REFLECTIONS
These pieces are written each month by members of our clergy team.
September Leader
Old curtains, horrible toilets, dripping taps, rotting timber, cupboards full of old toot, these are just some of the things you will probably find in numerous church halls up and down the country. Unfortunately St Giles Centre is no exception. At our Patronal festival on 7th September we are going to launch our second year of fund raising to give us a new and usable hall. Last year through everyone's generosity we raised over £30,000. The overall cost of the refurbishment will be in the region of £190,000 and it looks like that we will start this next stage with £130,000 already pledged and given. This means that we will still have £60,000 to raise.Knowing the generosity of our parishioners and the very high regard in which St Giles is held I am confident that we will achieve this. The PCC has been very busy in working out ways in which we can fund raise and as I speak several grant applications have already been submitted. The plans and pictures of the new Centre will be on display in the church, and shortly also on this website. I hope that you will be inspired to share the vision of what a new refurbished centre will actually mean for the life of our church, for one thing we will finally have a set of nice new toilets for our church goers and visitors.
In addition to the new toilets there will be a new kitchen, which will allow us to serve hot and cold meals, a refurbished main hall with a new roof and ceiling, lighting, flooring and doors. As well as a modernised parish office and a new frontal appearance that will be in keeping with the historical heart of the village.
Church Halls are not just any other building, but an important component of the life and mission of the church. Although our Patron St Giles was a hermit, Jesus himself was very sociable and enjoyed sharing meals and conversations with people. Loneliness and isolation are two of the many challenges facing people today and what better way to end the pain of spending too much time on one's own than to have a nice place to bring people together, both in the church and in the wider community. A place that groups can also use. I am so looking forward to a time when I don't dread entering the current building, which can lower the spirits of even the happiest of people. Instead let's all look forward to a place that we will love to use, somewhere nice to invite people to. Broken tarmac, horrible toilets, musty kitchen, broken cupboards can all be a thing of the past if we pull together.
We can do this!
Matthew Hughes
Reflection:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42
It is really good to be writing this Bulletin today as I know how many of you appreciate receiving news and reflections from our lovely church of St. Giles. As we are now approaching the holiday season I thought a good place to start would be the theme of rest and recuperation and I have chosen a story from Luke's Gospel to get us thinking.In the above passage Jesus is at the house of Mary and Martha about to share a meal with them. Before the meal Martha complains about her sister who has left her in the kitchen to do all the work, whilst her sister Mary just sits listening at Jesus’s feet. Jesus’s response to this ‘its not fair’ moment is to state that in this situation Mary has chosen the ‘better part’ which must not be taken away from her.
Traditionally in the Church the different roles of Martha and Mary have come to symbolise the difference between an active temperament and a contemplative temperament. Martha stands for busy and Mary for quiet prayer. Typically Mary’s role has been regarded as superior to that of Martha’s.
If Jesus is really saying this then the next time someone in my family asks me to run an errand I will just tell them that I can't do as I have chosen the better part and I am just going to sit with Jesus - I don’t think so!
Jesus was clearly not laying down a binary judgement call on whether prayer is better than action, otherwise he would have told us what the ‘one thing’ actually is. Rather Jesus was making an observation about choices and how choices matter.
Everyday we make numerous choices, some small and insignificant, others more important. Many choices have little lasting impact and other choices shape the very nature of our life and identity - who we marry, what work we do, where we live etc. Our choices define who we are, they shape the way we think, react, speak and see the world.
In that particular context Mary made a choice, but it was only the better choice for that time, place and circumstance. In another scenario Martha’s choice might have been the better one. We see such choices in Jesus’s own life. Sometimes he went off to be alone to pray and recuperate, other times he was active, out and about amongst hordes of people, healing the sick and feeding the hungry.
This story then is a story of discernment, of how we are present in any situation. At times we will need to be active, busy, engaged and at other times we need to rest, recuperate, worship and pray. One state of being is not better than the other. What is necessary is that we choose and we can choose between Martha and Mary.
The problem for us and much of modern life is that there is just too much Martha around and too much Martha breeds resentment, exhaustion, envy and stress. Jesus could have dwelt with the situation by telling Mary to get up and help her sister, but Jesus set a clear boundary by reminding Martha that it is ok for two temperaments to happily coexist.
Whether we are about to go on holiday or stay at home, let us keep asking the question: what is the one thing needed that will keep me close to the love and presence of Christ, is it activity, or is it quiet and rest. Is it helping out, or watching a beautiful sunset? Is it paddling in the sea and thanking God for the beautiful world, or working through a busy day. We don’t always have a lot of choices when facing the demands and stresses of life, but let's not just be busy for the sake of it. Being like Martha comes naturally to us, but remember at times we need to be like Mary.
Matthew
ABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH
Monthly Bulletins
It has now been 5 years since we started sending out our monthly Bulletin as a result of the Covid pandemic and I know from various feedback that the Bulletin is very much appreciated. Going forward I remain very committed to making sure that all of us who love St. Giles are kept informed not only of what is going on at our Church but encouraged in the understanding and practice of the Christian faith.In the future we will continue to write to you but every other month making sure that our bulletins coincide with the important occasions in the Church's year. Our next Bulletin will be sent out in July.
Matthew Hughes, May 2025