Letter from Fr Richard August 2019
Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
As many of you will know – because I think I must have now shown everyone the pictures – Ann and I became grandparents for the first time in July with the birth of our grandson Leon to our daughter Rosie. We are now looking forward to the wedding of our other daughter Rebecca at the end of the month. Also, in July, my Auntie Betty died aged 96. It is all a reminder of how times and seasons change and how families grow and develop.
What seems to be an ever-popular theme on television are those programmes that trace people’s ancestors. Sometimes these are famous individuals and sometimes they are just ordinary people like the rest of us. Its always fascinating learning what is in our DNA – knowing just where we come from. Perhaps that is why local and family history are such popular pastimes these days.
The Bible shows a great interest in genealogy. In the Old Testament there are those enormous and sometimes rather dreary lists of who begat whom. It was part of building up a tradition of a people who were united not just by culture but by blood. The New Testament begins with genealogies in the Gospels of Matthew and of Luke which to emphasise the Jewishness of Jesus and the fulfilment of the expectations of the prophets. But the New Testament sees a radical change in that faith is not restricted to one people but opened to all – not just those linked by blood or culture but all people everywhere of any and every race. The Church has its DNA – in its history that shows how we have developed. With the Muslim faith we share a common ancestry with our ‘older brothers the Jews’. As Christians we have the shared family tree in which different denominations have branched out in different places and at different times. And, like a rather dysfunctional family, we have fallen out with each other and caused the religious conflicts that have marred our history. And yet we have that common heritage of faith that binds us together that we express in the Creeds when we say, “We believe…”
Sometimes I look back at old family photographs and wonder who those people are on the edge of the picture. Those distant people whom I don’t know but to whom I am related – those people whose stories I do not know and wonder whether I would have got on with them. In these troubled and turbulent times, we should perhaps seek to look for the things that unite us rather than divide us. Recent years have brought much uncertainty and division in our nation and across the world. We can yearn for an idyllic past when everything seemed better and which probably never existed. A more positive response would be to look for ways of building a safer and more secure future. As a father and now a grandfather I feel I have my stake in that.
With every Blessing
Fr Richard
Parish Registers
Weddings
July 20th Jack William O’Brien and Maxine Alexandra Carmen Taylor
Funerals
June 5th Susan Northcote
June 25th June Baxendale
Rotas
Burghwallis
| August | Readers | Sidespersons |
| 4th | Joyce Miller | Sharon Hammerton |
| 11th | Pat Stanley | Pam Moses |
| 18th | Sharon Hammerton | Colin Bowes |
| 25th | Jill Nicklin | Shirley Gill |
Campsall
| August | Readers | Sidespersons |
| 4th | Family Service | Alan Troop |
| 11th | Howard Gee | Margaret Hillard |
| 18th | Jane Maxfield | Phyliss Taylor |
| 25th | Chris Herbert | Sonia Tonkinson |
Usual Pattern of Sunday Services
in the Benefice
| St Mary Magdalene, Campsall 11.00 Holy Communion First Sunday in the Month 11.00 Family Service | St Helen, Burghwallis 9.00 Holy Communion First Sunday in the Month 8.00 Holy Communion |
To contact the Churchwardens:
Burghwallis
Shirley Gill 1 Burghwallis Lane, Sutton tel: 700057
Colin Bowes 11 Burghwallis Lane, Sutton tel: 702779
Campsall
Jenny Lister 101 Campsall Park Road, Campsall. tel: 702552
The Revd Dr Richard Walton will be in church every Thursday evening between 6pm and 7pm to discuss arrangements for baptisms and weddings.
To contact the Clergy:
Revd Dr Richard Walton
Priest in Charge, Burghwallis and Campsall
The Rectory, Village Street, Adwick le Street, DN6 7AD
Tel: 01302 723224
email: richard.walton@sheffield.anglican.org
Revd Christopher Herbert
Curate, Burghwallis and Campsall
4 Highfield Villas, High Street, Norton, Doncaster DN6 9HP
01302 702615