What Downloads?

Although very empty at the moment, this part of the site will eventually include various downloads relating to the parish. Please watch the news page for information of new downloads as they become available.

Downloads you may expect to see include:

• Annual reports
• Newsletters
• Forms

Trilogy's Latest Thought

‘On The Way’: Thoughts from our Associate Vicar

I’ve recently enjoyed a fantastic walking holiday. There were 12 of us including my husband and myself, and we stayed in the same house, ate all our meals together at a long table, and each day went for long walks in the surrounding countryside. For a whole week we were a community; we journeyed together sharing our lives as we shared conversation, friendship and food as well as our common love of walking.

This holiday experience of community reminded me of the Christian community, – the life we share as we follow Jesus together. We are a community that is journeying together. The early Christians were known as followers of The Way (Acts 9:2). That description, a community on The Way, suggests movement and growth, never standing still, always on the move, sharing our lives together as we follow Jesus and become more like him.

In our Sunday services and triangle groups over the next few months we’ll be thinking about journeying together as disciples of Jesus. We’ll be looking at people of faith in the Old and New Testaments as well as the life of Jesus, and letting God encourage and challenge us as we grow as disciples. And this is not just an individual journey, – it is a journey in community with others. So how can we help others on the journey? God is sending new people to all 3 of our churches every Sunday morning; – how can we help new people get to know others and know they belong to the Christian community? How can we help them come to believe and trust in Jesus and start out on The Way, – beginning their journey of discipleship? How can we all recognise and use the gifts that God has given us for his service? And how can we all help each other to make sure we not only start out on The Way, – but also persevere to the end?

We’ll be considering these questions (and more!) at our Transforming Church Away Day on February 27th (further details from the church office or the clergy). Do come to this day and be part of listening to God and each other as we seek him for our church community. And if you’re not able to come on the 27th but have ideas to share, – do speak to one of the clergy.

Let’s help each other on The Way as we journey together as disciples of Jesus. I finish with 2 verses from a song;

Brother, sister let me serve you
Let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant, too.

We are pilgrims on a journey,
We are travellers on the road;
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.

[Richard Gillard (copyright 1977 Scripture in Song)]

Jenny Arnold

Trilogy's Thought from November 2009

Is there any room? by our Vicar

Somewhere in my childhood memories, I dimly recall playing one of those minor parts in the school nativity play. No, not one of the wise men, or even a shepherd, but rather an innkeeper. Not THE innkeeper, the one who found the stable for Mary and Joseph. No, rather one of the earlier innkeepers, whose line was, “Sorry, there’s no room here.”

For many of us, December is a very busy month. We have less daylight to work in, and so much more to do. The writing of Christmas cards, the braving of the crowds in the Bull Ring for buying presents, the getting out and putting up of Christmas decorations, the making of arrangements to see family members, the preparations for the Christmas Day feasts – not to mention fitting in visits to the German Christmas Market, or perhaps the Nativity Trail, and Christmas parties at work or in our neighbourhood. All of these things can press in upon us. We can feel pressurised to make sure we do it all. And to get it all done, it’s all to easy to go to bed that bit later or to get up that bit earlier. As a result, we can arrive at Christmas exhausted and having lost sight of what it’s all about so that “there’s no room here” for whatever surprise God wants to spring on us.

It is for this reason (among others) that I am grateful for the season of Advent. For some years now, I have tried to use Advent as a time of preparation and sometimes of fasting. For me, and perhaps for many of you, I think it is important to consciously make space at this busy time not just to focus on the “reason for the season”, but also to have time available for others. One of the strongest messages I think God gave me from my time of sabbatical over the summer as about making space, consciously carving out space for other people to find their place, but also for new things to happen. Making space and time may not seem easy in the rush of December, but it is possible. For example, perhaps we might watch less television, or spend less time on-line, fasting from our TVs and computers instead of (or as well as?) from food.

So, do you have any room this Advent, as we prepare for Jesus’ return and also for Christmas? The Bethlehem innkeeper who answered, “Yes” to that question all those years ago only made a small amount of room available – but what an amazing thing happened in that space! Let that be an encouragement to us this December to create a bit of extra space in our lives and to offer that to God. And let’s encourage one another with the stories of what he does with it.

Below is a prayer some of us have used in Advent for a number of years. Perhaps you might want to use it as part of your prayer times to make more room for God as we seek to be ready for Jesus’ return and look for more of the Lord and his kingdom now.

Andy Jolley
Advent 2009

Our Advent Prayer

Lord, thank you for all you have done in our lives and in our church.
Thank you that you are our Father, and we are your children.
Thank you for all you have done for us in Jesus, and
Thank you for the life, love and growth that your Spirit brings.
But Lord, we want to know you more.

We want to meet you more fully in our worship together.
We want our lives and our characters to be more like Jesus,
We want our relationships with each other to be pure and holy, and
We want many, many more people in Aston and Nechells to know you.
Lord, as we fast together this Advent,
Make us hungry for you, your life and your kingdom.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.
Shake us out of careless ease.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.
Take us deeper and further with you
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.
Wake us up to what you are doing
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.
Break through into the lives of our friends, families, neighbours and colleagues who don’t know you yet.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

The Jolleys in Kenya (5)

From 16 August 2009

Off Duty – Mount Kenya & Maasai Mara

We have had a week of mingling with some of the many tourists in Kenya. It was fascinating to feel like them to some degree, but at the same time rather different because of having taken time to be with and get to know Kenyan people.

We started off by taking a four day trek up and down Mount Kenya. All of us walked up to 14,000 ft, and then Andy, Ricky and Matty got up at 2.30 am on Tuesday for the final climb up to the Point Lenana summit at 16,000 ft (Beth sensibly stayed in bed!). We reached the top just as the sun was rising. The hard work involved in climbing is something we perhaps miss in the many accounts in the Bible of people going up mountains to meet with God. Certainly the solitude and quiet make mountains very special places. Mount Kenya, being so high, also has an amazing range of plants above 11,000 ft, giving a fresh insight into the amazing diversity of God’s creation.

“Pole, pole!” (“Slowly, slowly!”) was a common cry from the guides. Certainly, this was important to be able to adjust properly to the effects of altitude. We did however find ourselves slipping into more western approaches to speed by finding it difficult to be patient with unexplained delays during our travels this week.

We finished the week with a trip to the Maasai Mara, reckoned to be the finest game reserve in Kenya. We saw families of elephants, plenty of buffalo, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, a leopard. This year there were also huge numbers of wilderbeest. Each year at this time they migrate across the Mara River, braving the crocodiles and find new pasture on the northern side. Normally many die in the process, but this year, following such little rain, many more have survived.

We also had the opportunity to visit a Maasai village. The Maasai are reknown for their height, dancing and particularly for their pride in their cattle. Each night the cattle are kept at the very heart of the village, shedding fresh light on Jesus’ saying “where your treasure is, your heart will be also.” It was interesting to ponder whether their culture can survive the effect of the regular flow of western tourists coming to experience it, especially when combined with the effect of more of their children going on to secondary education at the time when they would be entering into their extended rite of passage to adulthood.

In the News – Hilary Clinton

The US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, was in Kenya last week as part of her tour of Africa. This helped explain why we were unable to use our mobile phones – jamming the phone networks seemed to be part of the security operation. The local newspapers favourably contrasted the life and spontaneity of her speeches with the rather more wooden ones of the Kenyan leaders. They also praised her openness, accessibility and vulnerability in her facing an audience of local people for an honest and frank question and answer session. They wished that Kenyan politicians would make themselves similarly accessible and accountable. Perhaps that would be another step towards ending the culture of impunity surrounding the actions of politicians and government officials (this has also been the subject of much media debate in Kenya recently). It has been interesting to read this alongside incidents from the life of Jesus, where he too seems to welcome questions from a wide range of people – even if his answers take some effort to fully understand.

The Jolleys in Kenya (4)

From 7th August 2009

Hemstone in Kisumu

On Tuesday we visited Hemstone Mole, who Matty has been sponsoring through Compassion for the past eight years. He lives in Luanda, in the far west of Kenya, close to the border with Uganda. It was wonderful to see this well dressed fine young man – so different from our first picture of him in 2001.

Our first sighting of Hemstone was by the gate of a school, and we couldn’t recognise him because he’d had his growth spurt since the last photo we had of him. We then followed him up a path towards the project that he attended for education, spiritual and physical activities every Saturday. After getting talked through the things that the project does, looking at photos and asking questions about the project, we proceeded to look around the church that Hemstone attends every Sunday and planted a tree to remember the day by. After that we went back into the project building and ate a very big lunch, as is the custom here when visitors come.

Just after lunch, a lot of rain starting pouring down for about half an hour, and it would of put the drizzle in England to shame. Once the rain cleared up, we took a wheel-spinning, muddy and dangerous route to Hemstone’s home, where we handed him the big food box and other gifts we brought to him. We then met his family and took lots of photos. Hemstone’s friends turned up and made that very entertaining! After planting another tree at his house, Hemstone’s family gave us gifts such as woven bags and hats, a big bunch of bananas and a live chicken! We gave the chicken back to them to keep for us, because bringing a chicken back home wouldn’t have been practical at all! We then said our goodbyes, then, with a bit of vehicle-pushing from the children, drove away. A very fun day for all parties!

Uluthe Project

On Wednesday, we visited the Uluthe project in Mungao, near the border with Uganda. This was started back in 2007 by a friend of Ross Bryson (one of Ricky’s colleagues at Karis Medical Centre). We had a fantastic day and were overwhelmed by the friendliness of the team. The project impressed us because it was multifaceted – covering improved agricultural techniques to boost food production, education with three primary and one High school, a Health Centre and dispensary and work on the infrastructure – water, sanitation and power. The kids were incredibly friendly, we were treated to two feasts in the day. The main players in the project appeared to be Christian, but as far as we could tell there was no overt spiritual dimension to the project which was a real shame – and provided a frustrating contrast to many Christian projects which focus too much on the spiritual at the expense of more holistic care. The team are having a medical camp for a week in November if any GP’s out there would like to come … Ricky would love to if she had any holiday or money left!

The Lunatic Express

To travel to these two projects we took the overnight train from Nairobi to Kisumu. This was no express trip, with the journey scheduled to take 15 hours to cover 350 miles – and even then it got in 3.5 hours late on our outward leg and set off nearly 2 hours late for the return! The railway itself was one of the great colonial projects at the turn of the last century, linking Lake Victoria with the port of Mombassa on the Indian Ocean. Such was the daring scope of the project, it was termed at the time The Lunatic Express. Much of the rolling stock, including the buffet car, look little changed from pre-colonial days.

In the News – Power Cuts

Kenya is reliant on hydro-electricity for its power requirements. Some 57% of the nation’s demand is met by 4 hydro power stations on the Tana River. With water levels at their lowest in 60 years drastic action is needed. So from August 6th, power will be “rationed” on 2 days each week, with power cuts of several hours. However, as Julius’ house is just down the road from the President’s and “key installations” won’t have their power cut, we probably won’t feel too much effect. Another government plan to help the situation is to give out 1.2 million free low-energy light bulbs (to save around 50 Megawatts of power nationally), and to make their use compulsory.

Off Duty – The Giraffe Sanctuary

Last week, we visited the Giraffe Sanctuary. After haggling with the kiosk operator deciding whether or not Beth was a student (ksh500 less), we walked into the small compound. The first thing we noticed was the big, round building, which was platformed around the edge to feed the giraffes. Inside was lots of information on giraffes. We discovered that the type of giraffe that live there are Rothschild, which are very endangered. After having a quick look inside, Beth exclaimed that she could see 6 giraffes coming towards us. Lynne reached us first, and after some initial worries, we braved her huge tongue and all the saliva to feed her. Still, Matty refused, saying “It looks disgusting”. We were told that Lynne was 14 years old, and she had had a baby, but it had been eaten by a hyena. Matty and Beth wanted a drink in the café, but Ricky and Andy really wanted to get to the Karen Blixen Museum, so we had to leave.

The Jolleys in Kenya (3)

From 30 July 2009

Kibera

Last week, Andy and Ricky visited Kibera, which is the largest slum (“informal settlement”) in eastern and central Africa. We visited the ‘Nuuma ya Yesu’ (“In the name of Jesus”) clinic, set up in 2004 by the local Anglican church. Here local residents are offered affordable healthcare – clinic visits cost 50Ksh (about 40p). The clinic is administered by Lucy – who grew up at All Saints’ Cathedral, and has a nurse and basic lab.

Ricky has been able to spend a couple of days at the clinic working with the nurse Grace. General practice prepared her well for most of the patients with colds, flu and backache – but mixed in were people with with measles, TB, malaria and a very poorly little lad with pneumonia and presumed underlying HIV. It was good to offer love, care and prayer to these patients, but Ricky couldn’t help wondering what impact this made to the health of the community, when open sewers run through the crowded alleyways between houses.

Early Mornings and All Saints’ Cathedral

Last Sunday was our first opportunity to enjoy the main services at the Cathedral. Andy made an early start, preaching at the 7.00 am Communion service. Ricky, Beth and Matty appeared for 9.30 am, which was still very early for them! With four services in the Cathedral on Sunday mornings there was no time to linger in the pews before or after the services, and with a further five services taking place elsewhere on site, there was considerable congestion. The 9.30 am and 11.30 am services in the Cathedral were completely packed out, even though there were separate services at the same time for teens and “youth” (aged 19 to early 30s). Andy has continued with the early morning routine for the rest of the week, taking the 7 am daily communion service each day – another practice he does not intend continuing back in Birmingham!

The Bog Blessing

Saturday saw us visiting three urban development projects that the Cathedral has supported for over 15 years. These have helped groups of people who were removed from an “informal settlement”.

At the third, most inspiring project, there were two ceremonies we have termed “blessing the bogs”. For health reasons, the community has for many years prioritised the building of pit latrine toilets and washing facilities over all other things. The latest two had been finished and the owners wanted them blessed before they were used. So Julius and Andy obliged. Needless to say, no Common Worship service book could provide a suitable set prayer!

This particular project was inspiring for the community’s vision and all that they had achieved in partnership with the Cathedral’s Urban Development Project. When the community was resettled, as well as toilets, they demanded extra wide streets “because our children will drive cars”. Over recent years they have established a community class room (also used for worship) and a resource room with books, a computer and internet access which is helping children and young people to make much greater progress with their education – such that a number are now graduates.

In the News – The Mau Forest

Top story in the local media this week is the Mau Forest, which has been a key water source for much of East Africa. Over the past 15 years much of the forest has been settled, mostly illegally, and cleared. This has been an important factor in falling water levels in rivers and lakes throughout the region. There is now a plan for the settlers to be evicted and the forest replanted, though only legal settlers would be compensated. However, it is now becoming evident that key politicians have been behind some of the illegal settling and associated dodgy land deals and local MPs are pushing for compensation for all. The forest rescue plan is therefore becoming mired in politics.

New Wine

Greetings and blessings to the group going to Shepton Mallet. This will be the first year we will have missed since 1998, so our prayers and thoughts will be with you!

The Jolleys in Kenya (2)

From 23rd July 2009

What’s the weather like?

It’s actually rather like a typical English summer, apart from the fact that we’ve only seen rain once! All the locals keep telling us how cold it is here and it amuses us to see the Kenyans all wrapped up and shivering because they are used to it being so much hotter. In fairness, it is winter in Nairobi (we are just in the southern hemisphere) and we have had to wear jumpers sometimes in the evening and first thing in the morning. However, the coolest we have been was actually after we had crossed the equator last Saturday and it had become summer again! We were at 8,000 feet above sea level at the time though.

Archbishop Eliud

The reason for crossing the equator last weekend was that we went with a group from the Cathedral to the farewell service for the new Archbishop from his old Diocese in Bungoma in the far west of Kenya. The Diocese for the Archbishop includes Nairobi Cathedral, so our host Julius and others were going as a welcoming party. It was a seven-hour minibus ride in each direction, but the journey flew by as we were treated to fantastic views of the Rift Valley and sadder views of some burnt out homes and some remaining camps for people displaced by the post-2007 election violence.

We were somewhat surprised to be greeted by Michael W Smith’s Above All Powers repeatedly ringing out over the PA when we arrived. Rather less surprising was the fact that the service started nearly two hours late, by when the sun was really beating down. After the wait, however, it began with an amazingly long procession of clergy (including Andy), Mothers’ Union and others.

The procession of welcomes and greetings that followed was almost as long – including a very brief one from Birmingham! It was fascinating to hear repeatedly of the Archbishop’s humility from so many dignitaries who seemed to enjoy the esteem and honour that they were receiving at the event. It was also heartening to hear the deputy Prime Minister encourage the new Archbishop to keep politics in the pulpit and to continue the Anglican church’s prophetic role in speaking out about corruption and injustice in Kenya.

In the News – Open the Envelope!

A couple of political issues are dominating the Kenyan media at the moment. One is what will happen about bringing to justice those thought to be behind the violence after the disputed 2007 election which left 1133 people dead and many people homeless. The “envelope” with the names of the main suspects is now with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and most Kenyans seem to want trials at the Hague. However, with several cabinet members thought to be “in the envelope” the government seems deadlocked over what to do.

Tribal thinking and identity seems to have been reinforced by these events and is now being sharpened further in the demands for justice. We‘re wondering to what extent the Anglican Church – and its national cathedral – can be a place where barriers of tribal identity can be overcome such that there is neither Kikuyu nor Kalenjin nor Luo – and also where the rich and the poor can sit together.

Back to School

On Monday Beth and Matt went back to school – during Matt’s summer holidays – at the All Saints Primary School. Don’t worry, it wasn’t Secondary School because Primary School here goes up to age 14. Beth and Matt were both in class 6, or the equivalent to year 7. They were met by a very nice teacher and taken into a classroom with a blackboard and a display at the back. There were 23 children in the class, with the same amount of desks and chairs, remarkably similar to an English classroom. Overall during the day, the standard of work was very impressive, and for the maths Beth said she even had to “use her brain a bit”.

It seemed a good idea to have brought two footballs for the kids to play with. They seemed to love them! The children were very good at sharing, with one football for boys and one for girls. The boys definitely enjoyed playing football at break! Lunch was very nice, plus all teachers were very welcoming and caring towards Matt and Beth. They both made some good friends by the end of the day, and remained the centre of attention around school for the whole day, and were the envy of all the other classes, who were standing outside the classroom for quite a lot of break and lunch. Overall, a very good day despite some initial apprehension!

Back to Medicine

While Beth and Matty were at school, Andy and Ricky had the privilege of visiting Kenyatta National Hospital- the biggest government hospital in Nairobi. We visited a few of the 60 or so wards on offer…all very humbling. The most breathtaking was the 109 mostly young men on an orthopaedic ward built for 28! That’s lots of beds crammed into each bay! The doctors and nurses clearly have the skill, but are limited by lack of equipment, and the fact that the patients cannot afford more complex treatments, so they are confined to doing the minimum. They are clearly very frustrated. The treatment is heavily subsidized by the government, but still many patients cannot pay…and cannot leave hospital until they raise the money they owe. Still there is an impressive culture that nobody is turned away – and nobody refused treatment on lack of ability to pay. Lots of very sick people, and some very heartrending stories.

The Jolleys in Kenya (1)

From 17th July 2009

Arrival in Kenya

We are now settled into Nairobi. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Happily for us we were near the front of the long, slow moving queue for visas. Eventually a second person came to help out and the line started to move more quickly. Once we had retrieved our bags we then faced customs. As I looked at the different lines, each one had people opening their cases to display their contents. “How will we ever get our cases shut again?” thought Ricky (we had used all but 1 kg of our generous baggage allowance in squeezing everything we could think of into our six bags). Cautiously we approached the next free desk. “Where will you be staying?” asked the customs lady. The moment Ricky answered “All Saints Cathedral”, we were told to pass through with our cases still firmly shut. Such is the respect accorded to the Anglican Church in Kenya.

Our hosts

Our hosts are the Very Revd Julius Wanyoike and his wife Esther, and daughters Faith and Joy. Julius has been the Provost now for just over a year. Before that he was working at St Chad’s in our Deanery of Aston while studying for his doctorate. As well as the Provost’s house in Nairobi, they have their family home at Thika, some 40km north of Nairobi. For the first 10 months of his post Julius had to commute to the cathedral each day.

We had the pleasure of visiting their home in Thika, where Esther runs a farming business. Thika is home to Del Monte’s pineapple plantations. Tea and coffee are widely grown on the surrounding hills.

All Saints’ Cathedral

All Saints is now a church of some 6,000 people. The Cathedral is a very busy place with lots of staff, activities and services. The PCC and other business sub-committees have their meetings at 7 am in the morning. I think that’s one idea I won’t be bringing home!

On our first visit to Julius’ office we were invited to sign the visitors’ book. The previous entry before ours was by the President of Kenya, Mwoi Kibaki, who had spent 7 hours at the cathedral 10 days before for the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Kenya.

The Cathedral itself is about the size of Aston Parish Church. A significant difference though is the number of flat screen TVs scattered around the walls and pillars which mean that wherever you are sitting you can clearly see the person who is leading or preaching on a screen.

A major building programme is nearing completion. This will add a 2,000 seater hall, together with a gym and health club – so the cathedral can care both for body and soul! Sadly, it won’t be finished before we leave.

Off Duty

There is a game park on the edge of Nairobi, and we spent Thursday morning and lunchtime there. Andy & Ricky were excited to see a leopard (never having seen one on our previous visits to Africa), and we had the pleasure of a close up encounter with an aged cheetah.

Trilogy's thought from September 2009

Back to Church Sunday, by our Associate Vicar

On the 13th September at St. Matthew’s and the 27th September at St. James and Ss Peter and Paul we celebrated our Harvest Thanksgiving and also it was Back to Church Sunday.

Harvest Thanksgiving is a time to thank God for the beautiful world He has created and for all the produce that our fertile earth produces. Even in the middle of Birmingham, where we are so far from farms and crops, it’s still good to set aside a specific Sunday each year to remember God’s provision and to share His generosity with others as we distribute the produce we’ve brought to church with those in need.

Having a special Sunday for Harvest Thanksgiving is one thing, but what about Back to Church Sunday? Why have a special Sunday to invite our friends and family to church? Indeed, why go to church at all? Sundays are busy as it is. For some of us there is work, and then there is time with family, time to shop, time for sport. Where is the time for church? Why bother with church at all? “After all”, I often hear people say, “You can be a Christian without going to church.” Well, can you?

Being a Christian is about following Jesus and following His way of life. And right at the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry He called 12 men to follow Him – His disciples. From the beginning, following Jesus was not to be done alone, but was done in the company of others. We need each other on the Christian journey, to meet together to worship God, to study the bible, to share communion together, to pray for each other and to share our lives as we encourage each other. And that’s what church is. A group of people of all ages and different backgrounds, following Jesus together, and together making a difference in our neighbourhoods. And if we don’t meet together, if we don’t go to church, we are like hot coals that become cold as we fall out of the fire.

So, a special welcome to you if you’ve come back to church recently. I hope you’ve felt God’s welcome as you’ve worshipped with us. We hope you’ll want to come back again and make the Sunday morning service a priority for you and your family each week.

And may we all know God’s blessing as we follow Jesus together.

Jenny

Trilogy's Thought from June 2009

Sabbatical – or “Where’s the Vicar?”

Some people may be asking, “Where’s the Vicar?” The answer is that I am on sabbatical, which in turn leads to the obvious question, “What’s a sabbatical?”

A sabbatical is literally about ceasing from work. The Jewish principle, which we see in the Bible, was for the Sabbath (which was Saturday) to be a day free from work. In the Church of England, clergy can apply for sabbatical leave after they have been in their post for seven years. The Bishop has generously granted me this leave, so I will be away from my duties here over the summer and be returning to work towards the end of September. It is possible that you will see me around Birmingham during this time – I will still have a home in Aston with my family! Do greet me if you see me, but please understand that I won’t want to talk about work or the church, and I won’t be answering my phone or emails while I’m on sabbatical.

It does seem amazing that I have already been in Aston for seven years – though I appreciate that people at St Matthew’s and St James may not think I have been, as I’ve only been with you for 4 years now. The past seven years have been busy years, not least in merging our three churches together into one parish and building the talented and creative team that we now have serving the churches. As you will have realised, I have insisted that we have kept mission at the forefront during this time and that we do not forget to reach out into our community while we sort out our internal arrangements. In many ways, therefore, now is a good time to draw breath, take stock and to seek out what God has for us next.

As I look back over the past seven years, it has been exciting to see the Lord make our churches increasingly multicultural, as he has brought people from different parts of the globe into Aston and Nechells. The growth in confidence in mission that I have seen in each of our churches has also been most encouraging. And for the past four years, sharing in mission across our three churches has also been a great way for us to get to know each other. Each of our churches is now growing, and I believe we need to be preparing for more growth over the coming years.

One of the ways we prepare for growth is to prune. In John 15, Jesus illustrates this principle. Even fruitful branches are cut back, so that they can bear more fruit. I therefore hope that by being “cut back” now, I will be able to be more fruitful in the future. Pruning also allows other branches to grow. So, while Aston and Nechells and all of you will remain in my thoughts and prayers over the next few months, I am going to be leaving my responsibilities here into the very capable hands of my colleagues, and I hope they will grow and be fruitful without me being in the way!

You may want to know what I will be doing while I’m on sabbatical. Well, one thing is resting (that’s what Sabbath is for!) and trying to “recharge my batteries”. I’m not sure how long I can do that for though before I feel the need to do something! So I do have some other intentions. One is to visit other churches, to try to learn from them and to let God inspire my imagination. I want to look particularly at two things. One is about being multicultural churches and to see how we can make the most of the wonderful cultural riches that God has brought together in Aston and Nechells. The other is to look at other parishes like ours where a team of clergy lead a number of churches. The most important thing though is to take time to deepen my own relationship with God. It’s very easy as a vicar to be caught up in the “church business” with committees, buildings and other “important” things, and to lose sight of who it is all about. So I want to be spending time with God just for the sake of spending time with him, without an agenda for what we are doing with the church in Aston and Nechells. This is what Jesus says is the key to fruitfulness in John 15 – abiding in him.

We will also be enjoying an extended time away in Kenya together as a family during the school holidays. Ricky, Beth, Matty and I will mainly be the guests of the Very Revd Julius Wanyoike, who is now Provost of All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, but who was at St Chad’s Erdington until a year ago. I hope you will keep praying for us during our time away. I intend to place updates on the news page, so you can see what we have been up to.

Andy Jolley
June 2009

Trilogy's Thought from April 2009

“He is Risen” – Our Associate Vicar’s Thought for Easter

On Easter Sunday in our 3 churches we will say the great Easter response

“Christ is risen”
“He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”

And this Easter response will be said not only in our 3 churches, but also in churches across our country and throughout the world. And as we say these words, we are making a very powerful statement.

The story is told of an anti-God rally in Communist Russia in 1920. The speaker abused and ridiculed the Christian faith for an hour and then he invited questions. An Orthodox priest rose and asked to speak. He turned, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, “Christ is risen!”. Instantly those present at the rally rose to their feet and the reply came back loud and clear, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia!” There is power in proclaiming the risen Lord Jesus.

And as we celebrate this Easter in Aston and Nechells, we are proclaiming the power of the risen Lord in our neighbourhood. Power to change both individual lives and our community life together as we bring the Easter message of hope, … hope of transformation. So often we are surrounded by bad news; problems in our close family, illness of loved ones and newspapers and television full of stories of financial ruin, of personal despair and of crime and violence. And it can be easy to lose hope, “what is our world coming to!”

But, as St. Paul writes to the Corinthian church at the end of his great chapter that proclaims the bodily resurrection of Jesus that first Easter, “How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord” ( 1 Corinth. 15: 57). Christ has won the victory through his own death and resurrection. So, however bad the mess that we are in, whatever the situation, whether of our own making or because of someone else, there is still hope. We can be forgiven and have a fresh start. We can move on and find new life and freedom.

As Christians we are Easter people, living out the reality of the crucifixion and the resurrection in our own everyday lives. We know in our own experience that God brings new life out of the most hopeless situations. In our testimony times week by week in our Sunday services we hear stories of what God is doing and how he is answering prayers and bringing hope and change. The process is not complete. It won’t be until Jesus returns. But with the resurrection of Jesus the new creation has started and we know that one day we shall be united with Him in a resurrection like His, completely free from sin and death. And so we live as resurrection people now, working and praying for transformation, the righting of wrongs in our own lives and the lives of those around us, knowing that this work will be wonderfully complete in the final resurrection.

“Christ is risen!”
“He is risen indeed, Alleluia”

Wishing you a happy and hopeful Easter
Jenny

Trilogy's Thought from February 2009

Below are some recent thoughts from the Vicar from the February 2009 edition of Trilogy.

As I write, a fresh layer of snow has fallen and covered over the evidence of Monday afternoon’s snowball fight and snowman-making. The garden has recovered the idyllic peaceful look of a typical Christmas card scene.

In our front garden, the snow is hiding some deeper scars. On Monday lunchtime a car skidded over the pavement, demolished a road sign, then our low garden fence and came to rest precariously balanced on both our lawn and the pavement. Removing the car involved making some deep holes in our lawn, which will require some careful repair work (thank the Lord for insurance!) when the snow melts. For the moment, though, there is very little sign of Monday’s trauma to the garden as everything is covered by the white snowy blanket.

This ‘covering’ over of damage reflects the way that God deals with our sins. Through Isaiah (1:18f), the Lord promises, “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool. If you will only obey me and let me help you.” This is a marvellous promise. The assurance that our sins are forgiven and we can be free from guilt and shame is one of the most immense privileges of being a follower of Jesus. It means that we can come before God’s throne with confidence and boldness (Hebrews 4:16).

We will shortly be entering the season of Lent, a time when Christians have traditionally have given time to examine and deepen their relationship with God. This can also be a time for examining any unforgiveness or unhealed deep hurts in our lives that are currently covered over. As we face these things, so God can continue his transforming work in us to make us more like Jesus. Because the car “trespassed” on our garden, our lawn and fence will need careful and professional repair for our garden to be “whole” again. We will have to wait though until the snow has melted and the damage is exposed. Similarly, when people have hurt us (“trespassed against us”), we need to forgive them and allow God to heal the resulting hurts and scars in our lives. Yet, many people seem to prefer to live with their hurts rather than risk exposing them to God’s tender love and care. In doing so, they settle for less than God’s best. However, we need to remember and be encouraged by Jesus’ words that he came to bring life to the full (John 10:10). We really can approach God’s throne with confidence and boldness. God is good, and so are his plans for us. Sometimes though we first need to spend some time covered with the blanket of God’s faithful love before we can truly be confident in God’s goodness and trust him with our hurts and those things we find hard to forgive.

Can I suggest therefore that we all use Lent this year to seek to understand more fully God’s amazing love for us – and then to go on to ask God to show us any unforgiveness or unhealed hurts in our lives. To bring God’s forgiveness and healing may need the help of a wise Christian friend as well as the Holy Spirit. So be prepared both to ask others for help, and also to be asked to help yourself. In this way, Lent can be a time when each of us takes time to examine those things in our lives which stand in the way of a deeper relationship with God. Let us pray for ourselves and others in our churches that our lives will truly reflect the peace and wholeness that God longs to give to us, so that when people look at us, they will see the people that God intends us to be.

Andy Jolley
February 2009