St James, Dudley

Child for Life

2007-11-23T14:16:00.000Z

So England shares the fate of other footballing nations like Andorra in being knocked out of the European Championship. In the event it was Croatia which hammered home a crushing defeat, English hopes having been kept alive to that point by a ‘sterling’ performance from Israel. Now English heads hang low as the nation realises it can’t perform in Europe.

The fact is though it isn’t just in the national game (or obsession) that we’re at the bottom of the rung. 2007 marked the publication of a damning report from the United Nations children’s organisation UNICEF. In a survey spanning twenty-one industrialised nations – most of them in Europe – the U.K. (not England alone now) ranked last in the quality of life for children and young people, well behind Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic among others. Mercifully Croatia didn’t feature on the list. Only one other nation, which enjoys a ‘special relationship’ with us, showed any comparable performance.

As well as ranking last overall, UNICEF placed the UK bottom in terms of the quality of relationships for children – both with their families and with their peers. The UK featured bottom on the list in respect of risky behaviour including substance misuse and sexual health. With all these findings, is it any wonder that children and young people feel worse about themselves in this country and are less happy than in any other nation?

Of course, UNICEF’s findings are open to challenge. Were the data up to date? Were the comparisons fair? Perhaps not and perhaps as a country we don’t deserve to be at the bottom of the pile but wherever in real terms we are, we are clearly nowhere near the top.

The true measure of a nation’s standing is revealed in how well it treats the most vulnerable, children among them. At Christmas we’re invited to respond to the One who makes himself vulnerable, as the child awaiting hospitality and love. The child is not just for Christmas – he is for life. May you know his peace this Christmas.

Fr Andrew

The Revd Andrew Wickens
Dudley Education Chaplain
Diocese of Worcester
01384 214487
awickens@cofe-worcester.org.uk

Fair trade begins at home

2007-09-23T13:17:00.001+01:00

Just a few weeks ago the Office of Fair Trading accused Britain’s leading supermarkets of creaming off excessive profits by together fixing the price of milk and other dairy products. Hard on the heels of a wapping £270 million fine to British Airways for rigging fuel surcharges, the supermarkets are set to face a similar sum from the regulator.

We as consumers have been paying more for our pint but farmers complain that they have not benefited. In fact as we celebrate Harvest, it’s sobering to consider just what pressures British agriculture is facing. Some of those pressures are just perennial hazards for British farming. So the weather is only reliable in being reliably unexpected. But this year has seen unprecedented weather with much of central England besieged by the worst floods in living memory. Hay and silage for animal feed was lost. Crops were washed away. And the autumn vegetable crop in some cases never got planted because the fields were waterlogged.

Meanwhile farmers have lived with the spectre of foot and mouth once more. Memories are fresh and nerves are raw after the 2001 outbreak. In that year much of the UK shut up shop as far as farming was concerned with a ban on livestock movement, footpath closures and the hideous scenes of mass slaughter. A crisis of those proportions seems to have been averted this year but the fear of foot and mouth for farmers has been palpable.

Weather and disease are natural hazards but it’s hardly natural that grain is the same price on markets as 20 years ago. It’s market pressures which leave farmers with just 8p in the £ from sales of food in this country compared to 50p half a century ago. And it’s those same pressures that have resulted in farmers facing one of the highest occupational risks of suicide.

That’s why this Harvest we alongside other parishes are drawing attention to the work of the Farm Crisis Network, a Christian charity which offers practical support to those who bear the consequences. Fair trade extends beyond chocolate and coffee. It extends as well to locally grown produce. Fair trade isn’t charity – it’s about giving just deserts – but it does begin at home.

Fr Andrew

Drayton Manor Park

2007-08-12T07:57:00.000+01:00

It seems that the younger you are the more fearless with it. On Saturday 28^th July, we went with the Junior Church to Drayton Manor Park to have fun – stomach churning, gut wrenching fun! Only it was often the youngest amongst us who were ready for the thrills and (not to many) spills that were part of the adventure. We all paid to get in, even if it was only to spend the day acting as umpire and holding coats, lunchboxes and accessories for the those game for the rides. Personally I think there’s something to be said for paying NOT to go queasy but there you are – each to their own. And if you wanted to prepare to meet your maker there was ample to choose from – Apocalypse (a superfast, openair lift that drops you out of the sky), Pirate Ship (a real sense of being out on the open seas – bring your own paper bag) and for those who just like getting wet Stormforce 10 (shooting around up and down in a lifeboat). Thanks to Hilary and Anthea for organising the day. Any suggestions for next year? Please forward.

Fr Andrew

Sing to God a hymn of gladness

2007-08-06T20:37:00.001+01:00

This month sees the launch of a new hymn book at St James – New Hymns and Worship Songs. And at services on 2^nd September there’s a chance to sample the new collection. Inside there are the familiar stalwarts of Songs of Praise such as Great is thy faithfulness as well as Wesley’s And can it be. Neither hymn is in our existing book. There are modern worship songs that have won a place in people’s praise – Be still for the presence of the Lord and Majesty to name but two. And there are some surprises. You’ll have to look (and wait!) to meet wage earners, the black madonna, not to speak of the elephant and the fuzzy wuzzy bear. There’s passion from Martin Luther King’s We have a dream speech adapted and set to music. And there’s power in Patrick’s Breastplate taking us right back to the dawn of Christianity in these islands. None of these are to be found in Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard – what we’ll now inevitably start calling ‘the red book.’ If you’re wondering what will become of O Come all ye faithful and Praise my soul the king of heaven, the answer is the new book isn’t replacing the red book – we’ll just start using them together as we’re called to make a joyful noise to the Lord.

Music and hymnody also accompanies us at the month’s end. Our flower festival draws on harvest hymns transformed into floral arrangements. Harvest is a magical time midway between the August Bank Holiday in high summer and Bonfire Night with the depths of winter about to start. In the space of a few short weeks the seasons change and Harvest marks that point of transition – all is safely gathered in before the winter storms begin. That change and contrast is marked for us this year in flowers. We hope at some point over the weekend you’ll join us to enjoy the peace and beauty of the church for a few minutes, to experience some stunning music from our own choir and the Pearl of Africa, from schools around us, not to mention inspiring harvest praise. Look for further details in the magazine. You could even bring a friend with you!

Fr Andrew

Come ye faithful people come

2007-08-06T16:10:00.000+01:00

Welcome to St James for our soon to happen glorious flower festival. Harvest is a magical time midway between the August Bank Holiday in high summer and Bonfire Night with the depths of winter about to start. In the space of a few short weeks the seasons change and Harvest marks that point of transition – all is safely gathered in before the winter storms begin. That change and contrast is marked for us this year in flowers. We hope at some point over the weekend you’ll join us to enjoy the peace and beauty of the church for a few minutes, to enjoy some stunning music from our own choir and the Peal of Africa, not to mention from schools around us, not to mention inspiring harvest praise. Look for further details in the magazine. You could even bring a friend with you!

Fr Andrew

Discovering God's welcome for all

2007-05-18T10:43:00.000+01:00

Thanks to a generous personal donation, we now have a new noticeboard standing sentinel over the churchyard wall on Wolverhampton Street. I say this in the hope that some of you reading this may already have noticed the change! It’s the same colour as before – if you haven’t already cast your eye over it then please do so.

Every church wants to be a welcoming church – or at least thinks it does – but are we? And do we welcome people on our own terms or on theirs? It’s one of the striking features of the gospels that time and again, Jesus reaches out to accept people who were treated as outcastes, untouchable. Hand on heart, few of us have gone the extra mile to do that.

So I’m not easy with saying “we’re a welcoming church.” While some, if not most, may find us so, the bonhomie and sharing may lead to others feeling shut out. If the church is to build trust in community then it has to be willing to speak the truth and avoid offering platitudes.

So we don’t claim to be a welcoming church. But the noticeboard does declare what I think we’re about at St James’s – discovering God’s welcome for all. Let’s face it, any organisation, club or society should have an open doors policy with welcome for all. As the church we’re to do that and more – announce God’s welcome for all – the saving purposes of the God who has made us and begin to live that life together.

At St James’s, we’re not just to announce that welcome – we’ve also to discover it for ourselves. Pilgrims to the shrine of St James at Compostela went under the sign of the scallop shell. The journey across Europe to the remote north-western corner of Spain was long and arduous. But the journey itself was part of the discovery as well as the basilica and shrine and journey’s end.

As pilgrims ourselves we need to find God’s welcome and then learn to share that welcome with others. Meanwhile, travel well!

Fr Andrew

Visit to Holland House

2007-05-16T18:48:00.000+01:00

If you’ve never been before, Holland House is the Diocesan retreat house at Cropthorne deep in the Worcestershire countryside. Churches Together in Dudley is holding its annual day at Cropthorne on Thursday 9^th August.

The coach will leave Central Methodist Church at 10.30 a.m. and return at around 5.45 p.m. The cost of the coach trip is £6 for adults and £3 for children over 5. You can either bring a packed lunch or order a lunch for £8. To enjoy a relaxing day in the house and garden, please respond directly to Pauline Crewe on 01562-884966.

Coach places are limited so do book soon if you wish to join the day.

MAKE ROADS SAFE

2007-04-24T11:44:00.000+01:00

It’s good that the Church Wall at St James has been repaired recently. But traffic at the island continues to be dangerous especially for pedestrians. What we know as a local issue is also a global issue and will be discussed by the United Nations in November this year.

Did you know?

· Someone is killed or maimed every 6 seconds on the world’s roads.

· Every three minutes a child is killed on the world’s roads.

· Road deaths in poorer countries are set to rise by 80% by 2020.

· Road crashes are the single biggest killer of young people in Europe and the US.

· Only HIV/AIDS kills more young men worldwide.

· Road crashes kill on the scale of Malaria and Tuberculosis.

If you want to be part of the campaign then sign the MAKE ROADS SAFE petition when you come to St James.

Fr Andrew

Harvest

2006-09-24T14:41:00.000+01:00

In Jamaica Harvest is celebrated in February. As you arrive at church there are maize stalks and yams and more familiar produce ready to be blessed. We were on the hills up above Kingston where the land falls away precipitously towards the city. Away from the city smog, just a few miles inland, life is lived at a much more tranquil pace and the air is cooler. The villagers gather with what they themselves have grown, ready to share it, ready to celebrate another year.

It seems a very different world to the way we celebrate Harvest in Dudley. But then our ancestors would have known much more readily how to grow and harvest. And even those who grew up in the Black Country, may well have gone hop picking in the season out towards Tenbury. So you don’t have to live in the countryside to recognise the harvest. The truth is aspects of rural life and harvest are all around us. And on allotments, old and young together have been involved in planting, tending, feeding and yes, harvesting.

Much of this country is given over to agricultural land. But increasingly farming is becoming an automated and factory driven process. Tomatoes ripening just south of here in the Vale of Evesham are no longer grown. They are manufactured as precise quantities of nutrients and water are fed into the roots every hour, minutely controlled so that plants can grow healthily. It’s a far cry from the techniques used even a generation ago. It’s a far cry too from the street sellers that I knew in Kenya who would grow a few tomatoes and onions that they themselves had tended without all those benefits of micro-engineering. They would grow them and then sit waiting at the roadside for a customer to come along.

I remember too George in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum. There was no land. The whole slum was occupied with houses. But George wanted to start his business so he was selling tomatoes and with just a small loan he was able to start selling two or three crates a day. Buying at wholesale prices in city markets he had to walk carrying a crate of tomatoes in a wheel barrow so that he’d be ready to sell to families in the street. No competition there from the supermarkets. The only way to get into the slum was on foot and so the best means of transport was the wheelbarrow. It’s good for us to remember that God’s harvest is at its own time. It doesn’t have to be in October. But the whole year through is God’s time for calling, for uplifting, for challenging, for reaping.

Fr Andrew

One World Week

2006-09-24T06:47:00.000+01:00

This year, One World Week has taken the theme – MIND THE GAP - familiar if you travel by train.

It’s a chance to think about the different and widening gaps in our world – the gap between rich and poor, the gap in the ozone layer as we wake up to global warming, the ‘gap’ between friends and enemies in a divided world.

The main Borough event is being hosted at Dudley Central Methodist Church on Friday 20^th October from 7.30 p.m. We’re being joined by our MPs, for what promises to be an informative and inspiring evening.

Hopscotch Off

2006-08-01T23:34:00.000+01:00

It’s been the silly season. A Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) intervened recently to stop two girls playing hopscotch. Frogmarched off, and made to wash the pavement down with a bucket of water, the girls were told they had committed a low-level crime. This wasn’t Uzbekistan. It was Halesowen. The police were tipped off by a local resident about this ‘anti-social behaviour’.

We are fast becoming a zero-tolerant society, stamping out traditional street games that used to be played by the girls’ grandparents when they were young. Anti-social behaviour is the target of the Government’s Respect Agenda. And we need more respect. But respect should be two-way. Young people like those girls deserve it as well. And the police are often just doing their job – when anti-social behaviour is reported, they investigate, though the PCSO may have been over-zealous in this case. Police officers often feel uncomfortable about this kind of work. After all, we’re using ASBO’s today to tackle incidents that used to be resolved in communities. There was more respect in the past because it used to be two-way. We’ve lost respect and become intolerant. We’ve lost respect by becoming intolerant.

Actually I have a theory that older people are more tolerant. Grandparents do remember those values of respect and tolerance in communities. After all, they played hopscotch. I suspect it’s those of us in the middle generation who by and large lack the social skills to interact with young people (or don’t have the time or the inclination). And when being a bother becomes low-level crime, young people will draw their own conclusions.

There’s an African proverb: ‘It takes a whole village to grow a child.’ Now that’s an agenda of respect

‘We played but you would not dance,’ the children complained (Mat 11:17). It seems that even in the Bible, children and young people were ignored. But that complaint is also an invitation suggesting a different response – to join the dance and hop to it as well.

Fr Andrew

Group Away Day

2006-07-14T16:09:00.000+01:00

We’re holding a joint away day on Saturday 14^th October for our parishes in the Dudley Group – a chance to reflect on where we’ve reached and to dream for the future.

Venue and cost is still to be settled. If you would like to hear more about this please speak to the wardens or Fr Andrew. Meanwhile make sure the day is in your diary!

Old and young together

2006-07-14T15:41:00.000+01:00

It’s the best part of a year since I moved into Dudley. And even in that short space of time, the town has not been static. From the Vicarage we can see new build going up. At our church school, Jessons, the Foundation Block for nursery and reception children has been completed. Change, not decay, all around I see. Although the town has a sense of pride and history, it is also looking to its future with a vision for 2020 and beyond. And in the churches, we are also called to be people who announce the future and support people through times of transition because we believe it is in dying that we live.

Last year, parish conversations took place involving St James’s and the other local parishes. It was a chance to listen in on the voice of the community during this time of upheaval. One person said “perhaps people who have already lived here for a long time should look at Dudley with the eyes of a newcomer and appreciate what we have.” The message is clear – the new Dudley and the old have something to bring in making our town happy and hospitable for the future.

That’s one reason the churches across Central Dudley are wanting to develop intergenerational work. Although the word’s a mouthful and it sounds like new jargon in fact it names a feature of our communities going back over centuries. After all, it’s only recently that elderly people have begun to feel disconnected and fearful. In the past, communication across the generations was strong, whether in traditional Black Country life or in the life of black and ethnic minority communities. And grandparents remain important – perhaps more so now than before.

Quite simply, intergenerational work involves finding ways of getting people together, talking together, working together, across the generations. We want to find ways for young and old together to share in building our future – ways of looking to our future that build upon our past. Over coming months, as we talk more about this, I hope you can consider how you can take part in this new initiative. If we do, then we can be a part in making Dudley a better place for us all, old and young together.

Fr Andrew

Together: News on Community Relations from Fr Tony

2006-07-14T15:29:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago, when we were remembering the terrible events of 7^th July 2005, news came of the death of a British Muslim soldier in Afghanistan. We heard that he had signed up to help build bridges between “east and west”. It’s time for us all to be ambassadors of goodwill, but on our own doorsteps and in our own communities. No longer can the promotion of community relations be a special interest for people who think it’s important. As in the second world war people had to lookout for enemy infiltration and report unusual behaviour, so today we all need to be playing our part to identify and stop extremism and look out for the wellbeing of other people around us, as neighbours next door, out in the street, at the shops, on the bus or on the road.

Last month two formative events took place in Dudley. The Community Partnership drew together a multi-ethnic and multi-faith group in consultation. The purpose was to strengthen cooperation and cohesion by people listening to and learning from one another. To create a positive social environment over a year on from the London bombings, no group should feel under siege or at a disadvantage. For the aim of “building a fair and tolerant borough” to succeed, everyone is needed. The second occasion saw the beginning of the transformation of the Dudley Race Equality Council into the new Centre for Equality and Diversity. The launch of the new body will promote a similar range of concerns and actions to the organisation which began in 1974 as the Community Relations Council.

What’s new is that the Centre for Equality and Diversity will address six strands of social engagement together : gender, disability, sexual orientation, age and religion, as well as race. The Community Relations work can be seen as a forerunner for this wider role and with many examples of good practice to encourage people’s well-being and involvement. The role of the Church at that formative time was recognised, especially that of Bishops Tony Dumper and Rupert Hoare. Now we can all support and encourage the firm intention that fairness and tolerance be at the heart of our community life; these values being enjoyed by everyone because we all work at achieving them together. Time may show these two events to be as important as the moves taken in the 60’s and 70’s to overcome the unpleasant misunderstanding and antagonism on Dudley’s streets, now two generations back. People working together will safeguard and protect 40 years of community building from today’s extremists, whether they are groups operating at the level of international conflict or other elements closer to home and in different parts of our locality. People can tackle extremism together.

News for Young People (11 +)

2006-07-14T15:25:00.000+01:00

In the Autumn, we’re starting a new group for young people aged 11-14. We’re going to meet at St Barnabas on Sunday afternoon, 10^th September from 3.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Young people who took part in this year’s Confirmation sessions want to continue meeting. But this is a open to others who may be interested.

For more details, speak to Fr Andrew.

Dudley Group Away Day

2006-07-13T22:42:00.000+01:00

We’re holding a joint away day for our parishes – a chance to reflect on where we’ve reached and to dream for the future.

Venue and cost is still to be settled. If you would like to hear more about this please speak to the wardens. Meanwhile make sure the day is in your diary!

St James's Young People's Council

2006-07-10T09:51:00.000+01:00

Are you aged between 8 and 17? Help us plan activities and share ideas. We want to raise funds for the church – we’re talking about a car wash in the Autumn. We also want to form a drama group. Come and find out more at our next meeting – after church on Sunday 10^th September.

Trip to Holland House

2006-06-29T17:42:00.000+01:00

Churches Together in Dudley is inviting us to a Quiet Day at Holland House at Cropthorne near Pershore. It’s on Thursday 3^rd August, leaving from Dudley at 10.30 a.m. and returning at around 6.00 p.m. Cost for transport is £6.00. There are just a few seats left so if you would be interested in going or finding out more about the day please speak to Fr Andrew.

We are pilgrims on a journey

2006-06-18T06:42:00.000+01:00

St James’s Day falls annually on 25^th July. This year we’re keeping our celebration on the nearest Sunday, 23^rd July. St James was among the closest companions of Jesus. And because of his importance, over the centuries, St James has inspired countless pilgrims to journey to his shrine in Northern Spain at Santiago de Compostela. And though traditionally pilgrims made their way on foot over hundreds of miles from France and across the Pyrenees, in today’s world it’s much more common to arrive by car or plane.

The school holiday season will soon be upon us, and many will be dreaming of travelling to enjoy the sun. Because the world is smaller now, those dream holidays are ever further afield. The journey is incidental in all of this, since unless there are long delays at the airport, the journey time is so short. Gone are the days when there was real travail in travel. We can reap the benefits of travel without the costs. And yet pilgrimage reminds us that there is a different way to travel, at a different pace. And while we normally start out on a journey in order to reach our destination, for the pilgrim, the journey, the travelling, is itself half the fun.

It’s been said that to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive. And the destination can prove a disappointment after the struggle to reach it. The hotel is rarely quite as attractive as the brochure paints it, nor the food as appetising. But journeying in hope itself gives food for the journey. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for daily bread – the bread for today’s journey and the renewal of hope is such daily bread.

But if pilgrimage reminds us of the significance of the journey, so too it has something to teach us about what takes place when we arrive. For pilgrims don’t merely go to a place. They go to a place to meet a person (or at the very least, the would-be bones of the saint at the shrine). As we prepare for holidays, to go away to another place, let’s go remembering that we go to meet with people of that place. And when we meet them? Well on the way to Compostela, there is a signboard, ‘Don’t forget: the tourist says "Give me ..."; the pilgrim says "thank-you"’.

Have a good St James’s Day and if you are going away, safe travelling.

Fr Andrew

Bishop's Certificate Course

2006-06-17T21:13:00.000+01:00

The Bishop's Certificate is a course designed to help you learn more about worship, scripture and history, and help you to relate your Christian faith to your life and locality. It will also build you up and encourage you in your faith as you work together in a group.

No academic qualifications are required - but you will need enthusiasm, interest and the willingness to commit yourself to attending the course.

Courses will take place in Worcester and other parts of the diocese from September.

If you would like to participate in any of these courses or find out more about them please contact:

Mrs Judy Baker or Rev Stephen Winter
Old Palace, Deansway,

Worcester, WR1 2JE
on 01905-20537

or email

jbaker@cofe-worcester.org.uk

Voting on 4th May

2006-04-06T21:02:00.000+01:00

There is increasing evidence that racist propaganda will play a significant part in the elections on 4 May. The BNP will contest at least some of the wards in Dudley Borough and their policies quite clearly target people of other races including refugees and asylum seekers. Indeed they are even claiming to be the "last of hope of Christian culture" and are thus purporting to speak on behalf of Christians.

The BNP have previously won a seat on Dudley Council and had a significant level of votes in two local constituencies in last year's General Election.

As part of the Alliance for Community Cohesion (Race & Faith) the Dudley Borough Churches Forum is supporting efforts to counter this threat. I would therefore urge us all as people of faith to turn out and vote on 4 May. The greatest danger comes when turnout is low - as it is so often at local elections.

Fr Andrew

Learning from our Muslim Neighbours

2006-04-06T18:20:00.000+01:00

18 May at 7 for 7.30 p.m.

Interfaith Forum

We’re invited for visit to Dudley Mosque to learn more about the Muslim faith and to explore how we can build better relations between people of faith. If you are interested please speak to Fr Andrew beforehand so that transport can be arranged.

Queen's Birthday Celebrations

2006-04-06T18:16:00.000+01:00

Service of Celebration to mark the 80th Birthday of HM the Queen

on Friday 21st April at 7.00pm

at St Thomas' Church, Dudley ("Top Church"). All are welcome

Water of Life

2006-03-18T13:50:00.000Z

Rain in Africa is always seasonal. Indeed, for the tropics the seasons reflect the pattern of rainfall. In some places there is one rainy season a year, in others two. Between those seasons there is no or little rain so farmers have to plan their planting cycle with real care and as often as not these days, a touch of luck.

England has recently experienced one of its driest winters on record and hose-pipe bans are already set for some parts of the country. And while there is more that water companies could do to address leakage and supply, it remains the case that increasingly for as a nation, water is a scarce resource. Since I arrived in the country last year England has been experiencing a prolonged ‘dry season.’ Perhaps I am just not used to it, but it hasn’t felt like the English weather I remember, though I grant that my memory is conditioned by school-boy recollections of dank and overcast journeys to and from school. The reality is that England never was that wet and Mancunian.

Although there have been shortages before, for the first time we’re getting used to the idea that water is precious. In the south-east of England, there is already a greater strain on water than in the Sudan. Extracting drinking water from the sea has not been ruled out, as happens already in Saudi Arabia, though such technology depends upon warmth and the Sun, neither of which have been in evidence much recently.

It’s predicted that the wars of this century will be over water. Meanwhile parts of East Africa are experiencing the effects of acute and prolonged drought. There have always been sporadic shortages in and around Nairobi where we lived. Northern Kenya has always been much drier and poorer. As the land becomes ever more desert-like so the stress on its people becomes more extreme. In those waste places last year, our students at Limuru celebrated baptism with local tribal people. And for those people, the gift of water really did mean life. It wasn’t a commodity to be bought but a precious resource bringing life itself.

Easter is the celebration of new life in the water of baptism – dying and rising with Christ. Maybe as we turn on the tap we can join, not just in thanks, but in recognising the need of our sisters and brothers for that most basic element of life – water.

Fr Andrew

Events and Services on Good Friday

2006-03-17T20:10:00.000Z

There is a full programme of activities on Good Friday for adults and for children and young people.

The day begins with the Ecumenical Procession of Witness which starts from St Thomas’s at 10.45 a.m. Bishop David will be with us and speaking in the town centre.

St Augustine’s, Holly Hall is hosting a children’s workshop for Good Friday from 12.00 a.m. to 2 p.m. with hot cross buns. If any parents are interested in learning more about this please speak with Fr Andrew.

Meditations at the Foot of the Cross – a quiet reflective service will be held at St James’s from 1.30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. Do feel free to drop in during that time even if you are not able to stay for the whole service.

The climax of the day is the evening Commemoration of the Passion. This is hosted by St James’s for the entire Dudley Group Ministry and starts at 7.30 p.m. Bishop David will be preaching and presiding

Hope not Hate

2006-02-24T12:51:00.000Z

A celebration of cultural and religious diversity in Priory Park on Sunday 30^th April from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. - more details to follow of this event nearer the time. Come to all or part of the afternoon’s activities.

Imaging the Invisible

2006-02-19T14:10:00.000Z

In recent weeks a set of pictures – in this case cartoons – have been at the centre of political debate and controversy across the world. The Danish economy has already lost tens of millions of euros and the country’s citizens feel besieged, all because of a set of pictures. We live in a colour saturated world – though not to date in the Parish Magazine! We live surrounded by images and yet we have little grasp of their power over us. And it is only events like the recent Danish controversy that make us sit up and give us pause for thought.

That controversy is couched in terms of free speech. Yet there is another side to the argument that is easily overlooked. After all, there is not just a freedom to publish, there is also a right to own the image. Think of Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who sought the right to a new face after terrible disfigurement. Across the world today many traditional communities continue to hold that the image is sacred. Capturing the face on film is for them a violation. The celluloid image, or now the digital image on a memory card, captures the soul of the person and so dispossesses the living of an identity. That may seem an extreme view and one difficult for us to comprehend. And yet all of us can feel the camera to be an intrusion into our privacy.

Faith communities approach the image in markedly different ways. It is said that the prophet Muhammad saw his wife Aisha with some decorated cushions in the home that she had bought for him. The prophet rebuked her: “The angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures” – a difficult prohibition indeed and one which today sits uneasily with contemporary Islam – what of watching TV let alone a cartoon? Islam has resisted making images, not because the image is sacred but the sacred is beyond images. Christian faith by contrast believes in the ‘image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15). Images then can be holy but only if they are windows onto the spiritual which remains invisible beyond images.

With the arrival of Lent we remember Christ in the desert, fasting for forty days and forty nights. And the desert of course was free of images. Unless we retreated to the desert it would be near impossible for us to experience an image-free Lent but perhaps we can all use this Lent to free us from the power of images. And it is when we do that we unlock the power of imagination. May Lent then be a time for you to image the invisible.

Fr Andrew

Caring for Carers

2006-02-17T11:31:00.000Z

Mental illness continues to afflict and stigmatise thousands of families across the West Midlands. A one day workshop for families and friends of people with severe mental illness is being held in Digbeth, Birmingham on Saturday 1^st April. If you would like more information either for yourself or another family that you know locally please speak to me. The day is free with even reimbursement possible for travel.

Fr Andrew

Living Space

2006-02-17T10:30:00.000Z

Worcester Cathedral is hosting a Family Arts Day on Saturday 4^th March between 10.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. If you are in Worcester on that day, why not drop in and see a range of surprising and uplifting activities – dance, felt making, drawing, story telling to name a few. Admission is free.

Cathedral Capers

2006-02-17T10:27:00.000Z

On Saturday 13^th May, the Junior Church are going to be clowning around in Worcester Cathedral with the clerical clown Roly Bain. It will be a day full of different activities to help bring faith alive for children and young people. For further information please speak to either Hilary Roberts or myself – it would be helpful to know numbers so we can start to plan transport.

Fr Andrew

New Director of Development

2006-02-17T10:20:00.000Z

Congratulations to Canon Robert Jones, whom some will remember when he was parish priest at St Francis’s. Canon Jones will be taking up the new post of Director of Development within the Diocese. His task will be to see how to draw on the many resources which we share so that they can be used for the church’s mission and training. Please remember him in your prayers.

Dudley Songs of Praise

2006-02-17T09:43:00.000Z

Churches Together are hosting a Songs of Praise fellowship on Sunday 18^th June at 7.00 p.m. The event will take place in the grounds of Himley Hall and was attended last time by over 3000 people. Admission and car-parking will be free so do tell your friends and invite them to share with Christians across the borough in what should be a very uplifting experience.

Confirmation Preparation - Revised Schedule

2006-01-21T17:45:00.000Z

Young people aged 11 and above are welcome to join the confirmation course which starts on Sunday 5^th February. We meet from 3.00 p.m. at St Barnabas, Russells Hall. The church is on Middlepark Road on the corner of Russells Hall Road. After the first meeting we will decide where we continue to meet. So do check with me for details of future meetings.

Adult sessions are being held on Sunday evenings at St Francis starting at 7.30 p.m. on 2^nd February. There is an alternative day-time session taking place at St Thomas’s starting at 11.00 a.m. on Wednesdays. This will begin on 8^th February.

Fr Andrew

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - music for the night

2006-01-20T14:06:00.000Z

27^th January this year marks 250 years since Mozart’s birth and since he was such a prodigious childhood prodigy, for nearly all that time since 1756, the world has reverberated to his music, zesty, eloquent and playful. We will all encounter Mozart’s music in this anniversary year. Some snatches of melodic line and argument will already be familiar. Others will come as a surprise.

The music of course stands to be judged in its own terms, speaking as it does to the heart. Yet inevitably the drama of the music is heard for us against the backdrop of Mozart’s own life, lived at breakneck speed in the courts and salons of Europe, and brought so abruptly to a close when he was just 35. There is the added poignancy that after such a dazzling life of genius, such a treasure to the world should come to share a pauper’s grave. We do not know where he is buried.

Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian, was passionate about Mozart and would listen to his music religiously, every day. Attractions and affinities are often complex. But what seems to have drawn Barth to Mozart was the interplay of light and darkness he sensed in the music. In Mozart, he suggests, “the sun shines but does not blind, does not burn or consume.” There is light in this music and joy ‘overtakes’ sorrow but sorrow is not extinguished.

On February 2^nd Christians celebrate Candlemas, the climax of the Christmas season, when the infant Jesus was presented in the Temple at Jerusalem by his parents, Mary and Joseph. It is a story of great beauty recounted in Luke Chapter 2. Waiting in the Temple is Simeon, an old man, approaching his own death, his own darkness. When he sees the Christ-child, he take him into his arms and blesses him, “for”, he says, “my eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light of revelation for the gentiles and glory for your people Israel.”

Light shines in the darkness but it doesn’t ‘overcome’ it. And yet with the light comes joy. Sometimes the music of Mozart can seem too balanced and contrived. And we can retreat into such music for repose – to chill out – knowing that reality is much messier and murky. At its best, though, (and there is so much of the best!) Mozart leaves us balanced on a knife edge where darkness is around but we can move through the music with light for the path.

Fr Andrew

2006-01-06T16:01:00.000Z

Saltmine are holding a Celebration Day on Saturday 25th February from 4.00
p.m. at Dormston Mill Theatre. Come and see the good things Saltmine Theatre
Company are doing nationally to bring the gospel alive. Tickets are free but
need to be reserved in advance. Call Saltmine box office on 01384 454808 or
speak with Fr Andrew - we can travel together.

Pakistan Earthquake

2006-01-06T14:25:00.000Z

St James has recently held a collection for the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. Just under £50 was raised for the earthquake appeal which has been forwarded to the Dudley Muslim Association. Mike Mason (01384 76637) has recently written the following report about the consequences of the earthquake on a region in need of long term support. Apart from the sheer humanitarian need, given the region’s close links with many British Muslims, it is important that Christians continue to remember those who are suffering in prayer and seek ways to support the ongoing relief effort. If you would like to know more please contact either Mike or Fr Andrew.

At the Dudley Borough Interfaith Network AGM on 29 November we heard from Dr Arbab Nazir and Mr Khurshid Ahmed - both residents of Dudley - about their very personal experience of events in Pakistan.

Arbab went to Pakistan shortly after the earthquake as part of a team from the UK offering medical and other support. They were able also to distribute direct to those in most need large sums of cash donated by people in the UK.

Khurshid was on a family visit to Pakistan at the time of the earthquake and, even though they were staying some 100 miles from the epicentre, they felt strong shocks. He then stayed on in Pakistan helping to co-ordinate aid from the UK.

Arbab’s pictures brought home the stark reality of this tragedy and its effect on millions of ordinary people. Sadly not all the external aid is appropriate e.g. the vast majority of the tents provided are totally unsuitable for the harsh winter conditions which affect that area.

Khurshid told us of the gratitude of people locally for the response from the UK with its many close ties to Pakistan - both historical and through the presence here of many people who originated from that country.

Shortly after that event I spoke also to Revd Garth Nathaniel who is Priest-in-Charge of St John’s Church in Brockmoor and originates also from Pakistan. He had a visit planned in November to see his family and so again saw first hand the effects of the earthquake and the way in which local people, including the small Christian community, were responding to this tragic event.

He told me how unfair was the criticism about the speed of response from e.g. the military and the health services. They themselves were devastated by the earthquake losing many key personnel.

The many mines laid in the border area as a result of the long-running dispute over Kashmir made it very difficult also to get the border open quickly. However, cross border working with India was beginning to happen.

All three of them stressed the need for massive long-term support for reconstruction in a region where so much has been obliterated. They said also that they are willing both to speak to faith groups about their experience and to be a channel for further support for people in Pakistan.

Chrism Mass at Worcester Cathedral

2006-01-04T09:34:00.000Z

Maundy Thursday falls this year on 13^th April. There will be a coach trip during the day from Dudley to Worcester Cathedral where pilgrims can join in the Chrism Mass with Bishop Peter and the clergy of the diocese as they renew their ordination vows. If you would like to join in this memorable and beautiful experience, please register your interest with the churchwardens, Gwen and Janice. Further details will follow soon.

Holocaust Memorial Day

2006-01-03T16:59:00.000Z

Dudley Race Equality Council invite us to participate in a short reflective act of remembrance at 12.00 p.m. on Friday 27^th January. The event is taking place at Dudley Library, St James’s Road. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.

Lest we forget… When one suffers all suffer together.

Group Service for Epiphany

2006-01-01T17:36:00.000Z

On 6th January the Dudley Group are holding a joint service of Holy
Communion to celebrate the Epiphany - the arrival of the wise men to honour
the Christ child. Join us for this holy night at St Francis's, Laurel Road.
The service starts at 7.30 p.m. and the preacher will be our own priest, the
Revd Andrew Wickens

News on Confirmation

2006-01-01T17:27:00.000Z

Confirmation is a chance for adults and young people to explore in more
depth about the Christian faith. Across Dudley we are running two groups
this year - one for adults and another for young people rising 11 or above.

The adult group will meet on Thursday evenings at St Francis's Church Centre
from 2nd February onwards at 7.30 p.m.

The young people's group will meet on Sunday afternoons at St Barnabas,
Russell's Hall, time to be confirmed with those interested, but we are
suggesting this take place at 4.00 p.m.

We recognise that these times may not be convenient to everybody. If you
would like to join a group but cannot manage the time suggested do make
contact. Once we know as clergy demand from the parishes then we can see how
to manage transport for those taking part. For further information or to
register interest please speak with me early in the New Year.

Fr Andrew (01384 214487)

2005-12-22T22:48:00.000Z

St James the Great, Eve Hill

2005-12-22T22:44:00.000Z

St James the Great, Eve Hill

Ecumenical Service

2005-12-22T17:33:00.000Z

On Wednesday 18th January there is an Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving. In
January each year we mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - a time
for us to recognise our common faith with Christians of other denominations.
This year's service is at St Francis's, Laurel Road. The service starts at
7.30 p.m. and the preacher is well known to people at St James's - the Revd
Dr Caroline Wickens! Caroline is a minister in the Methodist Church so do
take this chance to hear her.

2005-12-22T16:16:00.000Z

Fr Andrew

2006 Towards Team Ministry

2005-12-22T15:56:00.000Z

2006 is a new year for St James’s and for the parishes in Dudley. Over the last three years the churches have been exploring how they might work more effectively together. And just prior to Christmas, representatives from the different parishes reported back to Bishop David on their decisions. Although there are technicalities to be sorted out (and often the devil is in the detail) it is likely that by the end of this year we shall have become part of a team ministry.
Now a change of name in itself can be purely cosmetic. But the creation of a team goes beyond corporate re-branding. Much that is already happening will of course continue. And so if a team is working well, many in the parishes will not sense the change – services will continue, for example, in each parish in the team. On the other hand, team working can lead to coordinating activities so that resources are used more effectively. All resources are God given, of course, and all are to be cherished and used wisely. Yet there is no resource more precious than human lives. And that means the time given by laity and clergy alike. There would be little point in a team ministry if it absorbed even more time discussing and replicating provision across the churches. It should create space for fresh opportunities.
Nor is a team ministry simply a clerical affair. The clergy, myself included, will be devoting time to a new pattern in our working relationships. That will include no doubt a joint rota of services to ensure that cover is adequately arranged. But it will have other implications as well. Elsewhere in the magazine this month there are details about Confirmation preparation which is taking place across the new team.
In Ghana it is said “No matter how sharp the knife is, it cannot cut itself.” Team working is just that essential to function at all in life. And many I know already contribute tirelessly to the team-playing that makes for our life together at St James’s – church cleaning, visiting, supporting, to name but three.
Meanwhile if you have concerns or questions about the new Team Ministry and how it will affect St James’s do please speak with me or the wardens. We are at the start of a significant year for us together. And it is my prayer that 2006 will be a year in which each of us can find joy.

Fr Andrew

We're new on the web

2005-12-22T09:52:00.000Z

Welcome to the St James Eve Hill web log. We are just in the process of revisiting our web site so do watch this space in the weeks to come.
We are preparing for the celebration of Christmas in the parish. If you would like to join us services on Christmas Eve are at:

Crib Service 6.00 p.m.

Midnight Mass 11.30 p.m.

On Christmas Day our main service of Holy Communion is at 10.00 a.m. with Communion also celebrated at 8.00 a.m. and Evening Prayer at 6.30 p.m.

We wish you a peaceful and joyful Christmas.

With every blessing

Fr Andrew Wickens
St James Eve Hill Dudley

An African Christmas

2005-12-01T14:10:00.000Z

For us as a family, Christmas this year will be our first in a long time out of Africa. In November and December, the rains come to East and Central Africa and farmers are busy ploughing and planting for a harvest the following Easter. Christmas comes as a welcome pause in this cycle but it is a brief one. On the day itself there will be chicken stew and perhaps some biscuits to share. The next day people return to their fields to cultivate. Meanwhile the cow, the goat and the chickens (less one!) will need feed. That difference in lifestyle and expectation represents a huge contrast. It is more startling for us than the sheer temperature difference. Kenya enters its hottest day-time month in January yet can also experience some of its coldest nights as the upland air chills overnight to the verge of frost.
This year during Sundays in Advent we are opening a window upon the people of Angola. And over Christmas we at St James’s are inviting you to join Christian Aid’s Child of Africa appeal. Christmas is all about a hope that has come for the world in the life of a child. Children like Servina and Eduardo have hope today yet they often have to care for siblings and work the land rather than attend to their own education. I hope that you can be inspired by their stories of hope and join in the appeal.
Although this year we will miss that African Christmas there are many things we hold the same. I remember driving a pick-up packed to bursting with members of the Mothers’ Union singing carols with gusto as we swayed around precariously on hardened and rutted mud tracks. Most of the tunes were familiar even if the Bemba words were not. In Kenya we even enjoyed Christmas by candlelight – and not just because the electricity had failed again. The church was decorated with candles to celebrate the Saviour’s birth.
Faith, in other words, is universal, even if its expression varies from place to place. Now that place for us is St James’s, Dudley. And we look forward to celebrating the coming season with you as together we learn once more the hope we share. May you have a blessed and peaceful Christmas.

Fr Andrew