Holiday Club - Help Needed

HOLIDAY CLUB 2025

4th – 8th August 2025

Churches Together in Bramhall and Woodford need you!

During the week of the 4th August we are planning to run a 4 day holiday club for junior school aged children. This year we have felt the Lord calling us to pray and to some specific mission activities which we have drawn together under the banner of Hope 2025.

Over Easter we trialled running a 1 day holiday club and having received some really positive feedback we are now hoping to offer something slightly bigger.

However we cant do this without your help. We cant run a holiday club without volunteers. Can you help us make the holiday club happen? We are looking for people to fill a variety of roles and each of those roles have different time commitments.

Team Leaders

You would need to be present every day of the holiday club, for the duration of each day. You would lead a group of 10 young people building positive relationships with them and helping them engage with all the activities.

Activity Leaders

You would help lead a craft station or games session during the afternoons of the holiday club. You wouldn’t need to be present every day or even all day, but we would be needing 6 activity leaders every day. You would be supported in running the activity by the host team and by the group team leaders who would circulate with the groups.

Support Team

This team would be needed at different times throughout the day and would have various responsibilities including: serving refreshments, overseeing registration, preparing craft material (which could be done from home), helping with cleaning, tech and AV and helping supervise lunchtime, break time and toilet runs. The amount of time you might be asked to give will depend on how many volunteers we have in this team.

Welfare Team

The welfare team will have responsibility for the following: First Aid cover, Safeguarding, Pastoral Support, Prayer. You could be on this team at the same time as being on another team.

All volunteers will need to be DBS checked and will need a reference as well. If you belong to a church, your church minister will be approached to offer this reference.

We can’t offer this holiday club without volunteers. If you are able to offer any of your time and talent to help make this holiday club possible please complete the online form using the QR code, this link: https://forms.office.com/e/Qh10t6xNZB or speak to your church minister who will pass on your offer of support.

Deadline for offering to help in Monday 9th June 2025

Vicar's Update - August 2024

Dear Friends,

2024 seems to continuing to move at pace with the autumn now in sight, so it felt like the right time to send out another Vicar’s Update to share with you some of what is going on at St Michael’s.

Spirit of Art Festival – 27th September – 5th October 2024

Between the 27th September and 5th October, we will be holding our first Arts Festival ‘Spirit of Art’. The festival will include visual arts, floristry, literature, music and cinema along with workshops giving people the opportunity to try acrylics, photography and ceramics. Our hope with this festival is to celebrate art, in its various formats, and what it offers us as individuals and a community. It’s our hope to welcome lots of visitors from across the parish and beyond during this festival.

You can find out more about the festival on our website at www.bramhall.church/spirit-of-art, where you can download a festival programme and also book tickets. In the coming days we hope to take delivery of printed programmes so you can take handfuls to give to friends and neighbours. We will be encouraging people to buy tickets online, through our website, but tickets can also be bought from the parish office, and with some events, on the door.

As with any festival, we are looking for volunteers to help make the festival happen. Volunteer roles include welcoming, selling tickets, making refreshments, serving at the bar, and being present in the art galleries. If you are able to support the festival as a volunteer, please could you add your name to the sign up sheet in church, or email the office to let them know.

I am really excited about this festival and hope that it is the first of many and something that will get bigger in future years.

You may think that this is enough to be getting on with going into the autumn, but I want to tell you about 3 other priorities I have for the next few months.

Thanksgiving Campaign

The first is our Thanksgiving Campaign which will be happening throughout September and October. On Sunday 8th September, I will be giving a bit of an update on our finances and preaching around the principles of giving. The new Archdeacon of Macclesfield will be with us on Sunday 29th September at the 10am service where she has asked to talk on the theme of generosity. Pledge Sunday will be on Sunday 6th October where we will be asking everyone to renew their pledges for giving in advance of the start of 2025.

Pastoral Care

The second relates to Pastoral Care. I have been wanting to get a better organised system of pastoral care off the ground for nearly the whole of the 7 years I have been at St Michaels. This has been presented in different shapes over the years and been delayed for all sorts of reasons including the pandemic. Jo Oughton and Tricia Munn have been working with me to get a new system ready to launch, which I am hoping to do in September. The new system will be a responsive system offering pastoral care as need arises but particularly offering it to those on our prayer lists. I am looking to build ideally a team of 10 volunteers to work with me in offering pastoral care to the parish. This would see team members roughly visiting 2 people a month. If you would like more information or are interested in offering yourself to be part of this team, please would you get in touch with Jo Oughton (jo.oughton@bramhall.church) or Tricia Munn (tricia.munn@btinternet.com) (0161 439 39389) by the end of August. I hope to offer 2 training sessions in September with the scheme getting going from that point onwards.

Prayer and Bible Study

The third priority relates to discipleship particularly thinking about prayer but also bible study as well. It has been on my mind for some time now that we could do with praying together more often, I certainly cant remember the last time we had a prayer meeting at St Michael’s. Prayer meetings can sometimes sound daunting or like they are for ‘the professionals’ but a prayer gathering is simply an opportunity where brothers and sisters come together intentionally to offer their concerns to Lord in a community setting. So from September there will be a monthly prayer gathering at church on 3rd Wednesday between 7pm & 8pm. It will be a chance for us to gather as a church to pray which will include some teaching about prayer, some communal prayer and then individual prayer too, all around some gathered resources. If you are confident in prayer, please come and join me, if you aren’t too sure about it – come and find out, as we seek to pray together more often. For September, the prayer gathering will happen on Wednesday 25th September (4th Wednesday) so it doesn’t clash with the already booked PCC meeting.

Related to this, I have taken the decision to revise how we do our prayer lists. This is something I have been thinking and praying through for some time and feel now the is the right time to implement. From September we will no longer publish the prayer lists in SMT week by week. Instead, there will be one prayer list which will be published monthly, which will include the names of people, alongside which there will be a short explanation of what that person would value prayer for. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I look at the current prayer lists, I read through the names wondering what to pray, sometimes I’m not sure who it is I am praying for. Whilst I don’t need to know these things, as God already knows, having a little more information can be helpful. The new prayer list will be available for those that wish to use it at the monthly prayer gatherings. If you are someone that can’t make the prayer gathering but wish to have a copy of the prayer list, then please have a conversation with me.

On the subject of bible study before the pandemic I ran a weekly bible study in costa on a Wednesday afternoon, this then went online when needed. I really miss these sessions so from September on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 5pm I will be offering bible study again. A session normally includes working through a chapter of a book asking questions like: ‘what is being said in the passage? what was the author trying to say? What does it mean for me today?’  For September I am going to run these sessions at church, but would love to find a venue in the village that we could use going forwards.

Finally Jess and I would like to extend an invitation to you to join us on Sunday 15th September as we baptise Phoebe during the 10am service. We look forward to welcoming you alongside members of St Saviours, Great Moor.

To echo the words of Paul that we heard last Sunday ‘I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God

Regards,

Revd Calum Piper,

Vicar

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 90 | Saturday 23rd March

Psalm 90

Reflection Written by Jo Oughton

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling-place
    in all generations. 
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, 
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world, 
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 

3 You turn us back to dust, 
    and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’ 
4 For a thousand years in your sight 
    are like yesterday when it is past, 
    or like a watch in the night. 

5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream, 
    like grass that is renewed in the morning; 
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; 
    in the evening it fades and withers. 

7 For we are consumed by your anger; 
    by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 
8 You have set our iniquities before you, 
    our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; 
    our years come to an end like a sigh. 
10 The days of our life are seventy years, 
    or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; 
even then their span is only toil and trouble; 
    they are soon gone, and we fly away. 

11 Who considers the power of your anger? 
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you. 
12 So teach us to count our days 
    that we may gain a wise heart. 

---

The theologian Tom Wright speaks of this Psalm as standing at the threshold of God’s time. 

It reminds us that God’s time is different from ours; he exists outside our concept of time. 

However, we are reminded of our finite existence. In contrast, we might see our lifespan as a tiny speck. But the psalm goes on to remind us that even this short time when lived through God, is worthy. 

As life goes on, the time seems to go faster and faster, as a child I remember waiting for Christmas to come and the days went so slowly. 

We know that every day has the same number of hours and a countdown of minutes, yet they can feel different lengths. 

 In this psalm, we see God sitting outside of time, ‘from everlasting to everlasting you are God’ 

These days, life seems to rush past each day faster than the next. How will I use these precious hours? With family or friends, on my own in Bible study, or with people worshipping. 

I will spend a large chunk of it sleeping, many hours in front of the TV, and sometimes staring blankly into space, trying to catch my thoughts. 

This psalm reminds us to take those hours and allow God to make them worthy. Will I still sleep, watch television, or stare off into space? Yes, however I will do those things and knowing that my time is limited, but God’s time is endless, and we will be given the opportunity to live his eternal life. 

God’s time is different 

He can sit outside of our understanding, as Peter says: 

“ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”   

If we turn to him, we will share in God’s eternal life; these mortal years will pass away. 

However the psalmist asks us to count our days so we will gain a wise heart. 

Tom `Wright sums this up in a way I never could in his book Finding God in the Psalms 

Make us, in other words, to be the people who know how to stand at the threshold of human time and God's time. And there to learn both humility and hope. Our time is not worthless, but any worth it may possess would come from God's goodness, and not our control of our circumstances. 

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 131 / 25 | Saturday 16th March

Psalm 131/ 25

Reflection Written by Bob Munn

---

The psalms always seem very busy to me, with lots going on 

The writers of the psalms praise God 

they celebrate the world God created 

they admire his laws 

they lament from the depths of despair 

they beg to be rescued from peril 

they give thanks for being rescued from peril 

they plead for their enemies to be defeated 

they celebrate the defeat of their enemies 

Amid all this, I value the more peaceful psalms and passages in psalms 

For this reflection, I have chosen one very short psalm  

Psalm 131 is headed A Prayer of Humble Trust  

It consists of just three verses  

Lord, I have given up my pride 

and turned away from my arrogance. 

I am not concerned with great matters 

or with subjects too difficult for me. 

Instead, I am content and at peace. 

As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, 

so my heart is quiet within me. 

Israel, trust in the Lord  

now and for ever! 

This points us away from activity, from doing to just being 

And it gives a picture of calm acceptance that all is well 

As a child trusts its mother, 

so the children of Israel are advised to trust the Lord 

And that is sound advice for Christians, too 

But now I am going to cheat and also read one verse from a longer psalm 

Psalm 25 is headed A Prayer for Guidance and Protection 

 Overall it is full of the busy-ness I have already referred to 

concerning the psalmist’s enemies and God’s providence 

But in the middle, verse 11 simply says 

 Keep your promise, Lord, and forgive my sins, 

for they are many. 

 At our evening services, we have been following the Sermon on the Mount 

There Jesus tells people not to use loads of words when they pray 

and this verse follows that advice 

It says everything necessary very simply  

Putting these together, as Psalm 131 says 

we can rest at ease because we trust in the Lord 

And we can trust in the Lord because, as this verse of Psalm 25 says 

the Lord promises to forgive our sins 

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 100 | Wednesday 13th March

Psalm 100

Reflection Written by Sheila Collins

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations. 

---

When was the last time you shouted for joy?

Captured in my heart and stored in my memory from last year are these 2 personal stories. On a sunny summer’s day my small grandson momentarily lost sight of his family when he suddenly spotted me waving. Shouting his head off with joy and delight he scooted furiously on his balance bike towards to me, threw the bike down and flung out his arms for a hug.

The second is this. On entering the hallowed portals of the Theatre of Dreams I took my seat high up amongst hopeful strangers decked out in red. As the game progressed, the tension was tangible until, miraculously, the ball hit the back of the net. The explosion of spontaneous joyful noise was accompanied by 70000 people rising out of their seats, arms in the air, high fiving those closest, no longer strangers but delighted compatriots who, in those few moments, all understood the significance of what they had experienced.

Whilst the writer of Psalm 100, most likely David, didn’t know about balance bikes and football. He did know about delighting in the presence of God and encouraging the whole earth to sing joyful songs praising and worshipping God for his creation, his goodness, his enduring love and his continuing faithfulness. In fact this joyful psalm is the only psalm in the collection to bear the title Psalm of Thanksgiving.

My small grandson knows he is loved, he knows with whom he belongs, he knows that he can trust his family without question and is spontaneously joyful. The red decked 70000 rising out of their seats shared their experience together with gladness and joyful songs. These are very human expressions of joy and praise but are not just limited to the experience of small boys and football fans. The Psalmist goes beyond expressions of joy and enthusiasm. He exhorts all the earth to worship God with gladness because He is our creator and our shepherd. He is the only one worthy to receive the highest praise as we acknowledge that we know that the Lord is indeed God.

As we progress through the Psalm the writer pictures the people of God from all the earth entering together through the gates and into the courts of the temple. As God’s people approach, the Psalmist advises we should do so with thanksgiving, recognizing how much He has done for us.

The final 2 verses give three reasons for thanking and praising God. Firstly, He is good. He always does what is best for His children. Second, His love is enduring. This is a steadfast and everlasting love, Thirdly, God's faithfulness extends to all generations. He has never broken a promise, He has always been reliable and always will be reliable.

So when will be the next time you shout for joy? The red decked 70000 shared their common experience of joy together. The Psalmist said, ’Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.’

Do you know you are loved? The Psalmist said, ‘God’s love endures forever.’

Do you know with whom you belong? The Psalmist said, ‘God made us and we are his, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.’

Do you know that you can trust God without question? The Psalmist said, ‘God’s faithfulness continues through all generations.’

God loves you, we belong to Him and He can always be trusted. Worth shouting for joy this Lent? I think so!

Amen

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 121 | Saturday 9th March

Psalm 121

Reflection Written by Phil wadsworth

1  I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From whence does my help come? 

2  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 

3  He will not let your foot be moved, He who keeps you will not slumber. 

4  Behold, He Who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  

5  The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 

6  The sun shall not smite you by day, not the moon by night. 

7  The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. 

8  The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore. 

---

As someone who enjoys hill-walking I find lifting my eyes to the hills – happily possible from various places in Bramhall – always gives a boost, an uplift.  Though it’s stretching it to suggest Isaiah 52:7 (‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings’) is about hill-walking these are among passages in the Bible where mountains symbolise majesty, strength, and endurance.   

From a place of refuge (‘flee to the hills’, Matthew 24:16) to a place of tranquillity, reflection, and nearness to God (‘Jesus went up a mountainside .. and sat down’, Matthew 15:29) – the latter a feeling know to many walking the hills – the Bible uses various images of hills and mountains when describing attributes of, and our relationship with, God. 

‘Up’ is a word used in many ways for positivity, including ‘it’s looking up’, ‘speaking up’, ‘come up higher’, ‘feeling uplifted’, ‘upper hand’, and lots more.  It can be an invitation to look to better things – ‘cheer up’, ‘buck up’.  In Lent, though, we may be reflecting on Jesus going up to Jerusalem, with the presage of what’s to come, ‘up’ hardly seeming positive in that passage; and, indeed, most negative, Jesus lifted up on the Cross – but even here we’re carried onward to the greatest positive:  Jesus rising (another ‘up’ word) from the tomb, and later His Ascension. 

Psalm 121 evokes lifting our eyes to the hills as a symbol, an image of raising our thoughts and prayers to God.   

God, incomprehensively moreso than the hills, is majesty, strength, and endurance; He is our place of refuge, and reflecting on Him brings tranquillity.  The psalm comprehensively assures us that God is always there, the ultimate refuge and source of strength in all the circumstances in our lives – wherever, whenever, however bad (or good) things are, whatever we’ve done or not done, in a crowd or alone, and whether we do or don’t remember that He is there.   

As we take the Lenten journey again and after, when it is over for another year, Psalm 121 inspires us with its account of God’s care for us and reminds us, in the words of Romans 8:38-39, ‘that neither death, nor life, not angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’. 

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 150 | Wednesday 6th March

Psalm 150

Reflection Written by Alex Walker

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

---

This Psalm tells us to praise God with music and song.  ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’.  There is no rule that says we have to be able to sing well or play an instrument well.  Simply having breath is enough.  Music is for everyone.

Hearing a song that we love evokes such emotion in us.  Sadness, grief, happiness, and joy.  Music is used to celebrate, to honour, to commemorate, and even to dance to.  It has no language that needs to be interpreted.  Music speaks to our soul.

There is a saying that we should dance like no one is watching.  As a child that is easy, as an adult we worry too much about the judgement from others.  My gift from God was the ability to sing and play music.  It brings me and others joy.  I am always grateful, so many people wish they could sing and wish they could play an instrument.  We shouldn’t hide our talents however insignificant they may seem to us.  Music is there to be shared, to celebrate and to unite us.  It brings common ground.  It brings inner peace.  It puts smiles on people’s faces.  But let’s not forget that God has given us the gift of music and song and therefore dance.  Sing, dance and play music like no one is watching, except God.  Let’s praise God with our gifts of song and music, let’s be thankful that we can make music together. 

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 8 | Saturday 2nd March

Psalm 8

Reflection Written by Peter Illingworth

1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are humans that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

---

Chapter 8 of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy begins with a reflection on the enormity of space: "Space," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space”.

Psalm 8, probably written by King David, considers much the same thing: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

I am a tiny speck on a trivial planet orbiting an average sun which itself is one of one hundred thousand million stars in our galaxy with a further one hundred thousand million galaxies out there.  Why should God, the Creator, have any interest in me?

With our materialistic view of the Universe, “bigger is better”, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that way, but this Psalm goes on to celebrate the fact that God has made us: a little lower than the angels, He has crowned us with glory and honour and has put us in charge over everything that He has made.  Just like the red blood corpuscles in our bodies, too small to see without a microscope, He has made us the life blood of the world around us.

And our response can be the same as that of King David, who starts and finishes the Psalm with the same words, “Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide, Douglas Adams jokes that "The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42."  Psalm 8 points us towards a more meaningful answer: to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 91 | Wednesday 28th February

Psalm 91

Reflection Written by Mark Hackney

1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

2 will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;

    my God, in whom I trust.’

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

    and from the deadly pestilence;

4 he will cover you with his pinions,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night,

    or the arrow that flies by day,

6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

    or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,

    the Most High your dwelling-place,

10 no evil shall befall you,

    no scourge come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up,

    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,

    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

14 Those who love me, I will deliver;

    I will protect those who know my name.

15 When they call to me, I will answer them;

    I will be with them in trouble,

    I will rescue them and honour them.

16 With long life I will satisfy them,

    and show them my salvation.

---

The powerful Psalm 91, often titled ‘The Assurance of God’s Protection’, makes clear that God could not be more explicit regarding the extent to which He will look after all of us.

This anonymous psalm is often credited to Moses. In which case the psalm is 3,500 years old. It reassures me to know that God has been protecting his people for so long now.

As one theologian succinctly points out, the psalm tells us four things that God is to us: the shelter we can dwell in; the shadow we can rest in; the refuge we can count on; the fortress we can trust. Beautiful.

Psalm 91 makes me feel surrounded by God’s passionate and ever-reliable love. There is no hesitation here, no hedging from our God. As we trust in the Lord, his loving, protecting arms circle us – or as the psalmist would have it here: God’s wings [verse 4].

And, if you consider these four specific areas of protection, then it may come as no surprise to you that Psalm 91 is also sometimes known as the Soldier's Psalm. For example, camouflage bandanas imprinted with the psalm are often distributed to US troops, or a verse placed on their dog-tags.

And, in British culture, there is a tradition that British First World War soldiers would recite this psalm in the trenches on the eve of battle. I Have taught for many years the evocative WW1 poetry of Wilfred Owen [a local, Cheshire lad], as he strove to portray ‘The pity of war’. I can only imagine feebly the horror and fear those brave souls would have experienced – and wonder at the powerful love I pray they felt, via this psalm, emanating from their Lord. 

I am not a soldier, I know nothing of the horrors they might face. Like all of us, I merely face the stresses and concerns of what it is to be living a life – alongside, of course, God’s gifting of joyfulness and beauty.

But, as I reflect upon this wonderful, powerful psalm, I feel loved, protected, reassured. Though life can be troublesome, through, and in, its trials, God’s love draws me in ever-deeper.

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 19 | Saturday 24th February

Psalm 19

Reflection Written by Janet Ketteringham

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God,
    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
    and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
    their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth
    and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
    and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and nothing is hid from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can detect one’s own errors?
    Clear me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
    do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless
    and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

---

This Psalm of David has provided so much source material for anthems, hymns, songs and books that it would take more than these few lines to list them all.

However, one of my recent surprise finds was reading the final verse of this psalm etched in granite on the side of the Scottish parliament building.

We were there for a wedding and the sheer joy of those first six verses of the psalm starting “The heavens declare the Glory of God” was echoed throughout the day as we celebrated being together. We saw real joy when bride and groom swore devotion and fidelity through thick and thin and were traditionally handfasted in front of families and friends forever.

Those first six verses, rejoicing in creation, tell us the music of the heavens is all there for us to wonder at. It goes on to then tell us how to live, saying we will find personal joy by following God’s laws and this will be “sweeter than honey”. How amazing.

And finally, there’s a prayer asking to be kept from error, from wilful sin. And we echo that in our prayers each time we say The Lord’s Prayer which Jesus gave us. And we can also, with sincere hearts, repeat the final verse written in stone on that Edinburgh wall:

               May the words of my mouth

               And the meditation of my heart

               Be acceptable in your sight,

               O Lord, my strength and my redeemer

Amen.

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 23 | Wednesday 21st February

Psalm 23

Reflection Written by Dave Walker

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3     he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

---

Of all the numerous festivals in the Christian calendar there are two which are known and universally celebrated more than any of the others. These are, of course, Christmas and Easter, which one might say are the festivals that flank our Faith. The first is a celebration and joy that the birth of a child brings, whilst Easter is the celebration of that life as it is called back to God’s Kingdom. Easter is a celebration not only of Christ’s death but His rebirth, His renaissance, His Resurrection.

Along with the universally accepted festivals above, I think there are two universally known biblical texts; even to those who are not regular church attendees.

These texts are namely, the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd.

Today, and at first glance it would be understandable to see Psalm 23 as being God’s answer to the protection and sustenance sought when saying the Lord’s Prayer. However, there exists at least a millennium between David writing Psalm 23 and Christ teaching His people the Lord’s Prayer. Psalm 23 tell us the Lord is an all-encompassing comforter and provider for all our needs. I think the first line is so fulfilling: I shall not want.

Isn’t this what we ask nowadays, to be forgiven and fulfilled in equal measure with the Lord’s blessing?

In our prayers, today, we ask for guidance away from wrong-doing and to feel safe in God’s love. Psalm 23 verse 3 offers the same guidance and love:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me. Your rod and staff, comfort me.

The terminology is so evocative and just as relevant today: we are not alone, God is with us.

As we dedicate our life and faith to God’s love when we pray His Prayer so David, the erstwhile shepherd boy, knew over three thousand years ago that God was there for him, also.

In these tumultuous times of wars, economic strife and life-limiting diseases, Psalm 23 introduces us to respite and tranquillity away from the busyness of our lives. Even when life is at its lowest ebb and we are consumed by fear Psalm 23 is there for us; offering recuperative support to both body and mind and opening up the right path to follow.

If for me the Lord’s Prayer is my armour, then Psalm 23 is my crutch; they both give me joy and hope and faith. And as David wrote: I shall not want!

Easter blessings to you.

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 139 | Saturday 17th February

Psalm 139

Reflection Written by Jo Oughton

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

 you discern my thoughts from far away.

3 You search out my path and my lying down

 and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

 O Lord, you know it completely.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

 and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

 it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?

 Or where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

 if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning

 and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

 and your right hand shall hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

 and night wraps itself around me,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

 the night is as bright as the day,

 for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;

 you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

 Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

 all the days that were formed for me,

 when none of them as yet existed.

17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

 How vast is the sum of them!

18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

 I come to the end

—I am still with you.

---

I chose this psalm because it is special to me in so many ways; I have an art piece with the words on my bedroom wall, which was gifted to me by a wonderful friend. It occurs in my daily prayer at times of importance, but best of all I was asked to read it at the wedding of my youngest child, such a privilege. This is a psalm that grows with our faith, and can help in the darkest of days.

At times I have felt very isolated, lonely even when in a crowd, Seeming to fit in, but that can take every ounce of energy I had.

There were things in my head that I found hard to admit, even to myself, and yet God already knew them. There was nothing that he didn’t know about me. He knew me better than I knew myself. In a world that seems to hide weakness and craves conformity, God knows that I’m not meant to fit into that mould, and I am never isolated or alone.

What is it to be known by God, he knows us better than we know ourselves.

He already knows our most shameful thoughts, he already knows our guilty past and our how repentant we are. But still he stands with his arms open ready to help us heal.

My first steps in faith needed that acceptance of the broken soul, I needed to know he loved me, the real, messy, intimidated and lonely soul that was me.Who is this God who has known us completely from the womb and on into life.

I continue to need remember how well God knows me, but now I can also see that he knows everyone this well. If God knows each one of us from the moment we are conceived, then everyone can have a relationship with him based on their true selves.

How great is our God? Sometimes, we need to be reminded that god is awesome; he is the creator of all. When we try to limit God's shape and form to our understanding, it is no wonder that we could doubt his existence. This psalm can remind us that his powers are beyond our understanding, unimaginable and so perhaps we don’t need to understand everything. We can have faith and a relationship with this awesome God, who knows us so intimately.

This Lent, perhaps we could reflect on our personal relationship with this Awesome God, and find ways in which we can deepen that relationship.

Walking with the Psalms | Psalm 1 | Wednesday 14th February

Psalm 1

Written by Calum Piper

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

---

I often say that Psalm 1 is one of my favourite psalms, and that's not just because it's the first Psalm in the whole book, but it's an introduction into the wisdom that we receive through reading these songs of worship, these meditations, most of which we believe were written by King David.

I love the imagery, particularly of verse three, that image of a tree in season, blossoming and flourishing that's near a stream, a brook. The trees I'm surrounded by down here at Happy Valley aren't in season. They're not blossoming and looking like they are flourishing, but there is work going on as they sap the strength of the passing water as they prepare for spring.

We're told in Psalm one, that those who delight in the law of Lord, those that spend their time focusing and learning the commandments of God and seeking to live them out in their daily lives, they are like that tree nearest the stream blossoming and flourishing.

Remember King David didn't live in Natural England, where there is water a plenty, especially up here in the Northwest. King David lived in the Middle East with it's dry and arid land, and so trees that have blossom, that needed strength to flourish needed to be near these streams of water and we can take that image a bit further.

The law of the Lord is nourishing for those that seek to learn from it. As Christians we’re invited to read Jesus' words to feed on them, that they might give us life, that they might help us to flourish, and in that we might know God's full joy, God's full love, God's perfect peace.

With these days of Lent, take time to delight in the law of the Lord. To delight in Christ's words as written out in scripture and as you read them to wait upon God. As you meditate through the words of the psalms may your joy and strength in the Lord grow. May your love for the Lord grow and may you find yourself flourishing in the life that he offers you.

Advent Reflections | Day 22 | Sunday 24th December

Love Came Down at Christmas:

“Love was born at Christmas. Star and angels gave the sign”

Written by Calum Piper

I know we're nearly at Christmas and we're nearly into a new year, but I want you to cast your mind back to May, to that special day where King Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Throughout the day it felt like every time he moved he was accompanied with a fanfare. Trumpets galore were surrounding Westminster Abbey as the king got out the carriage, there were trumpets as he entered Westminster Abbey, as he was presented, and then as the crown was placed on his head. As the King left the abbey there were then more trumpets. There was a really big statement being made. This is our king and this is him being crowned.

The story of Christmas is God reaching down to the world he made. It's a story where God says “I love humanity so much. I want to really engage in that relationship with them.” He knows the only way he could do it was to come and be present on earth himself.

God is born. As a human.

Mind blowing. The theology can be just completely baffling, but, the creator of the universe, the creator of the earth, becomes a human being.

If I was God, I would have probably done it a little bit like King Charles did his coronation day with all sorts of trumpet fanfares, with great spectacle, majesty, pomp and ceremony to make my point known; ‘Look, I'm God. I'm coming to Earth. Look at me’.

And yet God didn't do it like that.

God chose to come as an innocent baby child.

God chose to come to a woman who was betrothed to be married, but not yet married.

God chose to come as the son of a humble Carpenter.

Quietly in a stable. He chose to come in complete poverty despite the fact that he had existed in the riches of heaven.

There was no Roman army to welcome him. There were no Jewish ceremonies to welcome him, to say, ‘welcome. Aren't you amazing? God, the Messiah has finally arrived.’

The only fanfare for Jesus was a star to say ‘Look, he's here’. A star that needed someone really intelligent to understand it.

Then there were angels who appeared to people who were considered not acceptable to wider society.

God came to Earth and made his home in the stall in a stable. He was welcomed by shepherds and foreign wise men. In that moment, God shows us exactly what love is.

Love is not going round shouting about ourselves saying how great we are, but love is about that humble serving attitude. Saying ‘I love you so much. I will do anything I can to reach out to you and to tell you how amazing you are’.

God came at Christmas, as a child, to tell each and every person that was alive then, that is alive now, that has been alive in all that time between and all those people who are yet to be born, that they matter.

God came to each one of those people at Christmas to say you are loved, you have a purpose and you matter. He did that through the most powerful way, not coming and saying look at me, but coming and living as one of us and sharing all that we experience,

“God is love. And those who live in Love, live in God and God lives in them.” (1 John 4)

Love was born at Christmas through a baby child, who reaches out to you to say:

‘You matter! I love you! Let's do life together.’

Wherever you are this Christmas, however, you're celebrating. Know that the birth of Christ, which is at the heart of the story, is for you. And you matter. Wherever you are. However, you're celebrating from everyone here at St Michael's, Happy Christmas.

Advent Reflections | Day 21 | Saturday 23rd December

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear:

“O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing”

Written by Julie Sweeting

As Christmas day approaches everyone gets caught up in the hustle and bustle. School children are excited, Christmas nativity plays are planned together with end of school celebrations and teacher presents.

Families have the stress and excitement of planning get togethers, shopping for Christmas dinners, presents and juggling diaries to make sure they fit it all in around the normal workload. Not to mention the expense.

Tempers fray as tiredness sets in for everyone.

This hymn reminds us to stop. Have a rest. Look around and appreciate what you see. Remember what Christmas is all about. Take time to listen to the angels sing.

 At this special time of year God gave us his Son Jesus Christ to be the light of our world.

Make time to come to church and celebrate. Enjoy the carols and the fellowship. In years to come the presents will be forgotten but the experience of lighting a Christingle candle and taking part in a nativity service will remain.

Happy Christmas. 

Advent Reflections | Day 20 | Friday 22nd December

What Child is This?

“So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh. Come rich and poor to own him”

Written by Janet Ketteringham

This beautiful carol was written in 1865 and set to the tune of Greensleeves by Sir John Stainer and it is a lovely lyrical carol much loved by many people.

The carol takes us immediately to a very intimate moment between mother and child. The Baby Jesus is asleep, for which mum is probably truly grateful. Anyone looking after a babe knows that those periods of calm sleeping can be a welcome respite from feeding, cleaning and comforting a newborn.

The angels are singing sweetly and quietly, the shepherds keeping watch, shushing their dogs and shuffling in the doorway. People wonder why, if this baby is born of the Holy Spirit then what is he doing in this stable? There’s a pong of farm animals despite the clean hay in the makeshift crib; there’s a whiff of manure, even if Joseph and the shepherds have had a go at sweeping it up.

Nevertheless, there the Saviour of the world lies, peaceful, and a message is sent out by a star, by heavenly messengers – come and worship, bow down, bring what you can. Bring gold, bring frankincense, bring myrrh if you’re endowed with plenty. Bring a lamb, bring a casserole, bring cake if you’re not so well-off. But whoever you are, whatever job you have, position you hold or none, bring yourself and worship; bow down and acknowledge the Lord has come on earth.

This carol is asking us this simple thing: take the time, make the effort to be still and with all the angels in heaven, rejoice for the King of Kings is with us, here with us… us!f the overladen animal, the dust, the pot holes and the danger of falling in the darkness and of thieves and criminals hiding in the shadows. The moon and the stars being the only intermittent source of light.

Mary must have been comforted by the message from God brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel, that he had chosen her to be the Mother of His Son.

She was not travelling alone. Joseph her fiancé, was with her guiding them to Bethlehem and a much needed resting place.

The responsibility must have been overwhelming, so young, but her faith in God unshakeable

Don’t give up now Little Donkey .

Bethlehem’s in sight.

Journey’s end is near and the revelation of the Birth of God’s gift to a troubled World carried by the most humble and honoured member of the animal world.. A Donkey.

Advent Reflections | Day 19 | Thursday 21st December

Little Donkey:

“Been a long time, little donkey, through the Winter’s night. Don’t give up now, little donkey, Bethlehem’s in sight”

Written by Ann Howe

This Carol was written in 1959 and made famous by many artistes. It was the beginning of the heyday of “Pop “ music with “Mary’s Boy Child” joining the fashion to update traditional Carols.

The story of Mary travelling to Bethlehem heavily pregnant is a well known theme at Christmastime. Bethlehem is 90 miles away from Nazareth and would take four days travelling at 2.4 mph. It was winter, cold and dark. Tiredness and discomfort ever present.

One can visualise the swaying to and fro of the overladen animal, the dust, the pot holes and the danger of falling in the darkness and of thieves and criminals hiding in the shadows. The moon and the stars being the only intermittent source of light.

Mary must have been comforted by the message from God brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel, that he had chosen her to be the Mother of His Son.

She was not travelling alone. Joseph her fiancé, was with her guiding them to Bethlehem and a much needed resting place.

The responsibility must have been overwhelming, so young, but her faith in God unshakeable

Don’t give up now Little Donkey .

Bethlehem’s in sight.

Journey’s end is near and the revelation of the Birth of God’s gift to a troubled World carried by the most humble and honoured member of the animal world.. A Donkey.

Advent Reflections | Day 18 | Wednesday 20 December

Unto Us a Boy is Born:

“Now may Mary’s Son who came long ago to love us, lead us all with hearts of flame unto the joys above us”

Written by Jo Oughton

The carol “Unto us a Boy is Born” is based on a reading from

Isaiah 9:6 which we hear in the service of nine lessons and carols from Kings College. The reading foretells the coming of the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He speaks of the moment when God took human form and embodied all those titles. Emmanuel, which means “God with us”, is the title that we often used to speak of Jesus, especially at Christmas.

The line we are examining today is “now may Mary’s Son who came long ago to love us, lead us all with hearts of flame unto the joy above us.” It refers to Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem but also brings him up to date in our own lives. It speaks of the fire we can feel inside us when we are with Jesus. If we let a small spark from Jesus ignite us, we can have hearts that burn for him. We can carry his light into dark places and it can light our path to the Kingdom of God.

If the full extent of the Kingdom of God feels like what we experience when our hearts burn for Jesus, then the joys mentioned in the carol will indeed be beyond compare - the best gift we could ever receive. This Christmas, let us forget the worries about whether a gift is right or can be returned, and instead remember the real reason why we exchanged gifts during the season. It is to remember the gift that God gave us - sending his son to be Emmanuel, God with us.

Advent Reflections | Day 17 | Tuesday 19th December

The Angel Gabriel:

“Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head, ‘To me be it as pleaseth God, she said’”

Written by Ann Walker

This is the first part of the story of Christmas. A story we know well, angels, shepherds, Kings, Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus. This is like starting to read the first chapter of a book and realising we have read it before and know how it ends. Do we then skim read, maybe not paying quite as much attention to the details as we did before? This part of the story is only a few verses but contains so much about Mary.

The main characters in this chapter of the story are the Angel Gabriel and a young girl, Mary. Mary is betrothed to Joseph but not yet married. The Angel appears with a message from God telling her that she is to become pregnant with the Son of God to be named Jesus. We are not told what the angel looks like. Was it overpowering, was it frightening, was it full of light, was it n human form, was it just a voice? This is not a normal set of events. How must Mary have been feeling? How would we feel?

The answer that Mary gives to the Angel says so much about her. She was troubled and the angel tells her not to be afraid. She shows COURAGE and listens to the message. She questions the angel. She TRUSTS the Angel with the message. She has FAITH that this is a message from God. She shows HUMILITY as she bows her head. Mary shows her OBEDIENCE to God with her words “to me be it as pleaseth God”.

This may be only a small chapter in the amazing Christmas story but it shows why Mary was chosen to be the most blessed of women.

This is a story of courage, trust, obedience and faith. What a beginning to the story!

Advent Reflections | Day 16 | Monday 18th December

Silent Night:

“Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright”

Written by Val Huxley

The words of silent night speak of calm and tranquillity. They are gentle and peaceful, describing a wonderful time, the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, into what must have been a chaotic time in Bethlehem.

The words just draw me into the spirituality of what was to come, a wonderful message of peace for all people.

The background of the Carol starts in 1818, at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Oberndorf in Austria. The young Catholic priest was in despair when he discovered that the organ can be played for the service on Christmas Eve because it had been damaged by mice. His name was Joseph Mohr, so he decided to contact Franz Gruber a schoolmaster and organist nearby, to see if it would be possible to compose music for a poem he had written some time ago. Franz agreed to compose the music for the poem and together they sang Silent Night for the first time at the Christmas Eve service with Franz Gruber playing his guitar and the church choir joining in on the last two lines of each verse. The music is gentle and inclusive welcoming everyone to celebrate the birth of Jesus in their own way.

During a break on Christmas Eve in World War One, hostilities were suspended and men from both sides sang silent night, it must have been a wonderfully moving experience of calm and tranquilly in what was, I imagine the hell of war

Some years ago with my husband and two friends, I was able to visit the Church of Saint Nicholas on a cold and snowy day a few days after Christmas.