From the Vicar

Happy New Year!

I’m writing this in the middle of one of the busiest times of the year, with Carol and Christingle and School Services in full swing, as well as a baptism, two funerals, sadly, and the last wedding of the year! December is always a very busy month of course, but last December just seemed busier than normal and, in addition, the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury and calls for the resignation of the Archbishop of York have cast quite a shadow over the work and ministry of all of us in the Church of England.

The theme of the Comberbach Methodist Advent Study Group, which some of us attend each year, was “hushing the noise” (from the well known and beautiful Christmas Carol “It came upon the midnight clear”) and it has been hard to “hush the noise” of everything that has been happening in our Church, society and world in the last few months and to concentrate upon the message of the angels, and to hear them sing. But, in the midst of all these “Babel sounds” I have thought, prayed about and reflected on our discipleship, work and witness as followers of Jesus, the “babe in the manger” and Messiah among us, to bring tidings of “comfort and joy”, peace and hope to all those whom we encounter. Given the vagaries and circumstances of life, this is not always an easy thing to do, but our (and I stress “our ”) work in this Parish with people in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and in all sorts of situations, has been I think a very good example of our Christian faith in action and really what the Church is expected to be and should be about – encouraging and nurturing faith and hope and love, bringing comfort to people and always looking forward whilst acknowledging that there are,
inevitably, things that hold us back and things for which we have to express our sorrow.

This month, and in a new year, which sees the 1700th anniversary of the formulation of The Nicene Creed, which we will be remembering during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and which links all Christians throughout the world and across all denominations, we celebrate one of the most significant festivals in the Church, the Epiphany, as well as celebrating the work of members of our rural communities on Plough Sunday. This is what the Church is about – giving thanks to God for the revelation of the Messiah among us and, at this time, and amongst many other things of course, for the ongoing “busyness/business” of our farming communities, as they “plough the fields and scatter….” – and we are all part of this ongoing story and journey, and what a joy, and a privilege, that is.

“Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing” and, as we all try to do this, may God bless each one of us in this coming year, whatever it may bring!

The Revd Alec Brown.
Vicar of Great Budworth.

From the Curate

Dear friends,

I don’t know if you have ever missed the boat? Have you ever got so wrapped up in things that you have missed out on something amazing? We live in a very busy, fast paced world. We are encouraged that whatever we are planning we need to hurry up. This time of year life gets busier and sometimes we forget what it is all about.

Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies, but the world was overlooking some terribly significant births – William Gladstone, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news when Jesus was born but a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all.

As we approach December 25th again, it gives us another opportunity to pause, and consider again the events of Christmas and the person whose birth we celebrate. There is someone who missed the boat on the first Christmas.

In those days, Caesar Augustus decreed that all the world (or the known Roman Empire) should be taxed. At this point, Mary and Joseph began the trip to Bethlehem. They had to go to Bethlehem because that was where Joseph came from. They had to go home to pay the tax. So they arrived in Bethlehem, with the baby about ready to be born. Can you imagine the timing of this?

You have the town of Bethlehem that is now crowded with people. Everyone is hustling and bustling, trying to get their taxes paid. Visiting families. In fact, by the time that Mary and Joseph arrive, there is no room in the inn. And this is where we meet the person who missed the boat – the innkeeper.  The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about him at all. All we know is that there was no room in the inn. Mary and Joseph were relegated to the stable, to live among the camels, donkeys, horses, and their feeding troughs. They would have used their own robes and extra blankets to shield themselves from the cold.

But let’s get back to the innkeeper. Can we really fault him? I mean, it wasn’t his fault that there was no room—he was just a business man. He did allow them to stay in the stable. And he never knew the significance of the baby inside Mary, how he wasn’t just another baby, but the actual son of God. The innkeeper was so close to the truth, yet so far away. Over 2000 years ago, a baby was born who changed the world. He was the perfect embodiment of love, both fully God and man, and he came that one night, born in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.

So this Christmas remember the innkeeper. He missed Christmas in the hustle and bustle of what was going on – let’s not make the same mistake. There is an unattributed poem about the inn keeper; it says:

“And how were men to know?
There was a sign they say a heavenly light
Resplendent, but I had no time for stars.”

This Christmas make time for stars.

Wishing you all a peaceful and blessed Christmas from all @ St Mary`s

Christina