The Rector Writes
Dear Friends,
Over Christmas I watched a film called ‘Limitless’ which is about a struggling author who is given a new wonder drug that unlocks the full potential of his brain. It enables him to recall, make sense of and order everything he has ever seen, heard or experienced. Initially he perceives the drug as simply stimulating his mind until he gets confronted by a gang of men who attempt to beat him up. In his mind’s eye he recalls every action movie he has ever seen and so is able to fight them off.
In truth of course that wouldn’t be possible, even if we could somehow increase our mental abilities. If you ask any athlete why they train it isn’t simply to get fitter or faster, they will tell you that there is such a thing as ‘muscle memory’. Muscle memory, also called motor training, is all about focussing on a physical activity so as to enable the movement to be repeated without conscious effort.
It isn’t just athletes however, everybody does it. How often have you been driving a car and suddenly realised you have gone for miles without once thinking about all the complex actions you have been making with your feet, your arms, your hands.
The idea of muscle memory is important because it makes us realise that learning and engagement is not a purely mental or cerebral exercise; that what we do with our bodies is a part of our understanding of and our growth in the things we do. You can read every book and manual you want about how to play tennis but you won’t be any good until you pick up a racquet and go out and start hitting a few balls and ‘teach’ your body.
So also with our faith, we cannot become good Christians simply through reading books. We too need to get in practice, we need to put our bodies on the line and develop Christian muscle memory so that imitating Christ comes as second nature, and Lent is as good a place to start as any.Yours in His name,
Ian.Ash Wednesday
There are various reasons for the use of ashes at the start of Lent. Ashes remind us of God's condemnation of sin, as God said to Adam, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return. Ashes suggest cleansing and renewal. They were used anciently in the absence of soap. Ashes remind us of the shortness of human life, for it is said as we are buried: "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." On Ash Wednesday ashes are a penitential substitute for water as a reminder of our baptism.
At times we need to show, to ourselves as much as to anybody else, that we take our faith seriously; that it isn’t just something we do to fill in a dull hour on a Sunday. Ash Wednesday provides us with the opportunity to do this, to kneel before our God and confess our sins and pray for his cleansing, healing, renewing power. Do join us Wednesday 22nd February at 7.30 p.m.Lenten Discipline
As ever in Lent we try to use this period to develop ourselves as Christians, to deepen our faith and to grow in love for God.
As has been our pattern for the last few years there will be a service of compline at 7 p.m. every Wednesday in Lent following Ash Wednesday. As usual this will be a time of study and quiet reflection which everyone can enjoy.
We will also be holding a Lenten study group which, like last year, will take place on a weekday afternoon. This hasn’t been arranged yet so please keep an eye on the weekly newssheet or on the church website for an update.Barbara Cooper
On behalf of everybody at St. Wilfrid’s I would like to congratulate Barbara Cooper who was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List.
Despite being an 'offcumden' from Wilmslow Barbara has made Mobberley her home and has contributed enormously to the village. Amongst all the things she has done I would particularly like to thank her for her support and contribution towards to Mobberley Trust which was founded from the amalgamation of a number of separate church and community charities. Barbara has been an absolute stalwart and although she stepped down as a Trustee only last year she continues to support it in every way she can.
Her MBE is for service to the community of Mobberley and it is richly deserved, congratulations Barbara.
Celebrating Wholeness & Healing
You may remember that a couple of years ago we started a ministry of Wholeness and Healing here at St. Wilfrid’s with a monthly service that incorporated the laying on of hands. Sadly that original service lapsed as we struggled to find it a permanent ‘home’ in terms of day, time and location.
After much discussion it has been agreed that we will re-launch our service celebrating Wholeness and Healing on the 3rd Sunday of every month at 6.30 p.m.
The service will be integrated into the regular service of Evensong following on from the sermon. As ever we need to make clear that this service is concerned with the full breadth of our Christian understanding of what is meant by ‘wholeness’. Wholeness and healing is not simply a question of not being sick but rather involves a bringing together of both a move towards healthy ways of functioning and Godly ways of living. Wholeness is more a direction (at least this side of heaven) rather than a place where one has arrived. It is also to do not only with the individual person but also with the communities in which we find ourselves, our family, parish, church and nation.
At our service therefore we pray for the sick, the injured, the anxious, the dying but we pray also that God may ‘restore to wholeness whatever is broken by human sin, in our lives, in our nation, and in the world.’ We do also offer the ministry of the laying on of hands for those who wish to receive it, there is no compulsion of pressure however.
If you are interested, or simply want to know what it is all about, do come and join us in church on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 6.30 p.m.Choral Evensong with
Prayers for Wholeness & Healing
February 19th
6.30 p.m.Thank You for being a Friend
The Friends of St. Wilfrid’s is a charity set up for the purpose of maintaining, repairing and beautifying the fabric of St. Wilfrid’s church. The Friends work closely with the PCC and have assisted in financing much of the work to the building, from repair work to the boundary walls to replacing the boiler to assisting in the DDA work a few years ago. The Friends can only do this thanks to the generous support of all its members.
The Friends of St. Wilfrid’s are holding a Spring Lunch party in the Cricket Club on Sunday, 11th March at 12.30pm at which the Speaker will be Wing Commander Robinson, former Chief Test Pilot for Avro/British Aerospace who will tell us about his work. Tickets are £25 each to include meal and wine. Do come and join us.Friends of St. Wilfrid’s
Spring Lunch
Sunday 11th March
12.30 p.m.Mobberley Association of Church Fellowships
We were saddened to ear that a faithful and long standing member, Lily Killey, has passed away. We were very fond of Lily and although through ill health she was unable to attend meetings she kept up her membership and took a keen interest in the fellowship. We held a few moments silence in her memory.
In November we hosted the ACF Advent CVarol Service at St. Wilfrid’s Church. Ian conducted a beautiful service and afterwards there was friendship and Fellowship as we enjoyed delicious refreshments. Our Christmas afternoon was the last meeting to be held at the Methodist Schoolroom and we are grateful to them for their hospitality over the years.
Our new venue is the Rajar Building and in January we were pleased to welcome Michelle Goodrich. We all appreciated her moving talk about her spiritual journey. Michelle’s road was often bumpy, had many twists and turns as well as a few dead-ends but there were also beautiful moments as she sought the path that she felt the Lord had chosen for her.February Meeting
“Mother of Invention”
Speaker: Val Myers
Wednesday 8th February
The Rajar Building
2.30 p.m.Pause for Thought
’Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ - Matthew 6:9-21
One of the great old black and white films that I remember really enjoying was ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ starring Humphrey Bogart. It tells the story of two down and outs who meet a gold prospector in a remote Mexican village. The prospector takes them to the Sierra Madre where they dig a mine and are successful in finding lots of gold. Rather than making them happy however the gold simply makes them more and more selfish and paranoid, a paranoia that turns to violence.
During the film there is a discussion as to why gold is worth so much and they determine in the end that it is down to the scarcity of it. One of the characters says, ‘A thousand men, say, go searchin' for gold. After six months, one of them's lucky: one out of a thousand. His find represents not only his own labour, but that of nine hundred and ninety-nine others to boot... An ounce of gold, mister, is worth what it is because of the human labour that went into the findin' and the gettin' of it.’ I find that line familiar, it has echoes of the words of Jesus regarding the treasure buried in the field or the pearl of great price.
The difference, of course, is that the pearl does not belong to the finder, they are the possession of God and in the discovery it is the searcher who is found, not the treasure. We are reminded of this in the passage from Matthew 6. As Christian’s we are those who have become the possession of God and with him the gift of our life is stored, as we read in Colossians 3, “your life is hidden with Christ in God”.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, who sent your Son into the world so that all might believe; I, who was once lost, am now found and the only life I have is Jesus’ life in me. Rejoicing in the security of your life and love may I live only to please you in all I say and do. Amen.Some High Days & Holy in February
February 2nd - The Presentation of Christ
One of the most ancient festivals of the Church, dating back at least as far as 312AD, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ, or Candlemas or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, recalls the events recorded in Luke 2:22-40. According to Jewish Law 40 days after the birth of a first son the couple must go to the Temple to perform the ‘redemption of the first born’. This day marks a critical turning point between Christmas & Epiphany and Lent & Easter.
February 6th - The Martyrs of Japan (17thC)
In 17th century Japan the Shogun permitted Christian missionaries to evangelise hoping thereby to restrict the power of Buddhism and to increase contract and trade with the West. On February 5, 1597 six European Franciscan missionaries, three Japanese Jesuits and seventeen Japanese laymen including three young boys were executed by crucifixion in Nagasaki. These original 26 were canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 1862.
February 10th - Scholastica (d.547)
The twin sister of Benedict of Nursia Scholastica was a nun at Plombariola 5 miles from Benedict’s famous monastery at Monte Cassino. She founded the convent which is believed to have been the first run according to the rule of Benedict. She and her brother would meet once a year to worship together and to discuss the lives of their respective communities.
February 15th - Sigfrid of Sweden (d.1045)
Of Northumbrian birth Sigfrid was sent to evangelise the people of Scandinavia. He built his first church at Växjö that became famous for its beautiful worship and Sigfrid’s powerful preaching but it was the way of life of Sigfrid and his companions that brought people to faith and led to the baptism of King Olaf of Sweden in 1008.Diary for February
Wed. 1st Said Holy Communion at the Rajar 10 a.m.
Coffee Morning at the Rajar 10.30 a.m.
Choir Practice 7.45 p.m.
Thu. 2nd Doorway to… 7.45 p.m.
Sun. 5th The 3rd Sunday before Lent
Said Holy Communion (BCP) 8.30 a.m.
Sung Holy Communion (CW) 10 a.m.
Choral Evensong (BCP) 6.30 p.m.Mon. 6th Monday Night Group 8 p.m.
Tue. 7th Bell Ringing Practice 7.30 p.m.
Wed. 8th Said Holy Communion at the Rajar 10 a.m.
Coffee Morning at the Rajar 10.30 a.m.
Choir Practice 7.45 p.m.Thu. 9th Doorway to... 7.45 p.m.
Sun. 12th The 2nd Sunday before Lent
Said Holy Communion (BCP) 8.30 a.m.
All-Age Service 10 a.m.
Choral Evensong (BCP) 6.30 p.m.Mon. 13th Monday Night Group 8 p.m.
Tue. 14th Bell Ringing Practice 7.30 p.m.
Wed. 15th Said Holy Communion at the Rajar 10 a.m.
Coffee Morning at the Rajar 10.30 a.m.
Choir Practice 7.45 p.m.Thu. 16th Doorway to… 7.45 p.m.
Sun. 19th The Sunday next before Lent
Said Holy Communion (BCP) 8.30 a.m.
Sung Holy Communion (BCP) 10 a.m.
Evensong w. Wholeness & Healing (BCP) 6.30 p.m.Mon. 20th Monday Night Group 8 p.m.
Tue. 21st Bell Ringing Practice 7.30 p.m.
Wed. 22nd Ash Wednesday
Said Communion at the Rajar 10 a.m.
Coffee Morning 10.30 a.m.
Sung Communion with Ashing 7.30 p.m.Thu. 23rd Doorway to... 7.45 p.m.
Sun. 26th The 1st Sunday of Lent
Said Holy Communion (BCP) 8.30 a.m.
Choral Matins 10 a.m.
Sung Holy Communion (BCP) 6.30 p.m.Mon. 27th Monday Night Group 8 p.m.
Tue. 28th Bell Ringing Practice 7.30 p.m.
Wed. 29th Said Holy Communion at the Rajar 10 a.m.
Coffee Morning at the Rajar 10.30 a.m.
Lenten Compline 7 p.m.
Choir Practice 7.45 p.m.