Remembrance

Revd Edwin Smith, his brothers Fred (an aircraft engineer) and Sydney (killed in 1916) and their mother.

This year I have been looking at Edwin W Smith’s diary for 1915. At that time Britain was in the thick of war and his denomination, the Primitive Methodist Church, was part of a United Board of Nonconformist churches which was created to provide chaplains to serve their members in the armed forces. Smith volunteered and spent a few months in France and Belgium before his health broke down and he returned to Britain for lighter duties. It was a harrowing time. His work included ministering to wounded soldiers, some of whom were dying, others were shell shocked. He conducted services, censored letters, supervised cemetery work, buried the dead and wrote letters of condolence. The second week in July when he was in the area north of Ypres was particularly intense and this is how I have written about it; quotations are from Smith’s diary.

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Monday 12^th July. He went round the wards after breakfast. A young lieutenant (Hobson) was unconscious and dying from serious neck wounds. Another man (Private Lane) was badly wounded in the stomach and asked him to pray and ‘if I would tell him honestly whether he would recover: I had to tell him that he was very bad, but had a chance.’ He spent the rest of the morning censoring letters and supervising work in the cemetery. After visiting the Divisional HQ in a beautiful Chateau (presumably Elverdinghe) he returned to the hospital. Several men had been buried, including a Congregational lad from Swinton. In the evening he was taken on a fool’s errand to bury a man who had died at the dressing outpost only to find that the man had been buried already. Bullets were flying around as they returned with some wounded soldiers. News came in that Lieutenant Hobson (aged 19) had died.

On Wednesday 14 July Private Lane died. Smith had seen him in the night and spoke from Psalm 23 which the man valued and said every day. ‘This war is sheer madness’ said Smith. At 2.30 he took the funeral of Lt Hobson. Other funerals would follow; Private Lane of Y&L on Thursday 15 July and two more on Friday 16 July.

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There were many incidents like those until he went on home leave on 18 August. He did his bit but could see at first hand the terrible waste that was World War One.

Circuit Weekend 2010

We had a very happy time at Sidholme Hotel over the weekend 22-24 October. We had good fellowship and discussions and met a group from North Somerset on a similar weekend. We also met a couple from the Dorset village where both my parents lived about 100 years ago.
I wrote a poem to encapsulate some of it:

At Sidmouth on the Devon coast,

With Alan Rothwell as our host,

We met to live distinctively

With guidance from a DVD;

It raised some matters of concern,

What is God like? And where to turn

In war and peace, and life and health,

Environmental matters, wealth.

And so the DVD began

Led by a clever ethics man,

In English of the estuary,

The glottal stop his specialty.

And ‘volunteers’, Gill, Liz and Pru

Led us in prayers to help us through,

For when we start to tire and flag,

And arms of prayer begin to sag,

It’s then that fellowship kicks in

Lets mutual support begin.

So session two, fighting and war,

A topic now much to the fore;

That took us off to Liverpool,

The Commodore up there was cool,

His ship, the Albion, deploys

Some choppers and our soldier boys.

A Christian man, the Commodore,

Who fights, he says, a needed war,

Accepts the forces discipline

To help the weak and combat sin.

And we discussed, as Christians must,

The issues raised, can war be just?

Do Jesus and OT make sense?

And can we make a difference?

Then after all that talk of strife

Mildmay helped us think of life.

The DVD took us to see

How Mildmay deals with HIV,

Compassion for the suffering,

The human dignity they bring

By valuing the stigmatised

Who otherwise are ostracised.

And Alan said that we should fancy

A book on grace by Philip Yancey.

Then freedom; off to Sidmouth town

To see its features of renown.

Pete said, ‘at Fields, let’s take a peep’,

No grass was there, no cows, no sheep!

Instead, and that was quite enough,

Shoes, skirts and jackets, all that stuff!

Also, to lubricate our brains

The intermittent autumn rains.

Back next for tea and session four,

But first the Oxford football score,

Then Bob, his name is quite a clue,

For he is worth a bob or two,

In fact a multi millionaire

Who gives away an ample share,

And that provoked a lot of thought;

Should foreign aid be brought to nought?

Another feast was followed by

The social evening, DIY,

With poems, stories, jokes and song,

And sketches and all helped along

By Alan who compèred the show.

Indeed, he made the programme flow;

His questions helped us to discuss

Great issues, what they mean to us.

Then Sunday morning finally

We thought environmentally;

This world, a gift to us from God,

Not to be trampled on roughshod.

And living life responsibly

Improves the future certainly;

To make our mark is our desire

Modelled on one we all admire

And so we closed with bread and wine

The signs of Jesus, man, divine;

With him this world we’ll infiltrate

More Christlike actions we’ll create.

Oberammergau

We went to the famous Passion Play on 29 June 2010 and had a wonderful time there and later in Austria. I wrote a poem which was read at a service the following Sunday for our group and another group running parallel with us. Here it is.

Oberammergau Passion Play, 29 June 2010.

Now let me tell you briefly how

Things went at Oberammergau,

A tourist village, busy, clean,

With all around a mountain scene.

We went, of course, to see the Play

The twenty ninth of June our day,

And so we did, and it was great,

No matter that it went on late,

We saw the Passion tale unfold,

That story on the stage was told

By locals playing all the parts,

Excelling in performing arts

With livestock and that great big horse

Unfazed by noise, a tour de force;

Great drama, music, tableaux too,

Helped by the able backup crew

Who made the costumes skilfully

Or did the choreography.

Their efforts told of Jesus’ life,

Especially the final strife,

When his prophetic ministry

Conflicted with authority;

Betrayed, arrested put on trial,

That Pilate man was really vile;

And darkness came – as if to stay -

The cross, and Jesus whisked away.

But then a little glimpse of light

The Risen Lord returned to sight.

As light was passed from youth to age

He led his people from the stage.

Applause was loud but none returned

For accolades that they had earned;

And stunned we left the Passion Play

With much to ponder on our way.

A grand performance, marvellous,

But how has it affected us?

As lost for words we may well be,

For moments in eternity,

But from the Play this much is clear

The crucified now lives, is here!

W. John Young July 2010

Transitions

Arnold van Gennep was a great anthropologist and folklorist of yesteryear. The academics in those fields shunned him because he didn’t come through their academic schools but his most celebrated discovery has outlasted many of theirs. In 1909 he published his famous book about how people cope with major life events such as birth, marriage and death. Its title, Les Rites de Passage, has led to an expression in everyday English and his insights remain helpful for all sorts of transitions.

Van Gennep found that significant changes usually have three phases. First, there is separation from the old and with it there are formal and informal ceremonies and customs that help people say goodbye to the old - parties, presents, services... Secondly, there is an uncertain, threshold or liminal phase when one foot is in the old and the other in the new and we are not sure where we are. This is reckoned to be a tricky time. Finally, there is incorporation when we become part of the new and with it there are welcomes and ceremonies and customs that help us into the new situation.

However, there is more to this than social engineering for managing changes by suitable ceremonies. As Christians we realise that God is with us. And this is a fullsome presence - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit with us along with the people of God as the body of Christ. In the liminal period when old friends are left behind and we haven't made new friends this God is still with us and so are strengthened and encouraged as we cross the threshold from one situation to another.

East Shallowford Farm

A Visit to East Shallowford Farm
15 May 2010

[above - people assembling]

[below - seen on approach, last year]

On Saturday, 15 May, we went to East Shallowford Farm, a Christian farm project in the heart of Dartmoor which was being reopened after extensive refurbishment. The farmhouse is actually very ancient and goes back into the Middle Ages but this project began in the mid-1970s with the arrival of Elizabeth Braund and her friend Rosemary Bird. Since then they have worked the farm and provided rural experiences for inner city children mainly from London. It is an extension of youth work that Miss Braund had started, almost by accident, in Battersea in the 1950s. She became a Christian under the ministry of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel and the Doctor encouraged her to join a group that produced The Evangelical Magazine. As she put the magazine together in a nearly disused Baptist chapel local youngsters wanted to know what she was up to and this led to a youth work that flourished and continued when the chapel was demolished and replaced by Providence House. Miss Braund saw the need for urban children to have a wider experience by going on country holidays. After a few visits to a farm in north Wales the idea of a more permanent location was explored and that is how East Shallowford came into being as a Lung for the City. In partnership with Providence House this has been active for the last 35 years. Young people came and were introduced to farm work as well as experiencing the countryside and enjoying outings to the seaside. It was a Christian atmosphere and Miss Braund involved the youngsters in suitable dramas, told stories around the huge fireplace and on Sundays Dunston Methodist Church would have its small congregation augmented by a party from Shallowford. Many people discovered themselves and a Christian faith in the process and have greatly appreciated the Shallowford experience.

/below - last year\

By the twenty first century the buildings needed upgrading. This was challenging in that modernisation had to bear in mind the listed building status. The necessary consents were obtained and the funding for Phase 1 which was completed in May 2010. The farm house has been fully modernised. The huge fireplace has been preserved and all the other rooms have been brought up to a high standard. I was particularly interested to see what had happened to the room in which I did a lot work on the archives.

as we were - working on the archives / \ now - a bit more room /

It has been extended and could house workstations and facilities for researchers and teaching groups. The barn has had some work done on it and is well placed now for hosting events. Here is Elizabeth untying the ribbon to reopen the building.

On Saturday we met outside in the farmyard as it was such a lovely day but the barn offers shelter and space for a good crowd to meet indoors if necessary. Subsequent phases will, hopefully, include accommodation blocks and a warden’s house.

Sadly Rosemary died earlier in the year after being ill for the last three years. Elizabeth Braund is elderly but is still full of ideas. Her vision is shared by the local Methodist Superintendent the Reverend Edgar Daniel and it seems to me that the heart of the matter is the love of Christ which touches people inwardly and stimulates new relationships with God, other people, communities and the creation.

coincidences

Many events are put down to coincidence and they may well be but when they do occur they are noticeable. I have quite often heard a word on the radio at the same time as I have thought or said the very same word. It just seems one of those odd things. Other happenings appear more meaningful though the meaning may be in what we make of these events.
For instance, today I have been at the hospital for treatment and one of the other patients turned out to have been at the same school as me. When we realised that we are at the same school he mentioned names and included mine without realising that I was there in front of him! Now, that was very pleasant but it could have been a near miss if we had never got into conversation - actually I chatted with his wife while he was being treated and got as far as finding out that they came from the same area as I did years ago.
Just a few weeks ago one of my daughters was at an event and somehow there was a remark that another person had a baby in Africa. Our daughter responded that her mother had too and then it came out that this person had been in the same country as us and more than that in the same part of the country and had actually worked in the same place we did and lived a few yards from where we could come a few years after them. Again, it could have been a near miss with acquaintance continuing without any of this coming out. We got to meet this lady and her husband and wondered not only about the remarkable meeting but also the question of near misses.
And I could continue. A friend used to speak of God instances and I do believe that there is providence in some of these things. Whatever the case we can take the opportunity to develop the connections that such happenings open up. And as for the near misses - perhaps they would be reduced if we opened up to one another more often.
Indeed I can continue because 2 more examples turned up in the last few weeks. A chap I saw every day for a few weeks turned out to be from the same school as me but we hadn't seen each other for 50 years and another fellow I had met a couple of years ago at a church we visited a couple of times. In both cases these would have been near misses if I hadn't started a conversation.