Old and new

Welcome to our new-look parish email.

It is very new and shiny and comes with lots of bells and whistles – for the first time there is now a picture with the email, along with links to web pages. There are also tech things in the background that mean that we can run the newsletter more professionally – this new email is now an online blog (really just a way of saying that it’s on the internet) and will be on our church website, plus it now has an Unsubscribe function. At the bottom of every email there is an option to change your email preferences so click on that link and unsubscribe, after which we won’t contact you again. For reasons to do with tech and lack of resources we can’t find a sensible way of asking you all individually to sign up so we hope that this will be an acceptable way of getting things started – feel free to hit that Unsubscribe button if you don’t want to hear from us again. Although we very much hope you do!

Things move pretty fast and changes happen all the time. When I first arrived here five years ago there was a parish magazine which was printed. That stopped during the pandemic and was replaced by the parish email. Now here we go again, another new thing – the parish blog.

Why? Why do things keep changing? Is it really necessary? Can’t we just keep the things the way they were? Why does church have to keep changing?

It’s a good question. But here’s another – why are we stuck in the old ways? Can’t we be more up-to-date? Shouldn’t we be trying to keep up with the world, updating our music, investing in new tech, reaching out to young people who don’t like all these old things?

Take a look at the picture that has come with this blog – that’s our altar in church, with the beautiful new green altar frontal, the embroidered silk cloth hanging at the front of the altar. I say new – it is in fact very old. I’ve no idea how old exactly, but I would guess it is at least 70 years old, possibly 100 or more, maybe even dating back to the building of this church in 1903.

But it is new to us. I found it in the back of a cupboard, crumpled up and smelling damp. No one I have spoken to remembers it being used, but it was made to fit our altar so it clearly belongs here and was presumably in use in the past. But at some point it was felt that this kind of thing was old-fashioned and we needed something new, something more modern so church stitchers made the green frontal with the dove which we have been using for many years now.

And now I’ve retrieved the old frontal and installed it, so this very old thing becomes something very new. New to us, at least.

Which do you prefer? This lovely old frontal or the newer one? This shiny new blog or the parish email? Some people in our church prefer the old traditional things - the hand-stitched altar frontal, the printed parish magazine, the big brass collection plate. Others prefer to look forwards – to drums and guitars and worship songs, to blogs and livestreaming and contactless card readers. Some, like me, like a bit of both.

There are no right answers here - and today’s readings are a reminder of that. In them we see two stories, one from the Old Testament, one from the New. In our reading from Exodus we hear about Moses, the only one of the people of God bold enough, brave enough to see God face-to-face. But being in the presence of God changes him – it makes his face to shine. And the fearful among God’s people don’t like it – they don’t like it at all. Seeing the radiance of God even at second hand is too much for them, so Moses has to veil his face, to hide the glory of God from them.

Then in our Gospel reading we have the story of the Transfiguration, when Jesus is praying and, like Moses, he is changed – his face and his clothing all glow with the radiance of God and then Moses and Elijah, the two greatest prophets of the Old Testament, appear with him in glory.

Old Testament and New Testament. Transfiguration 1.0 and Transfiguration 2.0. A reminder of the old covenant, God’s promises to his people, the Jews, and a foretaste of the new covenant, in which all find salvation in the cross of Christ.

Which is better? Clearly neither. God’s promises, old and new, are all good. The Old Testament and the New Testament – both good. The changes that God makes in us now and made in Moses then, these too are all good.

Old and new both have merit in our church life. Of course, we will all have preferences, but nevertheless, for the love of God, for our work for the kingdom of God, we need both. Old and new, blog and pew sheet, hymns and worship songs, cash and contactless – all put to use for the glory of God and of Jesus Christ, his son and our saviour. Amen.

Services this week

Monday to Saturday 8am Morning Prayer on Zoom. Email admin@aldhelms.org.uk for details

Wednesday 5 March, Ash Wednesday  6pm Eucharist with ashing

Thursday 6th          10am Holy Communion 

Sunday 9th, Lent 1 9am Morning Prayer

10am Eucharist 

                                    6pm Service at St Peter’s Bounces Road

Notices

Lent Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday – how will you be keeping this holy season? Christians are asked to prepare for Holy Week and Easter by almsgiving, fasting and prayer, in other words by giving money to church or charity, giving something up to remind us that we are totally dependent on God and praying more often and more deeply. See below for more ways to spend more time with God this Lent.

Sunday evening in Lent As usual there will be Sunday evening services at 6pm in partnership with other Edmonton churches. The services are an important part of our Lent devotions – do come along.

    Sunday 9 March: St Peter’s Bounces Road

    Sunday 16 March: St Aldhelm’s

    Sunday 23 March: St John’s Dysons Lane

    Sunday 30 March: St Alphege’s

    Sunday 6 April: All Saints

Daily Eucharist and Evening Prayer at St Aldhelm’s We will be offering a short Eucharist and Evening Prayer service in church Monday to Friday at 5pm from 10 March to 16 April.

Music in March Tosin our Music Director is on leave this month. In her absence our services will be led by choir and organ.

Electoral roll This year we are required to renew our electoral roll, the membership list of the church. Forms are available at the back of church – please sign up if you can!

Deanery Synod 20 March Bishop Anderson will be leading our Lent meeting at St Peter and St Paul Church, Enfield Lock. Time to be confirmed. All welcome.

For your prayers

From the electoral roll this week we ask you to pray for Michael KIBIRANGO; Althea KING-CHALLENGER; Jeffrey KINGSLEY; Tracey KINGSLEY; Betty KIRBY; and all their families and loved ones.

For our parish, please pray for all who live or work on Lister Gardens; Lopen Road; Mitchell Road; Morecambe Terrace; Munster Gardens.

This week we ask for your prayers for: Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent; ordained clergy; Nuns, monks and friars; Anyone exploring vocation.