Collect and Readings for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity – Isaiah 1.1,10-20, Genesis15.1-6, Psalm 50.1-8,23-end, Psalm 33.12-end, Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16, Luke 12.32-40

The Prayer for today

Almighty Lord and everlasting God, we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and Bodies in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments; that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; 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.

The Gospel reading for this week begins with such an affectionate reassurance. It is God’s good pleasure and delight to give us the kingdom; everything is in hand, and nothing can ever tear us apart from the God who loves us. The only way separation can happen is by us choosing to walk away ourselves. So our God has us safe and expectant, knowing that there are great things in store for us both in this world and the next, even though we cannot see them.

And that is the faith God looks for in his people: believing the hope as a fact and trusting that what God has promised will indeed happen. The reading from Hebrews recalls the extraordinary faith of Abraham, God’s close friend, in the way he was prepared to launch out into the unknown on many occasions, simply because God told him to. Not only did he believe that God had authority which asked for obedience; he also knew that God’s responsible, caring nature would ensure that placing himself in the hands of the Lord was a sensible and safe thing to do.

So, Abraham’s faith determined how he lived. That always happens; you cannot trust the one true God and go on behaving with corruption, deceit, injustice, or self-glory which you know to be totally alien to his nature. But it is, of course, perfectly possible to pretend you have faith, and go through the ritual of words and worship, while your eyes stoically avoid God’s gaze, and your life proclaims that you actually despise the one you claim to worship.

It was exactly this which so wounded the heart of God about the people of Israel, to whom Isaiah was sent. How could God accept their offerings when they were living a lie? Hypocrisy and corruption creep up on us insidiously, minor detail by minor detail, so that we end up fooling ourselves that wrong is right. Sometimes we can fool others, too. But God we do not fool, and his reaction is to try to shake us out of the lie we are in, because he hates us being there and knows it causes all kinds of stress, whether we recognise that or not.

Having faith means looking seriously at the God we claim to believe in, and checking that our lives, in every aspect, in secret and in the open, are lined up with those qualities of truth, love, integrity and right action which are hallmarks of God and his friends.

Some things to reflect on:

• Why are we often more ready to check our standards against other people we know than against the nature of God, as shown to us in the person of Jesus?

• Has your faith in God ever forced you to take decisions which you found very difficult? Was it worth it?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Written by Fiona Robinson

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Published: 03 August 2022

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Collect and Readings for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity – Hosea 1.2-10,  Genesis 18.20-32, Psalm 85, Psalm 138, Colossians 2.6-19, Luke 11.1-13

The Prayer for today

Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding:

pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may

obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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.

It is not God’s will that anyone should be lost; God longs for us all to be saved. Each one of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah was part of God’s loving creation and made in his image. Each person in Israel was known and loved. Those in every generation, who deliberately turn away and feed their selfish nature until they can no longer hear God’s prompting, are all cherished and of God’s making.

Today’s readings remind us of that immense parental tenderness that God has for us. He creates us full of potential and watches over our spiritual growth, ready to bathe us in his light, and drench us in his Spirit. The tragedy is that we so often refuse to let him give us the gifts necessary for our growth.

In the Genesis reading we are given this lovely example of a close relationship shared by Abraham with his God. He is full of respect, and perfectly understands the justice of the threatened destruction, but he feels with his God’s love the terrible sadness of waste and pleads for mercy on behalf of those cities. How his pleading must have made God’s heart sing, for here was a man loving in the broad and generous way he longed to see in all his creation.

The passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians urges his readers to let their growth in faith continue to flourish in Christ so that their lives overflow with thankfulness. It is not a question of everything happening at the beginning of our journey when we first commit ourselves. To grow, and to remain in close fellowship with God, we need constant filling up, feeding and guiding on a daily basis. The Bible, prayer and communion are gifts provided for us to use, and without taking God up on these gifts, our spiritual growth will weaken and become stunted.

In the Gospel for this week, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and the guidelines they are given have been valued by Christians of all denominations and traditions through the centuries. Luke links this teaching on prayer with a whole passage encouraging us to ask for what we need and ask persistently. God will never force himself on anyone; he waits for us to invite him into our lives, and that is why it is so vital that we do ask and seek and knock at the door.

If we look at many of his acts of healing, we find Jesus often gets people to state what they want; that is part of the healing because God likes to work in partnership with us, not as a take-over bid. So, he wants us to wake up each morning and ask that the kingdom may come, that we may have our daily needs provided – both physical and spiritual – and that we may have our sins forgiven and be guided safely through temptation. That way we shall be actively seeking the God who made us and loves us and has already all the gifts we need to bear fruit.

Some things to reflect on:

·       Do we assume God to be more tolerant of wrong than he really is, or doubt that he can really be as forgiving as he is?

·       How would you help someone to understand God’s character when they’ve prayed for something faithfully and it hasn’t materialised?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Written by Fiona Robinson

Category: Communication

Published: 20 July 2022

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Collect and Readings for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Hosea 11.1-11,  Ecclesiastes 1.2, 12-14; 2.18-23, Psalm 107.1-9, Psalm 49.1-12, Colossians 3.1-11, Luke 12.13-21

The Prayer for today

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in our hearts the love of your

name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the

same; 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.

Our culture runs on consumerism, and one of the side-effects of that is an encouragement of greed and increase in the daily temptation through the media to us that security, happiness and peace of mind come from possessions and self-indulgence. It is a myth which has enough truth in it to be dangerous.  It undoubtedly helps to have enough to live on, but the wisdom of Mr Micawber holds true, all the same living within our means is happiness where finances are concerned, and sixpence over that is misery! Many know the misery of accumulated debts resulting from the pressure to live beyond our means and spend what we actually haven’t got.

It is a short step from being told that we haven’t got something to believing we need (rather than want) it, especially if we can see others who already have it. The ‘if only’s’ set in, with their accompanying sense of discontent and resentment. Equally dangerous is the possession of financial ’security’ which can kid us that we have no need of God, so that we shut down our spiritual antennae and grow increasingly oblivious to the needs of others and the glaring inequalities. The preoccupation with protecting what we own is good news for the insurance and home security firms, but bad news for the soul.

This week’s readings point out the foolishness of living in this way, and the wisdom of living with our security in the eternal things. Now that Christ has given us a new life, our insurance – or perhaps I should say ‘assurance’ – is kept with Christ in heaven. The whole yardstick of life is changed, and our time here recognised as only the first part of our full and lasting life. When we really grasp the implications of what Jesus has done for us, it is bound to alter our outlook on what is important to possess and what is of only minimal value.

It is not so much a question of giving away our possessions as changing our attitude to them and recognising them for what they are – pleasant comforts to thank God for, but lent to us to use, as good stewards, and in no way altering our real wealth and security.

Some things to reflect on:

·       Is it possible to live in our culture without becoming materialistic?

·       How can we help people see the value of this long-lasting spiritual wealth? And do we still need convincing ourselves?

God bless and stay safe and well.

Rev’d Fiona Robinson

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Written by Fiona Robinson

Category: Communication

Published: 27 July 2022

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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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Written by Fiona Robinson

Category: Communication

Published: 16 July 2022

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