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St Agnes Birch-in-Rusholme with St John with St Cyprian Longsight
Church of England Diocese of Manchester
St Agnes Birch-in-Rusholme with St John with St Cyprian Longsight
Church of England Diocese of Manchester
| Letter from the Rectory |
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| Unity News |
Unity News is the St
Agnes Longsight parish
magazine. The editorial
committee are:
Colin Best, Joan Anthony,
Joyce Green, Gwen
Sherratt
Copy should be sent to
the Editors by the 20th of
each month.
To advertise in the
magazine please read this
leaflet for details.
Agnes Longsight parish
magazine. The editorial
committee are:
Colin Best, Joan Anthony,
Joyce Green, Gwen
Sherratt
Copy should be sent to
the Editors by the 20th of
each month.
To advertise in the
magazine please read this
leaflet for details.
- More articles
from the parish
magazine will
appear herein
the future. To
order a copy of
please contact us.
May 2008
Now for the real work
At the beginning of the year I, like many other people in the church,
complained about Easter coming too early this year. ‘Not enough time
between Christmas and Lent.’ ‘Too early to think about Lenten
disciplines.’ But now it’s all over I actually think it makes a nice change.
Two reasons.
Firstly there is a feeling that Spring is here and Summer may come that
little bit sooner than usual. The light nights, the occasional glimpses of
sunny weather and the plans in place for summer events just lighten the
spirit earlier in the year than normal.
But secondly and most importantly it gives us a great long run through
the year to be doing the work of Easter in the ordinary time of day to
day life. It is easy to consider the highpoints of the Church’s calendar such
as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, as the highpoints of the Church’s
purpose. But they are not. They are the major feasts and seasons which
resource us for the rest of the year.
Pentecost is the culmination of the Easter season. It celebrates the day
when Christ sends his Spirit on us, the Church, to be his body in the
world. After his Ascension his risen presence in the world is not bodily
but spiritual, and it is the Holy Spirit given to us that makes us, the
Church, his Body. In this sense it is not just the end of the Church’s
systematic calendar but rather it is the beginning of our full life as Christ’s
people in the world.
Someone once described the words at the end of the Eucharist, ‘Go in
peace to love and serve the Lord’ as a liturgical ‘kicking out’! There is no
need to stay in church – the praise and thanksgiving after receiving the
sacrament is given best by going out into the world and getting on with
being Christ’s body in the world. I think Pentecost has the same affect: it
is the kick start, the commission, the nudge, the energy, the big send off
that empowers us – filled with the Spirit – to go out and get on with
things. The work is to be done. And the Church needs to learn that this
work must be done NOT within the Church but in the WORLD. The
world is the true place for the Christian for it is the place that God has
made and that God gives us to live in. We do not come to hide within
the Church. The Church exists for the world.
So I am glad now that Easter was early for it means that Pentecost has
come early and we now have a long time before the liturgical demands of
Advent and Christmas to get on and do the work of God. Now the real
work begins.
Peace and joy to you all.
Stephen
Now for the real work
At the beginning of the year I, like many other people in the church,
complained about Easter coming too early this year. ‘Not enough time
between Christmas and Lent.’ ‘Too early to think about Lenten
disciplines.’ But now it’s all over I actually think it makes a nice change.
Two reasons.
Firstly there is a feeling that Spring is here and Summer may come that
little bit sooner than usual. The light nights, the occasional glimpses of
sunny weather and the plans in place for summer events just lighten the
spirit earlier in the year than normal.
But secondly and most importantly it gives us a great long run through
the year to be doing the work of Easter in the ordinary time of day to
day life. It is easy to consider the highpoints of the Church’s calendar such
as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, as the highpoints of the Church’s
purpose. But they are not. They are the major feasts and seasons which
resource us for the rest of the year.
Pentecost is the culmination of the Easter season. It celebrates the day
when Christ sends his Spirit on us, the Church, to be his body in the
world. After his Ascension his risen presence in the world is not bodily
but spiritual, and it is the Holy Spirit given to us that makes us, the
Church, his Body. In this sense it is not just the end of the Church’s
systematic calendar but rather it is the beginning of our full life as Christ’s
people in the world.
Someone once described the words at the end of the Eucharist, ‘Go in
peace to love and serve the Lord’ as a liturgical ‘kicking out’! There is no
need to stay in church – the praise and thanksgiving after receiving the
sacrament is given best by going out into the world and getting on with
being Christ’s body in the world. I think Pentecost has the same affect: it
is the kick start, the commission, the nudge, the energy, the big send off
that empowers us – filled with the Spirit – to go out and get on with
things. The work is to be done. And the Church needs to learn that this
work must be done NOT within the Church but in the WORLD. The
world is the true place for the Christian for it is the place that God has
made and that God gives us to live in. We do not come to hide within
the Church. The Church exists for the world.
So I am glad now that Easter was early for it means that Pentecost has
come early and we now have a long time before the liturgical demands of
Advent and Christmas to get on and do the work of God. Now the real
work begins.
Peace and joy to you all.
Stephen