Community in a time of isolation

What does it mean to be in community? How does it feel? How do we ‘do’ community when we are not physically with our community? These are some of the questions that I have been reflecting on recently.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has ‘set eternity in the human heart’, meaning He designed us to be connected to Him, and to be in community with Him. He set in each of us that desire to know Him and to feel known by Him.

Jesus died on the cross to open the way for all of us to be reconciled to Our Father, and as followers of Christ, to be in community with each other too.

It feels good to be in community doesn’t it, to feel that we belong and that we matter, and for some of us, to feel that we can help others in our community and make a difference in their lives.

So how do we still do this when we are physically apart, or when we may be fearful of what the future holds at this current time?

Acts 2:42-47 describes the Fellowship of the Believers and tells us how they ‘did’ community during a fearful time of persecution. It tells us that the early church (firstly) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Many of these things we can do from home. We can read and meditate on the word of God, we have various means to enable us to keep in touch with each other, we can be thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice, and we most certainly can pray.

The Greek word used for fellowship in verse 42 is ‘Koinonia’ from the word ‘Koinos’ (Common, ordinary, belonging to), and bears witness to what we share in together, our relationship with God; and then also what we share out together, what we give out, as well as receive.

By nurturing our relationship with God, we will be able to depend, and trust on Him, during these unusual times.

Lastly verse 47 tells us how the early church praised God daily. And while we might not be able to attend our usual church services at this time, we are able to engage with the online services that we are uploading via our website and various social media platforms. We can worship at home, either on our own, or with our family members and again we have made available some great family resources for us all to use. To help us stay further connected, on Sundays we also have two different ‘zoom’ conversations that we can join in with, 4pm for Family focus, and 6:30pm for ‘The Gathering’.

I pray in the days ahead that we may all be able to connect deeper with God, and with each other, and if there is anyone you know of that is feeling particularly isolated then please do get in touch with us so that we can do what we can to help them feel connected.

In His name,
Mandy Richardson
Children Youth and Families Minister

We are not alone…

Last month Rev Irene wrote about how for everything there is a season from Ecclesiastes 3, and here we are experiencing a season of potential discomfort, isolation and anxiety. As coronavirus continues to sweep through the nation and our planet, it is easy for us to become fearful and anxious for what our future holds.

As a church we have been studying through this time of Lent, ‘The Things He Carried’ by Stephen Cottrell. The book guides us through the many aspects of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a chapter I read recently, one of the questions was ‘What does it feel like to be alone?’ A seemingly apt question in our current climate.

As Christians we know we are never truly alone. Isaiah 41:10 declares that we should not fear for our Lord is with is, that He will strengthen us, help us and uphold us with His righteous hand. When Jesus was making the solitary walk with the cross he carried through the streets to calvary, I can only wonder how he felt?  His disciples and his people had rejected him. But even in the loneliness, Jesus knew his Father was with him. Jesus was crowned with thorns and dressed in a robe. This was to mock and belittle him. Do we regard Jesus as our King or do we just dress him up as one when the time suits us?

I have been truly heartened by the obvious signs of love that can be seen up and down the country. Strangers are coming to the aid of strangers; communities are being brought together to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.  Our nation came together on the 26th March to applaud at our front doors those who work for NHS and their continuing efforts to fight this virus. This is the power of Jesus. He is the light that shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not overcome it. My prayer, and one in which I hope you will join with me, is that when this isolation comes to end, our nation will come ever closer than it was before.

So although we are isolated from each other. Although we cannot see our friends, family and church family, we know there is someone closer than a brother or sister and is always with us.

Let us take this opportunity to fulfil our Lenten call to focus our lives on who God wants us to be; let us become more disciplined in our bible study and passionate about prayer, knowing we are not truly alone. Jesus is our friend and comforter!

Blessings,
Alasdair Hutson

Minster Lifeline #1

Welcome to this Lifeline; information to help all of us who are connected with Hull Minster to stay in touch over the challenging weeks of the Coronavirus Emergency.

Many of you will know that we acted immediately after the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday evening and closed the Minster building and the Parish Centre. This has been done with a heavy heart as the significance of the open doors of the Minster, and the signal it gives to our City of God’s wide-armed welcome, is a cornerstone of our mission. God’s generosity has not changed but we are having to re-think how we express that in the on-going restrictions. This weekly Lifeline is one of the ways we are aiming to do that. In it we will signal how we can all continue to share in the common life as followers of Jesus Christ.

One immediate effect of the closure is how our paid staff are being supported. Some staff are able to work from home, others’ jobs are dependent on our buildings being accessible. Some of our team are therefore being asked to go on “furlough” as the Chancellor of the Exchequer put it; this means they have to cease work but remain on our payroll and their income is supported by the Government 80% guaranteed salary scheme. We are not unaware of how difficult this will be for our regular and faithful people who keep things going in the Minster every day of the week. I hope in coming weeks we will be able to share some of their stories here in Lifeline. And let’s not forget our large band of volunteers who welcome visitors, guide tours, support the shop and café, provide admin and printing support, knit and craft, let alone those who contribute to the worship and mission of the church day by day and week by week. Let’s remember this week our bell-ringers who do such wonderful work in broadcasting the music of God’s welcome across the City; we recognise how important their community is within our wider community of faithful telling forth the Good News of Jesus.

So, just to re-emphasise that there will be no services in church until further notice and no groups or activities in either the Minster or the Parish Centre; yet while the staff and volunteers can’t be available in person we remain here for you. This is an opportunity to build stronger bonds of love between us and to live out our lives in Christ in new ways.

Sunday readings

The readings we would use for this coming Sunday – the 5th Sunday of Lent, often known as Passion Sunday are as follows:

Ezekiel 37 verses 1 – 14
Romans 8 verses 6 – 11
John 11 verses 1 – 45

You might like to read one of these readings each day over the next few days and ponder its message. I have attached a few reflections on each passage as a way you might like to get started – a kind of “Thought for the Day” which can be followed by this prayer.

The Collect – the public prayer for the day which “collects” our own individual prayers and responses on Passion Sunday :

Gracious Father, who gave up your Son out of love for the world:
lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion,
that we may know eternal peace through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Note about Giving

Many of you will know how challenging the Minster’s financial circumstances are even in normal times; so you might be able to imagine that without any income at all through plate collections, the café, shop, special Minster events and the generosity of visitors our income has dropped dramatically. Though expenses will be reduced somewhat, this will happen more slowly.

For those of us on Church Suite there is a My Giving page which enables you to give by Direct Debit; please take the opportunity to explore that by clicking the button below.

For those for whom this isn’t going to be the way you might like to keep a Lifeline envelope or jam jar or box for your regular offering and we will find a way to collect those in the coming weeks. I’m sure others will have even more imaginative ways to keep their giving routines going!

Your thoughts

Let me know via my email address frank@hullminster.org if you find this publication helps, you have suggestions for enclosure and how we might be able to widen the scope of Lifeline and ensure that our Christian community grows stronger in these challenging days.

Every Blessing,
Frank White
Interim Minister

March Monthly Reflection

“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens”

— Ecclesiastes 3:1

These are words from Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and words from a hit song of the 60’s by the Byrds entitled Turn, Turn, Turn. Throughout life seasons come and go, adding variety and challenges to everyday living. Hopefully as we enter into the new season of Spring we can put behind us the floods that have devastated so many people’s lives and look forward to new life in all its fulness.

At Hull Minster we are preparing for a new season in the life of the church.

We are delighted to announce that from 9th July this year we will have a new vicar at Hull Minster. Reverend Dominic Black will be joining us with his wife Heather and their two teenage sons. Dominic and family will be moving from Middlesbrough where Dominic has been vicar of North Ormesby since 2004 and Area Dean of Middlesbrough since 2011. I know they have a heart for sharing the love of Jesus with all people, and we look forward to welcoming them and supporting them on this new and exciting journey for both them and us. Please pray for Dominic and his family and also for the church that he is leaving as they go into vacancy.

Life at Hull Minster does not stop as we wait for Dominic to arrive. It has been a busy vacancy, with our staff and volunteers working very hard to keep things going. After a busy Christmas and Epiphanytide we are now preparing and looking forward to the celebration of Easter, taking time first to prepare ourselves during Lent. With this preparation in mind we are this year having Lent study groups looking at Stephen Cottrell’s book ‘The Things He Carried’. This book takes us on a journey to the cross, the Passion Story told in a powerful and often painful way that helps us to understand the reality of the suffering of Christ so that we could live.

If the name Stephen Cottrell sounds familiar to you, you may well have heard his name on the news as Stephen is to become the next Archbishop of York after the retirement of Archbishop Sentamu in June this year.

As we then approach the season of Lent, let it be a time when we can reflect on where we are on our journey of faith. Maybe we can take a few moments each day from our busy lives and give that time to God, in prayer or in reading the Bible. To help us on our way we are offering at the Minster a number of Lenten Study Groups. These groups will be running on a Wednesday evening and on a Thursday morning at the Minster as well as at our home groups around the city. Find a group here or ask any of the Ministry Team in the church.

As we leap forward into Spring, let us give our spiritual lives a spring clean as well as our homes.

Blessings,
Rev. Irene

February 20 Ministry Team Reflection

When I was a curate my wise senior colleague said that he had learned an important lesson about February.  He said, “don’t discuss anything controversial at meetings this month”.  “Why?”, I asked.  “It is the dingiest time of the year and people tend to be more grumpy than usual” was his reply.  40 years later people think of this as the effect of a lack of sunshine.  We are all affected by the weather!

We are probably more conscious of the importance of the natural world than at any time in recent history.  We have been horrified by the wildfires sweeping through Australia and the American West Coast, and by floods and landslides elsewhere.  While for some the cause of these changes is still contested, the broad scientific consensus seems to be that human beings are largely responsible for the destabilising of the natural environment.  How are we to think about these matters as Christian people?  I am drawn to consider the significance of Psalm 24 “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it”.  If I am to honour God as the Lord then I want to recognise that the things God treasures are to be important to me also.  That includes the people of the world, in all our marvellous variety, and the physical environment and its amazing wild abundance.

It is easy to be demoralised by the predictions of the future and to feel that we are too small and insignificant to be able to make any difference.  That would fly in the face of the evidence we have that individuals do change the way other people think and act.  If I were to mention the name of Greta Thunberg, many of us reading this would know immediately who she is and what she is known for.  I put her first name into my computer and this 17-year-old Swedish schoolgirl came out top of the list of “famous Greta’s” along with a reminder that she is Time magazine’s Person of the Year.  It is possible to make a difference.

We will have quite a few opportunities in the coming year to consider as Christians our engagement with the natural world.  It would be good to begin conversations with one another and to consider what it is possible for us to do.  How do we read the Scriptures – like Psalm 24 which I quoted above, or the passages in the Book of Genesis which outline our human responsibilities?  What insights do we have from the life and teaching of Jesus; was the early church concerned about these things?  Let’s have the conversation.

Frank White
Interim Minister