So, we started making our own bread. A bit hit and miss but again I started making more. Later on in the Lockdown, Charlotte helped with a Lemon Cake, which went down very well and Marcus also enjoyed helping make some Cup Cakes.

News was still very sad at this time with thousands of deaths. Then we heard the terrible news about Boris Johnson suffering from this terrible disease and the next thing we knew he is in ITU at St Thomas Hospital. Thankfully he recovered and not long afterwards, his baby son Wilfred was born. What a roller-coaster ride Boris has had this year!

Gradually I was feeling myself getting fed up and although Marcus and Charlotte were happy to stay at home, we started going for occasional walks. It was a little haphazard. Some pathways aren’t very wide so the Social Distancing can at times be difficult but we walked from our house up to the new estate on the Offenham Road and around the area. I didn’t realise how large this estate actually was.

As restrictions gradually eased, we were able to take advantage of using the car to go further afield where we went on other walks including Winchcombe, Fladbury, Charlton. We all enjoy walking but having not been able to venture out for many weeks, it really was a bit of an adventure for us all to be able to drive to our place of exercise. There are so many walks we have never been on so maybe this was the time we could start to enjoy these new walks.

To be continued …

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12th September 2020 Visit unique historic buildings, see beautiful countryside, get some exercise and have fun with the family! Even COVID-19 will not stop this family event. It will just happen differently in 2020.

Ride+Stride for churches is a sponsored bike ride or walk between churches, exploring and enjoying the

countryside from Cornwall to Northumberland. It takes place every year on the second Saturday in September. The money raised helps to repair churches, chapels and meeting houses throughout England.

Supported by The National Churches Trust and run by county churches Trusts nationwide, Ride+Stride for Churches opens the doors to some of England's amazing church buildings. In 2019, Ride+Stride raised over £1.2 million for the restoration and preservation of the UK’s historic churches, chapels and meeting houses.

RIDE+STRIDE FOR CHURCHES

The "soon-to-be-deacons" were licensed as lay ministers by Bishop Martin over Zoom. Bishop Martin was thrilled to meet them all in person and have some socially distanced photos taken! The diocese hopes to be able to hold an Ordination Service in September.

THIS YEAR’S NEW DEACONS

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appointment as bishop of Exeter in 1869, the earlier opposition was renewed; Temple agreed after his consecration to withdraw his essay from future editions of the 1860 volume.

In politics Temple was a follower of Gladstone, and he approved of the disestablishment of the Irish Church. He also wrote and spoke in favour of Forster's Education Act, and was an active member of the Endowed Schools Commission. In 1869 he became Bishop of Exeter.

In 1885, he was translated to London, and though he was a controversial figure the appointment gave general satisfaction. In 1884 he was Bampton Lecturer, taking for his subject "The Relations between Religion and Science." In 1885 he was elected honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

As Bishop of London he normally worked fourteen or fifteen hours a day, and he refused to spare. When, in view of his growing blindness, he offered to resign the bishopric, he was persuaded to reconsider his proposal, and on the sudden death of Archbishop Benson in 1896, though now seventy-six years of age, he accepted the see of Canterbury.

A year later, with the archbishop of York, W.D. Maclagan, he issued an emphatic rebuttal to Pope Leo XIII’s bull denying the validity of Anglican priestly orders. The two archbishops spoke together again in 1899 in a pronouncement that processional lights and the use of incense were illegal practices in Anglican liturgics.

Frederick Temple’s son William was also archbishop of Canterbury (1942–44) and helped to further his father’s goals of educational reform, reflected in particular by the Education Act of 1944. Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Temple https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Frederick_Temple_1900_Bradford.JPG/394px-Frederick_Temple_1900_Bradford.JPG https://www.nndb.com/people/486/000098192/

Sidesmen Rota

2nd August Brian Hemming & Tessa Bartlett

9th August Pat Masters & Pat Bullman

16th August Sandra Cockram & Janet Osborne

23rd August Sue Dorricott & Richard Southern

30th August Heather Uncles & Sandra Cockram

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ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY

Frederick Temple

Frederick Temple was born in Santa Maura, one of the Ionian Islands, on 23rd December 1821. He was the son of Major Octavius Temple, who was became lieutenant-governor of Sierra Leone. When his father retired and returned to Britain Frederick was sent to Blundell's School, Tiverton. He knew that he must win his own way in life, because his family had very limited means. He started to achieve this when he won a scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford, before he was quite seventeen years old. In 1842 he took a "double-first" and was elected fellow of Balliol, and

lecturer in mathematics and logic.

Ordained a priest in 1847, Temple left his position as a lecturer at the University of Oxford, in 1848, to work in the national Education Office. From 1850 to 1855 he was principal of Kneller Hall Training College and from 1855 to 1857 was a government inspector of schools. On the recommendation of the English poet Matthew Arnold, whose father, Thomas Arnold, had been a reformer at Rugby, Temple was appointed headmaster of the school in 1857. While serving simultaneously as Queen Victoria’s chaplain, he expanded the Rugby curriculum, especially in the areas of history, science, and music, and commissioned several new buildings, leaving his mark on the school.

His life at Rugby was marked by great energy and bold initiative. He had the courage also to reform the games, in spite of all the traditions of the playing fields. His school sermons were deeply impressive: they rooted religion in the loyalties of the heart and the conscience, and taught that faith might dwell secure amid all the bewilderments of the intellect, if only the life remained rooted in pure affections and a loyalty to the sense of duty.

Despite the controversy aroused by his contribution “The Education of the World” to Essays and Reviews (1860), which was considered too liberal in its religious views, Temple went on to establish his reputation as an educational reformer in his work for the Schools Enquiry Commission (1864–67). An Anglican convocation in 1864, however, censured his essay, and, upon his

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This summer feels different. With many of us confined to our gardens, a trip to the seaside may be out of the equation. But there is still plenty of good reading that can be done which may both inspire and challenge – and this month we have put together a list of books for you, recommended by CMS staff. In the wake of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, we have included resources that address these current issues as well as some encouraging reads. Take this time to reflect, to be inspired and to cherish the little joys this summer. GOD’S ACTIVITY IN CURRENT TIMES 1. The Greatest Secret: How Being God’s Adopted Children Changes

Everything by Krish Kandiah Draws from the author’s experience of adopting and explores the biblical transforming doctrine of adoption. In three words: “inspiring, hopeful, raw” 2. God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath by NT Wright. Rejects notions of the pandemic as either “punishment” or “apocalyptic” and proposes lament as the appropriate response. In three words: “enabling, affirming, clarifying” 3. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Greig. Combining learning from rich prayer traditions and different aspects of prayer in a practical, engaging way. In three words: “practical, real, down-to-earth” 4. The Compassion Quest by Trystan Owain Hughes. A book born from experience, addressing the concept of Missio Dei, God present in the world around us. Chapters on interconnectedness, compassion and reverence for life reflect much of what we are living through in the pandemic. In two words: “grounding, encouraging”

SUMMER READING LIST

Church Mission Society

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RACIAL JUSTICE

1. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge What began as a blog in 2014 has become an unforgettable book that unpacks the experience of living as a black woman in modern Britain, as well as the often-overlooked history of black people in the UK and the systemic racism that white people often fail to see.

In three words: “eye-opening, self-examining, relevant”

2. We Need to Talk About Race: Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches by Ben Lindsay A challenging yet hope-filled exploration of the church’s role in shaping the UK’s structural racism. As a black pastor at a white-majority church, he offers practical ways “in which we can all strive towards racial reconciliation, unity, inclusion and integration in the UK church.” In three words: “Listen up, church”

3. Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla F Saad A 28-day course designed to make you stop and examine your understanding of white supremacy and racism as well as equip you to work towards dismantling it. In three words: “Listening + inaction = meaningless”

4. Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch An engaging, powerful insight into the experience of race and identity faced by migrant communities living in the UK. In three words: “Heartfelt, honest mirror”

5. Christology and Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do? By George Yancy (ed.) Essays for those daring to explore uncomfortable truths and face up to difficult questions about racial injustice. In three words: “confronting, insightful, diverse”

Source: https://churchmissionsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Summer-reading-list-2020_A4-UPDATED.pd

<a href="https://www.freevector.com/stack-of-books-clipart-vector-30222">FreeVector.com</a>

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REOPENING Tuesday 4th August Mini Afternoon Tea £12.50 (SOLD OUT)

Thursday 6th August Richard Rohr Meditation Day 10am-4pm £40 inc lunch + refreshments

Sunday 9th August Sunday Roast Lunch 1pm £14.00

Monday 10th August Friendly Lunch with talk by Paul West ‘Reflections of a Chief Constable’ £15 inc lunch

Thursday 13th August Mini Afternoon Tea £12.50

Tuesday 18th August Praying Differently £40 inc lunch + refreshments

Thursday 20th August Quiet Garden Day with Rev Peter Knight £18 inc sandwich lunch

Sunday 23rd August Sunday Roast Lunch 1pm £14.00

Tuesday 25th August Mini Afternoon Tea £12.50

Thursday 27th August Yoga for Christians £40 inc lunch + refreshments

All events can be booked online at :

https://www.hollandhouse.org/shop/

or by phoning 01386 860330

HOLLAND HOUSE

6. Let Justice Roll Down by John M Perkins A gripping portrayal of what happens when faith thrusts a person into the midst of a struggle against racism, oppression, and injustice. In three words: “Race with face” Please do pass on suggestions of books that you have found helpful, supportive or challenging during recent months. Others might like to read them too (editor).