What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Prayers for Remembrance

    Ruined Church

    Last Sunday evening we had an extraordinary Choral Evensong. The idea was simple – to mark the start of the First World War by singing some of the music that the cathedral choir was singing 100 years ago. The idea came from Pam Barrowman, one of the members of the choir whose historical research includes work on what the choir here used to sing. In the event, Sunday evening’s service was one of the most powerful remembrance events that I’ve ever been part of.

    When that war was declared the congregation here responded on the next Sunday by singing four verses of the national anthem and the organist played the Elgar march which features Land of Hope and Glory. There clearly was a something of a gung-ho spirit around. That was in the August. By November, the news was arriving back in the cathedral and its daughter churches of lives already lost. There was, or course, no memorial to put their names on. There was just the news and the dawning realisation that it would not all be over by Christmas. The mood had changed by now and they were singing movements from Brahms’s Requiem (yes, German music, just as we used music by a German composer to end our two minutes silence yesterday morning) and the Russian Kontakion of the Departed.

    Somehow the shadows drew close. I’m not sure whether I wanted to reach back through time to comfort those who were listening to the same music one hundred years ago or whether I wanted them to do the same to us. Anyway, prayer came easily. And compassion. And love.

    Several people commented on my prayers. I don’t have a copy as I tend not to write them in advance and pray extemporaneously at Evensong. (Something I always teach people not to do when I’m doing workshops on how to do intercessions).

    However, here’s the gist of what I said:

    The stone walls of this church surrounded those who went off to war.
    Hear us, O Lord, as we remember those who gathered here in in this place to sing and to pray before going off to war.
    Help us to remember their sense of hope and adventure and the joy of human companionship.
    We remember those who showed courage in leaving for war and also those who showed their own courage in refusing to fight.
    Those who went to war went believing they were putting the world to rights.
    Help us to try to do the same.
    Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

    The stone walls of this church surrounded those who remained at home.
    Hear us, O Lord, as we remember those who remained home, so many women waiting for news of their men, so many children waiting for news of their fathers.
    As we remember them we remember those who went on waiting throughout all their lives.
    Help us to pray for those who today wait for news of those whom they love who have gone to war.
    Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

    The stone walls of this church have surrounded those who in this place have tried to bring peace.
    They have surrounded those who have left this place to go on demonstrations.
    They have surrounded those who have debated.
    They have surrounded conversations and discussions and hopes and dreams.
    Hear us as we pray for those who have decisions, important decisions to make which affect the lives of others.
    Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

    And now the stone walls of this church surround us.
    What will we make of the world that we have inherited? How will we live in the world of today?
    Help us O Lord to seek out peace and build a world of justice.
    Teach us what to do and how to live.
    Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

    And here in this place, surrounded by these same stone walls, I hold in my hand a bible.
    It was carried by a soldier in World War Taken from place to place and returning to this country when he returned at the close of the war.
    And inside its tattered cover is a prayer that we may each make our own prayer     this night.
    Almighty and Everlasting God,
    by whose Grace Thy servants
    are enabled to fight the good fight of faith
    and ever prove victorious:
    We humbly beseech Thee so to inspire us,
    that we may yield our hearts to thine obedience
    and, exercise our wills on Thy behalf.
    Help us to think wisely:
    to speak rightly:
    to resolve bravely:
    to act kindly:
    to live purely.
    Bless us in body and in soul,
    and make us a blessing to our comrades.
    Whether , at home or abroad
    may we ever seek the extension of Thy Kingdom.
    Let the assurance of Thy presence
    save us from sinning:
    support us in life,
    and comfort us in death.
    0 Lord our God accept this prayer
    for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

    [Picture Credit – Ruined church at Vie Chapelle, France Great War Primary Document Archive: Photos of the Great War – www.gwpda.org/photos]

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24 responses to “Good Vicar, Bad Vicar”

  1. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    Being a good vicar to stony, unreceptive hearts might require a pickaxe to reveal gemstones within. It must be tough to minister to jerks and meanies, no? We lose faith in people easily – I certainly do. But a good vicar – a loving parent – doesn’t give on up one’s children.

    A good vicar might depend on the eye of the beholder. Whether you believe vicars and congregations are intrinsically good or evil might get you called a Pelagian or an Augustinian depending on who you ask. Faith in the work of a vicar or the reception of the congregation depends on good faith and co-operation – what then do we place our faith in? Hardly Protestant thinking, when faith is dependent on work, manifestation, and epiphany. A bad vicar might be sent to good people. A good vicar might be sent to bad people. Whether a vicar or congregation is subjectively or objectively good is a difficult question to answer.

    It is then that I prefer to see both the vicar and congregation not as “good” or “bad” but rather as equally “beloved”. However large the congregation, or even the vicar’s skill shouldn’t matter then. But that raises the question: Who then do we love if we are so beloved by God? Perhaps love might be the answer. A vicar and congregation who sees and knows themselves as equally and lavishly beloved of God will love each other. Love makes congregations meaningful and precious, no matter how small they might be.

    Reply
  2. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    And if I might add to my previous comment – And love also makes vicars meaningful and precious, no matter how small the congregation might be.

    Reply
  3. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Yes – things which make the practicalities of small congregations include:
    the laity in most senior positions find it hard to see the inclusive love of God and to see the value of prayer and spiritual exercises, a shortage of laity with administrative abilities, a tiny handful of parishioners prepared to insist on unhelpful things all the time (the oldest liturgies every week, the kind of behaviour small children cannot sustain all service long, particular dress in those at church on Sunday to name but a tiny selection). In a larger church these things can be contained (one nasty comment for lady x outweighed by five or six lovely ones or simply finding somebody to be treasurer who can cope with the job). In a small church, however good the vicar, the nasty comment carries more weight, and the sorting out of the finances may take days of clergy effort. It is always hard to get from a tiny congregation to a large one.

    That said, I have sat through sermons so mind-numbingly boring and inappropriate that I have actually moved to another church.

    Reply
  4. Paul Waddington Avatar
    Paul Waddington

    If one looks at the larger picture, the Archbishop’s optimism seems misplaced.

    According to the 1851 census, about five million people attended a Church of England service on the census day (a Sunday). The population of England and Wales at the time was about 17 million. These are round figures and I know that there were difficulties with the religious census, but they are good enough to demonstrate my point. Roughly speaking, about 30% of the population attended a CofE that Sunday.

    Recently published figures estimate average Sunday attendance at CofE churches at about 900,000. That is about 2% of the population of England. Wales is now excluded.

    So taking the long view, the trend is rather depressing for the CofE. Compared with 1851, fourteen out of fifteen no longer attend church regularly.

    As an aside, the 1851 census indicated a church attendance for Catholics of about 350,000. That is about 2% of the population. I understand that the current figure is very similar for Mass attendance is also around 900,000 or 2% of the population.

    Other recent research has indicated that the age range of CofE congregations is skewed towards the upper end. Certainly in my local parish, it is unusual to see anyone under the age of 60. I do wonder how many there will be in, say, 15 years time.

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      Thanks Paul – I find that bishops generally tend to accentuate the positive when it comes to thinking about numbers in church. Whether that is because they only go to events that are comparatively well attended or whether it is actually because it is their job to be upbeat about possibilities is not clear to me.

      Reply
  5. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    It is complicated – ‘good’ and ‘bad’ – poor adjectives. The rector is the leader of the congregation and needs support and trust. But, I think, no longer is the vicar held in such esteem as not to have to earn that support and trust. A good thing, mostly. Churches grow for all sorts of reasons – the level of involvement with non-believers, a prominent noticeboard and outstanding bikke and slice-makers all help.

    Reply

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