Saint Michael’s Church
Serving God and Bishop’s Stortford
Clergy Letter For May 2010
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CLERGY LETTER FOR MAY 2010 |
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The Vicar writes....
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....“even a cup of cool water”....I’ve been thinking about Christian giving. There are times when we as a Church are criticised for being too concerned with our own selves and our own survival and not concerned about the things of the world. We can easily take that sort of remark to heart and put ourselves down. “We are too insular; we are not involved with the society around us; we don’t do enough for teenagers, for drug addicts, for the poor, for the homeless, for the ....” the list is endless. When I catch myself thinking like that I say to myself: “Remember the cup of cool water!” I’m referring to a little known remark of Jesus, recorded in Matthew 10.42, that anyone who gives even a cup of cool water to one of his little ones will not miss out on their reward. This month I want to encourage you to think well of yourselves, to congratulate yourselves, to be positive about your Christian allegiance. Remember: more people go to church in this country every week than go to football matches every week. Remember: the churches give more to charity in this country every year than is raised by Children in Need on that one night in the year (with all the ballyhoo and self congratulation that goes with that event). Take St Michael’s alone. It may not seem that much but do you realise that we give away to Missions at Home and Abroad 10% of everything we receive. In round figures we had an income last year of £183,000 and we gave £18,000 away. £18,000!! Let’s remind ourselves of some of the examples of what we do. Our Lent Lunches, recorded elsewhere in this Magazine (page 6), ended up giving £577 to Mary’s Meals, an organisation that feeds poor children in the developing world. Think how much change in the lives of those children we have been able to bring about. The High school gave some of their Easter Service Collection to a school in Belize with the wonderful title of “St Agnes School, Mahogany Heights.” What they needed at Mahogany Heights was security locks on the windows and doors of the school to prevent theft of the new water coolers that have been installed for the children in the school. Word gets around that a school has received some new equipment and the temptation to steal gets round too. But now Mahogany Heights School can sleep easy, because pupils from the High School of Bishop’s Stortford have cared enough to help them. Members of St Michael’s Church along with members of St Michael’s School recently signed up to sponsor ten children from one of the poorest countries in Central America, El Salvador. Through the organisation “Compassion” those children are now being given a security and a future that they would not have had without your generosity. Many others in the congregation do similar sponsoring work overseas with other organisations. What a fantastic difference that is making to the children concerned. The Leprosy Mission recently wrote to us to say that we are one of their most faithful supporting churches in the East of England region. They want to come and thank us in person, to give something back to us. They will be with us on 17th October. £200 a year and more has been going to them for over twenty years via our Missions Committee. Mention of the Missions Committee makes me want to thank all its members for their work, and to congratulate them on what they do. Last year, in round terms, they gave over £9,000 away to twenty-one Overseas Missions and over £7,000 to twenty-three Home Missions. They raise money through the Holly Fair, which is all dedicated to charity-giving (nothing kept for ourselves) and they administer the grant given to them each year by the PCC. Thank you and well done. None of this takes in to account the work that so many of you do in Christian Aid Week. That comes up again this year, in this month of May (9th – 15th). However much you groan at the thought of doing it again sign up and get out there. The poor of the world will be grateful for your efforts. Remember the cup of cool water. Remember that what you do for the least of these his children you do for Jesus. And what you do for Him you do not for him but for the one who sent Him. Matthew 10.40. A well known story illustrates that perfectly: Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!" At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!" Toby Marchand. |
Office Address:
Saint Michael’s Church
Windhill
Bishops Stortford
Hertfordshire
CM23 2ND