As I get older I find the fear of repeating myself grows stronger. Have I used this illustration in a sermon for this congregation before have I told this anecdote before and if so did I tell it to the person standing in front of me? And as the church’s year is based on repetition so the chances of vicars repeating themselves are very high. Looking up the words repeat’ and repetition’ in various dictionaries of quotations I came across the following:
Bertie’s progresses lose a little interest and are very wearing as there is such a constant repetition of elephants trappings – jewels illuminations and fireworks.’ (from one of Queen Victoria’s letters describing the Prince of Wales’s trip to India)
A platitude is simply a truth repeated till people get tired of hearing it.’ (Stanley Baldwin attrib.)
T
his month begins with our annual Festival of Dedication. It is that time of year when we, repeatedly, give thanks for the contribution of all those who down the centuries have born witness to the Christian faith in this place, who have built up and developed and cared for our church, and who continue to do so now. We recommit ourselves to that task and we invariably draw attention to our continuing need for money. It is of course true that we need money but if that truth is not to turn into a platitude which people get tired of hearing we need to represent the truth each year in a newly challenging way. But if it’s possible to get tired even of bejewelled elephants then it’s a hard task.
However, by the end of this month, unless you have left the country for the whole of October, it will be virtually impossible for you not to have heard repeated on many occasions that if we as a Christian community are not to relinquish some of the things we do now and go into a decline, rather than being able to build on what we have achieved and go forward with the aims we defined in the Mission Action Plan, we need seriously to address ourselves to the task of raising a substantial amount of money.
The challenge that now faces us is to provide accommodation for a new curate by next June; to redevelop our vestry space to enable the clergy, sacristan and administrator more easily to carry out their duties; and if the necessary permissions are forthcoming to create extra space for our Sunday schools. The first of these is the most pressing; we have offered the post to an excellent candidate but his acceptance cannot be confirmed until we can assure him that satisfactory accommodation will be available. And he needs to know within the next month or so. The accommodation in the school is now needed for its own development so we have now to buy or rent something suitable. The PCC will be considering these issues at the end of this month, and depending on their decision, it is likely that we shall be looking to raise a substantial sum of money in a short space of time. So not only do we need money but we need advice from those who have some expertise in raising money.
Christian Stewardship’ used to be a frequently heard phrase in the church’s life and our older members will no doubt remember numerous stewardship campaigns.’ Stewardship’ may now be a truth which by dint of repetition has become a platitude or it may be an idea which needs reviving. Several of Jesus’ parables talk about stewards both wise and dishonest. The steward is someone who has been entrusted with the care of something precious which is not his to possess. He provides us with a way of responding to the gospel challenge about the danger of riches. If we see all that we possess and all that we have earned and all the knowledge and experience we have accumulated as not something we possess for ourselves but something that has been entrusted to us then we have to ask, What does the one to whom all this truly belongs want me to do with it; how does he want me to use it and care for it?’ The steward is accountable’ to the true owner, God. The life of the church is in one aspect a life of shared accountability. Each member is accountable for their own riches’ whatever form they take; and the church as a community, and those who exercise leadership in it, are accountable for their use of those ‘riches’ when they are given over to the church’s use. If you give something to the church you want to know that it is being used wisely and you have the right to ask, to challenge, and to propose alternative solutions to a need through your representatives on the PCC. So stewardship is not just a way of raising money it is about the whole way in which a parish conducts its life and breathes energy into that life.
From my point of view therefore, and unlike a former Prince of Wales, I look forward to a (metaphorical) repetition of elephants, trappings and jewels etc so that we can add substantially to all that our predecessors gave to the life of the church in Hampstead.
With my love and prayers,
Fr Stephen
The Vicar writes
Stephen Tucker