This comes as ever with much love and prayers. I would imagine that the majority of us are struggling with this lockdown, particularly as we are having a proper Winter, today at Scargill we have had some more snow. But we do have some online events which we hope will be a light in the darkness as we meet together ‘virtually’. This week is busy with opportunity!
This coming Monday we are very pleased to have a Quiet Day led by Mat Ineson, there is still time to book, and if you miss Monday Mat will be doing a repeat of the content on Saturday’s Quiet Day.
Also on Monday, we are also delighted that Gordon Dey will be beginning an eight week course on ‘The World of Jesus’, running 7-9pm. There is still time to book.
Tuesday to Thursday: Dave Hopwood and I are leading a retreat on ‘The Voice and Silence of God’. I am very tempted to have one of the sessions where we are silent together! There is still space and we’d love to see you.
Our Enneagram 2course with Margi Walker and Diane Stone begins on Tuesday 9th February.
Our monthly Scargill Forum will be on Wednesday February 10th, 7:45 for 8-9:30pm, which has become a real joy to meet with fellow Scargillians, to have some fun and think theologically over the issues we are facing.
We are very pleased to announce ‘Crafternoons’ a new opportunity to connect with other Scargillians and the Scargill Community over your favourite craft, jigsaw or knitting on a Saturday afternoon from 3-4pm. The initial two dates are Saturdays 13th and 27th February. If you wish to come along to this Zoom event then do email hello@scargillmovement.org for details. We’d love to see you.
The final thing to mention is our online Half Term event (week beginning 15th February) based on ‘The Dawn Treader’ by C.S. Lewis. There will be a number of fun activities for all ages – watch out for further details.
Thank you to those who have used recycle4charity envelopes to send spent Printer cartridges off for recycling, raising money for Scargill. These envelopes are no longer valid, so please send your spent printer cartridges to Scargill Admin Team for sending on as a batch.
Here is Di’s reflection on one of J.M.W. Turner’s wonderful paintings. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
Now, when did you last sing – ‘Jesus bids us shine’?
Jesus bids us shine With a pure, clear light, Like a little candle, Burning in the night. In this world is darkness, So let us shine– You in your small corner, And I in mine……………………
It possibly wasn’t in 1868 when it was written by Susan Warner! Faith and I both recall singing it in Sunday School whilst my children, now all in their 30’s, have never heard of it! But we have all read and know the passage from Matthew 5:13-16 where Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for everyone on earth……. You are like a light for the whole world……Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.’ In my Bible I have written (in pencil) How? Why?
‘Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth’ by JMW Turner
Well, a few weeks ago there was chaos in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and forced the lockdown of Congress BUT this was followed by Joe Biden’s inauguration where a young woman of colour, wearing a long, gorgeous, warm, yellow coat, read her amazing poem giving hope, not only to Americans, but across the world. Amanda Gorman’s poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’ concluded with these words:
“When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it”
This got me thinking, firstly, ‘are we ‘brave enough to see it’? Can we see the light in our present darkness? Some of us may be able to, others will find it more difficult, and I started to look for a painting that would hold and support these thoughts. First I found this quote from Dorothy Koppelman who wrote, ‘Magnificently, in the paintings of J. M. W. Turner, there is a light so blazing and so deep, one can almost be completely absorbed – and always, too, there is that blackness.’
And so, ‘Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth’ painted in 1842 by Joseph Mallord William Turner (The Tate) has become my picture of the week. As I looked at the painting, ‘The swirling storm’ encouraged my eyes ‘to circle around the canvas repeatedly’ – in fact at one point I felt a little queasy, never having been a good sailor! Anyway, I noticed ‘The black of the wind and the waves of the sea create a circle around the doomed ship. Through the windy peephole, (you) can see the helpless ship at the mercy of nature’s violent motion.’ BUT within the chaos of the storm there is light. In fact, it was the bright light that drew me to the ship in the middle of the canvas.
Although we, today, may feel powerless against the storm of the virus with numbers of UK deaths reaching 100,000, Amanda has reminded us ‘there is always light’. So let us look for the light, let us look towards the hope we have in the vaccination program and the falling numbers of cases, let us look and see Spring is on its way, ‘Aslan is on the move’, let us begin to see there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Often in order to be brave enough to see the light there needs to be those who are ‘brave enough to be it’ encouraging those who currently can’t see. Susan Warner almost urges us to shine ‘in (our) small corners’ and Matthew 5 encourages us to make our light shine for others to see. You may like me ask ‘How’? Well just now after walking Ossie I met a delivery man, we greeted each other and then I mentioned the miserable weather, his cheerful response agreed then he added ‘but it’s what you make of it! Have a lovely day’ and left with a smile on both our faces.
So today I want to inspire us all to ‘be brave enough to be it’, ‘be brave enough to look for it’, ‘be brave enough to see it’. Remember there is always light.
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Jo Penn has been writing Daily Prayer reflections for Sanctuary First this week (Sunday 17th through to Saturday 23rd Jan 2021). Here are the links to the first and last in the series – check them out.
We continue to pray for you and please be assured of our love as we live through this latest lockdown. We are very aware that for many of us it is very challenging.
It has been a real joy this weekend to link up with Scargill Companions and, though we did not need to be reminded again, we recognise how important it is to connect with one another and the encouragement we can give and receive. We all need building up during this time.
It would be lovely to connect with you and our Scargill Programme is available on our website.
I would like to highlight three of the events: We are delighted that Shaun Lambert will be Zooming in to speak on, ‘Redeeming the Present Moment’. Shaun is a great friend to Scargill, an excellent speaker and practitioner on Christian Mindfulness. I would truly recommend this week if you happen to be free.
Next weekend is a ‘Friends’ Weekend’ – so that is open to all of you! Mike, our Chaplain, will be leading some reflections with his usual humour and insight.
I would also like to highlight the ‘Individually Guided Retreat’ (Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th January) led by a Scargill Team.
The Scargill Pantomime, which we were working on before Christmas, is now released. I do hope it brings a smile to your face (also available on Scargill Home Page). The Community had fun producing it, we hope that comes through!
So, here is Di’s reflection thinking about ‘loving yourself’. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
When I started writing these reflections I never thought I would quote from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but I am. On recently reading ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves, a tribute for her Majesty’s 90th birthday’, I was struck by how Christ centred her Christmas messages to the nation have been. Under the heading Love your Neighbour, towards the end of the book, Her Majesty is quoted from her 1975 Christmas message:
‘He (Jesus) commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, but what exactly is meant by ‘loving ourselves’? A good question, and one which a few years ago I would have found difficult to answer? In fact, it may well have been a question I would rather not answer, as I really didn’t know what to say. Surely it should be “God first. Others second. Myself third!’
But when the teachers of the law ask Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” he responds, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ ” (Matt. 22:37-38). Here, loving God remains at the top of the list, but love of neighbour and self are inextricably related. In fact, Jesus’ command implies that we will know how to love our neighbour only if we properly love ourselves.
“God is love.” (1 John 4:16) and “Beloved” means to be greatly loved. No one can love us like God. God spoke the world into existence with love, Jesus is the greatest expression of God’s love and, through the Holy Spirit, God’s great love lives in us. We are His beloved children, undeserving of His love yet chosen to not only receive it but to also pass it on; to live God’s love out in our communities and day to day encounters. And, although I think many of us find it hard to believe, ‘scripture clearly states that God sees us as His beloved, His beautiful sons and daughters who are adored, loved and chosen. To love ourselves, means recognising and accepting that God freely loves us, as we are and who we are, that we do have God given gifts and talents and whilst we’ll never be perfect this side of heaven, we are perfectly made in His image for His purpose’ (Anna Currin). It is through accepting that we are loved, that we can begin to love ourselves (as we are and who we are) and are then able to love our neighbours, out of a love filled with grace, forgiveness, compassion and empathy; having hearts open to hear and eyes open to see that God’s love is alive and active.
Which is perhaps what the Dalai Lama was also saying when he wrote, ‘If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.’
The Queen’s answer was also about believing in oneself, recognising that we do have abilities, gifts and talents and using them for the good of others. “I believe it means trying to make the most of the abilities we have been given, it means caring for our talents. It is a matter of making the best of ourselves, not just doing the best for ourselves. We are all different, but each of us has his own best to offer. The responsibility for the way we live life with all its challenges, sadness and joy is ours alone. If we do this well, it will also be good for our neighbour.”
Her Majesty asks us to try our best, our community promises end with ‘ …with God’s help ….. I promise to try my very best to follow the example set by Jesus …’, it is what God asks of all of us. So, knowing we are beloved, can we try to be the very best we can, can we love our neighbours as we love ourselves, and see where that takes us?
With love and prayers
Phil, Diane and the Scargill Community
Dear Scargillians
This comes with much love and prayers as we begin this New Year. Since we were last in touch, the situation has become more challenging. We will continue to do our very best to keep connected with you in a number of ways:
Our Tea Party will resume this coming Tuesday 5th January at 3:30pm.
On Wednesday 6th January we have our evening Forum as we celebrate Epiphany (7:45pm for 8-9:30pm).
On Thursday 7th January we will be livestreaming our Evening Prayer at 4:30pm.
Our January Quiet Day is being run twice, on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th January. This will be led by Mike and Phil and have an Epiphany theme.
Please look at our website where you will find a number of online events that are planned to the middle of February. We very much look forward to seeing you.
Below is Di’s reflection on a wonderful word that I have never heard before. Enjoy!
Diane writes:
I am hesitant to wish your all ‘A Happy New Year’, but I do pray that we will all, very soon, be able to glimpse a light at the end of the tunnel and that for all of us 2021 will hold moments of happiness.
Listening to Classic FM over Christmas, I was introduced to the word ‘confelicity’. It is a much-underused word, which has a lovely ring to it and one which I certainly have neither heard nor read before. Anyway the radio broadcaster was very excited because confelicity means ‘delight in someone else’s happiness’ and ‘participation in the joy of others’. Which reminded me of a great friend of ours called Felicity. She is absolutely someone who relishes life and has great pleasure when those around her are enjoying themselves. Now surely this is a word that should be in common parlance? So why isn’t it?
Well I’ve no idea. But when I looked up confelicity the German word ‘Schadenfreude’ kept appearing. Now Schadenfreude means the complete opposite: “joy over some harm or misfortune suffered by another”. The Japanese have a similar saying: “The misfortune of others tastes like honey” and the French speak of “joie maligne”, a diabolical delight in other people’s suffering and I could go on, but instead let me mention that there has never really been an equivalent word in English for which there is surely only one possible conclusion: as a journalist in the Spectator asserted in 1926, “There is no English word for schadenfreude because there is no such feeling here.”
Really? What utter nonsense! Do we not delight in Laurel and Hardy and Tom and Jerry or as Mr Bennet in that most essentially English of novels, Pride and Prejudice, declares “For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” And I’m sure like a German study carried out in 2015 our football fans smile more quickly and broadly when their rival teams miss a penalty than when their own team scores! More seriously though, do we not, like the media, seem to delight in the misfortunes of others?
Cartoon by Henry Scarpelli from ‘The Laurel and Hardy Magazine’ archive
But I digress, what has this got to do with confelicity? Well perhaps we can overthrow Schadenfreude. Can our New Year resolutions be to ‘try our very best’ to live the values of confelicity each day. To make the word commonplace, common parlance even. And I am sure as we ‘delight in someone else’s happiness’ and ‘participate in the joy of others’ we too will feel the warmth of God’s happiness as we travel through 2021.
With much love and prayers
Phil, Di and the Scargill Community
Friday 18th December 2020
Dear Scargillians
This comes with much love and prayers as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
The Community will be having a break over the Christmas period, and will be coming back together early in the New Year.
I am very pleased to announce that this Sunday 20th December at 5pm we will be having an online Carol Service. It will be lovely to welcome you virtually into the Chapel.
Watch out for the links for Di’s Bedtime Stories that are being released on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day on our home page.
You will be very welcome to join us for Evening Prayer livestreamed from Scargill Chapel at 4:30pm on 31st December, as we ‘fly with fragile wings, courageous but a little scared’ into 2021.
Please look at our new online programme on the website which starts with an Epiphany Forum on Wednesday 6th January. This programme runs to the middle of February.
Our Christmas Momentum magazine, if you have not received a hard copy, is now available to read online here.
Diane’s reflection is sparked by an unusual depiction of Joseph, Mary and the Christmas story. Enjoy!
Diane writes: The illustration I am using today came as a complete surprise. Earlier this week just before Anna left community she was leading morning prayers and introduced us to ‘José y Maria’ by Everett Patterson.
Looking at this illustration with its pouring rain it could easily be a scene you drive past, observe whilst waiting for a bus, notice from the warmth and safety of your home, or walk by on the other side. Here I see a hot-line to God (telephone) and I love the donkey!!! But is this also a reality check; is this perhaps a more realistic interpretation of how Mary and Joseph might have felt on arriving at Bethlehem. Does this illustration challenge our perception of the lonely, the down and out, the refugee, the homeless? And as I write this listening to Jo Brand asking us to support ‘Crisis for Christmas’ I am reminded of ‘Jesus in the breadline’, that our Jesus’s parents (and indeed, Jesus himself) were at one time similarly unfortunate. I am reminded of a story or two Jesus once told…. and that ‘God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!’ (John 3:17)
Within their desperation there is HOPE. Have you noticed a hint of colour, a kernel of faith, a sapling of new life, the new shoot of Jesse’s tree, the promised Messiah, the Kingdom of God here with us? In his blog Everett Patterson writes ‘the main goal of this illustration was to pack as many clever biblical references into the scene as possible.’ There are at least a dozen including his favourites; the verse from the prophet Ezekiel in the graffiti on the phone kiosk, ‘the way the “Save More!” behind Mary’s head looks kinda like “Ave Maria!”’ and the two advertisements for “Glad” and “Tide” on the newspaper’ And YES I did find them all – eventually! Why not enlarge the image and have a go? It will, I’m sure, in a strange way, give you HOPE. As I searched God promises came to mind ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 ) and “I (God) love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me will find me. (Proverbs 8:17).
Advent is a journey of the soul to meet with God, the journey is nearing completion, Bethlehem has been reached, the shepherds are in the field, the Magi travel on and the stable, where the Christ child will be born awaits his parent’s arrival. For this is the stable in which God keeps his appointment to meet his people. Remember in an out-of-the-way place which folk never thought to visit – there God kept and keeps his promise; there God sends his son.
Wishing you a very blessed Christmas in these strange and challenging times.
