Changes
I’m a David Bowie fan and his song Changes is one of my favourites. Below are some of the lyrics which seem to fit well with the human predicament whether we are Christians or not. We don’t like change!
I still don’t know what I’m waiting for
And my time is running wild
I’ve gone down a million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face ME
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see this faker
I’m much too scared to take that test!
My grandmother used to say, “A change is as good as a rest,” usually when she wanted me to do some chore that I didn’t want to do! “The only thing that never changes is change,” someone said, or how about “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” I’m not even sure what some of these mean. And we then talk about change for the better, and change for the worse.
We hear sometimes about resistance to change. There’s a phrase sometimes flippantly referred to as “the seven last words of the church”: “we’ve never done it that way before.” All clichés aside, change is a part of life. In fact, in some definitions of life, the capacity for change is one of the major determiners of what is or is not alive. In physics we talk about inertia: an object at rest tends to stay at rest, an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Change surrounds us, and sometimes it seems like it’s moving too fast.
Our lives are changing around us: Marriage is a major change in our lives, as are the births of children. And then those children grow up, and marry, and have children of their own. Deaths are all-changing! Generations change, and bring change. The world changes around us, as we hear on the news about changes in other countries, leadership changes, borders shift. There are advances in science and medicine and technology
Change can be positive or negative. The rise and fall of the tides is a change. A low tide can leave you high and dry on a sandbank; a high tide can float you free. Sometimes a change is clearly one thing or another, but often the impact of change is complicated, even frightening as the words say in the Bowie song. Others are more benign, like the changing of the seasons, from winter to spring or from the season after Epiphany in the church to the season of Lent, which will begin very soon.
Change will come, whether we like it or not. That’s just the way it works. We can’t grow unless we change, and I don’t mean growth in the sense of new buildings or even new church members.
I’m speaking of our relationships with God. If we are not changing in our understanding of God, in our sense of the nearness of the Spirit and the love of Christ, then we are not growing in our faith. We all go through dry spells, of course, where our spiritual lives become problematic, when we don’t want to grow or don’t feel the nearness of God. But over the course of our lives, if we choose not to grow and change, it is as if we say to God, “I want to know you only so much, only what I can cope with, and no more”. I want to give you only so much influence in my life, and no more. It is as if we cut ourselves off from all God has to offer when we reject the changes a relationship with God brings to us.
We look forward to our new change in the parish, our new rector Mike. He will bring with him all those things that we need for our future growth .His fresh eyes will hopefully discern Gods plan for us. We must be ready for change and new growth and we ask God to give us loving caring hearts to be ready to change!
Rev Marion Pyke, Associate Minister
Church House – Latest Developments
Since my last article when I told you about the renovation of the upstairs hall, we have again been busy. You will notice that a brand new window has appeared where the old shop window (which was beginning to rot) used to be. The work involved reducing the overall size of the window using original period bricks to match the Parish Office window. This means the original symmetricality of this venerable Victorian building has now been restored. We hope you agree that the work has been expertly done and is a big improvement.
(2) The new window with its restored brickwork
(3) The reinstated frontage
Behind the new window our tenants, Thames Valley Police, are now busily renovating their offices. This is a major overhaul including electrics, plumbing, new flooring and ceiling, and redecoration. We very much approve of this work as it is an indication of TVP’s commitment to staying with us long term, which ensures a degree of financial security… besides which, it’s high time they gave the place a lick of paint!
Next on the agenda is a complete set of new chairs for the hall. These should arrive by the end of February. The new chairs will be more comfortable than the old ones, sturdier, and much easier to stack and store. If anyone knows of a good use for the old ones, please do get in touch.
Finally, a quick word about the installation of a lift… It’s all systems go! In response to the many people who have asked for improved access to the upstairs hall we intend to install an internal lift. It will provide step-free access from the ground floor lobby to the first floor landing. We hope the work will take place this summer.
During construction Caversham Good Neighbours will be required to vacate their office – we will arrange alternative accommodation for them for the duration. The new lift will mean the loss of the small downstairs meeting room. Eventually we would like to replace this room with a new one on the site currently occupied by an old tin shed… but more about that another time!
Nigel Smith, Chairman, Church House Leadership Team
Jeremy’s Jottings
Water, water everywhere!
Well, what a start to the New Year we have had with the flooding which hit the country, including here in Reading, at the start of January. You may have seen the flooded marina in the Lower Caversham part of the parish feature on the BBC news one evening, and there were a number of other places where there was some impact (see photo). Of course, other parts of the country fared much worse, in Wales, Somerset, and Cornwall, for example.
About the same time the flooding was making an impact here, water was very much in the minds of St John’s Church (not just because of its proximity to the river and its concern via its pastoral care team
for those being affected by flooding), but also because its toilet was being refurbished! The PCC Grants Team very kindly funded the project and the church is grateful to local builder, Richard Ashfield, who oversaw the work. The church now has a toilet to be proud of that is accessible for those in wheelchairs, for those who wish to use its babychanging facilities, and for all members of the general public (see photo). The toilet refurbishment is the first stage in a programme of works at the church in preparation for the launch of the Lower Caversham Community Partnership (LCCP) community café, which will hopefully be taking place this spring. Watch this space for further details!
No sooner has the toilet been finished and of course the country is experiencing more floods again, and who knows (as I write) what impact the recent and continuing heavy rainfall may have on us here in Reading. Whilst the situation in certain parts of the country is a real cause for concern, let us also remember those in other parts of the world, such as in Bangladesh and recently in Bolivia where flooding has also had a very serious impact upon the lives and livelihoods of many of the world’s poorest people who have fewer resources to protect themselves from the ravages of climate change.
With my best wishes
Jeremy Tear, Community Priest
P.S. Thank you for your prayers and concern during my recent illness
Other editions of this newsletter can be found at the archive page