Dear Friends

As we begin the season of Advent this year, it’s good to be reminded that the word Advent is derived from the Latin word ‘Adventus’ meaning ‘to come’. It’s a season of preparation to get ourselves ready to remember Jesus who came into the world that first Christmas; to get ourselves ready for His coming amongst us now; and to remember that He will come again one day at the end of time.

I guess we are all getting ready making preparations for celebrating Christmas this year – thinking about gifts to buy, family and friends to see, ordering food, writing cards. But are we making time for the coming of Jesus into our lives once again? It’s so easy to get caught up with the busyness of this season that we forget the ‘reason for the season’, i.e Jesus. So how about making some time to pray, to read your bibles, or you might like to join in the Sabeel-Kairos Zoom series on ‘Challenging Apartheid in Advent’. This is a reference to the dire situation in Palestine, the land of Jesus’ birth, which Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have described as apartheid due to the inferior way in which Palestinians are treated. See Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians – Amnesty International to read their report.

Thinking about things that are coming (I hope!), I promised to give you an update in a previous letter about our plans for an extension. I’m pleased to say that we have now been granted  a faculty by the Diocese for this. This is subject to three conditions however. Firstly, that we have all the funds in place for this and/or available for the entire cost before we commence any work. Secondly, that any headstones disturbed by the works are re-sited at a position to be agreed by the DAC (in consultation with Historic England if appropriate). Thirdly, that we obtain planning permission from Warrington Borough Council within six months of the grant of the faculty. So there is still plenty to be done before any work might start but this is an important step in the right direction and I will keep you updated on developments as and when these are available.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

I am writing this letter on the eve of The Queen’s funeral. Like me, you may been unsurprised by her death (she was 96 after all) but shocked by the speed of it. Only 2 days earlier (on the Tuesday) she had met our new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral to invite her to form a new government. By the Thursday, she had died. But death, as I often say at funerals I take, is a shocking thing – whether we have been expecting it or not. Nothing can ever quite prepare us for the moment that someone we know and love dies, as I have been reminded this summer by my own mother’s death.

Central to the Queen’s life of duty and service to our nation, Commonwealth and world has been her Christian faith. Whilst this has been quietly present in the background for many years, in more recent times she has been much more vocal about it. In her Christmas Day speech in 2002, she said this:

“I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God…I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.”

I wonder if we could say something similar to the Queen about our own lives, that our faith in God is our guiding light and inspiration? I have certainly found my faith to be hugely significant in shaping my life and a great source of hope and comfort, though the ups and downs of it all.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

Summer is here! As I write we are about to experience two of the hottest days in the UK’s history. If anyone ever doubted that climate change is a reality, then surely this is evidence for it. Indeed, in the last 20 years (prior to the current heatwave), we have experienced 7 of the 10 hottest days on record.

So, how might we respond as Christians then? Firstly, by prayer. By praying for those affected by extreme heat not only in this country but also in other parts of the world, where temperatures are even hotter. Temperatures that are causing wildfires, droughts, and leading people to migrate to cooler countries like our own. We can pray that our own government, and all governments, take the necessary urgent action now to avoid potential climate catastrophe.

Secondly, by learning more about the climate crisis we currently face. You may well have heard the quote by Professor Sir David King, the former Chief Scientific Adviser to multiple UK governments, who in 2021 said that “We have to move rapidly. What we do over the next three to four years, I believe, is going to determine the future of humanity. We are in a very, very desperate situation.” But did you know that Chatham House, the prestigious international affairs think tank, said in their 2021 report that if emissions continue on the current trajectory, we have just a 5 per cent chance of staying well under 2 degrees Celsius, a very significant tipping point, when human life and the environment become much more difficult to maintain, and in some cases could disappear. They also said that globally, each year in the 2030s:

• • More than 400 million people a year are likely to be exposed to temperatures exceeding the workability threshold (i.e., unable to work outdoors)
  • More than 10 million people a year are likely to be exposed to heat stress exceeding the survivability threshold (i.e., likely to die outside)

These are disturbing figures for us all as human beings, Christian or otherwise, so thirdly, we need to act. There are many ways we can take action. Some Christians believe that non-violent direct action is the right response to put pressure on our government to change its ways, to take more urgent action to save ourselves and the planet. See Christian Climate Action – Direct action, public witness for the climate. Taking such action may not be what we feel called to do but writing to our MP, Andy Carter; signing climate petitions; joining our church eco team to help us a church try to reach net zero carbon by 2030 (in line with the Church of England’s own commitment) are other things that we might feel more comfortable with. For further information, see Green Christian – Ordinary Christians, extraordinary times and Eco Church – An A Rocha UK Project.

I do not believe we need to panic about the climate crisis, but we do need to take urgent action and fast if we are not going to pass on an unbearable legacy to our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

I hope you have a good summer, whether you are able to get away or are staying at home.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

As I write we are about to come to Ascension Day (May 26) in the Church calendar, the day when Jesus returned to be with His Father in heaven. My training Vicar used to describe this in terms of a game of football (no surprise, he was a big Manchester United fan!). The first half comprised Jesus’ coming into the world as baby at Bethlehem, his earthly life, ministry, death, and resurrection. The Ascension is the half time point in the match, and the second half is the period we are now in waiting for Jesus to return again. The Ascension is also significant in that it symbolises a ten-day period of waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have used to invite Christians all over the world to pray for five people who do not yet know Jesus to come to know him through the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative. Hopefully, you may be reading this before Pentecost (5 June) in which case I would like to extend a warm welcome to you to attend either our 8 am or 10 am services that day as we remember not only the Spirit’s arrival but also give thanks for the Queen’s 70-year reign as our monarch. Special refreshments will be available after both services – do stay and join us!

All being well, we will have our new lighter weight chairs in church by then, which I hope you will not only find comfortable but also helpful in terms of being able to be moved around. With the recent reintroduction of our community lunch on the second Tuesday of the month (12 noon-1.30 p.m.), the new chairs (and three new tables – many thanks to the Co-op for both) will I hope be especially useful for those setting and clearing up. We will have a particular Platinum Jubilee focus for our lunch on Tuesday 14 June, so do come and join us. Homemade soup, bread and butter, a cake and tea or coffee for a suggested donation of £3.50 has to be the best deal available in town!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who responded to our Stewardship initiative in Lent. This meant we met our funding target of an extra £108 income per week, indeed exceeded it if you add in over £2,000 of one-off donations. We also received over 60 offers to help or requests for further information about different aspects of our church life. On both counts it was a great response. We have also received in principle support from the Diocesan Advisory Committee for our new extension and no objections to my knowledge from various heritage bodies. So, hopefully we may get the go ahead from the Chancellor for an extension soon and then from the local authority.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

As I write, we have just launched our Stewardship Initiative. Stewardship, as I explained in a recent sermon, is about taking care of what we have been given by God, and that includes our money, time and talents. We last held a stewardship initiative at St.Mary’s in 2018, and therefore it is appropriate that we now reconsider how we put these things at God’s disposal. There are three main things I would like us all to consider. Firstly, are we being called by God to increase what we give financially to the church? Secondly, if we have not yet joined the Parish Giving Scheme, please will we consider joining this? It really does help with our cashflow to know what income we have coming in on a regular basis, and it also saves time administering our finances. Thirdly, is God calling us to use our time and talents to serve Him in a new way? Please do think and pray about these matters. When you have done so, please return the giving and time and talents forms inside the stewardship envelope you have received from church (do let me know if you have not received one and would like one of these). Forms need to be returned in the envelope provided to our treasurer, Julie Shaw, on our Thanksgiving Sunday, which this year is Palm Sunday 10 April. Thank you for considering this, and if you would like any further information, please do speak to myself or to one of the other members of the Stewardship Team (John Taylor, Julie Shaw, Terry Finnegan, and Sue Gibbons).

I mentioned in my last letter that we have been waiting on permission from the diocese to install the new chairs we have received funding for from the Co-op. I am pleased to say that this has now been received and we hope to have the new chairs in place by the end of April. Come and try them out when you can! By the time you read this letter, we will also have applied to the diocese for permission to go ahead with our church extension. Hopefully we can obtain permission from both the diocese and the local authority by the end of the year, and start it soon afterwards.

One other encouraging piece of news is that we have been awarded the bronze eco church award by the Christian environmental charity, A Rocha. Churches up and down the UK are invited to think about how they practically care for the environment, in terms of their buildings and grounds, and to provide an environmental focus through their worship, preaching and prayer. I am pleased that we have received this initial award and hope we can go on to get the silver award during the course of the next 12 months. My thanks go to Margaret Emsley, David Scarisbrick and Clare Grimes, who together with myself, make up our church eco team. Do let me know if you would like to join us!

With my prayers and best wishes for a very happy Easter.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

I wonder how 2022 has started for you? We may start each year with plenty of good intentions but it may not take long before those start to disappear. One of my resolutions each year is to spend more time exercising, by going to the gym. We are halfway through January as I write and so far I have only managed to get there one week. I hope you may be doing better with whatever you may have decided to try to do!

It’s a good thing that God understands us as human beings, isn’t it, with all our good intentions but so often failing to live up to them. The confession each week in church is designed to give us an opportunity to reflect on those ways in which we have failed to live as God might have wanted us to do, whether that’s not keeping a New Year resolution, or something more significant perhaps. And of course with Him, we can always make a fresh start.

On a positive note, one of the things that has already happened this year is that we have had the trees pollarded in the front of the churchyard. This was last done in 2017 and I hope helps to keep the front of the church looking in good shape, aided of course by the work of our excellent gardening team. We are also just about to re-start (as I write) the Alpha course after a break over Christmas. It’s been great to have 10 people attending the course and exploring more together about the Christian faith.

Lent begins this year on March 2 (Ash Wednesday), rather later than it often does. I am hoping that once again we will be joining with other Christians from across West Warrington in worship and study (do keep an eye out for the notice sheet and on our website for further details). We are also planning on running again the Growing in Faith course after Easter and the Talking Jesus course in the summer. Do take advantage of these opportunities to deepen your faith if you wish to do so.

In terms of other hopes for this year, I really do hope that it will not be long now before we get permission from the diocese to install the new chairs that we have received funding from the Co-op for. I also hope that we will be able to get planning permission from the diocese and the local authority for our church extension, and ideally be able to start the work.

What are you hoping and praying for this year?

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector