Our vicar, Rev’d Andy Stand, is on sabbatical leave from 1st September – 1st December 2024. Please contact the Team Office or the Team Rector, Revd Peter Hart, during this time: 01905 355119 or pwhart1@aol.com
A letter from the Vicarage – Rev’d Andy Stand
Hi Everyone,
How are we all doing? I hope you are all having an enjoyable Summer.
In my letter for the last edition of the magazine I referenced the story of Jesus calming the storm and hoped that your Summers might bring you all space for peace and relaxation. I do hope those prayers have been realised for most of you at least.
In recent days, the subject of Pause for Thought broadcast on Radio 2, two or three times each day has been ‘silence’. A couple of the contributors (the first of which Chris and I knew from our student days in Durham) have talked about the story of Elijah, one of the Old Testament prophets. In fact, Jo, didn’t actually mention the character by name, just referred to someone from the bible. From her description and from the resolution of the story, I hope I inferred correctly that it was Elijah she was talking about.
If any of you are unfamiliar with Elijah’s story, he is chosen by God to make representation to King Ahab, one of the kings of the Northern tribes of Israel who worshipped Baal. Elijah warns Ahab that there will be a devastating drought. After 3 years of drought, Ahab assembles the prophets of Baal and Elijah challenges them all, to a show of the power of their respective gods. He invites the local prophets to build an altar on which to kindle a fire for a sacrificial offering. The fire though is not to be lit by them, but by their prayers to their gods. They pray and they pray, chanting and cutting themselves but nothing happens.
Elijah, on the other hand, not only builds his fire, but once built proceeds to douse it with gallons of water, before then invoking God, to show them that Elijah is God’s servant and all these deeds are done in his name. And of course Elijah’s prayers, unlike the other prophets are answered and indeed the wood catches light and the offering is burnt up, and all the excess water boils away.
On Elijah’s instruction, all the false prophets are killed.
Ahab’s Queen, Queen Jezebel is infuriated by all this and threatens Elijah’s life. He has no choice but to flee. Nourished only by angelic visitations, Elijah flees for his life for forty days. After forty days, he is exhausted physically, mentally and spiritually; at his wits end he find sanctuary in a cave where he experiences earthquake, wind and fire, yet it is not in the power of these things that Elijah experiences God, but in the absolute silence that follows them.
It is in the sound of silence, that Elijah is able to take sanctuary in God, and experiences a renewal of his calling.
As many of you will, no doubt, know, by now, I am about to start a Sabbatical. A period of three months (Sept., Oct., & Nov.) away from my normal parish/ministerial duties, which will hopefully give me similar rest and recuperation while spending time in study, prayer, on retreat and/or just resting and weather permitting cycling or walking. During this time, all enquiries or calls should be made to Peter Hart or to Rebecca in the team office.
Please do pray for us during this time, that I may return to my ministry refreshed and renewed, better able to serve you all. Please be assured that I will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.
As the December magazine letter will need to be written during November, I will take this opportunity (in August still!) to wish you all a Happy Christmas! (Hopefully we will see most of you at Advent and Christmas services in December.)
Go well everybody, and my God go with you.
Every blessing, Andy