New Horizons - Parish Magazine September 2014
Coventry Diocese encourage clergy to take a three month sabbatical for every seven years they are in ministry. The purpose of this time is to allow a break from busy parish life and give space for rest and reflection. This summer saw the seventh anniversary of my ordination in Coventry Cathedral and I took them up on their offer. The last three months have been a real blessing to me and have only been possible because of a number of people who volunteered to take on extra responsibilities whilst I was away from post and for that I am very grateful.
So what do you do with three months away from the day to day busyness of parish life? I’ve used the time to write a large chunk of a passion play musical that we are aiming to put on in the week before Easter in 2015 (more on this soon); to read, reflect and write on one aspect of Christian theology to do with the death of Jesus Christ; to look back at the last 4 years here in Kineton and ahead to see what God might be encouraging us as a church to be doing in the future; to visit other churches to explore different ideas and ministries; to get fit; to spend time with my family here at home and further afield and to spend time resting and just chilling out. It has been a thoroughly refreshing time.
On one weekend I went camping and walking in the Peak District with some good friends. We walked over Kinder Scout and enjoyed some amazing scenery. When we started out on our walk from Edale all we could see was the hill in front of us. On the top we went slightly off course and encountered some very boggy conditions (I sank up to my knees in one spot) but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed some spectacular views. From an area called Kinder Downfall we looked out over Kinder Reservoir and beyond to Stockport, Manchester and could even just make out the mountains of Snowdonia. It was a breath-taking view, the distances seemed huge and yet this was just one small part of the UK. If we were to travel to the distant horizon in any direction then we would find another one beyond that and so on.
Similarly in the things we learn in life there is always a new horizon, a limit of our understanding, that is beckoning us to explore further. That has certainly been my experience in my studies at school and in my previous employment in the areas of engineering, project management and consultancy. No matter how much we know about a subject there is always more to understand and new insights to be discovered. That has also been my experience in my work as a vicar and my ongoing studies of the Christian faith.
There are certainly times whilst learning in all those areas that it has seemed an uphill struggle and I have at times been bogged down in my thinking (a lot deeper than my knees!), but as we reach the peaks we are rewarded with new understandings, the glimpse of horizons still to come. Along with this we have the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that we have learnt and grown.
As an Atheist in my younger days there were many times when I did not even recognise that there was anything worth learning about Christianity. My understanding was limited to the little I remembered from school RE lessons and what I’d picked up from broadcast media… it was like that horizon of learning was shrouded in cloud and not worth investigating. Then, when I read a true story of God at work through his church in a book called the Cross and the Switchblade, it was as if a gap had opened up in the cloud and I began to want to explore that horizon. After many years of tentatively exploring the foothills of Christianity I was invited to attend an Alpha course at my local church in Coventry. This course allowed me to explore Christianity in a relaxed and informal environment and that once clouded horizon opened up to offer some amazing views and many further horizons to be explored. The more I have learned, the more I have discovered that there is to learn.
So can I invite you this autumn to come and explore some new horizons and join us for our Alpha course (starting Monday 15th September at Kineton Primary School*). Come along even if you have taken the course before as you might find some new views and further horizons that you wish to explore.
Rev Barry Jackson
*more details about Alpha on http://www.edgehillchurches.org/special-events.html