St Magnus at sundown

Eli enjoying a break on the beach duing a walk recently

we have stunning things to see and experience

On Christian Giving

As many of you will be aware very soon now a letter will be received from Bishop Bob and myself outlining a suggestion for our Christian Giving.

Some people may be worried about this, and I have been asked by the Vestry meeting this week to address your concerns this morning.

The reason the letter has been raised is clear from the recent notes from Bob in the pew sheet and as explained in the letter. We need to be assured that St Magnus will survive well on in the years ahead and currently there is real concern about running an increasingly deficit budget. The building of St Magnus church began just over 150 years ago. The work of the Scottish Episcopal church in Shetland is of course much older and it was based purely on Mission and outreach to the communities of Shetland.

Today we have the responsibility of maintaining and building on the vision of our forebears, and recently in the diocesan prayer cycle we have been praying specifically for the courageous vision of St Magnus Church today.

Christian Giving is a part of our discipleship. There are many times in the Bible in which our relationship with our belongings and this of course includes our money, is explained.

As Christians we are encouraged to see everything as belonging to God, and our offertory prayer brings this to the fore as we say all things come from you and of your own do we give you. As we also heard in the OT reading from which the prayer is taken.

Elsewhere we are told that we should give a worthy portion, and this is also illustrated by the example of the widow who gave a worthy portion to the Temple treasury and was praised by Jesus and used in example.

The problem comes though when we try to assume for others. It is for us to know what our worthy portion is. It might have appeared that the widow gave very little, but the proportion she gave was in fact worthy.

Thessalonians and Galatians speak of our giving being dependable and regular and we must make sure that this is the case. On a practical basis we need to know what we have coming in so that we can budget for the Mission we get involved in. It is for these reasons that giving by Standing order and hopefully if it is appropriate by Gift Aid too, is the best way to give. At last week’s vestry meeting we easily spotted that the collections vary a lot but the standing orders stayed regular.

Our giving should also be done joyfully, remember the phrase about God loving a cheerful giver! The New Testament Church was a giving church and there are many times when the mention of generous giving is outlined and evidenced. Paul’s mission often involved collecting money for other parts of the church as the needs arose.

The letter is trying to help us understand some of these principles.

It is important to stress and to pass on the message too if you meet others who are concerned, that if you know in your heart that you are giving all that you are able to then ignore the letter completely. As Bishop Bob stresses, if this is the case that you are already giving your utmost then ignore the letter and be thanked.

We are asked to give prayerfully. So pray about this please. Only you know your circumstances and do not let others tell you what they are.

Our Faith should touch and include all our living, and this of course means all that we are and all that we have. We believe that God is generous in what he bestows on us, and our giving back simply reflects this generosity.

All of us have demands placed upon us from many quarters. Of course St Magnus Church too has demands placed on it which also have to be met. We cannot choose not to meet the demands and still expect to be here.

Our Christian Giving is not “what we can afford” on a time by time basis. This would be more appropriate to a charity collection in the street or in the envelope pushed through the door. Our Christian giving should be thought through, planned, committed and regular.

The courageous vision of our forebears continues to demand of us. God is still calling us to be faithful prayers and givers.

I stress so strongly that if you are already giving all that you are able then ignore the letters. And let no one try to tell you otherwise.

Eye Eye!

Today I had my second cataract operation.... I am taking things easy for a day or two and no driving for a couple of days I expect! But Wow!! what a difference this is going to make. When I had the left eye done a few weeks ago the transformation in my sight was amazing, so with both now complete I am expecting to be able to see around corners.

The puffins are back and they are just as quizzical as ever.

Rachel and I had a lovely three days on Yell last week. The weather was to be honest pretty awful, but it did give us chance to unwind, relax and catch up on sleep. While we were there we had a day on Fetlar and enjoyed the hospitality of the sisters at The Society of our Lady of the Isles. (SOLI)

PENTECOST 2013

Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the church, and though I might have mentioned last week that Pentecost was the time the Holy Spirit descended on the church, I have been reminded, if I did say this, that in many respects this description is probably incorrect and at best unhelpful!

It is probably incorrect because as the person who contacted me pointed out, you could hardly describe the church as existing in any recognisable form at the Feast of Pentecost.

At that time the disciples at best could have been described a s a group of like-minded people forced together by force of circumstance and a deep admiration for Jesus of Nazareth whom they had seen crucified and who was somehow also alive still for them.

It could be however true that something once again happened to this bunch of friends on this feast day as all of a sudden they were no longer kept behind closed doors for fear of the Jews!

If the Holy Spirit was like a wind from heaven blowing amongst the disciples, then it certainly blew the door off their hinges.

It is also probably unhelpful to describe the Holy Spirit as descending on the church at Pentecost.

First of all is could suggest that the Holy Spirit was new at this time, when of course we know that God’s Spirit had been around his people long before the disciples experienced it at Pentecost. Indeed the Jews had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, the time when The Law was given by God as a constant reminder of his presence with the people.

What the church does with the feast day is quite similar as we also proclaim it is the sign of God’s presence with us his people today. And just as for the Jews around Sinai clouds storms and winds come into the experience of God.

Another way it is unhelpful to speak of the Holy Spirit Descending, is as someone else pointed out to me, the Holy Spirit comes within us and some prefer to speak f the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit rather than it being poured on us like water, though of course the link to baptism can also be helpful in describing the experience.

On Wednesday morning we had a reading from 1 John and an interesting and perhaps more helpful expression came to light regarding eternal life…. The idea that it was something that abided in us and not something which we received or earned if you like. The same could be said of the Holy Spirit of course.

We so often use the language of acquisition, or earning it or being rewarded with it like a medal, instead of the more helpful analogy of recognising it as part of who we are before God.

Perhaps it may be helpful to understand the way God’s Spirit works within us to look at the Gospel reading for today  which talks about Love. We are more used to seeing Love as something we have within and which we share with those around. Jesus certainly focused on the Act of loving as the sign that God was with us. Jesus also speaks of something called God’s Spirit abiding within us.

At Easter we have celebrated Life bursting from death and at Pentecost we celebrate Love bursting from within us and empowering us to be witnesses.

The whole meaning of the story set before us today is that we are witnesses to God loving and living presence. This presence literally changes who we are and others should recognise it.

When Moses discovered the presence of God in the burning bush he was told it was holy ground and in respect he removed his shoes as many still do in holy places.

At Pentecost the people were gathered and recognised God and asked Peter what they should do now that they have recognised this.  It says “they were cut to the heart when they recognised God in their midst on the Day of Pentecost and asked when must we do… Peter said “repent and be baptised” and Luke records three thousand were baptised that day.

What part of the gathered crowd are we?

Are we going to scoff?

Are we just here for the show?

Do we recognise God still in our midst at Pentecost?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote:

Earth’s crammed with heaven

And every common bush alive with God.

Only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.”

(Aurora Leigh)

As someone I knew and loved used to say. “Good old God”

St Ninian's Pilgrimage Day

We had a great day on Saturday at st Ninian's Isle. Many of us made it across the Tombola on a very cold and , day to celebrate the Eucharist before heading back to Bigton Hall where others were  assembled and we had communion together followed by a warming feast of soup and pancakes. Here we are braving the elements !!