Update following the meeting at Chelford Church on 4th July 2022 about the future of the Church of God in Chelford.
I would like to thank those who joined us for the meeting.
There were some key points which I made at that meeting which I have detailed below.
1. The Church of God is the people in community not the actual building which is the place we gather to worship.
2. The number of people who attend is small and there is an ageing demographic.
3. For a significant number of years, the overheads / expenditure of the parish has significantly exceeded its income which comes from regular giving or donations. Each Parish has to pay a contribution to the Diocese which covers the cost of the priest, their salary, pensions, training, housing and a small percentage which helps run the central diocesan support such as legal advice, pastoral support and other administrative support. This is called parish share.
4. Chelford currently has insufficient income to meet this monthly payment alongside its other day to day running costs. We have a parish share arrears of about £20,000 to the Diocese and this is rising on a monthon-month basis.
5. We have also just received the report following the 5 yearly inspection of the Grade 2* listed church building. This has identified urgent work estimated at a cost of approximately £200,000, but likely to be more. The oil-fired heating system is currently out of action and needs replacement.
What do we need:
1. More people to join us as regular worshippers who can help with some of the regular jobs that need to be done and also by becoming regular contributors to the church funds. Until we can ensure that we can cover our ongoing costs we have to seriously consider what options there are available.
The Archdeacon outlined the following possibilities:
1. Congregations increase and we become a thriving church community who can sustain the church building on a day-to-day basis and meet the costs of ongoing maintenance. It has to be remembered that the current building is difficult to get to, there is limited car parking space and the interior of the building restricts what events can be held.
2. The Church building is only used as a festival church for occasional services say 3 or 4 times a year. Whilst that means the Parochial Church Council passes responsibility for the building to a local Trust (if it can be formed) it needs to be maintained and heated to protect the fabric.
3. It can be offered to the Church Conservation Trust Homepage | The Churches Conservation Trust (visitchurches.org.uk) but they don’t have to accept it. It is not known whether they would accept this particular building.
4. It could become either Local Place of Worship or Chapel of Ease which reduces the need to hold a weekly service but doesn’t deal with the issues around maintenance.
5. The final option may be that the building needs to be sold but there is a lengthy process before any sale is agreed which involves the Church Commissioners.
Next Steps
1. Anyone who can become a regular member and giver is encouraged to do this.
2. Any thoughts or ideas for the future sustainability of the church should be shared with the Rev’d Fiona Robinson via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
3. At this stage we would discourage people from arranging individual fundraising events and ask that any ideas are shared so that we as a Parochial Church Council can consider the best approach on a community basis.
4. Whilst this needs to be agreed with the Bishop of Chester, we are planning that with effect from the beginning of October 2022, because of the issues with heating, all our Chelford Services will be held in Chelford Church of England Primary School by kind permission of Mr Brady the Head teacher.
5. We will hold another community meeting early in 2023 to provide an update on the situation and to reflect together on the experience of meeting in the school. This will be brought forward in the event that there is something material to report.
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Collect and Readings for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Amos 8.1-12, Genesis 18.1-10a, Psalm 52, Psalm 15, Colossians 1.15-28, Luke 10.38-42
The Prayer for today
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may
serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This week we are given a near-lethal dose of the bad news about human nature. The prophecy from Amos is particularly bleak and depressing because it paints such a true picture of the familiar materialistic, self-orientated world we know, both in society and in the secret places of our own hearts.
What hope can there possibly be? As humans we hold on to a vision of what it ought to be, and how we ought to live, but the disturbing truth is that we seem unable to haul ourselves above the selfish nature that drives us. We may see glimpses of nobility here and there in good men and women doing better than the rest of us, but the main tide is in the other direction, with no real possibility of widespread goodness. In Amos we read of that terrible prophecy of a famine, worse than thirst and hunger, which speaks of us being abandoned for our failure and locked out from all hope, as people struggle and search for the word of the Lord but never find it.
Into this misery and helplessness strides Paul, through his letter to the Colossians, like a being from a new and different dimension, shouting to us over the centuries that we need not despair. Someone has done the impossible, and through Christ Jesus, stretched out between earth and heaven in love, God has been able to reconcile all things to himself. Far from being abandoned, he has been searching through the rubble and debris of our human situation and has come in person to rescue us.
Some things to reflect on:
· Are individual lives reflected in the way society develops? Do our small sparks of Christian living affect society? Do our slips of behaviour matter to society?
· Paul talks of his exhausting labour of love in spreading the Gospel. What Martha/ Mary balance should we be aiming for as Christians?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for the Third Sunday after Trinity – 2 Kings 5.1-14, Isaiah 66.10-14, Psalm 30, Psalm 66.1-9, Galatians 6.1-16, Luke 10.1-11, 16-20
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all
creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ your Son
our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
At first Naaman is most reluctant to take the necessary steps for his skin to be made new. Elisha’s instructions are far too low-tech and simple for a man of his standing and intelligence. It’s all rather an insult. Yet he was anxious enough to be healed. The skin disease was both irritating and unsightly, and judging by the changes of clothing packed for the journey, Naaman was a fastidious man.
Happily, his servants are able to persuade him to put his pride away and try the recommended cure, and he is totally thrilled with the result. We sense his joy and relief as he comes up out of the water with skin as clear as a young child’s.
God can give us all that ‘fresh as a young child’ sensation, as we allow him to make us new creations, born of the Spirit. Paul, writing to the Galatians, sees that a constant battle is going on between our sinful nature and our spiritual nature, and inspires us to go for the better deal of the spiritual nature, which brings joy and lasts for eternity. It is bringing people too enjoy this new creation which is the whole point
Of our ministry, says Paul, and the religious traditions and habits matter only in so far as they help to make us aware of our need of God’s nursing and bathing. The really important thing is being made new.
And there are so many tired and disillusioned souls, all struggling to save themselves, and suspecting their frenetic attempts are actually doomed to failure, if they dared stop for a minute and look. Jesus sees it as a huge harvest, ripe for gathering, but with far too few workers; and people remain trapped in their distracted existence as a result of meeting no one able to offer them the freedom of God’s new life.
So today offers us both great hope and a great challenge. Who are the workers to be?
Some things to reflect on:
· What put Naaman off obeying Elisha’s instructions? Are we sometimes put off obeying God’s instructions and suggestions for similar reasons?
· What is the difference between a Christian and a person with a loving and generous nature who isn’t a committed Christian?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity – Amos 7.7-end, Deuteronomy 30.9-14, Psalm 82, Psalm 25.1-10, Colossians 1.1-14, Luke 10.25-37
The Prayer for today
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase
and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things
temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus
Christ’s sake, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
It is in today’s Psalms that God’s standards of loving are clearly and beautifully stated. These precepts of defending the cause of the poor and oppressed, upholding right judgement and caring for those in need, are like a strong heartbeat pulsing underneath the events and stories of the other readings.
Amos, burning with God’s indignation at the corruption and idolatry of the practices in the northern kingdom, sees the lives they have built like a leaning wall that ought to be straight and true. Not surprisingly his words, spoken as an outsider from the southern kingdom, and critical of a civilisation which has brought comfort and wealth to many, are received with anger and verbal abuse. It’s never an easy life being a prophet. Amos bridles in response. Surely, they didn’t think he would have chosen to come to their country? Their refusal to listen to God’s warning simply proves the extent of their spiritual deafness, which is bound to bring about their destruction.
In the reading from Luke, Jesus is also facing opposition. The seventy-two have recently arrived back, and there has no doubt been an angry backlash from those towns denounced by Jesus for their refusal to receive the message brought to them. The law expert is smugly deprecating as he leads Jesus into a trap, which Jesus neatly sidesteps, dropping the man in instead. Perhaps he was hoping for Jesus to agree that ‘neighbour’ only refers to those within the law – such as the denounced Capernaum, for instance?
The story Jesus gives by way of an answer forces him to look with God’s measure, or plumb line, at attitudes and assumptions which need a thorough overhaul. The right words may still be in place, so that the love of God and neighbour can be glibly quoted, but the spirit of those words has dried up inside and left only the empty shell.
In contrast, Paul is full of thankfulness at the lush growth of the Christians of Colossae, and he prays for that to continue to flourish. For us, too, there are many signs of regrowth and regeneration in the Church, which is wonderful to see. We need to ensure that the walls are regularly checked as we build, so they can stay true to God’s priorities and values.
And when any prophet speaks out, and what they say is uncomfortable to hear, it is wise to listen carefully in case the unpalatable is the truth. Prophecy is rather like the surgeon’s scalpel; it’s worth putting up with being sliced open if it’s going to lead to healing and life, rather than death by default.
Some things to reflect on:
· Why does human nature so often react to God’s light as something to be deflected or shut out?
· What should we do if we find God pointing out an error or sin in our life?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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