Journey magazine - Spring 2022

Cover photo: ddzphoto on Pixabay Footsteps Beach Sand - Free photo on Pixabay ii

Pastoral Letter Dear Sisters & Brothers While walking though Birmingham city centre one afternoon recently, I wondered what changes had occurred over the past two years in the lives of the people I passed by. We have journeyed through challenging times since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, and now we seem to have reached a point when the dust of the crisis is beginning to settle – but, if that is the case, what are we looking for and what can we see before us? These are good questions for us to travel with through Lent this year, as we journey towards Holy Week and Easter.

I am looking forward to visiting the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and meandering through its halls when it reopens to the public on 28th April. You can go on a virtual tour via the gallery's website, but I am yearning for a taste of the actual. One painting in the BM&AG collection that makes me smile is entitled 'Noli me Tangere' ('Do Not Touch Me') by a 16th century Dutch artist called Jan van Scorel. This is a triptych, a painting in three parts, with the wealthy, merchant patrons who commissioned the picture depicted on the outer panels, but it is on the central panel where the action takes place. The scene is biblical, a picture of new life; a distressed Mary Magdalene kneels by an ointment jar in front of the figure of the resurrected Jesus, who is dressed as a contemporary Dutch gardener, garbed in rough robes, with a straw hat on his head, and a shovel in his hand.

The inspiration for the painting is John 20:1-18. In verses 14 and 15 we read, "(Mary) turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" The second part of Jesus' question was a critical issue for 1st century Palestine when numerous messianic movements emerged. These were militant groups, led by strong men, opposed to the occupying forces of Rome and those who collaborated with them. But the Jesus of Nazareth movement didn't fit this model. Instead, here was no strong man, but an ordinary working man who surrounded himself with people like him, and sought out the lost, the despised, and the desperate, saying that the Kingdom of God was theirs. After three years of public ministry, raising the hopes of the most marginalised, this Jesus fell foul of the system, and died the death of a common 1

crook. Then, even when he embodied new life, one of his nearest and dearest, Mary Magdalene, didn't recognise him. "Whom are you looking for?" was the question. And who did she see before her? - a commoner gardener!

Jan van Scorel's painting in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery brings a smile to my face because it reminds me that Jesus of Nazareth wasn't a strong man Messiah figure, but the Son of Our Humanity who shows us that the ways of God are close to home.

After two long and trying years, when many of us have been much closer to home than we may have wanted, here is an Easter message of hope. Yes, there is hope even at this time when we look for direction and see different paths, when we look for assurance and see seismic change, when we look for peace and see war. There is hope because in the midst of our daily routines, rituals, and realities, new life can be found, new life that offers direction, assurance and peace. As we look forward to the resurrection of our communities, society, and world at a time of fear, suffering, and death, may we journey through Lent towards the Easter celebration of the raising of the 'Commoner Gardener Messiah'. Then may we realise, like Mary, that in the everyday we can see the Lord.

Peace be with you, Neil

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Lent and Holy Week Services The Church at Carrs Lane is taking 'Journeying' as its overall theme this Lent, acknowledging that the church is in a time of transition.

Sub themes that may be explored include: ➢ Being a pilgrim people ➢ Walking the way of discipleship ➢ Jesus journeying to Jerusalem ➢ The Journey to the Cross (Holy Week) As well as the weekly Sunday Services, regular prayers and mid-week communion, there will be a service at 6pm on Maundy Thursday 14th April led by Revds Neil Johnson and Elaine Hutchinson. As was offered at the Ash Wednesday service, a simple meal will also be offered alongside the Maundy Thursday worship.

Helen Woodall is leading a Lent Study over zoom using three Godly Play Stories reflecting on the journeys of the People of God: ➢ The Great Family, 8pm, Monday 14 March ➢ Exodus, 8pm, Wednesday 30 March ➢ Exile and Return, 8pm, Monday 4 April Holy Week Monday to Wednesday 11th-13th April Prayers will be led over zoom at 7pm by Revd Diana Cullum-Hall, Deacon Ruth Yorke and Jan Scott.

Good Friday 15th April Ecumenical Walk of Witness will start from Carrs Lane at 10am and, using a liturgy based on the Stations of the Cross, process through the City Centre to the Town Hall and then St Philip’s and St Chad’s Cathedrals.

Easter Day 17th April Morning service at 10.30am

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Christian Aid Week, 15-21 May 2022 Dear Friends, Last year Pat Davies and I both did a sponsored walk for Christian Aid during the month of May. This year I thought it would be good if we could have a sponsored walk which we did together. Most of my 300,000 steps last year were in Sutton Park! I am inviting you to come and join me in Sutton Park on the morning of 21st May for a sponsored walk for Christian Aid. The walk I am planning is about 5km (a bit over 3 miles in old money) and will be on a tarmac surface - grass is also available!

For those of you who don’t know Sutton Park, I would be delighted to introduce you to one of the largest urban parks in Europe. During the morning I thought we could share in a short act of worship.

This year Christian Aid is focusing on Jessica’s story and how climate change is causing hunger for her family.

Please put the 21st May in your diary - I hope that you will be able to come and join me. There will be more about the walk nearer the time.

Christian Aid sent me a letter about Jessica which I share with you now.

All good wishes, Diana Cullum-Hall

Jessica is hungry to provide food – and hope – for her family 4

Jessica Mwedzi smiles with love for her children as she stirs a single bowl of porridge for them... ...but she knows they’re hungry for more. This one bowl of porridge is all she and her family can eat today: ‘My children crave a decent meal, but I can’t provide. We often go to bed on an empty stomach.

It pains me to send them to bed hungry.’

“Women are at the mercy of climate change and hunger.” - Jessica.

Jessica (right) poses outside her house with 3 of her children Christian Aid / David Brazier

'So painful and disheartening' For Jessica, drought means every day is a struggle for survival.

Like many women in rural Zimbabwe - 7 out of 10 rely on farming for income and food - she toils on her farm, but nothing can grow on her ashen, dry land.

Drought starves, and intensified by the climate crisis, drives families into hunger. Jessica recalls that ‘One year, we had no rain. The scorching sun burnt my crops just as they were about to bloom. It was so painful and disheartening.’

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You can help this loving mum turn hunger into hope It’s unjust that drought robs Jessica of the power to provide for her family. Her husband is unwell, so she's the only breadwinner. Her children look up to her, but she has nothing left to give.

Once before, when things were desperate, Jessica asked her neighbours for food, but she came home with nothing.

But Jessica is anything but helpless. In the face of drought, her love for her family gives her courage to stand strong - and we stand with Jessica.

Together, we can restore justice to our world.

“My children give me the power to go ahead… I pray they have a better future.” (Jessica) A ray of hope As the golden sun fades across the sky, Jessica watches her muchloved sons and daughters sing, dance and play outside. Can you imagine how it feels for her to know her children are hungry, but have nothing left to give?

She finds a ray of hope that she will overcome this tough time - and be able to provide her children with good food, and a full life, free from hunger.

Could you give today, and help this loving mum provide food and hope for her family?

Jessica and her family walk home at sunset Christian Aid / David Brazier

How your gift could help Jessica could grow drought-resistant crops, set up water taps on her farm, learn how to grow food in the harsh climate.

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Her dry, dusty land could transform into a garden of hope, abundant with fresh food like tomatoes, beans and cucumbers.

She'll be proud of the fruit of her work, and she'll see her children enjoy their first full meal in months.

With your gift this Christian Aid Week, families like Jessica's won't go to bed hungry tonight.

Christian Aid Week: 15-21 May 2022 Use our e-envelope to make a donation online:

Go to: https://envelope.christianaid.org.uk/envelope/church-atcarrs-lane

Scan the QR code with a smartphone to visit the donation page

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The Hope for the World: an address from Church Anniversary Sunday on 28 November 2021 Today [28 November 2021] we’re marking our church’s 10 th anniversary. It was born on Advent Sunday 2011 when our Covenant was signed. The image of Elizabeth Gray-King’s artwork, ‘Tabernacle,’ inspired by the accounts of Carrs Lane’s popularity in the nineteenth century when people thronged here from the newly opened New St Station, is a most appropriate backdrop because it reminds us that we have been people of God in this place for almost 300 years, travelling from the past into the future. Over the centuries we have been The Carrs Lane Chapel, Carrs Lane Congregational Church, Carrs Lane Church Centre and now The Church at Carrs Lane.

As we come into Advent, looking for signs of hope after the bleakness of the last couple of years and the uncertainties of the future, we are going to step back 100 years to walk a little with our 8

forebears who had lived through a devastating pandemic – as we have – on top of the war to end all wars…and to reflect on what sustained them and gave them hope.

To source these reflections, I’ve been reading the bound copies of the Carrs Lane Journal from January 1918 – December 1921.

Come back with me then, and I can tell you that a century ago today, if you’ve paid your tuppence for this month’s Journal, you will see that the Young People’s examination on ‘The Beginnings of Christianity in Britain’ is to be held on Friday 9th December; our children are attending classes on Sunday morning to prepare for the exam and the really keen ones have been swatting at home with the text book for months, because prizes and certificates are there to be won.

The buzz of conversation after worship today will very likely be the Missionary Conversazione held last Tuesday at the Town Hall… a delightful evening no-one wanted to miss. Some of you will also 9

have attended a very special meeting of the Carrs Lane and Digbeth Sisterhood on its 25th anniversary last month and will relish the news that the sale of work had raised the phenomenal sum of £675 18s 101/2 d. (in 2021, the equivalent of your 1921 pound would a bit more than £50!)

You will see from the church notices, printed on page one, the details of six people who have been received into membership this month and of five new seat holders, with their pew numbers. There is one death recorded and three marriages. You will also be interested to read the outcome of an article in the September edition suggesting the idea of a manse ‘has a great deal of charm’ and inviting ‘one of the ten men who could afford it to purchase a suitable central residence and achieve immortal fame by presenting it to the church’. Unfortunately, no one has yet, apparently, had the courage to set aside the £1,500 necessary to win this posthumous regard.

If you put your trust in a different quarter, you could be assured of a made-to-measure corset, 18s 6d; Fit guaranteed, by Lily Levine, 96 Broad Street’! Regular advertisements are necessary to help fund the Journal, you see. And 1000 copies are printed each month.

It may be that the highlight for you of this edition of the monthly news will be the account of C M Attlee’s Easter vacation in Greece, a sign that the world may have taken a turn for the better. So… hope was to be found in fellowship and in looking forward.

Hope was also, clearly, to be found in social action. Our forebears were very busy doing good. The roots of our commitment to social justice in the 21st century can be traced back through the decades to the Civic Gospel of the 19th century preached by RW Dale, and 10

they are also reflected frequently in the words of many sermons and the activities of the church 100 years ago.

Every Journal includes the text of one of the previous month’s sermons by the minister, Revd Sidney Berry, and here in November 1921, in reflecting on harvest, he exhorts the membership (nudging 1200 at the time) to call on three truths: that of ‘Providence, Love and Work’ as they remember those shadowed by post-war poverty and anxiety, for whom ‘Harvest Thanksgiving is a feast of irony’.

Our forebears were generous people. Overseas missionary work was greatly supported, and every Journal was accompanied by the monthly Chronicle of the London Missionary Society.

Every year in November a Missionary Sunday Children’s service was held which, in 1921, was attended by 1500 children from Carrs Lane and her daughter churches. They marched through the streets to the church with the Carrs Lane Scouts’ band and, the report concludes, it was worth being there just to hear the singing!

Not all the social action was directed overseas, however. A House of Mercy, set up late in 1921 to house the aged poor of the church, after one of them died in the workhouse, is just one of the local projects conceived and supported by Carrs Lane at the time which continued well into the future. So, hope was to be found in action.

Another hope for the future was the church’s commitment to equality. In October 1921, Carrs Lane was instrumental in setting up a ‘Women’s Work Committee’, formalising a movement in the Congregational Churches to secure women’s opportunities for responsibility in society and in the Church.

In May the previous year, Mrs Tillyard had been elected Deacon (forerunner of the URC’s Eldership). This broke new ground and merited a special comment since ‘the election of a lady creates a new precedent in the government of Carrs Lane and we should like to assure Mrs Tillyard that she has the goodwill of the church behind her in this somewhat difficult task’. Earlier still, the Literary and Debating Society, much appreciated for its ‘Lantern Lectures’, 11

advertised the spring event under the title: ‘That the decline in chivalry shown towards the fair sex is most marked and to be deplored’! Hmmm!

One of the greatest hopes was for education which the church cherished and actively promoted. A detailed report in January 1921 on Children’s Church reports an average attendance of 40-45 out of a membership of 75, the majority from Carrs Lane families. At 14, most boys joined Mr Veitch’s class while the girls went into church with their parents! There is a full description of the format of the children’s service with an emphasis on the involvement of the participants and the encouragement of questions.

The commitment to education went beyond childhood with many opportunities for youth and, indeed, adult development. In December 1920 there was a heartfelt appeal for volunteer teachers for the Digbeth Night School (senior dept) in which a rough and ready element are quite irrepressible in groups of 15-20 but are interested and well behaved in smaller groups. The update in March ’21 reported there had been a good response from men but none from women, which left 200 regular scholars marking time rather than marching forward. A similar plea printed later that year, especially for ‘lady teachers’, entreated ‘the diffident to take their courage in both hands and make the experiment forthwith’.

More successful were the Young Worshippers’ League, the Girls’ Life Brigade, the Young Women’s Class, the Study Circle, the Student Christian Movement recruiting drive, Carrs Lane Scouts, the Young Men’s Morning Class, the latter billed explicitly as being there for all, whether they attended this church, or any, or none.

Notices for its programme include titles such as: ‘The Changing Standards of Morality’ and ‘Is the World Getting Better?’ and subsequent reports show soul-searching discussion laced with humour, in the wake of the war.

Our predecessors found hope in service, and the war, of course, gave the church many opportunities for service. In March 1919 a report on the Carrs Lane National Working Party paid tribute to its 12

efforts as a ‘warmth and cheer-bringer to our soldiers’. In four and a half years, at least 200 ladies had produced 12,128 garments, comprising socks and other knitted comforts, day shirts, night shirts, vests and treasure bags. A total of £1,000 had been raised to pay for materials, flannel being the most expensive.

The Journal itself was appreciated at home for its regular news of those on the frontline and also by the service men themselves who received it. It helped to hold the community together in a time of heart-breaking separation. In April 1918 a letter was published from Corporal F E Stiff, writing from hospital, to say thank you for the interesting reading matter, particularly the admirable sermon, read 150 yards from enemy lines, which was no less enjoyable for the unmistakeable smell, on account of its having been squashed in his haversack during the action, between tins of bully and his ration of cheese.

In 1921 the Carrs Lane branch of the Working Party for European Distress had made 2,027 garments for women and children in the Birmingham Home in Innsbruck and, after a visit to investigate the situation by a deputation from the church, it was decided to concentrate all efforts on alleviating the suffering of small children there. Carrs Laners (a term I was surprised to find in all the Journals I read!) were instrumental in setting up a kindergarten for 145 children and ensuring medical help was available.

These times were grim. As well as the war, life for everyone in Birmingham had been blighted by ‘the scourge of influenza’ which hit the city in four devastating waves. It was this resonance with our own experience that first inspired the idea of these reflections.

It was said that people could be ‘healthy at breakfast and dead by teatime’. But, according to all the Journals, none of the activities at Carrs Lane were stopped or even paused, except the Golf matches, reinstated in 1921! The only reference I could find to the pandemic was in the January 1919 Journal, with a glowing tribute to a young man called Edwin Hawkins who had been a church member for eight years, having come to Birmingham as a University student 13

and whose death ‘took a life full of brilliant promise’. (Those of you who have known me for a very long time will realise why that name leapt off the page when I read it! My brother, who is into genealogy, is investigating whether we might be related!) Of the numerous obituaries elsewhere, none made any reference to influenza.

Much, however, was written about hope. Late in 1918 it was announced that the motto card for 1919 would be printed with the words: ‘The Hope for the World!’ Immediately after the Armistice, Sidney Berry wrote poignantly in the December Journal about the hope of peace, craved for but fragile, the costliest gift in the world, scarred with a cross at its heart. Eight months later, using Hebrews 10:23 as his text: ‘Let us hold fast to our hope, that it waver not’, he exhorted his listeners - and now readers – not to lose heart because dreams had kept them alive through the worst of times.

Despite the privations they were suffering now, their hope remained the guiding light of their lives. However, if true peace were to be a reality, it required action from everyone.

As inheritors of this vision, and with Advent hope, we are also setting out to discover what it means to be the people of God in this place, at this time. ‘Let us hold fast to our hope, that it waver not!’

To quote Fred Kaan, a beloved former Carrs Laner: Give us faith to be more faithful, give us hope to be more true, give us love to go on learning: God! Encourage and renew!

(Singing the Faith no 649)

Julie Grove Worship on Advent Sunday 28th November 2021

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Thank you and Farewell to Chris and Julie Grove By the time of reading this item, most of you will be aware that two of our longest-serving members are moving away from Birmingham. Chris and Julie are moving to South Gloucestershire to be nearer to their family. Their final Sunday service will be Palm Sunday, April 10th.

It is not surprising that over a period of nearly 54 years Chris and Julie became deeply involved in the life of this church, to the extent to which, at times, it became their second home! We owe them a significant debt of gratitude for their involvement and devotion to the tasks that they have performed on our behalf for so long, and the contribution that has made to the life of the church.

Both Chris and Julie were members of Seventy Club, from where they progressed to become church members.

In due course they both became elders, in which role Julie continued to serve before taking on the role of Church Secretary.

Her long and dedicated involvement in that position saw the church through some very difficult and challenging times, including the protracted negotiations leading to the formation of the LEP. In addition, Julie has organised the Flower Rota (and arranged thousands of flowers) for an estimated period of 45 years. She has master-minded (originally with Simon Rowntree) the annual autumn lectures, the last of which was the 20th; chaired the Publicity and Website groups (the latter, she would acknowledge, testing her IT skills to the limit); organised 15

both Heretics Anonymous and Thinking Allowed groups; contributed significantly to the church magazine (Journey in recent years); and has been involved in countless other activities including her continuing support of the Carrs Lane Players, for whom she created both publicity and programme material. She was also one of the directors of the Conference Centre until its recent closure.

As well as his non-serving role as an elder, Chris has been a loyal member of the Choir; has served on the Finance Committee; has enthusiastically cajoled and persuaded members to be included in the rotas for duty elder, readers and intercessors; maintained the “who does what” sheet; and faithfully recorded membership and other statistics, for both the URC and our own use. It is also important to remember his unfailing support of Julie that enabled her to be so involved in such a breadth of activities.

Not only do we wish them well in this new episode of their lives, but we also thank them immensely for their contribution over so many years to the very existence of The Church at Carrs Lane. We hope that we may see you again if you are ever in Birmingham City Centre.

Our blessings go with you.

Joan & Derek Duffield On behalf of your Carrs Lane family

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The Tabernacle at Carrs Lane?

Last week, when I was preparing a service based on the reading about Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9 v 28-36), I was struck by Peter’s words as written in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible: “Let us make three dwellings, one for you, and one for Moses and one for Elijah”.

“Three dwellings” didn’t sound quite right in my memory? The word which was tugging at my memory was “tabernacle”, not three dwellings. Didn’t Peter say, “let us make three tabernacles”? I looked in different translations of the Bible and there, in the Authorised version, the version I heard each Sunday when I was growing up, it read: “Peter said unto Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee; and one for Moses, and one for Elias;’” It was interesting that the Good News version said: “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents; one for you, and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

The New English Bible said: “Master, how good it is that we are here! Shall we make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah?”

And William Barclay translates: “Master, it is good for us to be here. So let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

Dwellings, tents, booths, shelters, tabernacles! How confusing… but when I thought of Peter’s words in the context of the tabernacle the Israelites built in the book of Exodus it started to make sense. In the book of Exodus the people brought all their finest gifts, as a response to God’s glory, to build a place where they could worship God. In the awesome presence of the transfigured Jesus, shining with God’s glory, Peter was afraid but he wanted to make an offering to God, just like the wandering Israelites. Peter’s response is to want a holy place, a worship place, a place to encounter and be guided by the mystery of God. The tabernacle in Exodus is not a building fixed to the ground but a wonderful tent or booth or dwelling or shelter which can be moved from place to place for a nomadic people. They brought their finest 17

offerings to make a holy place, a worship place, a place to encounter and be guided by the mystery of God - and a tabernacle suits the purposes of a travelling people; always ready to move at God’s bidding.

When I was in ministry in Walsall, I sometimes had children from the local school come and look at the church. I would tell them they had to be detectives and find out what was important to the people who built the church and came there each Sunday.

Also, they could ask me questions. I was often asked why we didn’t have stained glass windows; why there was no Jesus on the cross; what were all the huge pipes for; why did we have such a big Bible at the front; who went up in the pulpit; what was a font for; why did we have lots of notices at the back of church and collection plates; who were the little chairs for? I explained that our focus was on the risen Jesus, alive in the world today; we worshipped by singing and praising and listening to God’s word in the Bible and preaching; we loved to look through the windows out into God’s world where we needed to do God’s work; the notices and the collection plates were about the work we did to help people; we liked to make children welcome and all the grown-ups too. These visits were always fun but it wasn’t just the children who discovered more about who worshipped at the church. I did too.

In a time of huge change, what does the Church building at Carrs Lane say about the people who built this church and the people who come to worship here now? It is good sometimes to stop and look around at our church. It can become so familiar that we forget why it is the way it is. This is the “tabernacle” which we and previous church members have built inspired by God’s glory.

People have responded with generous hearts and made costly offerings so that this is a holy place where God can be encountered. It is also a place which responds to new needs and new ways that God wants God’s people to travel. For instance, The Church at Carrs Lane has made changes to keep people safe in the pandemic. Are there other things which need to change? We become very attached to things which are familiar and have precious memories for us. At this difficult time in the life of our church we need to ask ourselves - What are the things about our church which are really important for us, so that we keep travelling with God? Diana Cullum-Hall (1 March, 2022) 18

Junior Church is busy learning all the time…

Candlemas / presentation of Jesus at the temple.

Prayers for Peace

Jesus calls his disciples (and us)

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Original Community Leader – News of Jo Merrygold Those who remember our original Community Leader, Jo Merrygold, may like to know that in the following eleven years she has obtained three degrees, starting with firstclass honours in Theology and Religious Studies, and an MA in that subject. Then a PhD with a thesis titled "Gender diversity in the ancestral narratives: Encountering Sarah & Esau through a hermeneutics of cispicion".

Now Dr Jo Henderson-Merrygold, she is Lay Ministries Development Officer in the Diocese of Derby.

(Details from her website which also lists some of her publications, mainly on issues of gender: https://johendersonmerrygold.hcommons.org/cv/) Michael Richer Thy Kingdom Come On May 26th - June 5th 2022, join the global wave of prayer calling Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

This year, Thy Kingdom Come corresponds with the extended bank holiday weekend for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

https://www.thykingdomcome.global/

https://platinumjubilee.gov.uk/ 20

We are starting to collect again for the Aston and Nechells Foodbank.

Donations can be left in the box at the back of the church and Simon or Christine will deliver them to the food bank.

At present they are desperately short of toiletries of all kinds.

Regarding food, the following are NOT required: • • • • •

baked beans tinned spaghetti tinned soup pasta biscuits

Cash donations are also acceptable and should be given to Simon or Christine. Further information is also available from them.

To donate online, please visit: https://astonnechells.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donatemoney/ 21

United in Prayer Pray24Brum, 24 hours of prayer in and for our city during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, is now an established feature of the church year in Birmingham. The event began back in 2015 making this our eighth edition.

Coming at the beginning of the calendar year it is a beautiful way to begin the year, reminded that we are a gloriously diverse collection of individuals and communities but that we are united in our common commitment to prayer. This year, as Birmingham prepares to welcome the world as host city of the Commonwealth Games, it felt if anything more important than ever to come together across our many traditions and expressions of faith and to turn together towards the God who loves us.

The structure of the event has changed little year on year. Each year is hosted by a different city centre church, and this year we gathered at The Church at Carrs Lane. Churches, charities, schools and Christian groups from across the city, and at times beyond, are invited to lead an hour of prayer according to their own tradition.

Every year we welcome back groups for whom this is an important part of their year, but there are always churches or communities participating for the first time.

This creates huge variety in style and subject of prayer, and yet, without it being planned as such, strands and recurring themes often emerge throughout the 24 hours. For example, this year one group focused on praying for children and young people, little knowing that the hour after them would be led by a group of school children. It was totally unplanned, but seamless (apart from the technical hitches) and beautiful!

Last year, pandemic restrictions meant Pray24Brum was an onlineonly event. Having thought we might have to cancel completely, it still felt precious and meaningful to be connected through cyberspace but, for those of us who met again in person this year, there was something particularly beautiful and poignant. Previously, we certainly took for granted this possibility of gathering together to pray, and it has certainly taught us all gratitude for these simple things. Some hours attracted more people than others but often it was only small numbers who gathered in person to pray. We live by 22

the promise of the gospels “Wherever two or three are gathered, I am there with them” and those of us who were present recognised

something powerful about the simple constancy of being together in prayer.

It was also our first foray into a hybrid model, with everything being streamed online as well as open in person. We were fortunate that the technological aspects all went remarkably and perhaps surprisingly well! It was heartening to see how many people engaged online but Facebook statistics not withstanding we have no idea what is the real ‘reach’ of the event.

We never really know who the event touches and in what ways. But then again, it is not our job to know either. We trust that it plants seeds. We trust that God will make them grow and flower.

Steph Neville

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Why we went Walking English Trails One thing that Covid has stopped us from doing is our walking holidays. They came to us relatively late, as we had always thought we couldn’t have managed them. After all, you needed walking gear, spare clothes, night attire, towel and toiletries, cooking equipment, food and water, sleeping mat and sleeping bag and of course the tent. Now, we are campers, but not of the minimalist kind and could not imagine going for days, with a camping gas stove and a mug and a bowl each, eating dried food. Even water weighs a tonne. No, we were looking for what we could call soft walking holidays, where someone else carries your bags.

So, it was a surprise to find ourselves in 2012 in the town of Saltaire created by Titus Salt, who was a Congregationalist and built a model town for the employees of his new mills away from the suffocating stench of industrial Bradford.

His model village has street names named after his family.

Many of the original terraced houses are still there, along with the large Congregational church (now URC). And so. it’s on our wedding anniversary, guidebook and map in hand, we set off up the Leeds/ Liverpool canal towards Ilkley.

With thanks to David Noonan (https://pixabay.com/photos/saltaire-millsyorkshire-titus-salt-5067851/)

We had discovered walking holidays. These are provided by many firms which carry your bags day to day as you step along the way from one B&B to the next.

They can also book your overnight accommodation as well, which is a step too far for many but a god send for us.

‘A Dales Highway’ was our first venture, and it led on to many happy holidays in Yorkshire, Cleveland, Northumberland, Cumbria 24

and Lancashire. A Dales Highway is a beautiful creation from Tony & Chris Grogan who grew up in the area covered by the walk, where it runs vaguely parallel to the famous Leeds to Carlisle railway up to Appleby.

We have to blame the BBC Radio 4 programme Ramblings, for making us take this big step. The programme, hosted by Claire Balding on that occasion, followed part of that trail, when Claire and one of the Grogans, had to take a safer route off the tops because of the winds and heavy rain. Our trip had rain, sunshine, heavy showers, rainbows and included getting soaked on the last day.

Despite this we were back again in July to do our second trail.

With thanks to Tim Hill (https://pixabay.com/photos/ribblehead-viaduct-yorkshire-dales-2443093/ )

Though often very joyful and even romantic, walking holidays are a commitment. You’ve got to keep walking every day, whatever the weather, through rain and shine. Opting out even for a day means cadging a lift to catch up with your bags for the night. As our walk left the museum town of Saltaire, with its David Hockney art gallery, for the moors, we finally dropped down to Ilkley famous for its ‘Baht ‘at’. Over the next 7 days we went through Skipton, Malham, Settle, Sedbergh, the small village of Newbiggin-on-Lune before reaching Appleby-in-Westmorland via Great Ashby. Of all our walks this was the wettest, despite which we caught the long-distance walking bug.

We have often talked about going back and doing this one again.

In one way, geologically it was a walk in two halves, walking over moors of grit and sandstone, then without warning we came to the limestone country from Malham all the way to Appleby, with its dry valleys and large limestone pavements as seen around Ingleton.

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Photo of Malham Cove: with thanks to Tim Hill (https://pixabay.com/photos /malham-cove-yorkshirelimestone-3080521/ )

The great joy for us was walking on our own, self-led walking holiday. It was where we went at our pace, free to follow the maps and guidebook and to deviate occasionally, to take more time exploring a church here, village there. Listening to bird song, looking at the flowers, photographing curiosities such as rock art with cup and ring stones (art carved in rocks during NeolithicBronze Age), were all part of the trail, not racing to get there.

We thought we might get too tired or get blisters or something worse. However, we must have had some residual fitness and were only carrying a day sack, and although some days were longer than others, none was longer than 12 miles. We hit our own stride, arriving at our accommodation, the comfortable lodgings more than making up for some of our aching muscles of the first few days.

Wherever we were, we were mostly alone with the country around us, whether overlooking a valley eating our sandwiches, sitting in a small café in a farm, or patiently waiting as a large flock of sheep strolled past with the shepherd on his quad bike and a sheep dog perched by his With thanks to Wenzler design: (https://pixabay.com/photos/sheep-lambmaster, letting the sheep look dalesbred-yorkshire-1682110/ ) after themselves. Once on top of Ingleborough, a fine mountain, one of the 3 Peaks, we were in the middle of a charity walk for the Heart Foundation, and you could see the pain of the stragglers we met coming up as we went down.

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The Howgills (a range running north-south parallel to the M6) was a stiff walk out of Sedbergh, and we had a lovely walk in the mist, and later in the sun as we came down to a delightful farm, with their animals taking their ease just off our route.

We were ever so glad our B&Bs were booked for us because they were mostly just a few yards from the trail. We were greeted with clean sheets and towels, kettle and tea/coffee and milk - and most importantly a shower, sometimes in a cupboard sized room, always clean and welcoming. Sometimes we ate in, with others staying at the pub, guest house or hotel. At other times there was somewhere nearby to feed us, from pub grub to sophisticated gourmet food.

With a breakfast provided by our hosts we tried to get away early to maximise the day. So, we would be up by 7am after a good night’s sleep. We were soon on our way, leaving behind one lot of friends heading for the next many hours of adventure away.

We read up about the route and what to see and then plotted our course, tracing it out on the various maps we bought.

On later walks we With thanks to Max Mann (https://pixabay.com/photos/hike- criss-crossed routes map-orientation-walking-boots-1312226/ ) we had done earlier or found ourselves in completely new territories. On walks that followed, we included one devised by Mike of Brigantes, Wainwright’s Coast to Coast, up the Northumberland coast, Yorkshire Wolds Way and finally Howgills and Limestone Trail in September 2019, and another of Alfred Wainwright’s creations through Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

We walked more than 750 miles over the years 2012 to 2019. We would probably have walked St Cuthbert’s Way in 2020 when Covid 27

got in the way (no pun intended). Will we manage another one? It all depends. Malcolm would like to, but Anne isn’t quite so sure.

It was very rewarding, in particular, getting to know the owner of Katie’s Cuppas, who we actually met in Halton Ghyll, where she lives. We had followed home-made signs for Katie’s Cuppas as we slogged up a steep grass field in nearly 30 degrees. Her pop-up café was in a small shed, with an assortment of biscuits made by mum, coffee and tea making facilities and a pile of Brigantes leaflets. The company has a good relationship with their drivers and the people who provide the accommodation.

If they have appreciated our business, we have appreciated their walking holidays, taking us all over the North of England through such beautiful country and leaving us with so many memories.

Come on, Anne, can we have at least one more walk in 2022?

Anne and Malcolm Veitch, March 2022

With thanks to Tim Hill (click photo to see Pixabay source

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Sermon: Knowing and being known.

‘Then I shall know as I am known.’

Preacher: Gareth Davies, 29 January 2022 What does it mean to be known? There are people who know you well. That is, they think they know a lot about you; but in practice, what happens is that we are understood in terms of our background, be that family, social class, ethnicity or nationality. Nobody, it seems, knows me as I know myself.

There is, however, often a mismatch between how I think of myself and how others see me.

That question is: what does it mean to be a prophet? What is a prophet? First of all, a prophet is a person with a message to deliver, and that message claims to be from God. But more than that, a prophet is a person who is defined by being related to God, and that, more than family tradition or education, is the background against which a prophet’s words and actions make sense.

The prophet Jeremiah asked God why he was asked to go to speak to the people of Israel - he was only a boy. God spoke to him, however, and made him aware that he had known Jeremiah before he was born - in his mother’s womb and had determined his calling before his birth.

Given all that, I’d like us to ask ourselves: ‘What could it mean to be known by God? That involves being understood in terms of our complete lifespan, including those possibilities that lie ahead of us in an unknown future - to be known completely, more completely than we can know ourselves and to be judged?

St. Paul (I Corinthians 13: 110) realised that God not only demands that justice be done and debts forgiven, but that love is the characteristic that shows the ‘Kingdom’s life’ being lived, on earth as in heaven. This chapter in I Corinthians could be summed up in the evangelist John’s phrase: ‘God is love’.

These are questions which concern each one of us, but I am raising them in order to frame a further question, which arises from today’s readings from Scripture (Jeremiah 4: 110 and I Corinthians 13: 1-13).

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And Jesus, in Nazareth (Luke 4: 21-30), in a scene which sums up the origins of Christianity within the synagogue community, and acts out the later reaction against the Gospel which made it more characteristic of a Gentile community, is judged not against the background of God but that of his own family.

To that congregation, he was not the Messiah, nor a new prophet, but, simply, ‘Joseph’s son’.

Our calling is to feel that what is going on matters and that it involves us. I’m mindful of the deliberations that are continuing in many small and large churches today about what the future holds - we are in uncertain times. We need to be on the lookout for signs, to allow for God’s standpoint among so many debatable opinions and to be ready to follow any recommendation for action. Thus, the words spoken become ‘The Word of the Lord’. Our life experience must come into play and be true to that standpoint which commands us and will not be denied.

So, are we called to be prophets? Not necessarily: prophets are always the exceptional people. The prophetic example is there to inspire and reassure us that God is still active and at work in the world. Perhaps our personal message is that there is no clear message! In which case, we feel no call to proclaim it out aloud. However, we are needed to bear witness to what is going on under the surface - the Gospel continues its stealthy progress in a thousand unremarkable lives.

The prophetic vision discerns what has had its day and is destined to pass away: it also perceives what will grow from small beginnings to become the future reality. What seems weak and insufficient today may well be the pattern for future developments tomorrow!

Gareth Davies has been a Local Preacher within the Birmingham Circuit and its predecessor, the Elmdon Circuit, for 40 years, preaching in both Welsh and English.

Before retirement he taught languages. Gareth’s interest in ideas continues to inform and feed his curiosity.

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The power of music reaching the parts that other things don’t It is no secret that I enjoy singing. I come from a family of singers.

My parents both sang in choirs and one of my aunties was famous for her powerful rendition of ‘Bless this House’ in her church. At my brother’s funeral recently, we celebrated his talent as a Country and Western singer and, yes, it was certainly a different funeral service with ‘In Heavenly Love Abiding’ followed by a Country rendition of ‘My Best Friend’, chosen by one of his two ex-wives. It was very important to capture his background and character in the songs that were chosen -such is the power of music to evoke mood.

So why is music so important to us in worship? Our Biblical heritage attests to evidence for strong musical elements in worship. The use of a variety of musical instruments and singing were part of Israel’s formal worship in both tabernacle and temple (1 Chronicles Ch 6:31-32, 16:42). The Psalms bear rich testimony that in joy and sorrow, in praise and lament, the faithful raise their voices in song to God. In the New Testament, the author of Colossians wrote: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.’ (Colossians 3:16).

Music has the power to move us. It is intended to help create a sense of awe and wonder in worship, according to one source. The words are particularly important in expressing feelings but it is, often, the tune that touches our emotions and takes us into another sphere of response. In church services, hymns enable us to participate but they also help us to respond with our emotions.

Certain hymns bring back memories of very special moments in our lives - weddings, a close relative’s funeral, a special service. I always feel an emotional response when I sing ‘Love Divine, all loves excelling’. The most moving part of this hymn is singing the rousing tune at the end of each verse. The organist at my family church used to ramp up the sentiment in a rousing repeat of the final ‘Changed from Glory into glory, ’til in heaven we take our place, ’til we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love and praise.’ I’m still not sure what ‘..cast our crowns before thee’ really 31

means to me, but the crescendo in that final verse always brings a lump to my throat!

Reformed theologian Karl Barth points out that singing is not an option for the people of God; it is one of the essential ministries of the church:

‘The Christian church sings. It is not a choral society. Its singing is not a concert. But from inner, material necessity it sings. Singing is the highest form of human expression... What we can and must say quite confidently is that the church which does not sing is not the church. The praise of God which finds its concrete culmination in the singing of the community is one of the indispensable forms of the ministry of the church.’

During one of the earlier periods of the Covid pandemic, we were requested not to sing during worship, but simply listen to the tune or to one or two people singing. It felt like a void in our experience of worshipping together. It denied us the opportunity to respond together with feeling to the words we read and heard. One thing, however, that kept us going, especially when many of us watched on zoom, was the sound of the organ or piano being played in the church space. We were almost there by proxy! I also valued the prelude and postlude music chosen by our church musician, Tim, and thank him for his skill and ability to create a mood for worship.

Now that most of us are together again in worship, the choir has returned to including an anthem once a month. I don’t know whether this is something that you enjoy listening to or participating in, but several people, recently, have expressed positive thoughts about the variety of pieces and how they have affected them in worship. We have also had the pleasure of some talented students and other members singing these pieces and there is an open invitation to join choir if you feel like it!

Most important of all, however, is the experience of singing together. We only have to watch the crowd singing their favourite team song at a football match to realise that singing together is a bonding process. In worship, singing binds us together. That sense of unity is something special. It helps us feel that we are not alone, when our experience in life may make it seem otherwise.

Liz Cummings, January 2022 32

Traidcraft News shared by our Local Fair Trader, Joan Davies The Traidcraft Team were delighted to announce at their roadshow earlier this year that they had reached the budget target for sales over Christmas 2021. Sales brought in £2,765,866. This was despite the Covid pandemic and the effects of climate change experienced by many producers.

Traidcraft has plans for growth in the future. They plan to: 1. develop their catering and hospitality provisions for all faith sectors; 2. grow their partnerships (Zaytoun already store their products in the Traidcraft Warehouse), and they will promote a new needlework project among Afghan women refugees (see Made51 on following pages); 3. pay dividends to shareholders; 4. challenge the world of sport by providing footballs at a competitive price; 5. hold more Zoom meetings to enable a wider group of people to access information and events (e.g. Live Lent events) 6. attend Greenbelt Festival Ethical Raffle by Traidcraft Exchange The Ethical Raffle was launched this year. Closing date: 21 April 2022. Draw date: 29 April 2022 Tickets are only £1 and can be bought online at traidcraftexchange.org/raffle Why not encourage your friends to join you for a chance of winning a prize from the best ethical brands and companies?

For full terms and conditions please go to: traidcraftexchange.org/raffletandc Traidcraft Exchange Campaigns 1. Take human rights abuses out of UK shops From mining to clothing to agriculture, people are being abused and the businesses responsible, the people profiting from the abuse, are getting away with it.

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Businesses don’t do anything to stop these abuses from happening because they don’t have to. In the UK, our laws don’t hold businesses accountable for crimes committed in their supply chains. There is no accountability to those they have harmed.

This fatal flaw in our justice system means that businesses are not only getting away with rape, assault, slavery, child labour, environmental destruction and even death, they’re profiting from them. And businesses who are going the extra mile to do the right thing are being undercut by those who aren’t.

But we can change this.

Together with trade unions, activists, businesses, investors and other charities Traidcraft Exchange is calling for a new law that would put a stop to these practices by requiring businesses to prevent the abuses from taking place in the first place, compensate victims if they do happen, and where possible clean up and restore the damage caused.

Sign the Petition here: https://action.traidcraft.org.uk/holdbusinesses-to-account 2. Carbon Cop-Out: let’s make zero really mean zero The climate crisis is spiralling, and the world needs to cut carbon emissions fast.

But when the UK government says it’s working towards Net Zero carbon, it’s only talking about emissions produced in the UK. As a nation, we outsource carbon emissions to other countries through the huge amounts of food, clothes and gadgets we import from around the world.

Right now, the UK has no target to cut these outsourced carbon emissions – despite the fact that they account for just under half of our carbon footprint.

We need to play our part in helping to reduce them. Time to set a target for outsourced carbon.

As it stands, net zero carbon doesn't actually mean zero at all... but we have a chance to change that.

Take action at https://traidcraftexchange.org/carbon-cop-out

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traidcraftshop.co.uk

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From the February 2022 Traidcraft Bulletin

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Once a year, the Church at Carrs Lane focuses on Commitment for Life and organises gift envelopes.

Read more online

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Worship, Prayer and Events at Carrs Lane Prayer in the way of Taizé Details from Peter on 0121 478 3841 or phpaw2@btinternet.com Sunday 24 April, 6pm Sunday 22 May, 6pm Wednesday lunchtime prayers / communion Details from Andrew and Jill on 0121 777 1762 23 March in church – Communion with Diana 30 March on Zoom 6 April on Zoom 13 April (Holy Week) in church – Communion with Cristina 20 April on Zoom 27 April in church – Communion with Neil Reading and Living the Gospel An open group looking at how the Gospels impact on our lives Monday 28 March, 19:30, with Rev Dr Neil Johnson Wednesday 27 April, 19:30, with Judith Laycock

Further dates will be publicised on our news and events webpage, which is updated weekly:

https://carrslane.co.uk/weekly-news/

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A reminder of our commitment to a journey of change, over a year since Birmingham churches signed up to the Charter: 1. We the churches, Christian organisations and followers of Jesus, acknowledge the issue of racial injustice and its systemic and institutional nature.

2. We commit to challenge racism confidently across Birmingham and see it removed from the church and society.

3. We commit to an honest and open look at ourselves and our churches and where we are in relation to the issue of racial injustice.

4. We will pray; actively encouraging prayer as a group and within and across our churches and neighbourhoods over the issue of racial injustice and disunity.

5. We repent – we have caused or ignored hurt and we pray for a deep healing in our city 6. We will engage in conversations - creating the spaces for open, honest and frank dialogue. We will listen to the voices of our black and all ethnic communities, across the generations and the different parts of our city.

7. We commit to relationship building with church and city leaders modelling strong, supportive relationships across the city. We will build a culture of honour, openness and support within our churches, neighbourhoods and workplaces.

8. We will bridge the knowledge gap, building a shared understanding of what it is like to be black, or of other ethnicity in Birmingham today, understanding the historical context and the damage to their psyche by sustained and systemic racism.

9. We aim for truth, reconciliation and healing through open discussions across the city that understands and acknowledges the hurts of the past and hopes for the future. We will identify actions to bring healing.

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10. We will advocate; using our influence and understanding to speak up for racial equality and equity in the church and the city. We will inspire changes in structures and cultures to remove racism. We will engage the city’s civic leaders as they address this issue.

11. We will build and strengthen representative leadership: Creating systems, structures and processes that encourage representative leadership in our churches and organisations.

We will actively mentor and encourage young and emerging leaders.

12. We will take practical action, developing short, medium and long term plans to equip the wider church to strengthen unity and collaboration and engage the wider community.

13. We will equip and engage the wider church with material on theology, and key principles around justice, equity and equality, testimonies and events. We will ensure our actions and narratives are centred very clearly on Jesus, rooted firmly in the word of God and inspired by the Spirit.

14. We will communicate and dialogue regularly and clearly, in an engaging and accessible way to ensure the wider church is kept up to date. We will inspire Christians engaged in business, health, education, arts and media and other spheres to be champions for equity, equality and builders of unity.

15. We commit to being a welcoming city, a super diverse community where all peoples, whatever their background or ethnicity see that God’s people will always provide a home, a community and a generous welcome. We commit to strengthening unity and harmony across the church that we might be one just as the Father and Son are one.

For more information and to keep up-to-date with events, worship and resources, visit the TIME4CHANGE website

https://www.time4change.uk/

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Worship For details of services, prayers, bible study and groups taking place, please see our weekly news on the website at https://carrslane.co.uk/weekly-news Wednesday lunchtime services at 13:00 alternating between in person in church and on Zoom Contact clerk@carrslane.co.uk for details

Sunday mornings 10:30 Morning Worship in the church building and on Facebook Live For all Zoom gathering links, contact clerk@carrslane.co.uk or ruth.yorke@live.co.uk Monthly Prayer in the Way of Taizé Sundays at 6pm at church see ‘Weekly News’ on website Our Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/carrslanelife https://www.facebook.com/carrslanelivedcommunity Our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmwd1hKP4ED-e33AopIWyDA Inclusive Gathering Birmingham https://inclusivegathering.org.uk/

Published by The Church at Carrs Lane, Carrs Lane, Birmingham, B4 7SX Email: mailto:clerk@carrslane.co.ukTelephone 0121 643 6151 carrslane.co.uk  Charity registration number: 1153980 46