Do you recognise these lyrics?

I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay
Ain't it sad
And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me
That's too bad

They are of course from the 1976 Abba hit, Money, Money, Money.

Redundancies, high unemployment, high inflation, rising bills have all contributed to less money in our pockets, and a bigger challenge to make ends meet.

As a result it is a boom time for the pay day loan industry.  We all have seen adverts for Wonga and Quick Quid, on television.  Have you noticed the interest rates they charge?  Rates of up to 4,200% A.P.R.!  Although Provident and BrightHouse’s rates are lower, they too are part of the problem, not the solution to financial inclusion - the access to affordable credit to all sections of society.

So what is the answer?  The Bible is outspoken on issues of poverty, injustice and money.  The church should be equally vocal. With national networks, and local presence, the church is uniquely placed to help those who are struggling with debt, unemployment or other financial pressures.

Many of our churches support people who are in debt, whether that is hosting a Citizen Advice Bureau, or as individuals volunteering to become a debt advisor. 

Churches have also played an active part in the Credit Union Movement. They are ethical savings and loans organisation for people who live or work within a geographical area or ‘common bond’.  Yorkshire is well served with credit unions.  They are a friendly alternative to high street banks, doorstep loan sharks and other costly money-lenders. I would encourage you to support these financial organisations - become a member; host a credit union collection point, or get involved as a volunteer.

Simon Loveitt

Reading complicated theology is all well and good, but sometimes you get important insights and challenges from unexpected sources. I was reading Mariella Frostrup’s Agony Column, as you do, and the letter was from an angry, frustrated wife who was fed up with her husband’s attitude. This is not uncommon, so I am told! I won’t bore you with the detail of her moans, but she finished the letter with the following observation: “Do you think Church is the answer? I don’t believe in God, but all that singing and being grateful has to help, surely?” Her comments made me smile, but more importantly made me think. I have been around the church for many decades, and I’m sure there must be people who are part of the church community for that very reason. Of course the reasons why people are part of the Body of Christ are varied, and we wouldn’t want to start any form of inquisition. But we do need to think about why we do what we do on a regular basis.

The United Reformed Church is taking part in a Church Life Review at present which is a challenge to our local churches to look at their mission and why they exist. Every church, with the help of visitors, is being challenged to look more deeply into what it believes and its reason for being. It is an opportunity for every church member to look more deeply into what their faith means to them, and how it can be lived out and communicated to others.

I would hope that we could say that we are followers of Jesus Christ, and we try to live out his teachings in our lives, and we do all that we can to tell others this Good News. And that is demonstrated in many different ways, and on many different occasions. We do a lot more than sing, and some of us can’t even do that! And, yes, we are grateful, but I would hope that we take every opportunity to pass on that sense of gratitude to others.

Simon Swailes

As the calendar turns to January a new year beckons. Whilst the New Year brings new hope, 2012 is already overcast with an economic shadow, with many in Yorkshire and beyond struggling or worrying about what the future will bring for themselves or their loved ones.  We are living in uncertain and difficult times.

Two generations ago our nation faced a different sort of threat, that of war. In his broadcast to the British Empire on Christmas Day 1939 King George VIth quoted words from a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins entitled ‘God knows’ to offer words of reassurance and guidance for troubled times:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Children naturally seek an adult’s hand to guide or support when an over bouncy dog appears or a busy road is to be crossed and it is equally natural as an adult to extend a hand to a child to offer them support and guidance at appropriate moments.   

As 2012 unfolds may we as children of God know that we can turn to God in prayer, putting our lives in God’s hands for guidance in difficult times and may we discern when we are called to offer a supporting hand in God’s name to those in need.

The Queen had the poem from her father’s 1939 Christmas broadcast engraved on a plaque on the gates of the Memorial Chapel to King George VIth at Windsor Castle and the words were also read out at the funeral of her mother, the Queen Mother in 2002. May you carry the same words with you through 2012 and in doing so know the reassurance that ‘God knows’ through the joys and heartache of days to come.

David Pickering

Photo © Barbara Fryer 07966 502093 - with thanks

For fifty nine years the Christmas Number One has been a feature of pop music. I am not sure how many hits you can remember in your life time?

Would it be Mary’s Boy Child in 1957 (by Harry Belafonte) or 1978 (Boney M)?

Or perhaps  Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975 and 1991 and which has been popular on YouTube this year for an entirely different setting?

In recent years it has been reality TV shows which have produced the winners but what about this year’s probable number one ‘Wherever you are’? Already it has topped Amazon’s list as the most pre-ordered music of all-time and we’re not even at 25^th December.  

I’ve been watching the climb of this piece of music not just because of how it has come about as a product of BBC2’s The Choir nor because of its sentiments which are excellent but because many of the choir come from the Royal Marines  base which is a stone’s throw from where the remaining ¾ of the Macbeth family live in Barnstaple. They and several friends heard them sing at Christ Church LEP Braunton and said ‘they sound astounding in real life’.

This piece was recorded whilst the troops from the base were in Afghanistan (mainly working on humanitarian projects like electricity, water, bridge building as well as supporting front line Marines) Familiarity with their backgrounds on base or an understanding of being parted from someone you love seem to resonate with millions across the country.

In words which could have come from Mary herself Sam Stevenson the leader of the choir said:

"We've all been plucked from obscurity and thrust into the glare of the spotlight by this. It's an honour."                                                                                     

So in the words of Psalm 96, is this what singing a new song’s about? A journey offering meaning. Is this how Mary felt the day after the birth? Would life be changed for her as a result of bringing into the world new life?                                                               

Is the story this Christmas simply about uniting people under song, or is it about being with the one you love, or on reciprocating the love showered on you?                             

For God so loved the world …. That he became flesh and lived among us.                                                                                     

Number one for Christmas!   Number one forever!

May you know the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas and always.

Sue Macbeth

Last July our family received an invitation to attend the dedication of the memorial which has been erected in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in London.  A large block of granite which has been inscribed with the names of the 151 British citizens who lost their lives - unexpectedly and tragically - in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.  Our younger son, Jonathan, was among those who died.  Should we go?  Almost reluctantly we decided to make the trip - and indeed it was good to be there - to share our memories and listen to the stories. 

As yet another Christmas approaches the emotions of the days following the disaster are too easily recalled - above all the feeling of helplessness that engulfed us.  I am used to ‘sorting things out’.  If I can’t do it myself then I will find someone who can.  I have access to funds if these are needed.  I am articulate.  I have family and good friends. 

Perhaps for the first time in my life I was helpless.  We were helpless.  Really helpless.  No-one had information.  Access was impossible.  No money could buy it or power order it.  And it is not a good place to be.

And yet this is where so many folk find themselves.  They have no voice, no resources, no one ‘on their side’ to speak for them or be with them.  No-one to help fill in the forms or to listen to them.  Sometimes it is hard for us to understand this and to imagine how it feels to be in this position.

But isn’t this how God came to us - vulnerable and helpless - as a baby in Bethlehem all those years ago?  Love beyond measure and beyond price?  Love which took him to the cross? 

A God who knows what it is like to be one of us.  A God who suffers with us and yet a God who overcomes death and offers us resurrection life and new hope.  Emmanuel - God with us.

May this be our Christmas celebration and may we each have the grace to live it and share it.

 Angela Hughes

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul." (Psalm 23:1-3a)

Look at this picture, taken as I walked beside still waters.
What do you see?

I doubt if you see what I saw as I walked in the mud along the bank of the Driffield canal and stopped to take this photograph. It shows the end of the waterway, beginning to stagnate and host to an unattractive array of empty plastic bottles and other assorted litter. A reminder of a bygone industrial age, an indictment of society today? They say the camera never lies. This shot offers us an angle on the truth, the truth that beauty is all around us. It can be found in the most unexpected places if we open our eyes.

In this season of Advent, we wait, for the beauty and hope of God's birth into our messy world. As we wait let us look with fresh eyes at this world God has given us, and find God's hope all around us, in unexpected places. So then we might sing, in the words of Geoffrey Hoyland's great hymn, 'Lord of good life':

"Glory to God, who bids us fight for heaven
Here in the dust and joy of human life!"

Fran Kissack

I have just returned with my wife from our Pre-Retirement Course at the United Reformed Church Windermere Centre.

We have returned from four days of what we found to be a very helpful and positive time together with another twelve couples. We considered ministry, maturity and vacation. We discussed housing and pension matters. We looked at connections in ministry: past, present and future. We discussed personal planning and exit strategies, being prepared to say “Bye-bye and letting go”.

It has given me much to reflect upon even now when I look back on my 23 years in ministry. Mistakes that I have made; things that I should have done with God’s people in the churches that I have served. Times when peoples actions caused long-lasting hurt or harm; times I’d wish to forget, but the memory stays around in my mind.

My reflection has taken me to those times after the service, when people come and shake my hand and use those conventional phrases - ‘Good morning.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Lovely service.’ ‘Enjoyed the hymns.’ ‘Sorry there weren’t more people here.’ ‘Nice day, isn’t it?’ ‘You gave us something to think about this morning.’

It has made me ask the question - Did I really speak the words God gave me? Or did I create a barrier to the message I was supposed to deliver? It’s a great responsibility catching someone else’s imagination and trying to help them to make sense of faith in the light of everyday day life.

Then there has been those times here and there, when I have heard encouraging words that confirm my calling - ‘What you said this morning was meant for me.’

Of course I thank God for past ministry and the ministry that lies ahead in the future. I know that it has been worth all the effort and that God has spoken that right word through me to the ones who needed it most.

I am drawn to the text from Ephesians 4. 11 - 12 “Christ handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church”.

The work in which Christians are involved follows the servant ministry of Christ. Ministry is the task of all friends of Jesus, the whole “Laos” (Laity), the people of God. All continue the ministry of Jesus Christ, transforming the world whether they are retired or not.

When retirement happens for me I know that it will be a time to be challenged, to engage once more in my calling wherever I may be living as my life experience changes and moves on. I hope and pray that for my wife and myself, our retirement will be a renewal time, not emptiness and that we will continue in the servant ministry of Christ and never leave it.

Bill Frame

Driving in my car yesterday I was surprised by an article on feeding the 5,000 today in Trafalgar square London. The Radio 4 interviewer said ‘feeding the 5,000, you’ll recognise the reference of course but...............’ and I thought, ‘well I hope you do dear listener.’ However the report went on to describe the folk gathered from all over London to enjoy a gigantic vegetable curry prepared using wonky vegetables that would other wise be thrown into land fill by growers or the big supermarket produce sorters. So that the fruit and veg that lands on their shelves and our tables is regular and perfect and uniform. Food thrown out not because it was damaged or bruised but too big or too small, too bent or too knobbly. And it is not a new problem cause I can remember years ago - before email - writing to someone about supermarket attitudes to straight bananas and forked carrots.

So now, as the cost of our shopping basket rises, it would appear it is time to raise the issue again encouraging more responsible sourcing and purchasing attitudes for us all so that international producers and local growers should find the effort, the land and the water that goes into producing precious and much needed nutrition is not wasted simply because we have become ‘too posh to peel’ a knobbly carrot or to string the overlong bean.

It’s all an integral part of Christian stewardship and an opportunity to link faith and action in a way that the world understands. So click on www.feeding5k.org and have a look.

Alison Termie

At the time of writing this much of the world’s media is still trying to make sense of the death of Col Muammar Gaddafi or, rather, the manner of his death and the likely impact this might have for the future of Libya and its people. In one such article on the BBC website (21 Oct 2011) Shashank Joshi, an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute, claimed that “to focus on the departed dictator is to miss the real story, and abstract notions of ‘closure’ won't magically translate into stable government.” He went on to say:

Over the past decade, post-war transitions have been troubled by loyalist resistance But transitions have also been hindered by governments themselves, often backed by outside powers There is no reason to condemn the [National Transitional Council] as inevitable oligarchs, but they should be held accountable and carefully scrutinised. The promised resignation of the interim prime-minister, Mahmoud Jibril would be a positive step. Any voluntary relinquishing of power by those in positions of authority is to be welcomed.

I’ve added the emphasis, for it was that last sentence which really struck me. It immediately made me think of that wonderful passage in Philippians 2:6-8 where we read that Jesus

“ though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.” (New Revised Standard Version)

What a contrast with the ways of the world, where often those in power do all they can to cling on to it, while those without power do all they can to try and achieve it. In Jesus we have an example of complete humility, characterised by a total laying aside of his own position and authority and, ultimately, his life, in order that others might know true life. And it’s an example we’re encouraged to follow with the immediately preceding verses urging us, in humility, to regard others as better than ourselves, to look to their interests as well as our own, and to be of the same mind as Jesus.

Needless to say none of this is easy - human pride sees to that! - but by God’s grace it is the kind of example which the church has tried to follow throughout its history, and which we go on seeking to live out each day. It demands responding in ways which go against our instincts for self-protection and self-promotion, but this is the way of discipleship leading to that life in all its fullness which only Jesus can give.

James F Coleman

Synod Development Officer

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