Making space
One last week of August ahead of us. The weather is changing, the leaves on the trees, starved of water all Summer, are starting to fall, the mornings are cooler, evening darkness comes sooner. Is anyone else quite excited about this?
I love the change from Summer to Autumn. September always seems like a new beginning, a time for new shoes and empty notebooks and exciting possibilities ahead. It’s a time for packing away the short sleeves and fluffing up the jumpers, relegating sandals to the back of the wardrobe and easing back into cosy slippers. The end of Summer is the time to have a proper clear out – get rid of the clutter, the things that are holding you back, start the new season with a bit of clarity, a bit of space, get things under control ready for the busy winter months ahead.
It’s the right time to have a Big Clean Up at church.
Big Clean Up
First, the practicalities. Saturday 29 August, 10am – please come along and help us get the church shipshape. We will be emptying cupboards, tidying things up, throwing things away, cleaning things, polishing and tidying and setting the church up not just for the busy season ahead but also for our very first participation in the London-wide festival of architecture, Open House London, on 19 September. We really need a small army of willing volunteers, so do come if you can.
And now the theology, because everything, even tidying up and cleaning and throwing away the clutter, can be theological.
Making drudgery divine
There is a beautiful hymn which we sing from time to time – Teach me my God and King. It’s by the 17th century poet and priest George Herbert, one of my favourite poets, whose deep faith led him to turn away from power and politics and a prestigious career in order to become a parish priest in a small village. He wrote a lot of beautiful poetry, thoughtful and theological but also often very moving and in this poem, which he called The Elixir, he describes how a life dedicated to God transforms everything, even the most basic tasks, into something holy and beautiful. You might remember these lines:
“Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws,
Makes that and the action fine.”
In other words, as the poet says, even drudgery can be divine.
I love that. Anything can be divine, if we do it for God, if we do it with God in mind, in our hearts. Herbert calls this the stone that turns everything to gold, and adds
“For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for less be told.”
In other words, nothing can diminish what God touches. Even sweeping up.
So that’s theological point number one – there is holiness in the everyday tasks of life, divinity in tidying up. But I also want us to think a bit about the theological significance of making space, of getting rid of things and tidying things, because there is a great deal of meaning in the way we hold onto things that we should be letting go of.
Clearing space can be an act of faith
We all have reasons for keeping things.
· We might need it one day.
· It was expensive.
· Someone gave it to us.
· It reminds us of the past.
· It feels wasteful to let it go.
Some of those reasons are good. But often things sit in our homes and hearts long after they have served their purpose. They take up room. They collect dust. They become silent weights. And this is true of churches – churches gather things, collect objects, sometimes without anyone knowing where they came from, sometimes things given to us by people we loved, sometimes things that were once useful, sometimes things we don’t like but were expensive so it seems wrong to throw them away.
And this collection of unused, unwanted things can be true in our spiritual lives. We may carry old hurts, old habits, old fears, or old ways of seeing ourselves. We may keep fretting about mistakes God has already forgiven. We may hold on to disappointments because we no longer know who we would be without them.
It is time to clear some space, time to throw some things away. Some things in church, some things in our lives. And as we do it, if we turn our hearts to God, if we dedicate each task, each decision about what to keep, what to donate, what to recycle, to God, then as George Herbert says, we make that and the action fine.
Making room for new things
And as we make room in our cupboards, perhaps we can also make room in our minds and hearts. Room for new ideas, new activities, new opportunities to build God’s Kingdom around us. As we remove some of the things that are cluttering up our church and our thoughts, perhaps we will find new space for God, quietness so that we can hear God, release so that we can serve God.
So as we empty cupboards and shelves in church, as we make space in our lives for more time with God and free ourselves through God’s forgiveness to be more fully who we are supposed to be, then perhaps we can ask ourselves these questions:
· Is this still helping people meet Jesus?
· Does this still serve the community well?
· Are we doing this from joy, habit, or fear of change?
· What might God be inviting us to begin?
· What might God be inviting us to lay down?
New blessings require open hands. If our hands are full of things God has not asked us to keep hold of we may struggle to receive what God is offering us.
So let’s make some room.
Notices
Still no internet in church Despite our nagging, the engineers have not yet been to sort out the internet in the church and church halls. We have been promised a visit on Wednesday, so we pray that they will find and fix the problem. We will do our best to livestream this week but make no promises. For those interested, this is not a problem with our equipment in church or with our internet provider - it is an infrastructure problem with the optical fibres under the road that bring the internet to the neighbourhood.
Picnic in the Park Stay behind after church tomorrow (Sunday 23rd) and join us for a picnic in Pymmes Park.
Big Clean Up on Saturday 10am. Fetch your rubber gloves and join us for a big sort and clean session, to get the church looking ship-shape for our open day
Open House 19 September Our beautiful church building will be part of the annual Open House London festival this year. Invite friends and family to come along.
God, the Bible and Everything in 60 Minutes A one-man show by BBC comedy writer James Cary. St Andrew’s Southgate are hosting this funny and enlightening event on Saturday 12 September at 7.30pm – tickets £12.
Civic Choral Evensong at St Stephen’s Sunday 13 Sept at 5pm. All are invited to this service at St Stephen’s in Bush Hill Park, in which we will welcome and pray for those beginning a new year of civic service. The new Mayor of Enfield will be present and the service will launch St Stephen’s new Evensong Choir. Drinks and light refreshments afterwards.
Confirmations 6 December Bishop Anderson will be with us on Sunday 6 December for a confirmation service. Confirmation preparation will begin in September - if you or a family member would like to be confirmed and to receive Holy Communion please talk to Mother Anna.
Dates for the diary
19 Sep Open House
27 Sep Harvest
17 Oct Fundraising concert
25 Oct Thanksgiving and Giving service
1 Nov 10am All Saints
3pm All Souls
8 Nov Remembrance Service
15 Nov Safeguarding Sunday
5 Dec Christmas Bazaar
6 Dec Confirmations with Bishop Anderson
20 Dec Bring & Share lunch followed by
3pm Carol Service
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