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The Magazine
The
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For
those of you who cannot access this delight each month we will bring
you a selection of the best articles, including the critically
acclaimed Will's Page each and every month!
The Vicar Writes
'Fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell: fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death'.
So wrote William Morris, the British artist and writer, in A Dream of John Ball (1888). It's putting it strongly, but it's true. There's no substitute for fellowship, for bonds of affection, for deep and genuine friendship. It makes all the difference. At the evening last month where Ian McCormack came to speak at Tavistock College, there was a tangible sense of fellowship between Christians from different Tavistock churches.
The Church of England is striving this month to strengthen its fellowship with other provinces of the Anglican Communion, at the Lambeth Conference of bishops, which the archbishop of Canterbury calls together every ten years. The Church of England also has a special fellowship with the Methodist Church. In 2003, the two churches signed a covenant together (on the internet at www.anglican-methodist.org.uk) – a commitment to grow and pray and work with one another.
St Eustachius' church and Tavistock Methodist Church are busy developing, at a local level, the friendship and fellowship from which much else can spring. Jeff Moles, the Methodist minister, and I are meeting monthly, to talk and pray together, in addition to our regular monthly meeting with the other ministers in town. You may recall that St Eustachius' and the Methodists held joint services together last December, for the Christingle service, and for Midnight Mass. Friendship leads to trust, and trust transforms differences, so that they are no longer sharp divisions, but opportunities for mutual learning.
More recently, another opportunity has arisen to increase the fellowship between our two congregations. Our Methodist friends so enjoyed the Tavistock Area Christians Together healing and wholeness service in January that they have started coming regularly to our monthly healing and wholeness service. And it's a sign of that fellowship that the Revds Jeff Moles and David Stolton have kindly helped to lead that service by reading, preaching and praying.
Jeff and David are not allowed to preside at holy communion in such services, because Anglicans and Methodists are not yet 'in communion' with one another. Happily, however, this is allowed with the bishop's permission, and the bishop of Plymouth (whose company at last month's confirmation we so much enjoyed) has kindly given permission for Jeff and David to preside, with certain conditions.
The conditions are that each service held at St Eustachius' where Jeff and David preside, is clearly advertised as a Methodist service (to which Anglicans are extremely welcome); that Jeff and David should reverently consume the bread and wine left over after communion (which they have assured us they will do); that this should happen for 12 months in the first instance; and that this should begin after appropriate teaching within our church communities.
In order to fulfil this last condition, I'll be offering teaching at the July meeting of the PCC, and Jeff and I will do so at the July and August healing and wholeness services, ready to begin the 12 months of fully joint and jointly-led healing and wholeness services from September onwards. 'Fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death'.
Lastly this month, I'm deeply grateful to someone who bridges both Methodist and Anglican churches – Henry Lovell – who's standing down as St Eustachius' flagman (and being replaced by Paul Johnson) after so many years' service that no one can number them, not even himself! Henry, thank you so, so much.
With my warmest best wishes,
Michael
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