Colchester Christ Church

News – September 2016

Christ Church Anglican Congregation Vision Statement “Through our worship, mission, nurture and service we want to enable all

people to enter into a living relationship with Jesus Christ”

In this month’s news:

The Rector writes – September 2016 – Holidays and Holy Days – taking a Sabbath Shaped Rest

Faith Seeking Understanding

Prayer

Revd Trevor Valentine Hodder

Home Group has “carried on” for 10 years

Weekend of prayer

Holiday Club 2016 - Champions Challenge Holiday Club

Ride and Stride

Fairtrade Apple Cake

Colchester Free Family Fun Festival

Messy Church

Pints of View

Who let the Dads out?

Barn Dance and Hog Roast

Spirit Space

Café Church

What’s on

September Diary

The Rector Writes September 2016 ‘Holidays and Holy Days – taking a Sabbath Shaped Rest’

Mark 6:30 The apostles gathered round Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31:Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 32:So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33:But many who saw them leaving recognised them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

It might seem a bid odd to be reading about holy days and holidays as we begin a new term together. In fact for Glyn and me the holidays are not quite over as we enjoy time out together. Not another holiday, and we all know the clergy, ministry team, musicians, AV people, hospitality folk, flower arrangers and congregation etc. only ever work one day a week – Sunday. It is an old joke I know but for some in the world of God, his mission and ministry it can feel like an unwelcome prod!

From what we read about Jesus, he seems to have it right when it came down to the work of the kingdom

and the need for a ‘Sabbath Shaped Rest’. Jesus often found a quiet place to rest after a busy day. The whole idea of the Sabbath was important to him and yet often

placed him at odds with the ‘church’

authorities. We thought about this earlier in

August where Jesus healed a

crippled woman on the Sabbath and suffered the wrath of

legalistic attitudes. Yet as the text above shows, even Jesus found it hard to find space to rest and recuperate.

For Jesus and for practicing Jews, a ‘Sabbath shaped rest day’ was both a holiday and a holy day. It was (still is) the seventh day of the Jewish week marked by the cessation of

work. It was about engaging in religious and reflective activity. Declared in the commandments given to Moses by God the Sabbath recalls God’s rest day, a blessed and holy day for all observers. It was the day God defined for rest and restoration in the Jewish community, a holy day set apart and consecrated for worship of God. It was a day set aside and honoured in covenant relationship with God – keeping the day is keeping with God in imitation of God’s own rest. It was always a

reminder to the people of how God brought them out of Egyptian slavery and work to rest and new life. Lastly, in practical ways, it was a day for meeting, hospitality, reading of scripture and sharing worship.

For Jesus in his time, for the Jews in this time, for all of us in our time the idea of ‘The Sabbath’ provides space to be with God and one another. For some ‘The Sabbath’ was an irritation getting in the way of commercial gain, for many a delight as for 24 hours no work was allowed! Yet, as Jesus experienced, human ideas and

views shaped the Sabbath with different interpretations and the creation of additional rules made and judged by legal experts – the scribes. Different religious parties declared their own interpretations. There was conflict as to the meaning of Sabbath. What is work? What is necessary? There were exceptions to Sabbath rules. Animals could be fed and human life cared for when in danger but even then, as Jesus experienced, the meaning of life had its own interpretation.

Jesus healed on the Sabbath and yet on occasion waited for the Sabbath to end to help and heal those who came to him. From the gospels, we can see that Jesus’ view was clear. He is Lord of the Sabbath and that makes the Sabbath the true "Lord’s Day.’ He emphasized the humane element of mercy, compassion and loving-kindness by healing and "doing good" on the Sabbath. He understood what it meant to have a ‘Sabbath shaped rest’, by seeking a space to pray, worship and rest.

What then might holidays, holy days and a Sabbath shaped rest look like for a 21st century person?

If we are honest about the way we live out our lives, how we use our time and try to balance work, leisure, service and so on we probably put the idea of ‘Sabbath’ in competition with everything else rather that establishing it as a first above all things. Indeed, for many in our world, the idea of rest is an irritant which stands against the gaining of greater material wealth, power and so on. For many, there is no Sabbath as loved ones are looked after, basic services need to be covered 24/7. Mobile technology means that we are always available. We are part of a seven day, 24 hour global community that places demands on us regardless of any longed for pattern or shape of living that includes a ‘Sabbath Shaped Rest’. We need to be honest about this. How much opportunity to know of God’s love, grace and mercy is diminished because of the way we use our time?

I recently visited a clergy colleague who is coming back into ministry after an enforced rest. Clearly his time out which included radical and life style changing surgery had changed this usually full on, eight ideas before breakfast insatiable force into a new person. To my

discomfort (and annoyance) at noon his phone chimed. “Oh he said, that’s to remind me to set aside time and pray the Lord’s Prayer! “ What a lovely moment - a mini Sabbath in prayer and rest that we shared together. It was a moment that allowed us to shift our attention, to re focus and indeed to slow down in that brief moment of time. Brilliant!

As we make tracks into a new term with much to do and many challenges ahead what changes might we make to our daily, weekly and so on routines?

While I was at New Wine the summer, I was again challenged as to my attitude to the meaning of work and rest. More than ever I want to include a ‘Sabbath Shaped Rest’ to set time aside to worship the wonders of God’s creation, to enjoy family and friendship, to take holy and healing rest and surround everything in an authentic and conscious attitude of Gods presence and holiness. One day off a week to rest, one day a month to be mindful of the world beyond my desk and a week of feeding and healing on retreat.

This may not work or even be appropriate for everyone but I would encourage us all to make space and time for God in our busy lives, routines and traditions of life – a ‘Sabbath Shaped Rest’. Why not look

at your diary now and make some fresh steps to ensure that Holidays and Holy Days are reimagined and indeed bring the fruitfulness of Gods intention to transform our lives.

Yours ever Paul PS . I have just started reading a book called ‘Do it tomorrow and other Secrets of Time Management’. I’ll let you know if it works!

Faith Seeking Understanding

Or – Learning Together, 4th Sunday at 4pm “I believe in order that I may understand”, said Saint Augustine. We have been seeking to deepen our understanding, in the opening three sessions of our Teaching/Learning/Discussion sessions: "Faith Seeking Understanding". These gatherings, attended by around a dozen or so each time, have run at 4pm on the 4th Sunday of May, June and July. Thanks to all who have attended,

and also to those who have prepared and led our sessions. Tea and cake have been consumed with much pleasure, and have helped our listening and discussing to flow happily! We have explored something of "who God is" along a traditional pattern of Anglican Theology, with an introduction to the whole idea in May, led by Matt Stemp. We then set out on the four “legs” of the “theology chair”, with a session on the Bible and how we relate to God’s

inspired Scripture, in June, led by Clive Joyce, and a session on "tradition" - the handing down of the

faith through the church and from one generation to another, led by Sara Humphreys in July. We look forward to the third and fourth "legs" that complement the Bible and Tradition. Reason - our God-given faculty to think and work things out (Sunday 25th September at 4pm) which Nigel Humphreys is leading; and Experience - our direct encounter with God, which informs our understanding of who God is (Sunday 23rd October at 4pm) to be led by David Lankshear. Plans for 2017 are unformed as yet, and views on the general appetite for more learning and discussing, and any observations on how we might do this better (if it is to continue), would be very welcome. Nurture Group (contacts for the above: Judith Budge, Sara Humphreys, Rosemary Currell)

Prayer In 'I Shall Not Want' Robert Ketchum

tells of a Sunday School teacher who

asked her group if anyone could quote

the entire 23rd Psalm. A four-year-old

girl was among those who raised their

hands. A bit sceptical the teacher asked

if she could really quote the entire psalm.

the little girl came to the front of the

room, faced the class and said, 'The Lord

is my shepherd, that's all I want.'

That may well be the greatest

interpretation of the 23rd Psalm ever

heard.

'I used to pray that God would feed the

hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray

that he will guide me to do whatever I'm

supposed to do, what I can do. I used to

pray for answers, but now I'm praying for

strength.

I used to believe that prayer changes

things, but now I know that prayer

changes us and we change things'.

Mother Teresa

Revd Trevor Valentine Hodder 27th January 1931 - 17th June 2016

Our dear friend Trevor, went to be with his Lord on 17th June 2016. Many of us will have fond and special memories of Trevor. At the service of thanksgiving for Trevor’s life which was held on 8th July 2016, Trevor’s family shared some of their thoughts and memories. Jon and Matthew Hodder, Trevor’s sons, have provided a transcript and notes of what they shared at the service:

Jon: My father was, in his own unique way, a remarkable man. Quite just how remarkable I didn't quite appreciate, until I received a letter from him, quite some while after he had died. It was a surprise... of the good kind, but I obviously hadn't fully appreciated just how good a relationship he had with God, or indeed, that the heavenly host had begun to undertake certain aspects of the Royal Mail's delivery service. And so it may seem that the Lord does indeed move in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform, though apparently, parcels over a certain size will require weighing.

The letter had been written by 'The Old man’, as I oft referred to him, some while before he died. I had never stopped to consider the

phrase, but it occurs to me now that it was a little bit of RAF parlance which had stayed with Dad since the late forties, and his time as a Leading Aircraftsman Hodder. (The term 'old man' being an affectionate slang term for the Station Commander Officer.

Dad held a lifelong love of aviation and never really lost the 'Boys Own magazine' sense of wonder with flying machines. Many times can I recall rushing out into the vicarage garden to clasp our hands above our eyes and gaze skyward eager to spot and identify the cause of some rough throated drone or roar in the sky above. 'There it is Jonny' he would say keenly, and often regale me with momentary information on its manufacture or possible flight destination. The best moments were when we 'got lucky' and the plane in question would turn out to be a Warbird, perhaps that emblem of winged victory, The Spitfire, a plane so special and rare that seeing one back then (it was the seventies) was akin to catching a glimpse of Lord Lucan in the local Co-op.

With hindsight, I begin to realise that in a way, there were two young boys standing in the back garden straining their vision to the azure blue. It was me, and the young Trevor Hodder, aged about ten. Dad often reminded of the phrase by one of the great thinkers that 'The child that I was came with me, for I could not leave him behind'. With the passing of years, and having accrued a little wisdom, it is not only a phrase which I now begin to understand, but which also helps me understand my father.

With the earthly finality of my father’s death I realise that understanding him has been and will continue to be a lifelong process.

From days of boyhood, sitting on the floor of his study, drawing on scrap paper; reading with him about the medieval period or discovering castles whilst on holiday. To more turbulent years of early manhood, agreeing about motorcycles, and disagreeing about everything else, and then the more

settled years of middle life, a restitution of true friendship, and a quiet brotherly understanding of life's challenges demands and rewards.

There is so much more that I could say.

My father's life, one of friendship and fellowship has created a story with many chapters. Many of you have illuminated the script of that story, and I am grateful to see so many pages of the book here today. I would encourage you all to recall the times that you have shared with Dad.

Celebrate the times that you spent together, and do not mourn a loss. For, as he so often told me, he has gone to a better place. There ought to be a joke about moving to Gloucestershire at this point, but I can't think of one.

At our final meeting, we spoke of many things. He gave me his blessing, as he had done so many times throughout my life, I wept, and we embraced. He reminded me that I was loved. We agreed that love is all

we have, and all else is as dust. Some of the last words that we shared were Per Ardua ad Astra.... Through hardship to the stars. The motto of the RAF, but an appropriate epithet for the life of my father.

Matthew: There are no notes from the address I gave at my father’s funeral, which was not read but spoken. I have been asked to provide a copy of the notes and the following is as much as I can recall.

Dad & I share the same stunning film star good looks so if you think you’ve seen Trevor in Essex, or Norfolk, don’t worry it is just me. Dad was a man of many aspects many of which may be unknown to some of you; I will attempt to enlighten you. He was a cockney, born in the east end of London, Poplar to be precise. His accent was cultured out in order to allow him to progress in business and later in the Church. On the very rare occasions that Dad broke out into his home tongue it was both startling and entertaining. WW2 came to the east end when Dad was 8 yrs old; he lived through the blitz, was never evacuated and was only a victim of bombing when on a visit to family in Bristol. He suffered the loss of school mates throughout the war and attended 8 schools in 6 years. Dad worked for F Sargent & Son, Oilmen, who made their own paints

in the days pre-DIY. The shop was a hardware shop of a type which is almost extinct now. He rode a delivery tricycle, humped 2cwt (101kg) sacks of soda, dispensed paraffin and painted the price labels for goods on display. This signwriting skill influenced his handwriting and those of you who knew him at St Anne’s will recall the multitude of posters he painted for service times, jumble sales, bazaars and other events.

Aeroplanes fascinated Dad and were possibly the cause of him joining the Air Training Corps and serving as a National Serviceman in the RAF. Dad was not air crew but he had been on air experience flights whilst in the ATC and he continued to fly as an adult. He flew in gliders, microlights and fixed wing aircraft only giving up when his instructor, the late Chip Smith, moved away to Chatteris which was too far for Dad to travel by motorcycle.

He never passed a car driving test and remained a motorcyclist all his life, actively riding into his late 60s. He owned machines built in Britain, France, Japan, Belarus, & Ukrainia, ranging from diminutive 49cc mopeds to a 650cc 4 cyclinder double overhead cam Suzuki & sidecar. The love of motorcycles has

passed through 4 generations of the Hodder family.

Also into the 4th generation is support of the Labour party, for Dad was a good socialist, son of a trade unionist, father and grandfather of trade union members.

Sport with any sort of ball eluded Dad, as it does me, but he was a keen cyclist into his late 70s. Cycling caused him to meet Mum (Eve) in Windsor Great Park. This is another family wide interest which flows through the generations from Trevor’s father to Trevor’s

grandchildren. An unusual sport which Trevor enjoyed was fencing, which he taught each of us 4 children. He also enjoyed walking; he went on walking holidays with Mum and in the early 1980s would visit my wife and I to go walking in Thetford Forest. To his last days Dad called my wife, Ali, by the fond term of ‘My Forest Walking Friend’.

I am unsure what else I spoke of when addressing the assembly at Dad’s funeral but I know several people were surprised by some of his hidden talents.

Home Group has ‘Carried On’ for 10 years! Believe it or not it’s ten years since our home group embarked tentatively on its first post-Alpha course study. Since then we have met fortnightly just with breaks for summer and Christmas holidays…. And we’ve been blessed in so many ways!

We have well and truly gelled into a close-knit group with our friendships made even firmer; We have tackled large chunks of the Bible, always with the intention not only of broadening our knowledge but also looking at the key points to help each of us on our Christian journey; We have met a wide range of interesting people, including chaplains and those with responsibilities within both our own Church and in others;

We have visited some fascinating places, explored other faiths and denominations, and worshipped in such diverse locations as Holy Trinity Brompton, the University of Essex, Orthodox Centres and East Mersea & Copford churches. We have offered worship opportunities to the Christ Church congregation as a whole, ..…and so I could go on! I maintain that this is a “true representation of Church” and I’ll be forever grateful for friends who have remained so committed to one another and to the group as a whole.

We ‘celebrated’ our tenth anniversary enjoying food, drink and each other’s company in the lovely garden at Martin & Julia’s home. We indulged in a special cake for the occasion too! Clive Joyce

Weekend of Prayer

In July we organised a Weekend of Prayer based on the Lord’s Prayer, an idea proposed earlier in the year by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In their letter to churches they wrote…..”It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorised by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a

whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory.”

Around the church there were fourteen prayer ‘stations’ representing eight different phrases from the Lord’s Prayer. Each station offered creative and interactive ways to pray, along with the opportunity to rest in our Lord’s presence and to explore our faith. We welcomed about 30 people over the weekend and are now thinking about other initiatives on prayer for the future.

Holiday Club 2016

Eric Berhardt is taking part in the Ride and Stride

challenge. Please do contact him on 01206

867542 or bigfoot@hotmail.com to sponsor him

Fairtrade Apple Cake Ingredients 0g

500g / 1lb cooking apples, thinly sliced Juice of 1 lemon 2 pinches of organic Fairtrade mixed spice 1tbsp Fairtrade caster sugar, or flavoured sugar like cinnamon or lemon sugar (if using cinnamon sugar, drop the mixed spice) 225g / 8oz unsalted butter, at room temperature and chopped into cubes 195g / 6¾ oz Fairtrade caster sugar 6 large eggs, at room temperature and whisked gently 1 tsp organic Fairtrade vanilla extract 195g / 6¾ oz organic plain flour 2 tsp baking powder ¾ tsp sea salt ½ tsp organic Fairtrade cinnamon powder 75g / 2½ oz organic ground almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Take a 23cm / 9 inch cake tin and lightly oil the tin, remove any excess oil, then line the base with baking paper.

Apples - peel and core them, then slice thinly. Place in a bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice over them all, then sprinkle with the caster sugar and a couple of pinches of mixed spice. Thoroughly mix it up to make sure all slices are nicely coated with sugar and spice. Leave until later. Grind the ground almonds in a food processor to make them finer Put to the side for use later in the recipe. Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk up fully. Sieve together the flour, baking powder, sea salt and cinnamon powder. Add the flour mix into the cake batter and throughly mix up, then add the ground almonds and mix into the batter. Mix In the eggs and flour mix

Pour half the cake batter into the cake tin, then layer over half the apple slices. Cover with rest of cake mixture and then layer rest of apple slices over the top of the cake. Layer the apples on the cake batter Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At around 1 hour, sprinkle the top of the cake with 1 tablespoon of sugar and start looking and checking the cake to ensure you catch it just when it is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in tin for about 10 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with custard or whipped cream, or cold as a cake with double cream or on its own.

September Diary Sunday 4th September 8.00 am Holy Communion in St Mary’s Chapel 9.30 am Morning Worship 4.30 pm Messy Church Monday 5th 10.00 am Coffee + Tuesday 6th 9.00 am Morning prayer 10.00 am Time Together 3.15 pm Messy Crafts Wednesday 7th 10.00 am Holy Communion Sunday 11th 9.30 am Holy Communion 6.30 pm Spirit Space Monday 12th 10.00 am Coffee + Tuesday 13th 9.00 am Morning prayer 10.00 am Time Together 3.15 pm Messy Crafts Wednesday 14th 10.00 am Holy Communion in St Mary’s Chapel 8.00 pm Pints of view Thursday 15th 9.00 am Breakfast Café Friday 16th 6.00 pm Messy Games 8.00 pm Youth Group Saturday 17th 9.00 am Who let the Dads out?

Sunday 18th 9.30 am Café Church 6.30 pm Holy Communion Monday 19th 10.00 am Coffee + Tuesday 20th 9.00 am Morning prayer 10.00 am Time Together 3.15 pm Messy Crafts Wednesday 21st 10.00 am Holy Communion in St Mary’s Chapel Thursday 22nd 9.00 am Breakfast Café Friday 23rd 3.15 pm Creative Writing 6.00 pm Messy Games 8.00 pm Youth Group Saturday 24th 7.00 pm Barn Dance and Hog Roast Sunday 25th 9.30 am Holy Communion Monday 26th 10.00 am Coffee + Tuesday 27th 9.00 am Morning prayer 10.00 am Time Together 3.15 pm Messy Crafts Wednesday 28th 10.00 am Holy Communion in St Mary’s Chapel Thursday 29th 9.00 am Breakfast Café Friday 30th 3.15 pm Creative Writing 6.00 pm Messy Games 8.00 pm Youth Group

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