Monthly Magazine

"The Grapevine"

MAY 2008

Editor: Graham Clark
Email: graham@clarkalvechurch.freeserve.co

THE RECTOR WRITES …

THOSE WHO ASK …

  My dear friends

  Someone, returning holiday, once gave my parents a holiday souvenir.  Like most souvenirs it was pretty tacky.  It was a framed scroll that read “THOSE WHO ASK DON’T GET.  THOSE WHO DON’T ASK DON’T WANT.”  Presumably it was meant to be funny, but it was hardly a great piece of philosophy. It was the sort of thing a selfish person might say if they wanted to keep what they had to themselves and not share it with others.  I’m pleased to say, my parents quickly consigned the souvenir to the rubbish bin.

  The act of asking is something we British find difficult. Most of us are reluctant to ask for the things we would like for fear of seeming rude or pushing; and yet Jesus Christ taught his followers to ask God continually for the things they needed.  “Ask and you will receive”, he said, and he told parables about the need to be persistent in our asking [e.g. The Parable of the Unjust Judge]. 

  We are now entering The Asking Season of the Year.  It is called Rogationtide and spans the days around Ascension Day.  During this time of year we are positively encouraged to ask God for the things we need.

  What should we ask for? 

  In the model prayer Christ gave to his followers – The Lord’s Prayer – there is only one physical request: “Give us this day our daily bread”.  All the other things we are urged to pray for are spiritual requests: That God’s name might be kept holy; that God’s kingdom might come on earth; that we might be forgiven the things we have done wrong; and that we may be protected from evil.  Perhaps it is not surprising that, in comparison, many of our own prayers are not answered because they fall so far short of this elevated list of requests.

  Of course, sometimes we make requests to God without ever thinking of the consequences that would follow if they were answered by God.

  A little boy sat a Geography examination.  One of the questions was: Name the capital of France.  The boy wrote Brussels.  That night, as he knelt by the side of his bed to say his prayers, he prayed “O God, please make Brussels the capital of France”.  If God had answered his prayer, the boy would have got an extra mark in his examination but the rest of Europe, and indeed, the world, would have been thrown into chaos and confusion, with lives disrupted, commerce and industry brought to a standstill and consequences unimaginable to us.  And yet, some of the requests we make to God are so self-centred it is a mercy God does not answer them!

  When our prayers to God are seemingly unanswered, this can sometimes cause disillusionment.

  I think back to someone I knew and greatly admired who was diagnosed with cancer.  He was comparatively young and had a lovely wife and family.  I prayed and prayed and prayed for him.  I bombarded the Almighty with prayers for his recovery and return to good health.  And yet, despite all my persistence, the man died, living a distraught family and me questioning the efficacy of prayer altogether. 

  But, as sometimes happens, with the passing of time, I began to see what had happened in a different light.  I realised I could only see things from a worldly point of view.  To me, the death of a family man in middle age was a terrible catastrophe.  But, perhaps my vision was restricted?  I did not know what God had in store for that man – who, incidentally, had come to faith and committed himself to Christ in a very moving way shortly before his death.  If the life that God had prepared for that man was infinitely better than the life he had known on earth, surely it was wrong of me to want tochain the man to the earth – to the retail company for whom he worked and that was driven by sales targets and demanded results and solutions at every turn?  If God is God and is all-knowing and wants only the very best for His children, then, maybe, we have to trust Him more and allow Him to often overrule our asking requests in the interests of the greater good He is able to bring about.

  By all means let us ask God for the things we feel are needful for our life on earth and which will forward God’s kingdom on earth, but we have always to add “Not my will but Yours, Lord, be done.”

  The Rogation Procession around the parish on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May - sometimes known as Beating the Bounds - is an opportunity for us to ask God to give us the things that are needful for the life of our parish.  There will be prayers over the cornfields, pastureland and nurseries so that God may indeed give us each day our daily bread.  And there will also be prayers in the churchyard at the beginning and end of the day-long Procession reminding us of our spiritual needs and asking God to fulfil them as well.  I look forward to seeing many of you on The Asking Procession.

  With all best wishes
Your sincere friend and Rector

  DAVID MARTIN

  ASCENSION DAY

The fortieth day after Easter is observed in the Christian Church as Ascension Day, when Christ’s heavenly rule over all things is proclaimed.  This year Ascension Day falls on THURSDAY 1 MAY.

The custom in Alvechurch is for an early morning service at 7.00.am so that, those who have to go to work, can attend before going on to earn their daily bread.  Then, at 7.45.am, there will be an ascent of the church tower to sing a hymn from the top of the tower over the waking village.  At 8.00.am there is a full English Breakfast served in The Ark, for those able to linger and chat.  Those who are able to stay for breakfast (price £3) should sign up on the notice in the church porch to assist the caterers.

A great Alvechurch way to celebrate Ascension  Day!

PENTECOST

  Previously known as Whitsunday, because of the white dresses that girls used to wear on the day, Pentecost is the Festival of the Holy Spirit.  This year it falls on SUNDAY 11 MAY.

The 9.30.am Family Service will be led by members of the Engage Service using the music, computer imaging and worship-style unique to that service.

In the evening there is a service at Rowney Green Church in Chapel Lane led by the Revd Noel Sharpe.  This will be his last ecumenical service at Rowney Green before Noel moves on in August to take up a new Methodist appointment in Gloucester.  The service begins at 6.30.pm and there is a warm, Pentecost welcome to all who drive to the beautiful little church set in the midst of the rolling north Worcestershire countryside for this evening service.

IN HOSPITAL

The Rector is always pleased to visit people from the parish that are patients at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.  He visits the hospital once a week – usually on Friday afternoons – but can only visit those he knows about!  Do let him know of anyone from Alvechurch who would welcome a visit by phoning 0121 445 1087.

FROM THE REGISTERS
BAPTISMS
30 March         Harry James Lindsay    Bromsgrove

30 March         Heidi Rose Bennett       Grange Lane