There follow selections of teaching taken from a series of leaflets in the Questions of Faith series available in the rack in the Church Foyer. If you would like to ask a question or to know more please get in touch with me.

The Contents, in sequence are :

The Christian Gospel or Good News

Confirmation – A New Meaning for Life

The Use of the Bible

Where do you find God in London?

Opportunities for Prayer

God Beyond the Church Door (1) – at Work and at Home

God Beyond the Church Door (2) – My Inner World

The Experience of Meditating

Service of Meditation and Devotion before the Blessed Sacrament

Faith in Adversity

Prayers in Sickness

I hope it will be useful for Christians, for those of other Faiths, and for those of none.

GOD – HIS LOVE

• God made us.

• He loves us.

• He wants the best for us.

OUR NEED

• We were created to know God.

• But we have turned away from him.

• We have rejected his love.

• We are sinners.

JESUS – GOD’S SOLUTION

• God sent his son, Jesus, to draw us back to him.

• Jesus lived a life without sin.

• He died on the Cross. God raised him from the dead.

The gift of eternal life.

OUR RESPONSE

• We need to make a response to God’s offer – to his grace.

• Our response is fourfold :

For most people, becoming a Christian is a process which may take months, sometimes years. In one sense the process is like a journey back to God which begins when we are born.

Significant points in the journey are :

• Wanting to know more.

• Finding out about Christianity.

• Sensing your own need of God.

• Making a commitment to follow Christ.

• Baptism.

• Membership of the Church.

Those of us privileged to receive the Holy Sacrament, the real spiritual body and blood of the heavenly Risen Christ, find this sacred dimension of life made increasingly real by being given physical things: bread and wine. It is difficult to overstate the importance of being nourished by the Holy Sacrament, of how special is the experience, steadily over time, of receiving, in Holy Communion, this medicine of immortality.

The church administers Holy Communion to its members who have been confirmed by the Bishop through the laying on of hands. In our Baptism (Christening) we are made members of the church (often when we are very young). Confirmation is a strengthening, a continuation of our developing awareness of faith and the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, in our lives. It marks a moment when we acknowledge personally, as an adult, that we are taking God, ourselves, and the sacred nature of life seriously – all with a sense of fun!

I know that an assumption is sometimes made that those being confirmed must have answered every single question concerning the Faith so that all development of understanding or honest doubts are finally and for ever excluded. This is not the case; we journey in the life of Faith, revisiting many of the great questions which life continuously throws into new light because of events in our experience of living. The difference is that we face these new challenges in the sacramental companionship of Our Lord.

To prepare adults or young people (aged 11 or over) for Confirmation we at

St Edmund’s run " Emmaus Learning the Faith Courses." This process is not one making unacceptable or off-putting demands; we look for connections between life and the Christian Faith. The course is both practical and fun.

If you might be interested in Confirmation, or know someone else who is, please let me know.

• God may use these words to speak to you- read with expectation, go back to the passage again, carry a memorable phrase around inside you for the rest of the day.
• The Bible is a Library not a book. You don’t usually read a Library’s collection from A –Z in sequence. You don’t treat a science text book in the same way as a novel. BUT, you do look for truth in both. Apply the same common sense to the Bible.
• The Bible is a story of a relationship between God and (often rather dim) human beings, over several thousand years. What we understood of God at the beginning (in the Old Testament) developed as time passed, becoming more sophisticated (in the Apocrypha and especially the New Testament). For example : Moses thought God asked an eye for an eye when a person was wronged. Jesus said God requires us to love our enemies.They each had a different picture of God’s nature.
• Consider the historical /political background to the book of the Bible you are reading.
• A last check : am I reading history, biography, wisdom, poetry, a prayer, a devotional hymn, a letter, or a mixture of these in this passage ? I am NOT approaching the Bible as a Telephone Directory or a collection of Recipes !

• St Edmunds Prayer and Bible Reading Cycle. This pink leaflet (in the revolving rack in the Church Foyer) provides details of the readings at Morning Prayer in the Lady Chapel for each month. There are notes on the books of the Bible being read – and suggested subjects for prayer.
• The Orbit

• The Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF)

Another day and another tube station ; walking in the crowd up the steep steps, two young fellows ahead of me were in cheerful conversation – typical Londoners in jeans, trainers and earings, one from Asia, the other African. Half way up they stopped , to carry together the heavy shopping trolley of an older white man. At the top there were three happy smiles and much of what would once have been called simple working class courtesy. It’s unlikely in the crush of people that anyone much noticed or made any God associations, but it was a holy moment without any religious bits and pieces.

I mentioned to our PCC the other evening how it is now more likely than I’ve noticed ever before that people will speak to me when I’m in the pub, reading a book in a park and even at White Hart Lane. Once the priest in public was automatically avoided, things are different now – for better and for worse; a man passed me in the Strand recently and muttered so that I could hear ,

" black death " . At least some of London’s population seem to think it quite natural to deal with life’s big questions there and then just because a priest has appeared out of the blue. It is of course quite natural, we must all have behaved like that before God seemed to become lost from ordinary conversation in a maze of intellectual wrappings at about the time of the Reformation.

In the supermarket, the young Muslim check-out girl and I were instantly recognisable to each other. She wanted to make sure ; " are you a priest ? " was accompanied by a smile which didn’t come out of the supermarket training manual.

" We believe that Jesus is a great Prophet and you believe that He is

God’s Son. " " Yes ," I managed, whilst hunting for my clubcard , " but I have a feeling that when we are both in heaven we shall find that God has sorted it all out. " The smile grew more dazzling, " so do I ! " We wished each other God’s blessing.

And that’s it; extraordinary, colourful , suffering , celebrating London , full of love and what passes for it , is endlessly revealing God . I’ve long been attracted to that much cherished and happy Christian confusion between our own hands and God’s. His presence is what it says it is. Consequently I look at the hands of Londoners full of the tasks of the day, including my own, and find myself wondering where my hands, our hands, end and God’s begin.

George Herbert, 16^th century parish priest, poet and hymnwriter ( Teach me, my God and King etc. ) knew more than a thing or two about the experience of prayer. For example, just count the number of images for prayer he packs into this short poem :

Prayer (1)

Prayer the Church’s banquet, Angels’ age,

God’s breath in man returning to his birth,

The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,

The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth ;

Engine against th’ Almighty, sinners’ tower,

Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,

The six-days world transposing in an hour,

A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear ;

Softness and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,

Exalted Manna, gladness of the best,

Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,

The milky way, the bird of Paradise,

Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,

The land of spices; something understood.

Prayer makes its presence felt in a life where prayer happens rather than in one where prayer is talked about. Come to Holy Communion, as we do, and we are people who pray . Christian prayer is rooted in Holy Communion, in its celebration and in the experience of receiving the Holy Sacrament. So, Sunday by Sunday a rhythm is set up and maintained in our lives, we are those who pray.

Whether we always feel close to God, or notice the impact each time we receive the Holy Sacrament is not of great importance, our closeness to Him is strengthened in the relationship made and kept vital by the fact of this regular meeting, in its words and actions.

There is a lot to be said for increasing the beat of this rhythm , what about a second encounter with God during a week, one in which the celebration is made distinctive in the meditative and prayerful atmosphere of the Lady Chapel ? Many do and experience more of what it is to pray . This doing more, this praying more, in an already crowded week becomes not a straw to break a camel’s back, but a giver of new space in which all that has to be done seems less oppressive and stressful. Holy Communion is usually celebrated at 7.30pm on Tuesdays, 10.00am on Thursdays , and 9.30am on Saturdays. In each case, Morning or Evening Prayer precedes Holy Communion, adding another spacious dimension to our meeting with God .

* * *

God is not absent from the economic process – He is present and provides direction for the boardroom, the supermarket and the home.

People are not defined by their work but by their relationship to God and to other people – their job or daily work is in no way inferior in God’s eyes to the work of an Archbishop.

Practical atheism – if most workplaces assume that God does not exist , what does the phrase ‘ the presence of God ’ mean to me , in worship for instance ? What might it begin to mean at work ?

It is said that society is becoming increasingly individualistic – do people , do I feel more alone in my work now than in earlier times ; despite the rhetoric of ‘ team ’ is there a loneliness about work , an unhealthy independence ?

God is present, people are present , am I present to them in a real way ? Presence uses time, yet there is unease about time. Are we comfortable with it , or does time dominate the way we feel and think ? To what extent is it true that too much time is offered obsessively in exchange for money ? Am I able to deal constructively with the apparently widespread feeling that the choice today is not between long hours and time with the family, but rather between long hours and unemployment ? Can I identify the real issues, do I have more control than I think – if so, what is there in me perhaps that weakens an exercise of greater sovereignty over time ?

We are human beings made in the image of God [ who is Himself defined as Love ] , relating to Him and to other human beings who are also His images. Job titles define none of us.

Being heard and hearing – the key to relationships – being really present is the essential method; simple relaxed concentration either on God in prayer, or on the person who needs to tell us what is on their heart . Listen first and long, speak second and briefly, that is the way of wisdom.

Suggestions please !

* * *

We may be reluctant to switch the TV off, we may secretly wonder how we will cope with the rather worrying silence that will follow. If we managed to turn off all the outside noise, we would make a crucial discovery :

This means that for many many people life is lived outside themselves, practical activities are used to mask the noise inside us – and keep us protected from the unknown and therefore disturbing inner world.

All of us have been made with inner worlds, they are richly part of human makeup. We are used to promoting physical growth and education so that the small child develops into a mature adult. We have had much technical success doing this in the West, generations of very practical people have built a world which seems to be significantly under our control.

Many who seem to have time to collect themselves in the heat of a decision at work, or grow old gracefully are often those who have developed an inner life which gives them a sense of perspective, a real existence beyond the anxiety and stress of the moment, and yet available to them in it.

" We are like pilots of fog-bound steamers, peering into the gloom in front of us, listening for the sounds of other ships, and we can only reach our harbour if we keep alert. The Spiritual Life is, then, first of all a matter of keeping awake…. Meditation is one of the ways in which the spiritual [person] keeps awake."

" In our age everything has to be a problem. Ours is a time of anxiety because we have willed it to be so. Our anxiety is not imposed on us by force from outside. We impose it on our world and upon one another from within ourselves. Sanctity in such an age means, no doubt, travelling from the area of anxiety to the area in which there is no anxiety or perhaps it means learning, from God, to be without anxiety in the midst of anxiety."

" It comes to this: living in a silence which so reconciles the contradictions within us that, although they remain within us, they cease to be a problem."

" The friendly communion of silence……..this silence is related to love."

Meditation is about simplifying, so that we find ourselves mulling over a few things and noticing more in them. These may be images, sounds, words; they may remain unchanging for a time. We may move on and remain still again with a particular book (possibly a novel) or the wisdom of a particular teacher from the Church’s long story.

A simplicity in heart and mind which spills over into our lives generally is one of the possible gifts offered through meditative prayer. We discipline ourselves to fall into the custom of loving what is at the heart of that being pondered.

We shall disover that meditation enables God to reveal Himself to us as a great teacher and that we accordingly gain knowledge through love rather than thought.

• The candles will be lit, they are signs of God’s presence as light.
• The Monstrance at the centre of the altar will be unveiled as the Service begins, it contains a consecrated wafer of bread, which is the sacramental presence of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
• Incense will be burned on the altar, it is an ancient symbol of prayer, adoration and mystery.

• To give Glory to God.
• To provide a simple and atmospheric half-hour of quiet prayerful worship in which the Faith may be learned and the reality of prayer may be experienced.
• To offer these things to those who need peace, healing or a gentle introduction to traditional Christian Worship which makes no unexpected demands.
• To give an opportunity for those regular worshippers who feel the need for something new to revitalise and deepen their spiritual journey.

• The Service begins at 7.00pm and follows Evening Prayer ( 6.00pm ) and Quiet Time ( 6.30pm ).
• The Chapel will be set ready for Meditation and Devotion before Evening Prayer begins . Whether you arrive for Evening Prayer, during it or Quiet Time, simply come quietly into the Chapel, collect an Order of Service for Meditation and Devotion from the front seat and sit down. Throughout the sequence of worship we remain seated . During Quiet Time recorded music will be playing.
• Relax.
• If you feel that this experience of worship is helpful do bring others who might benefit whether churchgoers or not and of any denomination.

Maybe we can adjust some of the way life is, perhaps with help much may be improved. In the end however, some of what is difficult for us remains. We could just be bitter, adding to our discomfort, and project a hopeless sadness all around us. Or we could sit quietly before a Crucifx – perhaps one pictured in our mind’s eye. This is what an old priest once did, and received this vivid message for sufferers, we might use it regularly for our meditation before the crucifix :

" I saw that His love was our judgement; that as the eye must quail before the light of the sun because of the exceeding brightness of that light, so the soul must quail before His love because of the exceeding splendour of that love; and that that love was the greatest of all forces, the perfection of all power.

Then there came to me three distinct messages. The first to all the world: His love went forth from Him in silent power but His silence said, with greater clearness than any spoken words,

The second was to all sufferers : " I am God," He said,

The third was to all the disillusioned, disappointed, bereaved, and out of heart :

" Behold Me," He said, " Here am I dying in the dark, and I came to bring light to the world. I am dying at the hands of hate, and I came to bring love to the world. Death is closing in upon Me, and I came to bring life to the world. But I remain true to My faith; dying in the dark I believe in the the Light; killed by hate I trust Love; with death closing in upon Me I believe in Life; on the third day I shall rise again. Do you then cling to your ideals; in any darkness still trust the Light, in any hatred still trust Love, and be sure that, though all consciousness be slipping from you and you yourself seem to be sinking into a void, eternal Life is yours."

So the message was given, and the silence was full of peace. "

The Lord is my shepherd :

therefore can I lack nothing.

He shall feed me in a green pasture :

and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.

He shall convert my soul :

and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness,

for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow

of death, I will fear no evil :

for thou art with me ;

thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me

against them that trouble me :

thou hast anointed my head with oil,

and my cup shall be full.

But thy loving-kindness and mercy

shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in

the house of the Lord for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :

and to the Holy Spirit ;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :

world without end. Amen.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me,

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me.

Permit me not to be separated from thee.

From the wicked foe defend me.

At the hour of my death call me

And bid me come to thee

That with thy saints I may praise thee

For ever and ever. Amen.

Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee;

All things are passing – God never changeth.

Patient endurance attaineth to all things;

Who God possesseth in nothing is wanting.

Alone God sufficeth. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou

among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the

hour of our death. Amen.

Save us , O Lord, while waking,

and guard us while sleeping,

that awake we may watch with Christ

and asleep may rest in peace. Amen

help us to build up the Church in this parish

to the glory of thy Name,

in honour of St Edmund,

and for the hope and inspiration of all thy people.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come; thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

* * *