Letter from Rose - June & July 2013

Dear Friends,

RECENTLY OWAIN AND I found ourselves on the fifteenth floor of the Citi Bank building on Canary Wharf, London which was quite an experience not only because of the height we were at, but also the situation we found ourselves in too.

If you have ever been to Canary Wharf you may understand what I mean with the sky scraper buildings, the pace of what is happening there and the age range of the workers too, most of whom looked extremely young, and when you are told that 105,000 people work within that square mile, it seems even more amazing!

Along with some other colleagues from the Kidderminster Deanery, we went to visit the Canary Wharf Chaplaincy and to hear about how they are involved within the working community there. One of their aims is to ‘provide opportunities for those on the Estate to engage with spiritual, social and ethical questions which arise in the complexities of their working environment, in particular in the financial, retail and professional advisory sectors.’ The Chaplaincy being there to support people of faith, work with integrity towards the core business for which they are being paid. Although the main Chaplain, the Revd Fiona Stewart-Darling is an Anglican and the Bishop’s Chaplain for the Docklands, there are other Chaplains drawn from other faiths and denominations too including a Jewish Chaplain who has recently joined the Team.

Both in Kidderminster and Stourport-on-Severn we have Associate Chaplains visiting retail outlets as well as the companies I personally visit as the Industrial/Workplace Chaplain for Kidderminster and Wyre Forest including a company in Cookley. All of us are also involved in what Fiona and the other Chaplain’s provide on Canary Wharf, because we believe in a God who cares - we try to do the same, to be a presence for everyone particularly at a time when the pressure of the current world-wide financial situation continues to affect our towns and the businesses that trade within them.

When we look at scripture, Jesus went out into all the situations of the time, both the marketplace as well as the synagogues and that is where the church of today should be too.

Julian Reindorp in his book ‘Equipping Christians at Work’ states that ‘The Gospel is always waiting to be discovered, it is those who immerse themselves in secular situations, who stand with people at the points of suffering, change and opportunity who are in the best position to discover what God is up to now, to articulate ad authentic message of the Gospel for the present generation. At the centre of the Christian faith is the belief that God in Christ is redeeming the world, healing, rescuing and liberating. God initiated this mission by entering the world in Christ to bring in the Kingdom of God, and our task is to join in that mission and to follow and obey where we can see God at work. This involves discerning God’s purpose in events and results in practical action.’

Our Associate Chaplains are involved in this work, but we desperately need more chaplains, not only to visit the retail sector of our towns and villages, but other places of work too, particularly as people continue to be made redundant even within companies that have been part of our lives for many years. Please contact me if you feel you may be interested in being part of this ministry in God’s church.

To end; a prayer from the Rt. Revd. David Sheppard –
The factory at the end of this road has closed, so the shops locally lose their business. The local schools give more free dinners, ‘For Sale’ signs abound. Youngsters loiter aimlessly, and the elderly are frightened to pass them, despite more police on the beat. People eat less well, so the doctor’s surgery is full, and everything is interconnected despite the fact that closing this factory was thought to be an isolated event taken by those whose homes are elsewhere.

Lord, in my bleaker moments it feels as if society is being dismantled because people do not realise that society is designed to reflect you who is Trinity – Three persons - Interrelated and interdependent, and every person affects the rest. Amen.

Yours in Christ’s work together

Rose
Revd. Rose Lawley



From the Parish Registers

Christenings

Edward John Goode; 30th March at St. John’s, Wolverley
William James Simpson; 7th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Sophie Rose Howitt; 7th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Grace Benita Norcott; 7th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Adele Emma Harvey; 13th April at St. Peter’s, Cookley
Ellis James Utting; 21st April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Imarni Violet Grace Lawrence; 28th April at St. Peter’s, Cookley
Gracie-Mai Lily Williams; 12th May at St. Peter’s, Cookley
Harry Lawrence Macklin; 12th May at St. Peter’s, Cookley
Weddings
Thomas Andrew Deakin and Claire Lauren Collins; 13th April at Wolverley
David Thomas Manser and Emma Elizabeth Link; 18th May at Wolverley
Graham Whitburn and Katie Louise Lancaster; 25th May at Cookley
Steven John Trelfa and Rachel Louise Hall; 25th May at Wolverley

Funerals

John Arthur Yull; 2nd April at St. John’s, Wolverley
William Terrence Hoggins of Cookley; 4th April at Wyre Forest Crematorium
Sheila Voce; 5th April at St. John’s, Wolverley & Wyre Forest Crematorium
Roma Patricia Rowe; 8th April at St. Peter’s, Cookley & Wyre Forest Crematorium
Peter James Aldred; 11th April at St. John’s, Wolverley & Wyre Forest Crematorium
Colin Charles Forester-Morgan; 16th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Muriel Handy; 17th April at St. Peter’s, Cookley
Mildred Kathleen Harrison of Wolverley; 18th April at Wyre Forest Crematorium
Royston Saunders of Wolverley; 24th April at Wyre Forest Crematorium
Charles Henry Cottrell; 25th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Harold Joseph Rogers; 30th April at St. John’s, Wolverley
Ivy Elizabeth Brooks; 7th May at St. Peter’s, Cookley & Wyre Forest Crematorium
Violet Wicks; 8th May at St. John’s, Wolverley
Doris Cooper of Wolverley; 8th May at Wyre Forest Crematorium
John Tulloch; 20th May at St. John’s, Wolverley
Jean Olive Small; 20th May at St. John’s, Wolverley & Stourbridge Crematorium
Florence “Iris” Betson; 22nd May at St. John’s, Wolverley & Wyre Forest Crematorium