I wonder how many of you were interested in the poll for the best ever Christmas movie (won by the 1946 film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’); well in 5^th place was that 2003 rom-com ’Love Actually’. Even though I watched a few films over the Christmas period I didn’t see it listed on TV this year!! We did watch ‘Notting Hill’ again but I digress. It may seem odd to be harking back to December but, as has been said before, Christmas builds up for months prior to the day, then disappears almost entirely 2 days after, yet we are still in the ‘Christmas’ period until Candlemas - 2^nd Feb. Shops and supermarkets keep us looking forward to the next big event/s (with Easter eggs already on display); and tucked away among the cards we glimpse images of hearts and flowers as Valentine’s Day looms large on the horizon. Yes, it’s time to start planning the perfect surprise for that special person in your life…. only we are in lock down again! Anyway, it got me thinking about Valentine; who was he, and why do we associate him with love – and a love that is sometimes shrouded in secrecy?

Well, it appears there were 3 potential candidates for the honour and it wasn’t until the 3^rd century that St. Valentine’s Day was declared in memory of a priest of Rome who was martyred. Legend suggests it all stems back to the time of Emperor Claudius, during the period when Christians were being persecuted, and who made a decree forbidding soldiers to marry – his logic being that married men would not fight so well if they were thinking about their wives! Valentine felt this was unjust so he defied the emperor and conducted marriages for young couples in secret. Eventually he was found out, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Legend also says that during his imprisonment he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “From Your Valentine”. Probably, though, the most plausible story surrounding St Valentine is one not focused on eros (passionate love) but on agape (love of God): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.

We certainly are living in somewhat dark days, both metaphorically and physically; and love can sometimes seem to be in short supply as we find ourselves limited to what we can do and those who we cannot meet. It was into such times of turmoil that God’s amazing love was revealed in human form in the birth of Jesus, and 40 days later when the baby Jesus was presented in the temple that Simeon declared that “his eyes had seen God’s salvation, a light to enlighten all people.” Then, as now, people felt lost and lonely with no-one to help them; and Jesus still comes with a message of help and comfort, a guiding light to all in darkness. Thankfully, that message is still heard today and is responded to through acts of kindness and concern. As we anticipate Valentine’s Day and continue our Thursday evening applause for heroes, we are reminded that ‘God’s Love, actually, is all around.’

John  

An article about the structure of Church of England parishes by Reverend Ann Tarper, Retired Stipendiary Minister

An article for Whitsun and the Holy Spirit by Reverend Ann Tarper, Retired Stipendiary Minister

Zoom at 6pm

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Rt Revd Sarah Bullock, reflects on the recent floods in Shropshire

An article for Holy Week and Easter by Reverend Ann Tarper, Retired Stipendiary Minister

An article by Maggie Hatchard

An article for Lent by Reverend Ann Tarper, Retired Stipendiary Minister

Clergy Letter for February 2020

I don’t know how many of you remember the dairy in Uttoxeter; after all it did close 35 years ago, but it was as a fresh-faced school leaver that I started my working career there in 1973. Amongst all the other memories I have of being a lab assistant (investigating the properties of milk) I clearly remember being invited to join the company pension scheme pretty much as soon as I had crossed the threshold. Well, of course, I agreed and when I saw that my then retirement date would be 2020 it seemed to be something out of science fiction, it was so far into the future that it would never come. For me 2020 was the year that would never happen! But it has, it is already here and under way.

The trouble now is that, if I’m not careful, I will keep thinking back to those earlier times with that wonderful gift ‘nostalgia’; a gift that allows us to look back with fondness and a desire to return to all those great times we experienced and how we felt as younger people. When life was simpler, less complicated, all together happier, and we wish it were so today. That’s how it can seem, but life was just as complex, full of ups and downs, every bit as challenging (albeit different challenges) and always social & moral issues to navigate.

Yes, we can learn from the past but we cannot live in it, neither can we expect time to stand still. Look how quickly Christmas had all but disappeared by the 27th of December. And it’s not only in our secular lives that we are confronted by these emotions, which do influence our views on life today, but also within the context of our faith and its expression in our lives and within church.

Within this Uttoxeter Area, we celebrate our differences and similarities, our strengths and opportunities, the contexts in which we each minister and, hopefully, support one another through challenging times and change. Having recently completed the ‘Statistics for Mission’ I realise how easy it would be to become puzzled or even cynical as to why there is a need for such information; yet there is one section that looks at mission in local context and, for me, that brought into sharp focus what much of our calling is about.

When I left school I had a sense of one stage of my life finishing with the rest full of excitement and hope – maybe because schooling had helped to prepare me. As we approach the season of Lent, perhaps we could use this as a time of preparation, of seeking forgiveness for the accrued cynicisms and bitterness acquired over the years, and of letting go all those nostalgic things which are not helpful in forwarding mission.

May the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen our unity, and open our hearts and minds to the possibilities God has for this Area.

John

An article about Light and Love by Reverend Ann Tarper, Retired Stipendiary Minister