Seventy years ago today, in the Vineyard Congregational Church, Richmond, the wedding took place of the handsome young couple, pictured on their wedding day, and also on a Youth Hostelling holiday in the Malvern Hills. It was March 24th, 1951. The Second World War was beginning to recede into the past, though the country and its people were scarred by the years of conflict. But a bright new world was beginning.
This young couple were my parents. Henry, now, sadly, no longer with us; and Paddy Morris, whom many of you may know as a member of the Congregational Centre Church, which looked after Congregational Federation meetings, and hosted Sunday worship at our training weekends, for many years.
So, happy Platinum Anniversary, Paddy!
Both had their early education disrupted by war, but both were then the first in their families to go to college: Paddy to train as a teacher, and Henry as a Quantity Surveyor. They and their young family followed their dream, moving from bedsit to flat to caravan and a series of houses, eventually settling just outside Nottingham.
Henry resisted the lucrative lure of private practice, remaining in public service, and making his mark there in the development of new building technologies that would transform post-War Britain, and then enable the building of schools and hospitals in difficult environments all over the world. Both committed themselves to church and community wherever they lived.
My brother (Peter) and I imbibed a strong ethos of service to others. Peter now works in new, green building technologies in West Coast America. His wife is a Methodist minister, and they are joyfully committed to a life of Christian service in their environment.
It all sounds a bit goody goody, not a lot of fun. But I can assure you that there has never been a dull moment! There is always more to be done, more to learn, more to contribute. And the future beckon beyond the exigencies of the present time, always with new possibilities.
I know I am preaching to the converted! If you are reading this, you are part of the same story of Christian hope and service. It’s not that life is always good, or easy. We have been through terrible times in the last year. On a personal level, many of us have faced frustration, illness and bereavement, and are naturally fearful of what the future may hold for us and our families, as well as our world. Our communities are unrecognisable in comparison with what they were when lockdown started a year ago.
But many of us are also involved in really hopeful discussions about future transformation. The Congregational Federation has held two very successful online workshops on Fresh Expressions of Church. Churches and Christian groups, which would never have considered the use of ‘technology’, are now looking to worship and reach out in mission and service, in new ways.
And there is a pervasive sense that many of the old ways just won’t do any more. People everywhere are starting to ask what sort of world we are passing on to future generations, longing for an environment in which all people can live in peace and security, and find their true potential; where we take care of our planet, as the good stewards we were meant to be.
Maybe this is our generation’s time to shape a better future. No doubt, we will make as many mistakes as in earlier times, when people have stepped out into new worlds, full of hope and idealism; but God grant that we make the most of this, our God-given opportunity.
Prayer (based on Micah 4:4-5)
God of the prophetic future:
May we beat our swords into ploughshares
and our weaponised differences into treasured diversities.
Help us to transform the causes of conflict between and within nations,
to train for peace as hard as we now train for war.
Help us to build a world where everyone will find their place
in a flourishing environment,
and no one will make anyone afraid anymore.
Amen
Janet Wootton