The Odour of Sanctity?

The Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux falls on Thursday of this week, 1st October. Many people in this area are looking forward to a "visit of her relics" - part of a "nationwide tour" - to Newcastle-upon-Tyne beginning on the Eve of the Feast and continuing onto the Feast Day itself. A programme for the hours that the relics of the saint are with us is to be found here. During this time the relics will be at St. Andrew's, Worswick Street - just round the corner from the old Pilgrim Street Fire Station. It's not a huge church, and I'm wondering how they plan to cope with all the crowds.

Will I be amongst them? I've visited Lisieux myself many years ago - and the relics on view there and then were perhaps too loftily displayed. I think this is going to be a rather more intimate occasion. I'd want a visit to be more than curosity on my part - and I'd need to be asking myself just what I'm looking for? Some of my thinking is to be found in the sermon I preached in St. Cuthbert's last Sunday - click to find it. This is the way I started:


You might be puzzled by an item I’ve included in today’s pew sheet about St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Why’s it there? And what on earth is it all about? In part it’s there because I had a gap to fill, and an article ready-made to fill it. In part it’s because it’s the Feast of St. Thérèse on Thursday - we’ll be observing it as we celebrate the Eucharist that morning. And in part it’s because of a rather strange happening, which you might have come across in the news. From Wednesday afternoon until Thursday morning, Newcastle is going to have a “visit of the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.” It’s part of a bigger event. Some of the physical remains of the saint (I think it’s bones from her foot and leg) have been brought from Normandy, where she lived and died, and they’re being taken round the country in a glass casket. Thérèse was a Carmelite nun who died early at the age of 24. People might have said she didn’t have much of a life: a pious childhood; education that seemed appropriate to a girl of her class in late 19th Century France; and the rest of her life in a Convent which she would never leave again. But from those narrow confines she touched the hearts of people round the world...

One thing I've recognised is that I find it hard to say merely "visit of her relics...." Much truer seems to ring: "when she comes..." Superstition or presence? Mystery or a few not-so-old bones which should be given a decent burial?

Meanwhile there's a reminder to Anglicans in our region that we're already the guardians of the mortal remains of St. Cuthbert and St. Bede, buried respectively at the east and west ends of Durham Cathedral. We don't take out their bones to put them on display (though of course there are the records of various exhumations over the centuries). But their shrines are a visible reminder of the call to holiness. What do they say to us today?

Feeling your age

I'm sitting here feeling rather sorry for myself after parting company with my upper 6 left molar this afternoon. We'd been through a lot together, but our relationship had become increasingly precarious in recent times. In the end it was the man who'd done so much of the patching up for us who decided the time had come to call it a day. So having gone to his surgery prepared for root canal work and a crown, I came away with a big hole and instuctions to steer clear of hot drinks, hard and chewy food... and alcohol - fortunately only for the rest of the day.

It's part of the aging process I suppose, though perhaps the damage was done in my teenage years when my childhood dentist used to drill anything that remotely resembled decay - thank goodness that there's a more hands-off approach now.

Thinking of how my body seems to be packing-in in various ways gave me cause for reflection as I looked at last Sunday's Gospel (Mark 9.30-37): Jesus taking a child in his arms and saying, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me..." We have to be like little children to draw close to God's kingdom. I found myself comparing this with St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, who seems to consider it a virtue to have "put an end to childish ways." The childish approach for him is compared to having a knowledge which is only partial. Adulthood is about finding things "complete." But isn't that where we so often get things wrong? We want to have everything wrapped up - being adult requires that we have all the answers.

Perhaps we whizz past the implications of this when reading 1 Corinthians - much more attractive to read about Faith, Hope and Love. Maybe Paul hadn't thought it out. We need to recognise that our knowledge is only partial. That's why we need to be like children.

Anyway that's what I found myself saying when I preached at our tiny 8a.m. Eucharist a few days ago. Our Reader, Rosie Junemann, got the prime-time 10a.m. slot, and you can find out what she said here.

Still at work - discipleship and the Cross

There may recently have been a lack of activity on the blogging front - but life itself, not least in the parish, is being eventful. Quite a number of Baptisms over the last few weeks - two of them, Lucy Thomas and Ethan Junemann, in the context of the Parish Eucharist (though two weeks apart, not together). I've been hopeless in getting pictures from our various events, though did manage to pull out my mobile phone to click the cutting of the cake for Ethan's celebration - photographed with parents, Harry and Alpa. One of Ethan's Grandmothers is our Reader, Rosie Junemann, and you can read her most recent sermon on "Open Hearts, not closed minds" here (apologies that it's been waiting to be uploaded since the end of August).

In the parish Mothers' Union, our Lunch Club, the PCC, Sunday School and the round of regular activities have all sprung back into life. Last weekend saw us occupied with our Annual Art Exhibition - an opportunity to see the work of local artists (and buy it). Alongside that we had participants in the Northumbria Historic Churches Trust Steeplechase, invitations to a local Bible Society Coffee Morning, another Baptism, a Deanery Evensong (excellent sermon by the Dean of Durham) - and we had the formal opening of our Church Hall Car Park by long-standing member and long-serving local councillor Derek Hume. Derek pointed out that he's been in our choir for 75 years now. He didn't serve quite that long as Ward Councillor, but long enough to gain recognition through being made an Honorary Alderman of the County.

I finally got round to scripting a sermon as well (all the other recent ones were available only "live"). It's here and tackles the theme of Discipleship and the Cross - appropriate, I hope, for a Sunday which fell the day before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

And while I can't link you to the Dean's sermon for Sunday evening, I can point you to the address he gave at the SCP National Conference in the summer. Our local Chapter (Durham & Newcastle) met on Monday - as always an affirming occasion for priests, men and women, in the Catholic Tradition of the Anglican Church. I've just had a member on the phone, regretting that he missed it, and asking also why there wasn't press coverage of the National Conference. He's right that it really deserves to be better known. Take a look...

Back to work...

It's been a busy summer - quite eventful, taking into account our Diocesan Clergy Summer Gathering, the SCP National Conference, a reading week at St. Deiniol's Library, Hawarden, and a couple of weeks in France. You might be able to find some pictures of the holiday here. Since our return last week there have been two weddings, three Baptisms and a rather larger than expected congregation on Sunday morning - keep it up!

And GCSE results for my younger son this morning - with which we're very pleased...

Our Parish Magazine for September has now gone to press. I'm not sure when we'll get it back from the printer, but you can find the full-colour on-line edition here. This is the editorial / View from the Vicarage:

“La Grippe A”……

is the name being given in France to what we call “Swine Flu.” It’s a rather less emotive title - and perhaps we’d have treated the illness rather differently if it had been called something else. For the moment - with a fall in the rate of infection over the summer holiday period - swine flu has almost disappeared from news coverage. But there are fears that once children return to school it might return again in pandemic proportions. The indications are that for most people it’s a relatively mild illness. But for a small minority it can lead to complications. And the families I know who have had young children suffering from it have found the experience upsetting, even worrying. So we shouldn’t minimise the problem.

In some ways the timing of the Church’s response to the epidemic was unfortunate. Guidelines were announced just as the rate of infection came to a peak towards the end of July. Now - having followed Department of Health advice that the Chalice should not be shared at Holy Communion, and that the Peace should not be shared with a handshake - we find that almost immediately the worst of the outbreak seems to be over. Except we know that we can’t be complacent. All too easily the virus could spread again.

I’ve reflected on the Church’s position as we’ve seen fears increase and recede - and I’ve circulated a leaflet on what we are doing and why. A reminder of my conclusion: “The risk of transmitting Swine Flu is no greater in a church than in any other public place. Being conscious of those church practices which might possibly increase the risk of infection can in fact reduce that risk, since it makes us more thoughtful of others and of what we do.”

And I hope that the feeling of “being deprived” because we can’t at present share the chalice may be helpful. Our Bishop has reminded us that “the fullness of the Sacrament” is to be found in Communion in one kind (i.e. as we receive only the consecrated host) - let us see it again as truly Christ’s Precious Body” (and therefore also his Blood). If we can’t shake hands at the Peace, instead we can take more notice of the people around us - the purpose of the Peace is to recognise Christ in our neighbour, not just to rush around the church. There’s a general feeling that having to think about what we are doing is no bad thing in the long-term.

Having said that, we took delivery of a case of Communion wine in the week before use of the chalice was discontinued. We look forward to opening it as soon as we can.

For the sake of posterity, here are the guidelines we're following - and the reasoning behind them.

Swine Flu and Spam

All my work on trying to produce guidelines for the Eucharist has now been superceded by the issuing of advice from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York - and firmed up in our own diocese by the Bishop of Durham. Holy Communion is to be in one kind, though the President at the Eucharist may choose to intinct the consecrated wafers before the distribution.

Lots of e-mails on the subject have been landing in my Inbox throughout the day - appropriately many of them are being marked in the subject line with the question, "Is this spam?" Almost...

Swine Flu and good practice at the Eucharist

The Church of England, our own Diocese of Durham and many other Church bodies have issued guidance on Church practice in relation to the fears over swine flu. What's missing is an indication of when the guidance might need actually to be implemented.

Faced last week with a sudden upsurge in infection in the wider community within our parish boundary, we had to do some thinking. Here's the gist of what I finally found myself sharing with the congregation and the action we took. Of course we'll need to review our practice on a regular basis:

1. Don't panic! All the evidence is that the illness is almost always mild. Even the worst case scenario figures given by the government for mortality are very low when divided by a population of 60 million - I think I hazarded a guess that this would work out at about 6 deaths for a parish of our size (actually it's nearer 10, now that I've done the sums... But let's not let that distract us).

2. Nevertheless we should be responsible. Some people may say they'd rather get flu sooner rather than later. But some of us have our holidays booked - and if everyone got flu all at once who's going to keep the country running and provide the care we all need?

3. There are some people you would definitely wish to avoid getting the illness - especially expectant mothers, mothers of very young children, the very young and elderly, and people who have complicated health conditions. We need to look out for them.

4. There are real concerns in our parish. I know several people who have swine flu in their families. It is spreading through some if not all the local schools. So proper precautions are responsible.

5. On the other hand because much of the spread in the last week or so has been through the schools, it's possible that the end of school term (for most of our children, 22nd July) will bring a fall-off in the rate of infection (but probably only temporarily).

6. How can we at St. Cuthbert's play our part when we worship together?

(a) follow the government's advice on hygiene - don't cough and sneeze over each other; use disposable tissues, and bin them carefully. If you've been infected or have been in close contact with someone who is infected, then it's responsible to stay away from people if you can. Wash your hands.

(b) most infection that's not airborne is by contagion, i.e. hand to nose / mouth. So I suggested that we should use the Peace to value one another - we don't need to shake hands. Instead, make eye-contact, smile, acknowledge one another... Having said that, some people did shake hands. But no one should feel that they have to.

(c) there is some guidance from the diocese about the chalice - one question is at what point might it have to be withdrawn? (In that case only the priest would drink from the chalice). Holy Communion in one kind is sufficient, i.e. receiving the Host. In the event we offered the chalice to all who wished to receive, but made it clear that they did not have to. We asked communicants not to intinct (not to dip the consecrated wafer into the chalice), because intinction itself is a means by which infection can be passed on (and it's bad practice!). Most people did receive from the chalice. But we noted among those who did not receive were a couple who had a family member receiving chemotherapy, and an expectant mother. I understand their concerns.

(d) people shouldn't feel that they had to shake the Vicar's hand as they left the church!

(e) alcohol hand-rub was available at the back of church (and the priest himself used it before the Offertory in addition to the usual lavabo).

In the event I think we got things about right. There is obviously widespread infection in our community, and we'll need to review how things progress, and whether the chalice should be withdrawn. One danger is that an invitation might be made to people to receive if they wish, only for the priest to find that most decline, leaving him / her with rather a lot of consecrated wine to consume. And the priest him/herself should not be obliged to consume - at the end of the Communion - what other people have declined to receive (or might have infected).

Should we publish these guidelines more widely? Are people presently staying away from church out of fear? If they knew what steps we are taking, perhaps they'd be reassured!

Saints and Prophets

After attending a Conference where a theme was the Northern Saints, I was back in my own parish - to hear a sermon from Rosie Junemann, our Reader, which took as its starting point a Pyrenean saint. Not that this saint was ever formally canonised... and there wouldn't be much hope for most of us if the formal process John Henry Newman is now having to undergo was required of us all.

So, a reminder that we are called to be a "sacred people." And Rosie pointed to the need for a prophetic stance in our own day, no less than in the time of Amos and John the Baptist.

Meanwhile, the Sunday School's project is coming along well - next week they'll be making their own presentation of the life of St. Cuthbert, and the course he plotted throughout our region after his death. It's to be acted out complete with body, two heads and coffin. Just don't get a shock if you venture into church and see what they've left on the pews at the back of the north aisle.