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9

Buckden Roundabout

October 2018

Church News

Weekly Prayer Roster

Each week during the year the Churches, in their prayers, remember the residents of particular streets in the village, those who

work in the parish and village organisations. Those to be remembered this month are:

7th October

Greenway, Aragon Close, Hoo Close, Bishops Way

14th October

Village shops, and those who work in them; businesses based in the village, hotels, inns, and

those who work at home; homemakers, carers, the unemployed and underemployed, and all

visitors to the village

21st October

Clubs and societies, their leaders and members, volunteers, and the team that produces and

distributes the Buckden Roundabout

28th October

Cranfield Way, Cranfield Close, Weir Close, Smith Drive, Lucks Lane, Morris Close

STUDY LUNCHES

8

th

October – learning about KAIROS prison ministry

12

th

November – lunch. This is the day after the big centenary armistice day – bring art or poetry of First World War to share.

10th December—an Advent theme

Methodist Church Hall 12.30 pm to 2.00 pm

Contact:

Ann Brittain

on

812012

Thought for the Month

Dear Friends,

“The name’s Beard. Paul Beard. Reverend Paul Beard. I’ll have an orange squash, shaken not stirred.”

It doesn’t quite work, does it? Somehow the glamour isn’t quite there; the excitement is mysteriously lacking. We can’t quite

see the agents of God in quite the same pulse-racing, adrenaline-pumping, sexy way we see agents of British Intelligence.

And yet there are stories in the Bible that capture all the excitement of anything written by Ian Fleming. We have the lone hero

facing overwhelming odds (Elijah at Mount Carmel). We have the implacable, unstoppable henchman, Goliath, defeated by the

ingenuity and skill of the young David. We have the car-chases (well, chariot chases) where an impossible stunt saves the day,

as in the parting of the Red Sea. We have the glamorous female secret agent (Esther). We have the improbable prison escape

by St. Paul. We even have the final sequence where the villain’s headquarters are cataclysmically destroyed by the goody

(Samson pulling down the Temple).

We have a faith that leaves hearts stirred but never shaken. Isn’t that exciting?

Much of the world’s greatest art, much of the best music, much of the most beautiful literature has its inspiration in the Chris-

tian faith. Hugely impressive architecture, wonderfully intricate works of craftsmanship, stunning intellectual advance — these

have characterised Christianity throughout most of its history.

How, I wonder, have we gone from this tradition of excellence to the modern perception of Church as dull, second-rate ama-

teurism? Why do people see the Church as a make-do and mend institution? When did our glory fade?

Why have we traded in the Rolls-Royce for a twelve-year-old Kia?

Somewhere along the line, probably in the 1950’s, thriftiness took over. The Church lost the sense that God deserved our best,

and that the people to whom we reach out in God’s name deserve the best. It is time once more to adopt the slogan

“Excellence comes as standard”, and time to “chuck out the chintz” (and those awful green berylware cups and saucers if there

are any left!). Second-best is not good enough.

I am no Minnesota Fats, but I used to enjoy the occasional pint and a game or two of Pool. On my good days, I could hold my

own in the local and even played in a league. Since I became a minister, I have observed a strange phenomenon. My opponents

on the Pool table were not particularly surprised to see a “vicar” playing, but they are often disproportionately discombobulat-

ed when I beat them. Why is that?

Something in our perception of Church and Clergy tells them that I should be a walkover. Is it the image of a buck-toothed dith-

erer in a dog-collar we see in the media so often? Do pub culture and church culture somehow inhabit different planets? Am I

supposed to spend all my time eating carrot cake with little old ladies in dingy church halls?

We have to change the perception of our church — and our faith — in the minds of the people who don’t come. That means we

have to change us.

Paul