the Number 198 May 2020 50p
Website: www.bromleyparishchurch.org
News of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
BROMLEY PARISH CHURCH
Church Road Bromley BR2 OEG
"Proclaiming the Word and Work of God"
Member of Churches Together in Central Bromley
the Contacts & Editorial May 2020
Vicar
Reverend James Harratt
Churchwardens
Martin Cleveland
Anne Horner-Tree
Parish Office Hours: 9:30am to 12 noon
020 8464 5244 – please use this number for all enquiries
Contact: Lynn Hedges, Parish Administrator
For contributions to the Key, or if you would like to receive the Key by email, please contact [email protected]
Hello Reader,
Welcome to the Key. It’s another long edition, I hope you find some
entertainment from it!
I very much hope everyone is staying well and managing to stay in
contact with friends and family.
This edition includes a look back to the lovely service on Easter Sun-
day, with Anne’s prayers and James’ sermon. There is an account
from Garvin about a Church trip to remind us of summers gone by,
and some updates from various Christian charities. There is also lots
of advice relevant to the times we live in, from the Church of England
and from our resident doctors Matt and Donya.
If you’d like to contribute anything to the next issue please don’t hesi-
tate to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.
With love and best wishes
Lisa. xxx
the Easter Prayers May 2020
To begin this edition, I would like to look back on the service on Easter
Sunday. Holy Week services were all streamed on Facebook, allowing
many of us to take part from our homes, and then all services became
available on the Church website afterwards for your viewing. Rev Dr
Anne Townsend read the prayers on Easter Sunday, and below is an ex-
tended version of those prayers for us to reflect on that she kindly sent
me for the Key.
EASTER DAY – UNSPOKEN PRAYERS
These prayers were too long to use during our Easter Day streamed ser-vice, but I thought you might like to read and use parts of them now.
Let’s take time to be with God and to reflect on the situation surrounding us. To help us, I’m using poetry by Australian, Marjorie Pizer.
Loving God,
It’s such a strange Easter Day. Our minds are numbed when we try to grasp the overwhelming number of deaths from Covid-19. Sometimes, we feel lost – our routines have gone, and sometimes we fear you too have gone.
At Easter, we’ve always rejoiced and inwardly danced for joy. But today our voices are muted and our hearts heavy as lead. We long to worship together, to derive comfort from the physical presence of one another. We stumble as we learn how to be your children, united together in a to-tally new way – around a laptop or smart phone. Easy for the young, but sometimes a frightening, steep learning curve for some of us who are older! We fear the unknown, and our lives are filled to the brim with un-known’s these days. Loving God, may we learn how to trust your faithful-ness in our strange new lives.
As we mentally enter our innermost place of prayer, let’s hand over to God our secret fears and terrors, and those thoughts that seem unthink-able. Let’s share our unspeakable fears and feelings with God and lay them to rest in God’s safe hands. To help us do this, I’ll share the first of Marjorie Pizer’s modern psalms:
I sat in my desolation
Withdrawn from all around,
Feeling my life was a ruin, a failure.
the Easter Prayers May 2020
I was empty inside
With the utter collapse of my being.
I did not care any more
For living or dying.
I was alone in my distress and desolation.
But as I sat sadly on the ground,
The sun reached out his hand to me
And touched my face.
And so my healing began.
Loving God, you are our sun, your beams warm and heal us - at times by a gentle nudge, at others with burning passion. Some of us are heartbro-ken by the deaths of significant friends, colleagues and relatives. We couldn’t say ‘goodbye’ and send them off as we longed to - we are wounded, hurt, angry and lost. Healing God, bind our wounds with your bandages of love. Direct our understandable anger and outrage into cre-ative channels that will positively work towards the future flourishing of this world. Forgive us for the mess we have thoughtlessly made of your beautiful creation. This Easter Day, we commit ourselves to live different-ly.
Thank you for each person working to bring order into what appears to be chaos; who strives to safeguard our existence, and longs to build a different future for our world. We pray for our national leaders - the Prime minister, his Cabinet, for each member of Parliament; for our local Coun-cil with its strategic work; we pray for our vicar, James, and the leaders in our own church, for all church leaders in Bromley and throughout the world. Our futures are filled with unknowns.
We think too of those apparently insignificant but, in reality, highly im-portant people (the hidden heroes for whom we clap and bang our saucepan lids together) - those in administrative jobs, those working on logistics we cannot grasp, for postmen, bus drivers, delivery people, food bank operatives, cooks, refuse collectors, street cleaners and so on. Each is a necessary part of the whole.
Thank you that we are still alive… but we don’t know who will be the next to die. Some of us may dare to think the unthinkable (and face the seem-ingly impossible) that it might be us, or our loved ones, who are the next
to die, grant us courage to live out the time left, to your glory – seeking to
the Easter Prayers May 2020
love all without discrimination, as you love us.
All this is too vast for a neat and tidy prayer. As we hand it all over to God, I’ll share another of Marjorie’s psalm poems.
How do we know who is to go,
Who is to leave this world
Suddenly, unexpectedly or in long pain?
There is no saying
Who will be with us tomorrow
Or who will be bowed in sorrow.
O, while you are here,
Grasp life with both hands
And pour your passion into living,
For who knows when you or yours
May be snatched away,
Out of the toil and the moil,
Of our present existence.
We pray for the bereaved, for those suffering illness and for those who are working to alleviate pain. We think of each person listed on our pew sheet. Give courage, wisdom and safety to each carer going in and out of homes – sometimes having to travel on public transport between visits – enable and protect carers in care homes that are locked-down. Provide PPE for each one. Strengthen highly qualified medical teams in their sacrificial, strategic work. Bless hospital ancillary workers – the cleaners, the caterers, the administrators, the technicians, the porters, the chap-lains and so on.
We come to God who alone knows whether this pandemic is a random happening, or whether it holds profound meaning and purpose. This Easter Day, today, we don’t ask ‘Why?’ but rather ‘How?’ How are we to live for God through this horror? How can we, ‘resurrection people’, so experience Jesus’ life that it flows naturally from each one of us to oth-ers? How can we demonstrate our hope that God will totally transform us personally and set our world on a different course after so many deaths?
Let’s set our minds to determine to be the people God created us to be. I’ll leave you with another of Marjorie’s psalms:
the Easter Prayers May 2020
Inside, I am making myself strong.
I am weaving bands of steel
To bind my soul
I am knitting stitches of suffering into my hands
To make them strong.
I am strengthening my mind
With the warp and weft
Of weariness and endurance.
I am binding my faith
With the bonds of psalms and songs
Of all who have suffered.
In time I will be tempered like fine steel
To bend but not to break.
Anne Townsend (Rev’d Dr) 2020
the Sermon May 2020
In another look back to Holy Week, here is the sermon delivered by Rev
James on Easter Sunday:
Well here we are, Easter day.
For some of us it perhaps doesn’t feel like a day of celebration, we’re
isolated in our home and perhaps a little bit fearful about what is outside
and what is going on in the wider world. That’s something that’s not too
dissimilar from the experience of the disciples on that first Easter morn-
ing. They gather together, unsure about what has happened - if we are
honest most of them probably weren’t quite expecting the resurrection to
happen, even though Jesus had talked, they didn’t yet understand the
Scriptures. They were probably looking ahead at a very uncertain future
having identified themselves with a troublemaker and criminal. How are
they going to go back to their homes, back to their livelihoods, how were
people going to look at them now?
In the midst of this confusion, the women arrive and bring even more
strange news;
The body has gone, he has risen, what does it mean? You can imagine
the confusion just grows even more now. Simon goes straight out of the
door to go and have a look, whilst others hang around talking among
themselves about what can it all mean, has someone stolen the body,
what is going on?
What has gone on is the most important news ever, that in the resurrec-
tion, Christ has broken the bonds of fear and death, has changed the
world for good, new life, new hope all come into being on that first Easter
morning.
It is the realisation of this that importance and what it means for our
the Sermon May 2020
lives, alongside the coming of the holy spirit which transforms that ragtag
band of followers who were not really sure if Jesus was going to come
back or even if they were going to get out of Jerusalem alive, into the el-
oquent and fiery witnesses in the house of Cornelius which we see in the
reading from Acts today, determined to show others what God has done
for all people.
Their message was simple - the world has changed through the death
and resurrection of Jesus, old ways of being are no longer the trap they
once were. Moreover, the world can be changed but we have changed
also.
This is essential to how we understand what we are doing as a church –
the core identity of who you are in the church is as a person who has
been baptised – that is someone who shares in the death and resurrec-
tion of Christ, so that we carry in ourselves the life, the light of Christ –
true life which does not diminish or end.
How do we communicate that light – Often, we think and talk about get-
ting people from where they are into the church. We can’t do that at the
moment- rather we need to bring out accoutrements of church with us –
trust me I carried as much of the church as I could over to the vicarage
when we closed and it was not enough.
Instead, like the disciples in whose example we follow, we are called to
carry light, the hope in ourselves we are called to witness, small sparks
that may be fanned into flame.
Something small can start something impressive.
So, Easter calls us to witness to the world as it is, in the places we are.
But what are we to say to people in this day?
the Sermon May 2020
Simply put, there is this – we live in a world that has changed – all of a
sudden the way we work, how much of our time we give to that, are we
as vital in our work (or is work as vital to us) as we used to believe, how
we shop, how we carry out relationships, to bigger societal questions
about what should the government support, who do we value most, what
is needed for the common good, all become rather more important. The
sudden rupture has offered us to pause, and think more about these
questions.
For many of us the COVID 19 outbreak is an inconvenience – staying at
home, not doing so much. But I recognise that for some this is a severe
cost – many jobs are suddenly unstable or gone with all the knock-on ef-
fects of how people are keeping fed and housed. We talk about the dis-
ease as some kind of great equaliser, however it isn’t quite that, there is
still a disproportionate amount of risk to those who are in what we used
to call low paid work, but have now relabelled key workers – those who
keep the basic functions which undergird our society but which we don’t
often think about until a time like now. Recognising them as being key
doesn’t do much to address or mitigate the particular risks they face.
However, it is the start perhaps of our thinking about what we should pri-
oritise in the consensus which underlies our society. If certain roles are
key how do we recognise that properly beyond some applause and a pri-
ority slot in the supermarket.
Things have changed, and though in conversation we might talk about
things getting back to normal, for at least some of us, normal isn’t going
to be what it was before. In fact, none of us know what the world will look
like when this is over, what is going to possible, quite what the new real-
ties will be. But we are thinking about perhaps for the first time in a while,
the Sermon May 2020
what do we want the world to look like, now we have been shocked out
of routines, out of certainties or simply acceptance of the way things
were.
Easter is about asking those same questions in light of the fact that the
world is more complex than we ever suspected, that we are more than
we could think. The resurrection is an event which breaks open the world
and shows us that there is something deeper and more mysterious there
than we thought previously. The power behind the universe is revealed in
an event which we cannot always rationally explain, but which we are
called to live in the power of, which we are called to witness to – the be-
lief that love and reconciliation are always at work, that the grim certain-
ties of death are perhaps not so grim. This should make us joyful, it
should make us want to share it with others as we witness to this strange
event in our midst. But it should also pose the questions – if there is
more to this world then we thought, if there is the possibility of reconcilia-
tion and healing seen in Jesus, then how do we shape the world for oth-
ers to see that just as they are asking the questions perhaps about what
flourishing looks like, how do we help those who are burdened by anxie-
ty, by disability, by the strangeness of the current situation, by disad-
vantage of any kind.
Christianity does not offer to take away the pain of the world, the strug-
gles we face, the reality of the pandemic around us. It cannot shape a
world fully free from tension, disagreement, inequality or discrimination.
But what it does show us is that whatever happens in this world, be it
joyful, be it deeply disturbing, that beneath all that is a deeper level of re-
ality where wonderful things happen, where death is defeated, where the
reality of pure love and reconciliation are made possible. A world which
the Sermon May 2020
we can experience and glimpse so that we can live amidst the chaos
here with integrity and hope.
As we question the world and how it works, we live with uncertainty. Re-
call hope of Easter, call to live as if another world is possible. Invite oth-
ers to do the same.
the Coordinate my Care May 2020
These are difficult and worrying times for us all.
We are working for a service which monitors patients with Covid-19 vi-
rus. Our conversations are largely about how patients can manage their
symptoms and sometimes that patients may need admission to hospital.
But we are also having conversations with patients who are clear that
they do not want to go to hospital come what may. Provided that the pa-
tient has the ability to make decisions about their future – that they have
the mental capacity– we must respect their decisions.
Talking about death and how people might like to die is never easy, but it
is much easier if you have looked forward and considered how you might
wish to be cared for and where you might like to die. As we get older we
should all be doing this, but the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted this
need. Unfortunately the statistics clearly show that the older you are the
more likely you are to die if you contract Covid-19.
The difficulty for people in thinking about and making these sorts of deci-
sions is who do you share it with and how. Your family and your GP are
important people you will need to share it with. However if, for example,
you are knocked down by a car in the street, how will the ambulance
crew and the hospital know what your choices are? In London there is a
secure internet based information sharing system which GPs, hospitals,
hospices, ambulance services and community services all use called
Coordinate My Care.
Coordinate My Care allows patients to enter their own details and to plan
their own urgent care. You start by adding basic details like address and
preferred language, and then general thoughts about your health and
wellbeing, before moving on to information required in emergencies and
people who need to be contacted. You then consider where you would
prefer to be cared for and your cultural and religious wishes. This infor-
mation allows you to make an ‘advanced care plan’.
the Coordinate my Care May 2020
Entering this information does take time and is easiest if you have ac-
cess to the internet. It is also worth considering it with those people you
are closest to, although ultimately it has to be your own decisions. We
have shared this website with other members of our home group such as
Anne and Margaret. They both said that the website was easy to navi-
gate and Anne said that it took her two afternoons to complete the forms.
Both thought it was worthwhile.
The information you have entered is then shared with your GP. The GP
can add important clinical information such as medical history, diagnosis,
treatments and medications. The final step in creating your plan is to dis-
cuss with your GP (or sometimes your hospital doctor or clinical nurse
specialist) your choices and confirm the plan. You can amend this plan at
any point in the future. With COVID this is now usually done by tele-
phone rather than face to face.
Once your plan is agreed with your doctor it will be available to those
who care for you on the Coordinate My Care system. If there is an ur-
gent care or emergency situation all the healthcare professionals who
may treat you - from paramedics to hospital doctors, from NHS 111 to
specialist nurses - will be able to see your plan and be guided by it.
For more information the Coordinate my Care website can be found
here:
https://www.coordinatemycare.co.uk/for-patients/ If you would like your personal choices to be on CMC you can use the
link below.
https://www.mycmc.online/public/index.html#/home or just put ‘Coordinate my Care’ into an internet search engine like
Google.
To quote Benjamin Franklin; “In this world nothing can be said to be cer-
tain, except death and taxes.” An accountant can help us plan for our
taxes – Coordinate My Care can help us plan for our death.
Matthew and Donya Young, April 2020
the Visit to Broadstairs May 2020
Garvin has kindly written about a memory he holds of a Church outing. Many thanks Garvin for this contribution to the Key.
Three years ago a group of BPC members, on Matt & Donya’s wedding anni-versary, had planned to visit the Kentish resort of Broadstairs. A quaint town with beaches, wonderful views and lots of families and coffee shops.
We met at 9.00am at the Church – unfortunately it was raining, and we agreed that we should postpone our excursion. I chose to go into the Church rooms, and as I had done for many years, I just enjoyed friends’ company and a chat with tea or coffee. During my chat I met a friend, Peter, who was surprised to see me and retorted ‘Why are you not on your way to Broad-stairs?’ Well! After a short explanation Peter said: ‘I will ring my friend at Broadstairs and enquire what the weather is like’.
After a few minutes he replied that the weather was quite different to Bromley. ‘It was great!’ He said. What a pity you didn’t go!
Last year, similarly, a small group of BPC members had planned to visit Broadstairs again.
As several years before, I arrived with my special Christmas present ‘a super beach chair’ and Donya & Matt offered us a lift in their people carrier.
Again, it was raining, but this time we set off and left Bromley PC.
After about 30 minutes the skies cleared, and the sun began to shine. We all became excited and were very happy for the potential prospects. Well, we ar-rived in a super car parking place at 11.08am , I remember it well! Yes. We were in Broadstairs.
We carefully walked with David, from St. Augustine’s Church, to the lift which took us to the beach, where we continued walking slowly to find a suitable, special ‘sitting spot’ on the Beach. As we were relatively early, we had no trouble in finding an ideal place. We quickly established our resting place for the day.
With beautiful views, a calm atmosphere and good friends, we were all very happy.
I was getting a little hungry at that moment, so we all ordered our mug of tea, opened our boxes of light refreshments, sat down and began enjoying our ex-pedition.
The site & weather was perfect.
Our friends the giant seagulls quickly assembled to protect us. Oh NO! They were spying on us, and awaiting any opportunity to snatch a sandwich from
the Visit to Broadstairs May 2020
our hands or mouth.
So we put the usual towel over our heads to look like shepherds and confuse the seagulls.
Watching the peaceful scenes along the Kent coast was beautiful.
At lunch time we shared fresh fruit and goodies, delicious.
Dr. Donya even rubbed special (posh!) Ambre Solair sun cream into the mid-dle of my back to stop me burning my tender skin!!! Another luxury for me.
Eventually the ladies, as usual, went up to an exclusive coffee shop called ‘Morelli’s’ and ate special luxury ice creams with coffee and chat.
I walked along the beach and around a few side roads for a short time. Then I returned to my luxury seat in the sun for several further hours as the sun con-tinued to shine, yachts floating on the horizon and seagulls squawking & chasing small grains of food. Beauty all around!
Eventually, at about 6.45pm, people began leaving for home as we did. The journey back home took only 1 hour 45 minutes and Donya and Matt kindly took us to our front doors, by car.
What a wonderful day for us all. Thank you, Donya & Matt.,
the Fighting loneliness May 2020
New Mental Health Reflections published by the Church of England A series of reflections on how to cope with anxiety and loneliness in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, including simple Christian meditation tech-niques and five tips*, have been published by the Church of England.
A number of actions that could help people feeling isolated or worried, as well as those who grieve, are put forward in a new guide Supporting Good Mental Health and written by Durham University academic Revd Professor Chris Cook with Ruth Rice, Director of the Christian mental health charity ‘Renew Wellbeing’.
The booklet gives advice ranging from putting aside time to rest and eating and sleeping well, to using the phone and the internet to reach those who may be struggling on their own. Making a list of all the good things – and people – that you miss when you are on your own and thanking God for them, can be a way of helping cope with loneliness, the guide says.
Simple prayers can be said repeatedly as a means of helping to deal with stress, the booklet says, and lighting a candle, where safe, can be a helpful form of prayer for some people. Quotations from the Bible can be a useful aide to meditation and calming fears, including writing down and repeating short passages, it suggests.
A phrase such as Psalm 18:1 ‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my de-liverer’ could be chosen for each week and used as background for a mo-bile phone as a ‘go to’ thought when someone is anxious.
It also suggests repeating a simple phrase from the Psalms such as Psalm 4:8 ‘I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety,” to help calm the mind before sleeping.
The Rt Revd James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle and the Church of Eng-land’s lead bishop on health and social care, said: “I welcome publication of these further resources.
“For some time now the issues of loneliness and isolation have been identi-fied as major problems within our society. The coronavirus pandemic will only create further challenges in this respect. So it is vital that we do all we can as a church to protect people’s mental wellbeing.
“The reflections are beautifully presented and scripturally based, with the ‘Have A Go’ sections intentionally focussing on how people should be kind to themselves. That is so important at this time. My prayer is that as many people as possible are able to draw upon these new resources over the coming weeks and months.”
*Please note that the ‘five tips’ as well as a telephone number for the new Daily Hope phoneline are available in the Notices section.
A birthday on the Covid Frontline – Friday 24th
April
Nigel Beeton works in Radiology in a hospital in the East of England. During
this time of the coronavirus crisis, he is writing a weekly diary of his life at the
hospital.
There was a group of my staff just standing in the waiting area outside one of
the CT scanning rooms the other day. I opened my mouth to speak but one of
them caught my eye and put his gloved finger in front of his visor in the uni-
versally understood bid to be silent, understood despite the fact that his lips
were separated from his finger by the visor and a face mask. They don’t often
shush their boss, so I very obediently closed my mouth again.
The door to the room opened, and an elderly patient appeared, accompanied
by another radiographer.
“Happy Birthday Mabel!” everyone chorused (I’ve changed her name to pro-
tect her confidentiality.)
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Mabel, Happy Birthday to you! Even I joined in. I’m not sure if my singing voice is up to much, but my senti-
ments were genuine. I hoped she’d have a good birthday.
We all rounded off the melody with a round of applause, latex gloves make a
strange popping noise if you clap while wearing them.
Dear Mabel loved it. She was clearly surprised and taken aback by the sight
of half a dozen staff in PPE singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, but the experi-
ence had transformed an alien world of CT scanners and PPE into a familiar
one of birthday wishes and a well-known song. “Oh, thank you everyone,
you’re all so kind; my family can’t be with me today. Usually they come for my
birthday.”
Mabel, in her eighties, was self-isolating due to her age, but still living inde-
pendently at home. We check dates of birth as part of ensuring that we are
doing the right thing for the right patient, and so my colleague had clocked
that today was her birthday. Having got to know her well enough during the
setting up stage to be happy that she wouldn’t mind, he conspired with his
colleagues while watching the scanner do its stuff.
the Account from a key worker May 2020
The coronavirus may be keeping us separated from one another, but it is
spurring us all on to make greater efforts to be connected to one another, to
show our humanity towards one another. Someone bought us lunch today. It
appeared in pots by our gate, and we sat down and enjoyed a meal of restau-
rant quality food. Our friends had supported a local restaurant which, in its
hour of need has branched out into ‘meals on wheels’, and shown us such
love and concern that a tear was brought to my eye.
I hope and pray that the coronavirus will soon fade into history. But I pray
equally fervently that its legacy of connected humanity will last for many,
many years to come.
the Account from a key worker May 2020
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the Saint’s Day May 2020
16th
May - Caroline Chisholm, helping the emigrants to Australia
If you want an example of someone who can show you their faith through their works, Caroline Chisholm is a saint for you. This doughty little 19th cen-tury English woman had such a compassionate heart that she helped tens of thousands of people, from India to Australia.
Caroline was born in Northamptonshire in May 1808. Her father William was a pig dealer, and already had 15 children, by four wives. When Caroline was about five, her father brought a poor maimed soldier into the family home and urged his children to look after the wretched man well, as he had fought for their freedom. This disinterested compassion for a poor struggling ‘outsider’ would become the lodestar of Caroline’s life.
In 1830, when Caroline was 22, she married Captain Archibald Chisholm, of the East India Company Army. Out in Madras, Caroline grew alarmed for the young girls growing up in the barracks. She founded the Female School of In-dustry for the Daughters of European Soldiers, to provide a practical educa-tion.
After having two sons and working on the Indian subcontinent for a number of years, Captain Chisholm was granted a two-year furlough in 1838 on grounds of ill health. The family moved to the sunshine of Australia, near Sydney. Here Caroline was appalled at the conditions that faced emigrants, especially female, arriving in the colony. Many ended up working the streets, just to sur-vive.
Caroline stayed for seven years in Australia, placing more than 11,000 people in homes and jobs, and in all, her Female Immigrant Home helped more than 40,000 people. Highly respected by the government, she gave evidence be-fore Legislative Council Committees, but accepted money from no one. When Archibald left the army in 1845 he and Caroline toured Australia at their own expense, collecting more than 600 statements from emigrants that detailed the truth about the problems of emigration.
Back in England, the statements caught the attention and respect of Charles Dickens, the House of Lords Select Committees, Lord Shaftesbury, Sir Syd-ney Herbert, Wyndham Harding FRS and even Pope Pius IX. Caroline and Archibald went on to help more than 3,000 people safely emigrate to Austral-ia, before moving back there themselves, where they both died in 1877. In his novel Bleak House, Charles Dickens is said to have partly based the charac-ter of Mrs Jellyby on Caroline Chisholm.
Saint’s Day plus Picture Parable, Puzzle, Mouse Makes and Poems
and Prayers are courtesy of Parish Pump unless stated otherwise.
the Year of the Nurse May 2020
Parts of this are based on an article by Ted Harrison, which first appeared in the Church Times.
2020: WHO’s Year of the Nurse
When the WHO (World Health Organisation) decided to make 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, they based it on the 200
th anniversary of Florence
Nightingale’s birth on 12th May 1820.
But with the arrival of the coronavirus, it is a remarkably apt year to celebrate all that nurses do for us.
As the ICN (International Council of Nurses) says: “All around the world, nurs-es are working tirelessly to provide the care and attention people need, when-ever and wherever they need it. Nurses are central to the delivery of health care; nurses are making an invaluable contribution to the health of people globally.”
Nursing as a vocation goes back to the Early Church. When plague struck the Roman world in the third century, it was Christians who tended the sick and dying, often at great personal cost. Their self-sacrifice made a huge impres-sion on Roman society. Centuries later, in medieval Europe, it was the mo-nastic orders that provided health care.
Still centuries later, during the Crimean War (1853-56) Florence Nightingale saved thousands of lives when she transformed the field hospitals, hugely im-proving the standards of care for wounded and dying soldiers.
In fact, Florence Nightingale deserves the credit for establishing the modern profession of nursing and its structures of training. Although of course medical science has advanced since her time, the basic ethos of nursing care remains today close to Nightingale’s vision.
Nursing is frequently described as a vocation, and it is one to which many Christians are called. Nightingale wrote of being ‘called’ by God, after having had a vivid religious conversion as a teenager. Writing in February 1837, she stated: “God has spoken to me and called me to His Service.”
Four years before going to Crimea, she studied at a Lutheran religious com-munity in Germany which trained deaconesses in medical skills, nursing, and
the Year of the Nurse May 2020
theology. Many of the ideas that Nightingale adopted for her nurses came from that religious community.
Thus, Nightingale’s training programme was not solely devoted to secular medical sciences. Her student nurses were required to attend chapel, and her nurses read prayers on the wards.
Nightingale wrote many letters of spiritual encouragement to her students. To one, she wrote that Christ considered it an “honour to serve the poorest and the meanest… He will not give His crown except to those who have borne His cross… Enduring hardship is what He encourages and rewards.”
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally trained and worked as a nurse before being appointed to senior positions in the Health Service. She was Chief Nursing Officer for England between 1999 to 2004.
She says: “I became a Christian as a teenager and wanted to follow Christ with my whole life. Rather than having two careers, I have had one vocation: to follow Jesus Christ, to know Him, and to make Him known.”
Certainly, of all the professions, nursing has one of the strongest claims to be-ing rooted in the Gospel. Christian nurses implicitly witness to Christ in caring for others.
the Update from JusB May 2020
Dear supporter 8 April 2020
During this lock down period I thought I would take this opportunity to inform you how we are all managing at JusB and update you on our news.
Like most places we had to close our doors on the 24th March. Thankfully with new technology and video capabilities we have been able to function as an organisation. Sadly, though, even with all the technology, we were unable to have our charity performance, Wind in the Willows, at BLT on 2nd April. We are not sure if this will be rescheduled or not and we are waiting news from BLT. Thank you to all those who have kindly donated their ticket money to us. We are very aware that young people’s mental health will be a big issue over the next few weeks and as soon as our doors closed our youth team were in contact with young people and their families via phone. We realised that this was very limiting, so last week, we started up a virtual club three afternoons a week and continue to provide that one to one support. This virtual club gives young people an opportunity to hang out with their friends and youth workers to have some fun times and share their experiences about the situation we live in and also get that much needed support. We now have had three of these meetings and they have been very successful with a quiz on Friday and a music event planned for this week.
As you can imagine this is all new to us, but we are very aware of young peo-ple’s mental health at this time and we are working hard to make sure we try, as much as possible, to support them, but at the same time keeping within the parameters and limitations that we are working within currently. All staff have worked incredibly hard to ensure that we still maintain our standards as an or-ganisation as well as being able to offer much needed services to young peo-ple and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication. All updates and news can be found on our website, we are keeping that very much up to date and we hope to include help and advice to our members who are unable to join us virtually. Thank you again for your support in enabling us to provide a much needed service in these difficult and uncertain times ahead.
Best wishes
Ned McWhirter
Project Manager
the Good News Feed May 2020
Easter egg donations break records
This Spring a record breaking 3,000 Real Easter Eggs were bought and do-nated to food banks through a usually 'quiet' online scheme. The 'Donate an egg to a food bank scheme' is run by the Meaningful Chocolate Company which, for the past ten years, has been making The Real Easter Egg.
David Marshall CEO said: "What is moving is that people were donating their purchase to someone they will never meet or hear from, but they trust that the Easter story, which come with each egg, will make a difference and the choc-olate egg give a treat. One customer told us she had a legacy from her father and wanted to use some of it to send a pallet of eggs to those in need.
"Ten years ago, churches and schools helped us create The Real Easter Egg, with its copy of the Easter story in the box, and its support of Fairtrade choco-late and charitable causes. There can be no more fitting a tribute than for us to continue to support, share and give to those in need. "
Something to laugh about:
The thief who stole a calendar got 12 months.
Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.
Why can’t a bicycle stay up by itself? Because it’s two tired.
What’s the number one cause of divorce? Marriage.
Dijon vu – the same mustard as before.
Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
the Prayer meetings May 2020
During this problematic time of a ‘LOCK DOWN’, I felt it may be useful to let you know that you would be welcome to join our small group of ‘Prayers’. Our small group have been praying together for many years
and was begun by Rhoda M. & Rev. Alison N of Biggin Hill. We pray for individuals who have requested prayers and also those whom we know who would benefit by our prayers, such as unwell persons.
You are welcome to join us, in your armchair, on the first Thursday of every month between 10.00am & 1100am.
All of our meetings are of a confidential nature and usually led by a member of the group, focussing on a spiritual dimension.
This week, on my own’ I found it useful to follow Reverend James’s Litur-gy as a framework after which I added my own prayers and readings. It was a pleasant hour of prayer and contemplation.
Wishing you all the best GARVIN
the Noticeboard May 2020
Please use this space to pass messages on to the Church community – whether it is a prayer request, a thank you, a craft idea, a recipe...
Church of England Daily Hope free phone line – 0800 804 8044 - please spread the word.
The Church of England have set up a free phone line, available twenty four hours a day, particularly for those in mind who are unable to join online church services during this period of restriction. On offer are mu-sic, prayers, reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone.
Five Tips for Tackling Loneliness and Isolation
The Church of England has published a leaflet giving five tips to help loneli-ness:
Pray. Light a candle, if safe, and pray for hope, faith and strength to keep loving and caring for each other during this time of struggle.
Talk about how you feel. This may be difficult if you are self-isolating, but do use the telephone, internet, and social media. If you need to contact a counsellor this can be arranged by your GP, or via local agencies, or pri-vately. Samaritans are there 24 hours a day, every day, and it’s free to call them on 116 123.
Focus on the things that you can change, not on the things you can ’t.
Look after yourself - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Plan in things that you enjoy at regular intervals during the day – a TV programme, a phone call, a book, a favourite dish, a game.
Look after others. Even if only in small ways, but do what you can: a smile, a kind word, writing a letter or an email.
the Noticeboard May 2020
Church Mission Society launches a ‘lament space’ for those in pain
Church Mission Society has opened a space on its website for anyone to use. It explains: “Our world, and our lives, have changed radical-ly. Are you sad? Angry? Scared?
“Well, then you’re not alone. Lamentspace is a place where we share our grief with God and each other. About the big things as well as those that may seem trivial.” Go to: https://churchmissionsociety.org/lamentspace/
Christians Against Poverty reacts to coronavirus
CAP has temporarily stopped all face-to-face Debt Help visits, community groups and events.
It says: “This is an unprecedented time and we are acutely aware that those living in poverty, suffering with mental ill-health or other vulnerabilities will be most affected by the coronavirus outbreak.”
Because of this, CAP says it is working hard to provide some alternative debt service. “It will likely involve a phone consultation, but we have some compli-ance and data protection elements to work through.”
Meanwhile, it points out that “the local Church has never been more essen-tial. … acts of compassion, generosity and love are perfectly do-able and we will play our part in encouraging and facilitating those.
“There is no doubt that this is a difficult time, but we remain confident in the assurance that we have in Jesus. Hope is real, God is good and we place our firm trust in Him at this time, knowing that: ‘There is no fear in love. But per-fect love drives out fear…’ 1 John 4:18.” More help at: https://capuk.org
the Noticeboard May 2020
Updated guidance for Christian Aid Week (10 – 16 May)
Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, the CEO of Christian Aid, has written to all of those involved in helping with Christian Aid Week this month:
“Many of you will have been planning house-to-house collections and events. Under the current circumstances, sadly, house-to-house collections and delivery-only collections should not go ahead. In particular, along with many churches, events such as Big Brekkies or Lent lunches, where food is shared, cannot go ahead.
“We are working on alternative plans that will allow people to take part in Christian Aid Week in different, creative ways – by post, by text and online that strengthen our communities during this challenging time. Christian Aid Week is our single-most important fundraiser, so we would welcome your ide-as on how we can creatively show love for our neighbours at home and abroad, as a community.”
As for the work of Christian Aid around the world, “Christian Aid and our partners already have experience of limiting the spread of infection during the Ebola crisis, and we will build on this experience. People in poorer countries are already living with reduced health resilience because of extreme poverty, or in overcrowded humanitarian camps. They also do not have good healthcare infrastructures. We will be working on the ground to help prepare communities to limit the impact of Covid-19.
More at: https://www.christianaid.org.uk
the Noticeboard May 2020
Church Rooms for hire.
Available for hire for meetings, study and Exercise Classes, etc.
We have varied, comfortable, no smoking accommodation with kitchen facilities and disabled access and toilet facilities to the
rooms.
Rooms can be viewed on:
www.bromleyparishchurch.org
the Puzzles May 2020
the Puzzles May 2020
This month the Church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus, the sending of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, and the fact that our God is a Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. After the Res-
urrection, Jesus was seen on the road to Emmaus, by the Sea of Galilee, in houses, etc. He
encouraged his disciples, and said that He was sending them to all corners of the earth, as
his witnesses. 40 days after Easter, Jesus ascended into heaven; his work on earth was
done. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, and on the fateful morning of Pentecost, there
was suddenly the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Tongues of flame flickered on their
heads, and they began to praise God in many tongues – to the astonishment of those who
heard them. That morning the Holy Spirit came to indwell all those who believed in Jesus:
the Church was born. And so we have a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Ascension Prayer Tongues Confusion Spirit Blessed Power Flame Languages Trinity Taken One Joy Earth Father Jerusalem Room Praise Peter Son Wait Disciples Holy triune
the Puzzles May 2020
Across 1 ‘Therefore let us — passing judgment on one an-other’ (Romans 14:13) (4) 3 ‘I — — these persons here present’ (Marriage ser-vice) (4,4) 9 According to a prearranged timetable (Numbers 28:3) (7) 10 Group of eight (5) 11 The cell into which the Philippian jailer put Paul and Silas (Acts 16:24) (5) 12 — Taylor, pioneer missionary to China (6) 14 Otherwise known as the Eucharist, Breaking of Bread, the Lord’s Table (4,9) 17 ‘So that after I have preached to others, I — will
not be disqualified for the prize’ (1 Corinthians 9:27) (6)
19 Attend to (3,2) 22 Approximately (Acts 4:4) (5) 23 Tea rite (anag.) (7) 24 Rule of sovereign (8) 25 Test (anag.) (4)
Down 1 The name of the street where Judas lived in Da-
mascus and where Saul of Tarsus stayed (Acts 9:11) (8)
2 ‘The playing of the merry — , sweet singing in the choir’ (5) 4 ‘We have been saying that — — was credited to him as righteous’ (Romans 4:9) (8,5) 5 Dr Martyn — Jones, famous for his ministry at Westminster Chapel (5) 6 Port at which Paul landed on his way to Rome (Acts 28:13) (7) 7 Observe (Ruth 3:4) (4) 8 Minister of religion (6) 13 ‘I am — of this man’s blood. It is your responsibil-ity’ (Matthew 27:24) (8) 15 ‘Greater love has no one than this, that he — — his life for his friends’ (John 15:13) (3,4) 16 Archbishop who calculated that the world began in 4004BC (6) 18 ‘No one can — the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit’ (John 3:5) (5) 20 Establish by law (5) 21 Product of Gilead noted for its healing properties (Jeremiah 46:11) (4)
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the Mouse Makes May 2020
the Bible Bite May 2020
the Prayers May 2020
In His shadow
(Based on Psalm 91)
As we dwell in the shadow of Mighty God
We will know all the blessings that He will bring,
His faithfulness will be our shield
Under the covering of His wings.
Protected by His sheltering love
Our refuge we take in Him each day,
If we call on His Name His answer will come
As angels will guard us in all our ways.
What comfort and peace we all can know
That God Himself will hold us fast,
And keep us safe engulfed in His love
Until these days of danger have passed.
By Megan Carter
the Prayers May 2020
I shall let St Paul do the introduction to my first poem, via his words in Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentle-ness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about any-thing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which trans-cends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
May our kindness be witnessed by all
When the things of the world seem so dark and so grim
When disease and despondency call,
Rejoice in the Lord and the nearness of Him -
May our kindness be witnessed by all!
When the pillars of life seem to crumble and creak
When our walls seem to tumble and fall.
In prayer and petitions our Father we seek –
May our kindness be witnessed by all!
The tempest may rage, but His wondrous peace
Stills the storms that may rage in our soul
In our hearts and our minds shall the turmoils cease
And our kindness is witnessed by all!
By Nigel Beeton
the JusB Prayers May 2020
Please hold the following in your prayers this month.
1. Give thanks for technology. The youth team have been able to have group sessions via Video link and one to one talks with young people. This has been vital to help support young people though this difficult crisis.
2. Continue to pray for our young people and families. Some of our young people have told us they are struggling with isolation and their anxieties are higher than usual.
3. Pray for all the staff at JusB, as the youth work team continue to look at new ways support young people digitally in these difficult times. As the management team try to support the youth work team from a distance and as the administrative team strive to ensure all our services continue to the highest standard.
4. Finally, please continue to pray for our country as a nation. That we will support and recognise the good in those who we took for granted before, and that we will work together to support each other as a com-munity.
www.jusb.co.uk
Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer
are said daily at 8.30am and 5.15pm,
please join in from your homes.
A service booklet can be found on our
website at
www.bromleyparishchurch.org, if you
would like a paper copy please email
the church office at administra-
The following services will be live
streamed on Facebook and a copy
linked to our website, click on the
faith section and scroll down to
Streamed Services.
Please check our website for updates
and changes to services.
Sunday 3rd
May
Fourth Sunday of Easter
10.30am Parish Communion
President: Revd. James Harratt
Preacher: Revd. Dr. Anne Townsend
Wednesday 6th
May
10.30am Holy Communion
President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Thursday 7th
May
10.00am-11.00am Healing Prayer
meeting – members will be praying
from their homes.
Sunday 10th
May
Fifth Sunday of Easter
10.30am Parish Communion
President: Revd. James Harratt
Preacher: Peter Cheshire
Wednesday 13th
May
10.30am Holy Communion
President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Sunday 17th
May
Sixth Sunday of Easter
10.30am All-age Communion
President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Wednesday 20
th May
10.30am Holy Communion
President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Thursday 21st
May
8.00pm Ascension Day service
Sunday 24th
May
Sunday after Ascension Day
10.30am Parish Communion President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Wednesday 27th
May
10.30am Holy Communion
President & Preacher: Revd. James
Harratt
Sunday 31st
May
Pentecost
10.30am Parish Communion
President: Revd. James Harratt
Preacher: Revd. Dr. Anne Townsend
the Diary Dates May 2020
