Extracts from our Parish Newsletter
April 2008
Greetings!
This is my first article for the magazine as the new Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Hackenthorpe. Fr. Chris has moved to St. Marie’s, the Catholic Cathedral, in Sheffield City Centre and hopefully is settling in there okay. I have been here now for just over two months and getting to know the area. My previous Parish was in
Originally I studied the Biological Sciences to degree level before training to be a priest. Science remains a keen interest of mine. I am particularly interested in how Science and Theology can complement each other in helping us to gain a deeper insight into the incredible and wondrous Universe that God has created for us. Einstein said that Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind. This is a view I subscribe to as well. I know that often Science can be portrayed as being in conflict with Religion in our Western World View. Interestingly there is no such conflict in Islam or in the East in general. I think in the West the apparent conflict arises out of a misunderstanding of what Religion is trying to say about human nature and the world around us. Also, some scientists seem to see Religion as a threat to what they are about and so seek ways of opposing it. But, in fact, about 80% of practising scientists are men and women of deep faith. Their pursuit of Science enriches their faith life. This is only fitting as the serous pursuit of Science in the West began with the monks who followed such ideals. Modern Science owes a debt of gratitude to the research of these Monastic followers of Religion and Science.
I remain fascinated by what light Theology can shed upon current scientific debates on the origins of our Universe, parallel worlds and the nature of Space-Time, Gravity and Energy. This too enriches my faith.
By the way, you may have already guessed, I am also a great fan of science fiction. And I love comedy too!
Here’s wishing you all the very best.
God Bless.
Fr. Paul O’ Hara.
Unsigned Christian musicians have chance to shine on new radio show
Premier Christian Radio has just launched a new show, 'Loretta Fenton Presents …Unsigned'. It's aim is to showcase the best new and unsigned Christian musicians in the
"Each week the show will be discovering some of the best unsigned Christian artists and introducing them to our extensive audience." Host, Loretta Fenton explains: "There will be a chance for both fresh talent and unsigned acts who are more established to get their music out there. The rules are simple - if it's good, we'll play it! If you're a Christian artist wanting to get your music heard - this show is for you."
'Loretta Fenton Presents ...Unsigned' will hold a bi-monthly Spotlight competition giving Christian artists the chance to be voted Artist Of The Month. "Winners will be interviewed on the show and perform live in the studio as well as having their act profiled for a whole month on the Premier website. More importantly they'll get their music heard by hundreds of thousands throughout the month!" Fenton explained.
Christian unsigned bands should register their details by logging on to www.lorettafentonpresents.com .
W.I. report for April
Unfortunately our ‘booked’ speaker was taken ill so with only a few days notice her place was taken by Dr. Alan Caunt whose talk was entitled ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Theatre’ (operating of course!).
What entertainment we had. Dr.Caunt’s humorous presentation was peppered with anecdotes of his life and training as a doctor and anaesthetist. His slides often showed old views of
On 3rd May we are having a May Market in the Chapel Hall with various stalls and refreshments. All are welcome to come and join us.
Our next W.I. meeting on 14th May is our Resolution meeting when we debate the issues which will be presented at our National A.G.M. in
Sue Foster, Hon Sec.
Trinity Sunday
Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity has kept many a theologian busy down the centuries. One helpful picture is to imagine the sun shining in the sky. The sun itself - way out there in space - unapproachable in its fiery majesty - is the Father. The light that flows from it, and which illuminates all our lives, is the Son. The heat that flows from it, and which gives us all the energy to move and grow, is the Holy Spirit. You cannot have the sun without its light and its heat. The light and the heat are from the sun, are of the sun, and yet are also distinct in themselves, with their own roles to play.
The Bible makes clear that God is One God, who is disclosed in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. For example:
Deuteronomy 6:4 'Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one..'
Isaiah 45:22 'Turn to me and be saved… for I am God, and there is no other'
Genesis 1:1-2 'In the beginning God created…. And the Spirit of God was hovering…'
Judges 14:6 etc 'The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power…'
John 1:1-3 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.'
Luke 24:49 actually manages to squeeze the whole Trinity into one sentence. Jesus tells his disciples: 'I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power (the Holy Spirit) from on high.'
In other words, the sun eternally gives off light and heat, and whenever we stand in its brilliant light, we find that the warmth soon follows.
News from our Church Yard
We are desperate for funding for a new mower, our main mulching mower has completely broken down so we are left with difficult to use equipment that leaves the grass very untidy. Help is really wanted John and Joy just cannot keep pace with the work needed to keep our church grounds looking as they should and very soon they will have to give up this work which is very dear to them. The whole of the grounds have now been cut twice and we are awaiting a professional grounds man to strim the communion plots and long grass around the graves who will have to be paid. Last year the grounds of St Mary’s complete with wild flower meadows won Silver Gilt in Sheffield Lord Mayors awards, and helped Beighton win Silver Gilt in
Cathedral Flower festival and Archer Project
As reported last month my flower club organized a flower festival at Sheffield Cathedral and the Methodist South Circuit kindly loaned us some wonderful collages made by members of the circuit to incorporate in our flowers. The festival was really beautiful and very well attended raising £5000 for the Cathedral Breakfast project and £1000.00 for the Cathedrals upkeep. Thank you to our Methodist friends and all who supported us.
Joy Smith
Statistic of the Month: the Church in the
Today, in 2008, 5.6 million people in the
Church members are fewer in
Those who attend church with reasonable frequency, say once a fortnight, average only 50 people per church, of whom 40 are members and 10 are not.
The relatively high number of church members thus fragments into three broadly equal groups: (a) those who attend regularly, (b) those who attend irregularly, and (c) those who never attend. As there is, however, quite a proportion of the population attending church regularly who are not church members, this raises the somewhat controversial question of what does church membership mean? Someone once said to me in answer to the question, "If it means attending more meetings, I'm not sure I wish to become a member!"
Despite appearing unfashionable, there are still lots of us who believe in going to church and belonging to a church. Together we can accomplish more than if we act independently, and the command of Jesus is still imperative upon all who follow him: "Go ye into all the world and make disciples ...".
What is the price of your conscience?
While some may believe that we live in a less moral society today, it seems that most people still have a conscience when it comes to being given excess change.
According to research by SMILE, the internet bank, almost seven in ten (67%) of their customers would return the money when faced with the ethical dilemma of being given too much change by a cashier. Just one in five (20%) believe that they should not return the money to the cashier. One in ten adopting a "finders' keepers" attitude justified their decision by claiming that they needed the money much more than the short-changed shop or organisation did.
Of those who based their answer on past experiences, almost four in ten blamed an "ungrateful response" after having given money back and receiving no thanks. However, most of those who had been on the receiving end of such acts of honesty were more likely to act honestly with others in the future.
Comments on the bank's website showed that the main worry if people hung on to the cash was the possibility that the member of staff might have to pay the shortfall if the tills didn't add up at the end of the day, or might lose their job after being suspected of pocketing the missing amount.
Some were more likely to return money to a small shop that they saw as providing a valuable local service and often struggling to survive, than to give it back to a large bank or supermarket.
Another situation occurs when one is undercharged in a restaurant. Waiters can be quite surprised when the error is pointed out and they have to "undo" the transaction process.
Kelvin Collins of SMILE said: "Some people feel that they should keep the extra money simply because the shop or firm had made the mistake - but honesty really is the best policy."
Why you should row with your spouse
If you argue with your husband or wife, you are likely to live longer than if you don't, according to recent research.
Apparently, the occasional marital row is far better for your health than bottling up the tensions inside of you. A study of 192 marriages by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health has discovered that couples who suppress their emotions are twice as likely to die as those where at least one partner expressed their anger.
As one professor explains, marriage must be built on "reconciliation after conflict." If you don't express your anger, but swallow your words, they can quite literally kill you.
Balance your household budget - it's a matter of life and debt
The Church of England is launching an easy-to-use interactive online resource for working out a household spending budget, with helpful prayers for guidance, emphasising that the Bible teaches us to be content with what we have, rather than find satisfaction from over-spending.
With average household debt in the
The Bishop of Ripon and
So that householders can work out their own household budget, the Matter of Life and Debt website pages at www.cofe.anglican.org/debt now feature an easy-to-use, interactive, downloadable Excel spreadsheet - which totals up income and spending, and allows householders to make adjustments until they are balancing their budget.
The resource - which can be used in church services or as part of a talk on money and making ends meet - also displays simple-to-follow money-saving tips when users fill in boxes. There are links to specially written prayers for guidance for those working out a household budget, at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers.
One prayer requests: "Lord God, your will is to bring hope and a future to all your people. Trusting in your steadfast love, we ask your guidance as we work out a household budget. Help us to learn to let no debt remain outstanding, except the debt to love one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Dr John Preston, the Church of England's Resources and Stewardship Officer, and co-author of the Matter of Life and Debt resources, said: "It is right for the Church of England to speak out on the issue of consumer debt, as money, wealth and possessions are mentioned in the Bible more than 2,400 times." The downloadable Excel file and other useful resources and information can be found on the Matter of Life and Debt pages of the Church of England website at www.cofe.anglican.org/debt.
Office jargon update
Do you 'blamestorm'? Have you done any 'boss-spasming' lately? If so, and you know it, then you are using the latest buzz-words to enter the world of office jargon. For the uniformed, 'blamestorming' refers to any debate on why a deadline was missed and who was to blame for it. 'Boss-spasming' means leaping into action and looking very busy as soon as a manager enters the room. The words may be new, but one suspects such actions are as old as the hills.