1 December 2011

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”  And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.  That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”  So I went forth, and finding the hand of God, trod gladly into the night.  And he led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

These words by Minnie Haskins, dear to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and famously used by George VI in his Christmas broadcast in the poignant year of 1939, are often recited at the end of the calendar year.  They are even more relevant at the end of one church year, and the beginning of the next  -  I write precisely at this time  -  the days following the feast of Christ the King which close one church year, before the new church year begins on Advent Sunday, 27 November.

With the close of this church year comes a most poignant close in the life of Paula our curate, in the tragic loss of Alec.  I know that she has deeply appreciated our prayers and support in these recent, very difficult days, particularly in your kind cards and presence at Alec’s funeral, and she will continue to value greatly our prayers as she puts her hand into the hand of God and treads into the night.  She is very much indeed in our thoughts, as is Tony, also involved in that accident.

With the close of the church year also comes the retirement of Brian Perkins, our gardener, who for many years has kept the garden in front of the parish centre and vicarage looking so absolutely pristine.  It has always been a joy to share a word with Brian during his labours on Monday mornings  -  we shall enormously miss his humour, and his regular lawn-cutting and sweeping up of every last leaf will make his act extremely difficult to follow  -  we offer him our warmest thanks and love.

We step out into the unknown of the new church year with no less than five working parties helping to address St Eustachius’ financial situation, looking at (1) income, (2) how the Friends can help, (3) giving, (4) communication, and (5) expenditure.  These groups, under the eagle eye of James Teague our parish giving officer, will be making recommendations as they go along, to the ministry team, the PCC or myself, as appropriate.  Many of those groups involve members of our congregations: whether you are involved in those groups or not, please keep abreast of the reports from/about them on the display at the back of church, in the magazine, and in the pew-sheets; please feed into them whatever thoughts or suggestions you can; and please pray for them as they carry out their vital work over the year until Advent 2012.

Another venture into the unknown, hopefully with the hand of God, is the history of Tavistock parish church, commissioned by the PCC some years ago, and kindly undertaken by local master-historian Gerry Woodcock.  He has immensely enjoyed what is surely his magnum opus, and has produced a wonderful text, which is now, with illustrations, in the hands of the publishers.  The book is available for a limited period for a pre-publication price of £15, as opposed to the post-offer price of £25, so please be in touch straightaway with John Askham (details in this magazine) to purchase your advance copy at the special rate while it lasts.

The PCCs of the six parishes of our mission community (the three covered by this magazine, along with Peter Tavy, Mary Tavy and Whitchurch) are all considering at the moment a Mission Community Mission Action Plan (MAP), which details the ways in which we wish to work together over the next five years.  So while we are not exactly treading into the unknown in our mission community, we do so, again, hopefully with the hand of God.  One of the ways of working together is becoming familiar with each other’s ministers  -  usually from now on, on a fifth Sunday, but also through this opening magazine letter  -  so we look forward to contributions in 2012 if not from the lone East, then from the other side of the Tavy and the other end of the Whitchurch Road!! 

‘Look towards the east, O Jerusalem, and see the joy that is coming to you from God,’ says the book of Baruch in the Apocrypha (4.39; cf. 5.5), one of the readings at our Advent carol service.  God leads us in Advent to look to the lone East, to watch for the breaking of day, which means to say, to look for the breaking of day on Christmas morn in the person of Jesus Christ.

As we tread through the darkness of Advent and the church year ahead, may we find the hand of God, tread gladly, look for the breaking of day, and as the wonderful prayer after communion at midnight mass says, find ‘Christ the Morning Star [rising] in our hearts’.

With my warmest best wishes, Michael