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“In the midst of everything God’s call and gift to us is not diminished, by anything”
October 2020INSIDE:Page 3 Summer of changePage 4 Harvest Generosity WeekPage 6 Welcome to the new Archdeacon of LindisfarnePage 6 Going for GreenPage 10 Wellbeing – Patterns or Choices?
A message from Bishop Christine.
The challenge and fragility of our current situation has been brought home yet again with the recent announcements
from the Government of additional re-strictions in our region, and for the country. The next six months will be hard for all of us as we each play our part in keeping our communities safe. Not being able to socialise with friends and family members who live in other
households will be a particular cause of sadness for many of us, particularly those of us who live alone.
Many questions remain for all of us about how we journey together through the autumn and the winter, given the restrictions placed on us for the next six months, and perhaps beyond. Plans we make for gathering together to mark the significant events of life now need to be held lightly with a flexibility for change that was not normally expected in the
past. This is an uncomfortable reality we must live with. It is very important that we also remember that there is another reality that we live with, and this is that in the midst of everything God’s call and gift to us is not diminished, by anything. This is the truth and foundation for our hope as we look to Advent and Christ-mas, and the Christian festivals which follow, regardless of the restrictions on our lives.
There is much in my prayers as I think
about the situation that we are all living with, and I am particularly aware of the ordinations of Deacons and Priests at Michaelmas. Already postponed from their usual dates at Petertide, they are now to be held at eight services in differ-ent churches across the Diocese - partly due to the closure of the Cathedral for refurbishment, but also to enable each ordinand to have as many guests as pos-sible under the restrictions for ordina-tions. I am very thankful to all of the host churches, the DDO’s team, the Arch-
deacon’s team, and to our honorary Assistant Bishops, for making all of this possible, and to the ordinands them-selves for being patient in the midst of a period of change and uncertainty at the beginning of their ministries.
Please join with me in praying for each of them as they prepare to be ordained in the coming weeks. For details of the ordinations please turn to page 3.
Bishop Christine
Comings & GoingsThe Revd Barrie Keith Cooper, currently Assistant Curate (SSM), Lesbury with Alnmouth, is going to be Assistant Curate (SSM) in the benefice of Lesbury with Alnmouth and Longhoughton (including Boulmer with Howick, held in plurality), and in the benefice of Embleton with Rennington and Rock, with effect from 16 July.
The Revd Audrey McCartan, currently Priest in Charge (HfD), St Andrew, Heddon-on-the-Wall, is going to be Priest in Charge (HfD), St Helen, Longhorsley, with effect from 30th August.
The Revd Preb Dr Catherine Ann Sourbut Groves, currently Vicar, Bath (St Barnabas) with Englishcombe, is going to be Archdeacon of Lindisfarne.
2
Gospel ReadingsThursday Luke 10.1-12Friday Luke 10.13-16Saturday, George Bell, Bishop, Ecumenist, peacemaker 1958 Luke 10.17-2417th Sunday after Trinity Matthew 21.33-endMonday Luke 10.25-37Tuesday Luke 10.38-endWednesday Luke 11.1-4Thursday Luke 11.5-13Friday Luke 11.15-26Saturday Luke 11.27-2818th Sunday after Trinity Matthew 22.1-14Monday Luke 11.29-32Tuesday Luke 11.37-41Wednesday Luke 11.42-46Thursday Luke 11.47-endFriday, Nicholas Ridleyand Hugh Latimer
Bishops, Martyrs, 1555 Luke 12.1-7Saturday, Ignatius,Bishop, Martyr, c.107 Luke 12.8-1219th Sunday after Trinity Matthew 22.15-22Monday Luke 10.1-9Tuesday Luke 12.35-38Wednesday Luke 12.39-48Thursday Luke 12.49-53Friday Luke 12.54-endSaturday Luke 13.1-9Last Sunday after Trinity Matthew 22.34-endMonday Luke 13.10-17Tuesday Luke 13.18-21Wednesday John 15.17-endThursday, JamesHannington, bishop,Martyr, 1885 Luke 13.31-endFriday Luke 14.1-6Saturday Luke 14.1, 7-11
COVID CASH RECOVERYWant to help make a difference in your local community? Our COVID Cash Recovery course will train you to help others who have been financially impacted by Covid-19.
Together Newcastle is now delivering this FREE training course designed to help YOU to help others who have been financially impacted by Covid-19.
generous engaged open
Bishop’s DiaryThis is not a full list of the Bishop’s engagements but includes the items we think might be of particular interest to you. Under the present circumstances there is a possibility of cancellations or meetings changing to virtual meetings.
1st 5pm Deacons’ Evening Retreat Meal, Shepherds Dene
2nd 5.pm Priests’ Evening Retreat Meal, Shepherds Dene
3rd 9.30am Ordinations, Hexham Abbey
2.30pm Ordinations, St Mary, Willington Quay
4th 11am 100th Anniversary of Foundation Stone,
Holy Trinity, Jesmond
6pm Confirmation, St Cuthbert, Elsdon
5th 8.30am Diocesan Secretary
1pm Consecration of Cemetery, Haltwhistle
6th 8am Ecumenical Prayers
7th 9.30am Senior Staff Meeting
8th 10am ‘How to Chair a Meeting?’ Church House
10th 9.30am Ordinations, St George, Jesmond
2.30pm Ordinations, St Mary, Monkseaton
11th 1.30pm Ordinations, Corbridge
5.30pm Ordinations, Norham
14th 11am Area Dean and Bishop’s Staff Meeting
18th 9.30am 150th Anniversary, Amble
2.pm Anniversary of Consecration of
St Mary Magdalene Cemetery, Prudhoe
19th 9.30am House of Bishops
7.30pm Institution of Catherine Macpherson at St Mary, Blyth
20th 8.30am People and Places Meeting
12noon Area Deans and Lay Chairs’ Meeting
3.30pm Sons of the Clergy, Bishop’s House
21st 10am Lindisfarne AGM, Church House
22nd 10am Regional Bishops’ Meeting, Bishopthorpe
October
CONTACT USThe Link, Church House, St John’s Terrace, North Shields. NE29 6HS.Tel: (0191) 270 4100. Email: [email protected]: m.me/ncldioceseTwitter: @ncldiocese Instagram: @NclDiocese
Link is produced ten times a year by the Diocese of Newcastle, with joint issues for August/September and December/January. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Diocese or the editor.The editor is pleased to consider articles or letters of not more than 350 words for publication. Where possible, articles should be accompanied by a good-quality digital photograph of 250dpi or higher. Please contact the editor before submitting obituaries.
For advertising rates and deadlines see www.newcastle.anglican.org/link.Copy date for November 2020 issue: Monday, October 12.
COVID Cash Recovery is a free 2-hour course, delivered over Zoom, which upskills churches, charities and community workers to help individuals recover from the financial problems that have arisen due to the coronavirus.
COVID Cash Recovery is an information and signposting course which divides into three sections:
■ Empowerment ■ Strategy ■ Dealing with deficit
The course covers everything from general entitlements, rights, government and charitable support, to budgeting, help with bills, loans, debt, and money strategies for making it through these next few months.The information and resources we provide through the ‘train-the-trainer’ model allows trusted members of the local community to signpost and provide accurate information to people in a flexible, non-advisory manner - equipping those trained to reach and help as many people as possible. Our resources are regularly updated to reflect changes to legislation or support as they happen. Once you are trained, you receive a password which gives you access to all of the resources and materials you need to keep up-to-date and continue to support members of your community!Together Newcastle is delivering online COVID Cash Recovery Train the Trainer sessions 10.00am - 12.30pm on the following dates:
■ Wednesday, 30th September ■ Tuesday, 6th October ■ Wednesday, 14th October ■ Further regular dates to follow! ■ Email: [email protected]
to indicate your interest for future dates.
Book now at https://bit.ly/32CiwWE
For those to be ordained Deacon:
By Bishop Stephen Platten at St Mary, Holy Island on the 3rd October.
Samantha Quilty, to serve in the ben-efice of St Mary, Holy Island.
Thomas Sample, to serve in the bene-fice of Holy Trinity and St Mary, Ber-wick.
By Bishop Christine at St Mary, Wil-lington on the 3rd October.
Paul Rusby, to serve in the benefice of Morpeth.
Kim Wears, to serve in the benefice of Willington.
By Bishop Mark Bryant at St Gabriel, Newcastle on the 3rd October.
Yvette Daniel, in the benefice of St Francis, Newcastle.
Alan White, to serve in the benefice of St Gabriel, Newcastle.
By Bishop Christine at Hexham Abbey on the 3rd October.
Oliver Dempsey, to serve in the bene-fice of Cowgate and the benefice of Newbiggin Hall.
Samuel Lochead, to serve in the ben-efice of Corbridge with Halton & New-ton Hall.
By Bishop John Packer at St Michael, Alnwick on the 4th October.
Phyllis Carruthers, to serve in the ben-efice of Bamburgh, Belford and Lucker.
John Storey, to serve in the benefice of Upper Coquetdale.
For those to be ordained Priest:
To be ordained by Bishop Christine at St George, Jesmond on the 10th Octo-ber.
Derek Avery, serving in the benefice of St George, Jesmond.
Beverley Davies, serving in the bene-fice of All Saints, Gosforth.
To be ordained by Bishop Christine at St Mary, Monkseaton on the 10th October.
Benjamin Jarvis, serving in the bene-fice of St Mary, Monkseaton.
Malcolm Railton, serving in the bene-fice of Tynemouth Priory.
To be ordained by Bishop Christine at St Mary, Monkseaton on the 11th October.
Lynn Caudwell, serving in the bene-fice of St Andrew, Corbridge.
Emily Watson, serving in the benefice of Willington.
As we pray for those to be ordained, let
us remember our own callings to follow Christ, and that the history of our faith shows that the Gospel of Jesus Christ knows no bound or restriction, save for the faithfulness and imagination of the Church.
With every blessing and ongoing prayers,
+ Christine
Read next month’s edition of Link for a closer look at some of those being ordained.
Summer of Change3growing church bringing hope
SO much is different since the start of the year, as you all know, but this arti-cle is about my change in perception of my parish, arising from being involved
in the Summer of Change Keep Safe pro-gramme.
From arriving in the parish of Newburn, I was aware that it has many distinctive fea-tures, which can be endearing, frustrating or both. There is the semi-rural setting and the wonderful outdoor space, shops being closed at lunchtime, the large number of people who can’t access the internet and the dependence on the 22 bus for access to Newcastle. New-burn Parish is certainly not affluent but it is not known to be deprived or in poverty.
Then came the Summer of Change pro-gramme, in which people from our church worked in partnership with Youth for Christ, Scripture Union, Street Games, Talbot House Trust (who loaned a minibus for four weeks completely free of charge) and Holy Spirit Denton, in the person of the brilliant Jacque-line Atkinson.
We worked between the parishes of Holy Spirit Denton and Newburn, delivering activ-ity packs, putting on activities in open spaces for young people and delivering food parcels to families who needed them.
The number of people in my own parish – both refugees and the indigenous population – who were in need of food was quite striking!
Parents took food bags home after their children had finished the outdoor activities and when the minibus arrived, people from different households came and asked for par-cels. I was surprised as I’ve been in the parish
for over three years and knew poverty existed - but it was hidden!
The response to the programme was over-whelming. One parent emailed “Please pass on my gratitude to the team of fabulous peo-ple who took such good care of my girls dur-ing the activity games and for providing them with such inspiration.”
Other parents shared the difficulties they’d been having during Covid - one had had to sell their car. Others were grateful for the activities that their children had been involved with, the laughter and joy that we heard was amazing.
One family didn’t speak English but each week when we took food they put their hands together in a prayer of thanks and blew kisses, as Jaqueline and I held back tears. One young person at the end of an activity day in Denton asked “are ya comin back tha morra?” When I said yes he turned to his friends and said ‘That’s mint!”
When faced with such vulnerability and gratitude I feel a whole range of emotions: I’m humbled by the response, angry that people in the West End of Newcastle have to live like this, grateful to God for demonstrating the need but bewildered as to how it can be met.
It was amazing working in partnership and it did not cost our churches anything other than the time of the staff and volunteers. But
what now? We could wait to put on another programme next year in the summer holidays but what would happen to those who are in severe need now? Benwell foodbank is only a few miles away but there is no direct bus route and the fares would be only slightly less than the value of a food parcel.
In Newburn Parish there is support from the PCC to do something to provide school uniforms and food to those in need, inspired partly by the Growing Church Bringing Hope – Next Steps reflection written by Revd Rob Saner-Haigh. We have a very good relation-ship with the West End Foodbank, who we support financially. The Methodist church in Lemington have been able to partner with the Foodbank to provide food to local people, so there is a model there for the churches further to the west.
The difficulty is, of course, resources. New-burn Parish doesn’t attract funding for being a disadvantaged neighbourhood. There are church members who are incredibly generous with their time and other resources, but we are limited by the small numbers who can drive or are able to get online. So trying to launch a new initiative would be challenging in any circumstance, but particularly in the current time when so many activities are more time consuming as a result of Covid-19.
So this article is not to point to an exciting new development that we should all thank God for – although the Summer of Change was just such a development and we are thanking God for all that he did and I know through his spirit is continuing to do. Instead Jacqueline and I are left with the question: How can we respond to a need when we don’t appear to have the resources to do so?
Summer of Change team Allison and Jaqueline give out food bags
by Revd Allison Harding, Vicar, Parish of Newburn
National Inter Faith Week
National Inter Faith Week will take place from Sunday 8th – Sunday 15th November. Its aims are to:
■ Strengthen good inter-faith relations. ■ Increase awareness of different and distinct
faith communities in the UK, in particular celebrating and building on the contribution their members make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society.
■ Increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.
8th – 15th November 2020
Young Voices of Faith
Voices of Faith is a group that began many years ago to bring together people from across all faiths and none, to enable people to meet and develop a deeper dialogue between each other. The planning group is chaired by Revd Richard Bryant and supported by Lesley Hillary the Diocesan Interfaith and Ethnic Relations Advisor.
Lesley said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic we have had to find new ways of working, to keep bringing people
together, to keep our links and friendships strong. We plan to make a video for National Inter Faith Week, to hear the voices of young people from different faiths reflecting on their views of the last few months, on the main issues that concern them, and their hopes for the future.”
The video, ‘Young Voices of Faith’ will be available to everyone in the Diocese to view and use, with the hope that it will be seen across the region and may be used as a resource to raise discussions about the concerns of young people in our area.
Find out more at https://www.interfaithweek.org/
Continued from page 1
4
The Harvest Generosity Week
We believe in a generous God, a God who gave us everything. Giv-ing and generosity are inextrica-bly linked with the living out of
our Christian faith.
As a church we need to encourage generos-ity, and there are certain times of the year which especially lend themselves to generous giving. To help support parishes the National Giving Team have created The Harvest Gener-osity Week. eight days of service and worship materials for churches to use during Harvest to encourage people to live generously.
Harvest is a time to gather what we have, a time to thank God for all he has given us, a
time to think and reflect on what God is calling us to create. These resources and materials can be used over the course of a week during the Harvest season and throughout the autumn to encourage people to live generous-ly. We hope our churches will join in and share this time to grow our understanding of God’s generosity and how it enriches our daily lives.
The Harvest Generosity Week includes a
week of resources running any given Sunday to Sunday:
■ eight daily audio reflection podcasts from
a range of voices across the Church of england for your congregation to listen to.
■ Service content packs with a range of material for service leaders to include in two Sunday services, one focussing on grace and one on gratitude.
■ Liturgy for a week’s Morning Prayer services for services in person or online.
■ A small group study session with a guide for leaders, including a biblical reflection and discussion questions based on the material from one of the Sunday services.
If you’d like to take part, please download
the resources from www.parishresources.org.uk/generosity-week-harvest and share the podcast links with your church.
The Generous Giving Team here at the Dio-cese would also be delighted to support your church directly with anything relating to encouraging giving and generosity. Please get in touch with us on 0191 270 4155. We wel-come calls!
generous engaged open
Proper Northern Pioneers
Newcastle Diocese is thrilled to be supporting people from across the region in beginning the CMS Pioneer Ministry course at their new Northern Centre in Penrith. 18 people from across Cumbria, the North East and beyond are beginning this, aptly named, ‘Proper Northern Pioneers’ learning journey, and their first teaching weekend has just taken place.
As well as theological reflection, studies into mission and pioneering, students will be encouraged to begin, or develop a new project centred around listening for the call of God in their context and then building a response to that call - it could be around loving service, a new expression of Christian community, a new business bringing transformation... or anything!
Do be praying for them, especially the seven involved in our diocese - that they may learn and grow with God in every way and that the ministries they serve bring Christ’s life to the people and place around them.
By Beth Rookwood, Bishop’s Advisor for Pioneer Ministry and leader of The Roost Community
By JoanneChristie,GenerousGiving Adviser@JoanneCTweets
Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash
5growing church bringing hope
with Ian Roberts, Cathedral Director of Music
View from the Lantern
The walls of Newcastle Cathedral once again resound to the sound of the Cathedral Choir. This is far from a return to normal, it is logistically difficult, but the circumstances also present some interesting opportunities, as Ian Roberts, Cathedral Director of Music explains:
It’s now become a well-worn cliché, but the global pandemic and its associated lock-down was and remains unprecedented in so many ways. Some commentators have rightly stated that, for the Cathedrals of England, this period has been the longest without choral music since 1662. For us at Newcastle Cathedral, 2020 was always going to be an unusual year. The building work would have proved a challenge for the sustaining of daily music in the Cathedral, but we had worked long and hard so that it would be possible to continue offering children the unique musical education in all its richness.
As we all know, in mid-March this all needed to change abruptly. A week before we’d welcomed children from across the North East for our Chorister Experience Day, and we were knee-deep in rehearsals for a CD recording which we were about to undertake (but of course ultimately had to cancel). Circumstances demanded that we, quite literally, downed tools and
went home. For our Cathedral musicians, as I know was the case for musicians across the diocese, this was a difficult and disorientating time, made worse by the fact that singing went from being perceived as a ‘good, healthy activity for the whole family’ to a ‘high risk activity’ overnight. Technological possibilities were a real bonus, yet I was keenly aware that the plaintive cry of the psalmist in Psalm 137 seemed so very apt: ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land’
Fast forward to mid-August and we rejoiced at the change of guidance relating to choral singing. Now we could actually begin to think about working with the choristers ‘in person’. It was immediately apparent that a return would not be logistically easy, and any sense of sliding back into the ‘normal routine’ impossible. Unlike foundations with Choir Schools,
we have choristers attending from a wide variety of schools across the local area. This means that in no way can we call ourselves a ‘bubble’. Instead it has been essential that we have various additional measures in place.
The choristers have reacted with understanding and maturity when it comes to the new rules. The new regime includes the wearing of face coverings when moving around the building and at break times, and the strict two metre rule on all sides and ends when singing. To achieve this the choir is presently singing at the east end of the Quire, with all singers facing west.
Another aspect of the guidance is that the singers should not face each other, and to this end we are not using the choir stalls. Other precautions include one-way systems and tape on the floor reminding choristers about safe distance and the spot on which they should stand. With this comes the need for extra staff and volunteers.
I’m writing this article the day after we sang our first Choral Evensong in six months. The music was comparatively simple as we got used to using the space very differently, but the occasion was very special and moving. Because the majority of the Cathedral remains a building site, we can’t welcome congregations ‘in person’ for
Evensong, but we can welcome all via the Cathedral’s YouTube channel. Our intention for the time being is to live stream Sunday Evensong and record two Evensongs during the week that will be streamed on the following day. This means that you can attend online Choral Evensong from Newcastle Cathedral on Thursdays and Fridays at 5.30pm and on Sundays at 4pm. The recordings will also be available for a while after so that those who would like can join in with Evensong at a time that suits their schedule.
For us at Newcastle Cathedral this will be a new departure, and we have had to be rather resourceful and invest in some new equipment to make this a reality. Ultimately, I hope and pray that the ease of availability of Choral Evensong from Newcastle Cathedral will bring a greater number of people to this beautiful act of worship.
Therefore, out of a difficult six months that have proved challenging in so many ways, springs an exciting and new initiative. I do hope that you might be able to join us for Evensong on YouTube, and that you will tell your friends. If we can help and inspire just one more person that otherwise wouldn’t have discovered the Cathedral, its music, or indeed the Christian Faith, it will be well worth the effort.
Welcome to Patty Everitt, Counselling Advisor (Interim)Patty, a Registered Neurolin-
guistic Psychotherapist with the UK Council for Psychother-apy (UKCP), Clinical Hypno-
therapist and Supervisor, has recently been appointed into a six-month inter-im post to lead the Newcastle Diocese Counselling Service.
But she had a different life before all this!
Her educational background is in physics and maths, with a 30-year career as physicist, software engineer, It Pro-ject Manager and with a stint in (non-financial) Internal audit. She has worked for SMEs and FtSE 100 compa-nies, national and international organi-sations in technical, project and mana-gerial roles.
Her route into psychotherapy started with an interest in coaching leading to opportunities to train in Neuro Linguis-
tic Programming which, in turn, led on to a Diploma in Neurolinguistic Psycho-therapy and accreditation with UKCP in 2017.
Patty volunteered for six years as a Bishop’s Reviewer in Liverpool Diocese and as a volunteer counsellor for three years with Chester Diocese Counselling Service, before moving to the North East and settling in alnwick in 2018. She joined the Newcastle Diocese Counsel-ling team, led by Rachel Hudson, in 2019.
She is married, has one cat and a love of archaeological tours and Latin danc-ing!
Patty is easy to talk to and is happy to talk, in confidence, to anyone who wants to explore whether counselling might be helpful to them. Contact Patty at [email protected] Patty Everitt
6 generous engaged open
Bishop of Newcastle appoints the next Archdeacon of LindisfarneBishop Christine is pleased to announce
that the Reverend prebendary Dr Cathe-rine sourbut Groves is to be the next Arch-deacon of Lindisfarne.
Catherine, 52, is currently vicar at st Barnabas and st peter’s in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and prebendary of Wells Cathedral, and takes over from the Venerable peter Robinson, who earlier this year moved to become Dean of Derby.
her appointment comes at both an exciting and challenging time for the Diocese of Newcastle as it continues with its five year vision: growing church bringing hope, inspiring growth in worshipping communities across Northumberland, all of which are coming to terms with the challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Bishop Christine said: “Catherine is a joyful and positive person, with a lived faith and a passion to build understanding and relationships with the people she works with. her ministry in the Diocese of Bath and Wells has been a creative and fruitful one as incumbent at st Barnabas, Bath, and st peter’s Englishcombe, and as part of the diocesan vocations team and Magnificat parishes group. i am delighted that she will be joining us as Archdea-con of Lindisfarne.
“Alongside the usual duties of an Archdeacon, Catherine will be taking the lead role for the Rural strand of our Diocesan strategy, and will be work-ing closely with all of the parishes in the Lindisfarne Archdeaconry as we seek to take the next steps together in growing church bringing hope so that our ministry and mission to the communities we serve will grow and flourish.”
Commenting on her appointment, Catherine said: “When i think of Jesus, among the many posi-tive adjectives that come to mind, ‘open, engaged and generous’ are at the top of the list. And when i contemplate the abundant life Jesus lived and offered us through his death, then i dream of vibrant growing communities, filled with hope and sharing that with all around them. so the values and vision of Newcastle Diocese resonated with me as soon as i heard that a new Archdeacon of Lindis-
farne was needed.
“having grown up in Yorkshire, i also realise i have lived in the south of England for far too long! so a return to the North East fills me with both the excitement of new beginnings and a sense of returning home to the North. i’m really looking for-ward to getting to know the people in the diverse hamlets, villages and towns of Lindisfarne Arch-deaconry, learning about what God is doing among you and the ways you are engaging with that, and playing my part in supporting the clergy and lay leaders in their mission and ministry.
“For now, i will mostly be based in the Archdea-con’s office at Church house in North shields, and will be meeting people via Zoom, WhatsApp, phone etc, but i’m praying for a slowing of the virus and an easing of restrictions so i can get out and about in the archdeaconry and see as many people as i can face to face as soon as possible.”
Change and the Challenge – Safeguarding learning in a new way
As with so many things, the coronavirus pandemic has challenged the Church on the way it presents its safeguarding training. All face-to-face training was suspended, so the National Safeguarding Team (NST) designed a whole new Safeguarding Leadership Module. This is based around dialogue, shared experience, personal reflection and is delivered via Zoom. It focuses on behaviours and values for leadership and how we respond well to survivors of abuse and those making a disclosure.
In August, we hosted the first groups to participate in this new way of learning and 37 delegates in total completed the programmes, which are offered on different days of the week and at different times.
It was challenging for all of us; being comfortable with Zoom, knowing when to speak and so on. However, it was good to hear people share their own learning and understanding of safeguarding. Better still was the listening to and learning from each other. As one participant said “This is not about gaining a certificate of attendance in safeguarding. This is a course that takes us beyond establishing procedures and principles as a reaction to a situation, but makes us look at a cultural change in which
those procedures and principles are firmly embedded within our church communities.” How great is that!
At the end of the module we sent a short survey to the participants and 88% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that after the programme they felt ‘more aware and confident as a safeguarding leader.’ So, a good first attempt at a new way of learning. There is room to improve and we are working on that with our September groups.
Any change naturally brings feelings of hesitation, refusal, even fear. However, the challenge always is to see not what might be lost, rather what can be gained from that change!
We are very much looking forward to meeting and learning with colleagues booked on future programmes. Here are some quotes from the August participants:
“Well-presented and worked well on Zoom.”
“I found the Safeguarding Leadership training engaging and relevant.”
“I found the participative nature very effective and engaging.”
“This was an excellent and challenging course.”
“I was impressed with the quality of the training material.”
“I found the Leadership Learning a very positive and collaborative experience.”
TOWARDS A SAFER CHURCHwww.newcastle.anglican.org/safeguarding
with Mark Bagnall, Safeguarding Training Officer
Dr Catherine Sourbut Groves
Pot PouriThis month, we bring you an environmental pot pouri: environmental issues in the news, an event, new resources, a reason to be hopeful and a prayer.
NewsEnvironmental issues have featured in the media more prominently than usual in the past few days, as the latest activities of Extinction Rebellion, and Christian Climate Action, have disrupted life in the cities, and temporarily impeded the delivery of newspapers. The media seem increasing hostile to XR’s prophetic voice, and the Prime Minister and Home Secretary are even calling for their activities to be designated as Serious Organised Crime! This suggests to me that XR is beginning to win hearts and minds – and those who benefit from the status quo are fighting back. David Attenborough’s latest programme, about mass extinction, is also creating a stir: perhaps the tide is turning at last.
EventHave you considered becoming an Eco Church, but aren’t sure where to start? Or are you already on the Eco Church journey, but could do with a boost or some new ideas? Or have you never heard of Eco Church, but are intrigued by the concept? If so, you may be interested in an exciting online conference being offered by the Diocese of St Albans on Saturday 3rd October. With inspirational speakers and practical workshops, as well as current Eco Churches sharing their experience, this looks like a really worthwhile experience. Book at https://bit.ly/35BoDN1
ResourcesA new publication from Church House Publishing, A Time for Creation brings together a wealth of liturgical resources for creation and the environment – some gathered together from existing Common Worship provision, as well as some new material. It contains complete services (daily offices and Eucharist), prayers for the environment, thematic resources for Creation Season and more. Musically, Resound Worship have created some worship songs with an environmental theme, under the lovely name Doxecology
– sample them at www.doxecology.org. Just about every format is available – CD, digital, scores, backing tracks… as well as a study guide and service outlines.
Being hopefulI hinted at the beginning that the tide of public opinion may be beginning to turn: this week the UK Climate Assembly came up with some significant policy recommendations. Do the recommendations go far enough? Probably not – the Assembly’s brief was to consider how to get to net zero by 2050, which is too late. But still, it’s an encouraging step which shows that, given proper information and the opportunity to reflect, members of the public are more ready to embrace meaningful action than government. Read their recommendations, and see the expert speakers, here https://www.climateassembly.uk/
PrayerTo finish, a climate change prayer from the Anglican Church of Australia:Holy God, earth and air and water are your creation, and every living thing belongs to you: have mercy on us as climate change confronts us. Give us the will and the courage to simplify the way we live, to reduce the energy we use, to share the resources you provide, and to bear the cost of change. Forgive our past mistakes and send us your Spirit, with wisdom in present controversies and vision for the future to which you call us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
By Mark Nash-Williams, Bishop’s Advisor for the Environment
7growing church bringing hope
Bamburgh Bones wins a top category at the prestigious UK Heritage AwardsThe Accessing Aidan project, with its
newly opened crypt of St Aidan’s Church in Bamburgh, won the ‘hid-den Gem’ category at the awards,
which celebrate the best historic houses, gar-dens, museums and sites around the UK.
In November last year the beautiful 12th century crypt of St Aidan’s church was reo-pened to the public once again to enable the public to visit the new Bamburgh Ossuary and to learn more about the remarkable story of Anglo-Saxon Bamburgh.
An interpretive display and animation together with a unique interactive digital ossuary at St Aidan’s Church and Crypt in Bamburgh, tells the story of 110 skeletons dat-ing back to the 7th and 8th centuries unearthed from what is believed to be the burial ground for the royal court of Northum-bria.
The judges of the UK heritage Awards praised Accessing Aidan for ‘furthering sci-ence and education’, for mixing digital ele-ments with archaeology and for the strength of the volunteer and community involve-ment.
The Accessing Aidan project is a collabora-tion between the Northumberland Coast AONB Partnership, St Aidan’s Parochial Church Council, Durham University, Bam-burgh heritage Trust and Northumberland County Council. The project has been made possible thanks to a £355,600 grant from The National Lottery heritage Fund
Revd Louise Taylor-Kenyon, Vicar of St Aid-an’s Church said “It is wonderful to be able tell the story of our earliest Christian history, and to be reminded that people have always travelled, settled and been welcomed here. St Aidan served all people, whatever their status and nationality, showing us an inclusive liv-ing faith.”
Jessica Turner, the Accessing Aidan Project Officer said “We are absolutely thrilled to be recognised with this fabulous award. This has been a great partnership effort and we are
immensely proud that our hidden gem - the crypt and our amazing Anglo-Saxon story - is now open and accessible to all.”
Northumberland County Councillor Jeff Watson is Chair of the Northumberland Coast AONB. he said: “This is fantastic news for this truly unique Northumberland project, and very well deserved. “With the help of new technology, the secrets these ancient people took to their graves 1,400 years ago have been unlocked and brought to life for a 21st century audience. I am so pleased that the beautiful
crypt of St Aidan’s church is open to the pub-lic once again.”
The 12th century crypt below the chancel is a true hidden gem as difficult external access meant the crypt had been closed to the public for the last 30 years but now new stairs enable access to the main crypt below, from where the second crypt with its neatly stacked ossu-ary boxes containing the bones, can be viewed. On entering the crypt, visitors are met with a short linocut animation film that tells the story of the ancestors now interred in the
Ossuary, with further information panels and the digital ossuary available in the church.
It is hoped the Bamburgh Ossuary will help spread the word about an under-represented period of Bamburgh’s history – namely the regional, national and even global role it played in the spread of Christianity and Anglo Saxon culture. Among the startling revela-tions is that far from being a quiet, rural vil-lage, Bamburgh was a thriving and cosmo-politan hub drawing people from across europe to live and work – including St Aidan, who travelled from Iona at the invitation of King Oswald to establish Christianity in the area and founded a place of worship in 635AD on the site of the present church that bears his name.
Due to the current Covid-19 restriction the crypt and main body of the church are cur-rently only open on designated days so check the website before planning your visit. It is also possible to arrange a private tour of the crypt via the website. The digital ossuary is available online through a new dedicated website bamburghbones.org
The project has been made possible thanks to a £355,600 grant from the National Lottery heritage Fund
Bamburgh Bones Bishop and clergyPictures: Crest
Interpretation in St Aidan’s church A visitor watching the crypt projection
8 generous engaged open
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of the Revd Canon Philip Cunningham on Thursday 27th August and of Revd Sue Joyner on Tuesday 2nd September.
The Revd Canon PhiliP John Cunningham RiP
Philip was ordained Deacon in 1995 and Priest in 1996 in York Diocese where he served at St Luke York, St Olave w St Giles York, and in Haxby (St Mary) w Wigginton. In 2002 he joined the Diocese of Newcastle and served in Gosforth, St Nicholas, until 2018 when he retired. During this time he also held the post of Area Dean of Newcastle Central Deanery, and was an Honorary Canon of Newcastle Cathedral from 2011.
Philip retired in 2018 and lived in Hexham, where he continued to faithfully support the clergy and parishes of the Hexham Deanery, and further afield, throughout his retirement.
Philip’s funeral, a Requeim Mass took place at 11.00am on Thursday 10th September, at Hexham Abbey.
Please remember Philip’s wife Ann, their two daughters Rebecca and Hilary, and their families in your prayers.
The Revd SuSan diane JoyneR RiPSue was ordained Deacon in 2008 and Priest in 2009 in the Diocese of Newcastle, and has served her whole ministry in Upper Coquetdale, Alnwick Deanery. Recently retired as Headteacher of Harbottle First School, she
also served as a Trustee of the Diocesan Joint Education Team. She was a much-loved priest and will be missed by many.
Sue’s Funeral service was held at St Michael & All Angels Church, Alwinton, on Wednesday 16th September at 11.00am.
Please remember her husband Peter and their wider family in your prayers
Bishop Christine blesses the launch of St Cuthbert’s Three-Church Trail
Rest in Peace Revd Canon Philip Cunningham and Revd Sue Joyner
Bishop Christine joined the many pil-grims that set out from st Cuthbert’s Elsdon on saturday, 5th september to bless the official launch of the st
Cuthbert’s Three-Church Trail.
The walking route links the three st Cuth-bert’s churches, travelling from Elsdon to Cor-senside and Bellingham.
The st Cuthbert’s Three-Church Trail Group were awarded a grant of £1,634 from Revitalis-ing Redesdale to write and produce a guide book, to help visitors appreciate the culture, nature and history of the landscape they pass along the way.
The Group worked in partnership with Revi-talising Redesdale to provide waymarkers along the Trail and improve the river crossing at smoutel Ford. The Group are currently in the process of raising money for the installa-tion of steps and a pathway to connect Cuddy’s Well and st Cuthbert’s Church Bellingham.
Bishop Christine expressed her strong sup-port for the work, emphasising that it will encourage more visitors and importantly fur-ther the development of spiritual pilgrimage in Northumberland.
The three st Cuthbert churches are working together on the Rural Churches for Everyone project, and the Trail and the installation of steps at st Cuthbert’s Bellingham is very much part of the sustainable future for these church-
es, communities and our st Cuthbert’s herit-age.
Here’s an account of the launch walk and trail blessing, written by St Cuthbert’s Three-Church Trail Group Project Manager, Marie Ness:
As we set off across the village green and up into the hills we stopped to remind each other of Cuthbert ‘stories’. We recalled how Cuthbert himself had seen a light in the sky and the next day had learned saint Aidan had died, and so prompted Cuthbert followed his vocation and joined the monastic community at Melrose.
Unfortunately after a wet August we were not able to cross smoutel Ford, which is pass-able when the River Rede is low. however in blessing the newly installed Ford, Bishop Christine also reminded us that in life, just as on our pilgrimage walk, we often are faced with barriers that we have to overcome and find ways around.
in the distance we could see st Cuthbert’s Corsenside on the top of the hill, and were rewarded in our detour with deep conversa-tions with new and old friends, more Cuthbert stories, wondering paths and rushing streams. Up the hill we walked once more on the steady climb up to the simple peace and tranquillity of st Cuthbert’s, Corsenside.
Fortified by our picnic lunch in West Wood-burn, where many friends joined us, some to
continue with us on our journey, others to encourage and support friends on their way. Undeterred by a sharp shower, we continued across country. on a bridge where the River Rede meets the North Tyne we stopped for rest and to listen to the story of Cuthbert and the otters, who lovingly warmed Cuthbert’s feet after he had sought solitude in the sea.
Eventually we emerged from the Riverside path to arrive at “Cuddy’s” Well Bellingham, a natural spring said to have never dried up since st Cuthbert blessed it, and linked to miraculous cures over the centuries. Most of the pilgrims certainly partook of the metallic tasting water to quench their thirst. After a blessing at the Well we ascended the steps to st Cuthbert’s, Bellingham where we had prayers including special thanks for Revd Dr susan Ramsaran who has played a major part in the Trail’s creation and has written the st Cuth-bert’s Three-Church Trail booklet. susan retires after st Cuthbert’s Festival Weekend.
■ If you would like a copy of the St Cuth-bert’s Three-Church Trail booklet (mini-mum donation £5 + p&p) please e-mail Marie Ness [email protected]
■ If you would like to make a donation to the further development of the St Cuth-bert’s Three-Church Trail and the sustaina-bility of the St Cuthbert Churches at Bell-ingham, Corsenside and Elsdon you can donate via the Diocese Donate page https://www.give.net/3churchtrail/oneoff
Philip with his faithful friend Ebba
Bishop Christine with Revd Dr Susan Ramsaran at the end of the trail. Picture: Jill Swaile Churchwarden St Peter’s Falstone
St Cuthbert’s Corsenside
St Cuthbert’s trail pilgrims
The Revd Susan Diane Joyner
9growing church bringing hope
LIKE A METAPHORTim Hardy (formerly of the Religious Resources Centre) writes at www.timbo-baggins.co.uk and spends the rest of his time raising his young daughter and riding a bike around Leamington Spa.
Nights drawiNg iNIt's getting dark appreciably earlier in the day than even a few weeks ago - certainly much earlier than it did two thirds of the way through June. It leaves our evenings strangely truncated, especially after a summer of long solo walks or bike rides once we'd put Anwen down for the night, and we haven't yet adjusted to the not-yet-here winter nights-in. It seems that nature is similarly confused - the odd tree here and there has dumped its leaves all around its roots and over the footpath, but mostly they've remained just as green and pleasant as they've seemed all year.
I have friends with allotments who have been over-run with courgettes, and other friends who make jellies and jams, I've been teaching Anwen about picking brambles as we walk, but most of us no longer need to spend time preparing for the winter - harvesting, laying down supplies of food to last us through - in these days of plenty, these are no longer part of our annual lives.
There's a long time until winter is actually here. In the meantime, there are hours of light to enjoy every day that won't be here later in the year, there is plenty of greenery that hasn't faded and fallen yet, but I can't shake the awareness that we're entering autumn merely as a transitional season on the way to a more real-feeling winter.
Likewise, in terms of the church year, there's quite a lot of green up ahead of us. We're about half way through a long period of Ordinary Time, leading from the feast of Pentecost to the beginning of Advent.
I'd usually take this chance to celebrate the fact that, as a church, we have these long periods of normality between the more-exciting, appealing and engaging seasons of celebration and repentance. I would note that it's good to acknowledge how most of our lives in this world will be fairly mundane (for want of a better word) and it's good that the church year reflects this - we don't exist in a perpetual state of giddy excitement, nor one of sorrow and self-examination, but most of the time, things are fairly, well, ordinary.
However, with limited numbers of churches currently reopening (and, even then, in very restricted ways), nothing much feels normal at the moment. It's hard to picture how things will be in a fortnight or so, let alone two and a half months; we know that Advent (and therefore Christmas) is on the way but it's hard to see how we'll be getting there. Which, I guess, is the point of Ordinary Time - the putting of one foot in front of the other, noticing what's changing, growing and ready to harvest as we go, and trusting God in the small, personal, day-to-day things that make up the ordinary seasons of our extraordinary lives
Songs, stories and prayers for Willington’s toddlers
Church of the Good Shepherd, Willington have devised a plan to connect with their toddler group online. Before lockdown the baby and toddler group, Little Shepherds had on average 25 regular attendees who enjoyed play, Bible stories, songs and prayers. This is a wonderful group and valuable outreach to the community.
During lockdown the church has kept in touch through text and WhatsApp but with the ongoing social distance restrictions preventing the group gathering in person, they have recently begun working on a plan to deliver songs, stories and
prayers to the toddlers and their families using online resources.
This has started with a video on YouTube about ‘Sheila the Sheep’ starting nursery school and a God version of the classic nursery rhyme Old MacDonald had a farm, by Revd Emily Watson.
Revd Julie Mooney said “We have received wonderful feedback about our toddlers watching and singing from their own home with requests to watch again and again. We are thrilled that we can continue to engage with
our toddlers and their families as this, for many of them, is their only link to church.”
The Willington Team’s twice weekly ecumenical services have proved so successful for sharing worship with the congregation, that parishioners Joan and Dave Cottiss asked for a celebration service to give thanks for their 55th Wedding Anniversary. Julie said “It was a wonderful celebration that allowed their family and friends to safely gather online and take a role in the service.”
Left, Revd Julie Mooney with Sheila the Sheep on YouTube, and below, Joan and Dave Cottiss celebrating 55 years of marriage
Floral tribute to NHS and key workers at St Bartholomew’s, Newbiggin
Unable to hold their usual annual fair and flower festival for the first time in 50 years, St Bartholomew’s instead decided to put together a floral tribute to thank the NHS, key workers, carers and emergency services.
Over the August bank holiday weekend they hosted the floral tribute as part of the
official reopening of the Church Centre and shop, after many months of lockdown.
Fr Anthony O’Grady, vicar of St Bartholomew’s said: “The churchwardens and I decided to put something in place to mark our summer fair and respond to the current crisis.
“We did that to boost morale in the
local community after what has been an incredibly difficult year for everybody. Viewing took place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and given the crisis, we had a reasonable number of people who attended - and all of whom accepted the social distancing measures we had to have in place.”
Picture: Janet Bennett
ACROSS1. New pupil initially taking preacher’s place (6)4. Inferior, the French ship used with hesitation (6)8. High Church member giving coaching to all, possibly (5-8)10. Competitor’s admission (5)11. Bob, e.g., hit a cur accidentally (7)12. Belittling woman’s father ranting (11)16. Blokes not at first serious making us carve (7)17. Nut about to be found in enclosure (5)18. Secret organized tour – it is super (13)19. The rod unexpectedly glowing with heat (3-3)20. Average boy becoming clergyman (6)
DOWN1. Intercession for quiet man appearing with hesitation (6)2. Pale fellow at home with German man inclined to steal (5-7)3. Tusk substance in one verse Roy corrected (5)5. Repeating point about house in Gateshead (7)6. Second little creature tricks Conservative with debts, embarrassed (4-9)7. From memory, repeat aloud one found in Crete, possibly (6)9. Repulsive ringleader in a British house getting payment (9) 13. Able cop arranging fake treatment (7)14. Person who edits crones’ broadcast (6)15. A French boy admits one in complete agreement (6)17. Bread – mine is given to volunteers (5)
ANSWeRS tO CROSSWORD 165
ACROSS: 1. Old Testament 8. Basic 9. Mariner 10. Tie 11. Unanimous 13. Extra14. Gutsy 16. Carpenter 17. Oar 19. Precede 21. Yearn 22. DictatorshipDOWN: 1. Orbit 2. Dissenter 3. Encouragement 4. Tomcat 5. Morning Prayer 6. Nun 7. Trusty 12. Osteopath 13. Escape 15. Street 18. Run-up 20. Eli
Link Crossword 166 Compiled by Mary Sutton
10
HAVE YOUR SAYAnything catch your eye in this month’s LINK?Something on your mind? Or in your prayers?Send an e-mail, message or letter to LINK and we’ll publish the best of them:
Have your say. LINK, Church House, St John’s Terrace, North Shields NE29 6HS. Email us: link@newcastle. anglican.org
generous engaged open
PAtteRNS OR ChOiCeS?
Noticing our patterns of thought or behaviours gives us the chance to look again at how we feel and how we think. When we know what our patterns are, we can decide how well they serve us. We can challenge them, make changes, develop new patterns and ways of thinking. We learn that we have choices when, maybe, we thought we had none.
We all have established patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour; they become reflex and we don’t realise that we have a choice in the matter.
We develop patterns throughout our lives, many during childhood, as we learned how to “be” in our family and in our world. Some patterns developed before we had words to explain even to ourselves what was happening.
Some patterns contribute to our survival: looking before we cross the road, paying attention to traffic lights and flashing lights on level crossings. Some contribute to our acceptance into our community: being polite or queuing.
However, some of our patterns are out-of-date; circumstances have changed and yet …
And yet we continue to respond in the same way as we have always done. We seem to be especially prone to repeat patterns relating to family.
As circumstances change then our old patterns of thinking and behaving may not be appropriate, and we may get unexpected or unpleasant results.
And yet, as adults we could choose to behave differently. We have a rich experience which we could choose to use. We do not have to continue well-worn and reflex responses.
And if we did behave differently then – oh, my goodness – we could get a different response!
Just think about times when people behaved differently toward you when you were expecting a “typical” response from them. How did you feel about that? Pleasantly surprised? Confused? Wrong-footed?
When we choose a different response then the situation changes! Others will respond differently to us.
We can do something different and get a different response and our experience of our world can change.
Some typical ways of recognising you are running a pattern:
■ You know at the start that this will end in the “usual way”;
■ You remember that you feel anxious, defensive, or angry around this person or in that situation; or
■ You feel trapped because nothing changes.
Here are some basic ways of changing a pattern: ■ When you notice that you are running
a pattern think back to what started that response: a person, a situation, a word? You may find this difficult to start with or you may recognise what is happening straight away. Persist and congratulate yourself when you do notice regardless of the point at which you notice.
Plan how you would like to respond in future: ■ Focus on your behaviour: Remember – you
can only change your behaviour; you cannot change anyone else’s. How do you want to behave?
■ Focus on how you want to feel about the way you handled the situation.
■ Focus on what you want your outcome to be. Remember, this must be regardless of what others do or say because you cannot control their behaviour or response.
■ Now, take a metaphorical step back. Imagine responding in this new way. Notice how you behave, the words you use, the way you feel before, during and after. You can always tweak your response and work it through again.
■ Cut yourself some slack if it doesn’t go to plan at first! You are learning new behaviours and that takes time. If any of the above feels familiar and you would like to have a chat about it, please contact Patty at [email protected]
by Patty Everitt, Counselling Advisor (Interim)
This month we are including the crossword for anyone looking for something to keep them occupied during lockdown but just for fun (sorry, no prize this month). Please DO NOT submit crosswords to Church House.
Visit https://www.newcastle.anglican.org/events/category/all-events/ for events taking place across the Diocese
11growing church bringing hope
English Pastoral – a lovE story and a challEngEJames Rebanks, the ‘Herdy Shepherd’, has written a new book. ‘English Pastoral: An Inheritance (Allen Lane).
It’s a love song to rural life in the North marked by that wonderful combination of gritty honesty with genuinely poetic use of language that made his first book, ‘The Shepherd’s Life’, published five years ago, truly memorable. But I think that in many ways this book is even better. It moved me deeply.
It’s a personal story about the land, our use of it and how farming and community are, or should be, inseparable. It provides rich food for thought, not least for all of us who in this diocese seeks to discern a sustainable, but transformative way forward in response to the Gospel of hope and love.
Like, ‘The Shepherd’s Life’ it’s autobiographical. It’s divided it three parts. The first is ‘nostalgia’, in which Rebanks looks back to his boyhood and how he first discovered a deep love of the land, and his farming inheritance under his grandfather’s guidance, as he sat on the back of his tractor; and how despite the desperately hard graft that defined his life, his grandfather
seemed to have found a way through to enjoying the wild things about him and taking pride at ‘doing things right.’
‘Progress’ is an honest and open critique of how economics and agrochemicals combined to create the ‘new farming’ with bigger units to grow cheaper food, but increasingly lower margins, soil exhaustion and the loss of flora and fauna. It’s the story of ‘how the economics of farming made it virtually impossible to opt out.’ It was unnatural, it was destructive, but was there a viable alternative?
‘Utopia’ presents a tentative work in progress. It’s the story of how Rebanks has rediscovered the smell and taste of the soil on his own small upland farm in Cumbria and with it, the re-birth of diversity of life on the land, a process that he hopes will bring sustainability. It’s not an approach taught, he says in the country’s leading agricultural colleges, they are still concerned with how to run a ‘profitable business.’ For them, ‘tradition, community or ecological limits,’ ‘he says, ‘don’t count.’
He won’t win any prizes for what he’s done (well, maybe the odd literary award), and there’s a fine line when it comes to allowing nature to take
control of parts of his land; but I am utterly with him in his contention that ‘the idea that land must be either perfectly wild or perfectly efficient and sterile is unwise and blinding; it is a false and unsustainable simplification.’
Just as timely, as we are invited to think and pray about how we manage our environment and plan what we can do to help protect and sustain life on our planet, Rebanks reminds us that the need to re-imagine farming here in the North should be the business of all of us who live here: ‘Restoring the countryside’, he says, ‘isn’t about destroying communities and traditional ways of life, or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s about building strong new rural communities that respect both the old and the new.’ He argues that ‘local food matters – and so does local farming because what we eat is too important to be pushed out of sight and mind - we need to see the food we eat and how it’s produced – and question and challenge this when we need to.’
Rebanks ends with a vision of society that ought to warm to hearts of us all. Tired of the absolutes, extremes and the angriness of this age he calls for more kindness, compromise and
balance in our common life.
Earlier, he backs up his argument by quoting the Bible: the call in Leviticus 19: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest … you shall leave them for the poor and the alien …
We may rightly make much of the need for and joys of a personal faith in Jesus Christ, but we must always remember that the overwhelming message of the Bible is that our wellbeing – physical, pastoral and spiritual comes in and through our participation in community.
Rebanks’s new book offers a challenge to all of who live in rural communities to think deeply about how we can work with everyone of good will to build sustainable communities – in the present Covid crisis and beyond a deeply pressing concern (and with Brexit just around the corner). Surely the church should be (as indeed it is, I believe) taking a lead in this.
But it’s not just a book for those who live in the rural North. Its message and challenge should give us all pause for thought.
The Rural Strand by Helen Savage, Vicar of the Moorland Group of Parishes
In times of crisis, love unites us all
News from Christian Aid North East with Helen Cunningham, Church Engagement and Fundraising Officer (North East & Cumbria)
Christ calls us to reach out to our neighbours with love. By being good neighbours, we can change the world.
When crisis arrived on our door-steps this year, neighbourly love helped us through.
We’ve all witnessed communities coming together to face the challeng-es of the Covid-19 pandemic. Across the world, this same neighbourly love is helping some of the most vulnera-ble communities overcome crisis.
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Mark 12:31
in Nicaragua, the farming commu-nity of santa rosa has grown coffee for generations. But now that could come to an end. The crop is strug-gling to grow as the climate crisis rages on. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America and one of the countries most affected by climate change. Around 80% of the population depend on agriculture for survival. Many grow coffee as their main source of income. Now, their future looks more and more uncer-tain.
But there is hope. Farming com-munities are coming together to share tools and knowledge. United, they can make the urgent changes needed to help their family farms last
for generations.
Angela Zelaya is a farmer in santa rosa. she is married and has two daughters, Johaira and Ariana. Ange-la’s coffee farm used to provide a good living for her family. But now she’s facing a crisis. The changing cli-mate in Nicaragua means her coffee harvests are shrinking every year. Coffee farmers used to lose only 5% of their crop. Now it is 30%.
Angela explains: ‘With climate change, the coffee suffers from many diseases and pests. The sun has scorched the coffee beans, we cannot sell them and we’re losing more every year because of climate change. When i was a kid, the weather was totally different. it’s been changing a lot and we don’t know when it’s the rainy season or the dry season.’
At the same time, coffee prices have fallen globally. Facing this crisis has brought the community together to work as a local cooperative to share resources and knowledge and urgently protect their livelihoods.
‘i feel proud to be part of a cooper-ative and we have the opportunity to share ideas and learn from each other,’ Angela said.
The cooperative is supported by Christian Aid’s local partner, soppex-cca. They help coffee farming com-
munities with different initiatives and projects, from school vegetable gardens to gender workshops. One of the main ways they are helping farm-ers protect their livelihoods is by shifting from coffee production to climate-resistant cocoa, helping peo-ple like Angela to secure a better future.
Angela said: ‘With the cocoa pro-ject, we received loans and cocoa plants. i received 700 cocoa plants. The technicians came and visited us and told us what to do. We also received tree saplings to help shade our crops.’
While trained technicians show farmers how to improve their farms, youth promoters from the local com-munity help to make it a success. They visit the farmers to record their progress and share know how. it’s helped build trust between the gen-erations.
Angela’s daughter Johaira is one of the youth promoters in santa rosa. she said: ‘sometimes i feel nervous about telling farmers what they need to do, but as a promoter i feel good and am always learning more.
This autumn, Christian Aid is ask-ing supporters to reach out to our global neighbours and help more communities overcome crisis. The charity wants people to:
■ Give to help communities around the world come together to overcome the crisis of poverty.
■ Act by calling for the cancellation of debt repayments for low-income countries during the coronavirus cri-sis.
■ Pray for our global neighbours facing crisis in all its forms.
Find out more about how your church can get involved at www.caid.org.uk/neighbours
Cocoa is giving Angela, Ariana and Johaira hope for the future.
