RSVP to matthewevansmith@hotmail.co.uk
Sunday Morning Talks on Catch Up
Missed a Sunday talk in the last few weeks, here’s a sample of some of the most recent. You can read the text or (usually) listen to the audio on our Talks pages.
Rev John MacKenzie on siblings, adoption and family… and how The Lords Prayer is a prayer for us to pray in community. Sarah Roweberry with Ten Thoughts About Church… on leaving St Luke’s After Ten Years. Martin Wroe on how our relationship to church is changing post-pandemic and ‘Why Do We Keep Meeting Like This?’ Rhian Roberts with a playlist of mountains that inspire us…and how 'St Luke’s, West Holloway is my meeting house’. And Rev Lizzie Campbell on rethinking the biblical metaphor of sheep and herd…and what the Good Shepherd is always saying to us.
In September and October we have some guest speakers taking part at St Luke’s including: Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson, authors of 'At the Gates:
Disability, Justice and the Churches’; Charlie Bell author of 'Queer Holiness: The Gift of LGBTQI People to the Church’ and Rev Peter Farley-Moore, Archdeacon of Hackney.
Notice of a petition for a faculty
St Lukes would like to repair stonework on the West side, repair the roof and add solar PV panels
The Petition is available to view here
If you would like to see details, please click the following:
Livestream Discussion, Tues 26 April 7pm
On Tuesday 26 April at 7pm we're holding an open meeting to discuss live-streaming. It's open to as many people who wish to join, the meeting will be held on zoom, chaired by Joy with notes taken and circulated.
At present we have an arrangement in place which allows for alternative filming of the 9.15am and 11.00am services. This will be reviewed by the PCC in June. There have been a number of technical issues with live-streaming of the 9.15am service, which is why the open meeting is set for late April, to allow for these issues to be resolved and a fairer assessment of the 9.15am livestream.
We recognise that within the congregation there continues to be polar opposite views: those who feel uncomfortable with live-streaming and would like it to cease and those who appreciate being able to join services remotely. There are also people who do not hold strong views either way, whilst being sympathetic to those who do.
The previous open meeting in February was designed for people to speak and to listen. However, towards the end the participants expressed a desire to be part of finding a solution. This second meeting in April will focus on finding a solution that hopefully can be recommended to the PCC.
Zoom Meeting ID: 6035065548 / Password: Francis
Getting to know you: Rev Lizzie Campbell
Meet Lizzie, curate at St Luke’s
Last summer, St Luke’s welcomed a new curate, Rev Lizzie Campbell. A curate is like an apprentice vicar. After being ordained as a deacon (being ‘priested’ generally comes a year later), a curate usually spends three years serving in a parish, while learning the ins and outs of running a church. After that, they can become a vicar at their own church. We’re delighted Lizzie has joined us for her curacy. Now it’s time to go behind the clerical collar and get to know her better…
Hi, Lizzie. How have you settled in at St Luke’s?
Really well. Everyone has been super welcoming and I’ve had lots of lovely dinner invitations. I’ve lived in London before, but I did my theological training in Cambridge, so it’s been good to be back, catching up with old friends and making new ones. My social life has exploded!
Tell us about your faith journey…
I grew up Roman Catholic, but I’d often sneak a book into the pews and read Harry Potter instead of listening. By sixth form, I was a staunch atheist. I went to university to study physics, and there my sense of the awesomeness of the universe grew into philosophical enquiry. I also joined a choir, sometimes leading evensong in a church. Initially, I fell in love with the music, but my interest in spirituality grew. Perhaps my search initially brought me to Christianity because it was familiar, but over time I learned it really is the faith for me. Jesus has a lot to do with that – the idea of being both human and divine, and of God being very close. I’m also interested in other faiths and have recently finished a Masters degree in philosophy of religion and theology, looking at aspects of neo-paganism.
How did you end up training for ministry?
After my physics degree, I worked as a software developer for five months – and hated it. I got a job at a Catholic retreat centre in the Lake District, and while there, I started thinking about long-term ministry, but I didn’t know what that would look like. I joined a Church of England Ministry Experience Scheme internship in Stepney for a year, and ended up staying for two. I was involved in all aspects of church life – preaching, prayers, toddler and youth groups, Messy Church, visiting parishioners. It was an intense and emotionally taxing two years, and by the end, I felt my calling was to the priesthood. However, the discernment and selection process is long and gives you time to explore your calling and be sure it’s the right path. Eventually, I set off for Westcott House in Cambridge to study for a BA in Theology and Practical Theology, followed by my MA.
What spiritual influences did you pick up along the way?
I enjoy the writings of the medieval women mystics – Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, Teresa of Avila. They were real trailblazers. Contemporary writers I admire include Nadia Bolz-Weber and Sara Miles.
Both writers who are appreciated at St Luke’s. So how did you end up joining us here in Holloway?
I considered going back to Stoke-on-Trent, where I grew up, but my Diocesan Director of Ordination suggested St Luke’s might be a good match. I visited and met your vicar John, and it felt like the right place for me. St Luke’s has quickly become home – I feel able to relax and be myself. John is a great teacher – we have a laugh and I’m not afraid to make mistakes. I feel very welcome.
That’s good to hear. What else can we, as St Lukers, do to support you in your curacy?
Don’t be afraid to share your expertise with me – I have a lot to learn and I’m very open to advice and guidance. I’m learning a lot about presentation from the actors and musicians here. I’m keen to get to know everyone and pub trips are welcome, but please don’t be offended if I turn down invitations – I’m sometimes a little overwhelmed with offers!
You’re in your late 20s – what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of going into the priesthood at a young age?
On the plus side, I’m enthusiastic about everything – it’s all fresh and exciting, and I’m keen to get stuck into everything. I have a long time to grow into the role, and for the young people of the parish, I’m not so far from their age that they won’t want to talk to me. On the down-side, I’m still growing as a person and there are gaps in my life experience, although I like to think I have empathy even if I don’t have experience. It’s good to have teams that are diverse. John and I have different experiences and I think that makes us a stronger team.
What do you hope to learn during your curacy, what would you like to contribute to St Luke’s, and where do you see your ministry taking you in the future?
I hope that during my time at St Luke’s, I’ll learn to run a parish well, and pick up a lot from the skills and creativity of the people here. I want to work hard on bringing back youth events and introducing a new generation of young people to St Luke’s. I also want to help bring a return to a community social life after lockdown. As for the long term, I’m not thinking too much about it. I’ll see where God leads, but I’m interested in chaplaincy in hospitals and hospices, or in universities, so that may be in my future.
When you’re not running the youth club or leading services, how do you enjoy your time off?
I’m a guitarist, playing bluegrass and folk music. I do sessions and play in bands, perform at bluegrass festivals, and have toured with my friend, folk musician Ciaran Algar. I love in-line skating [rollerblading] and join the LFNS [London Friday Night Skate, a mass skate through the streets] when I can. I also enjoy running, hanging out with friends, visiting museums, going to concerts and all that London has to offer.
QUICK FIRE:
Windsurfing or walk in the woods? Walk in the woods.
Lark or night owl? Lark.
Tea or coffee? Coffee, milk no sugar.
Winter or summer? Autumn. I love the colours of the season, and all the cosying up and celebrating. Plus it’s my birthday season.
Top takeaway? Indian.
Favourite holiday? The Solomon Islands. During my training, I spent six weeks with the Melanesian Brotherhood. It was remote and gorgeous, with no home comforts or WiFi, and I loved it.
Favourite book? I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. It’s a nostalgic story set in a rose-tinted time, and the characters are magical.
What animal would you like to be? A Labrador, so I could spend time with people, eat a lot and be happy!
Interview: Cath Francis
Photo: Clemency Flitter
LYRICAL - An Evening of Unplugged Songs And Wired-Up Poetry
Eventbrite Tickets - Search Lyrical Poetry
LYRICAL
Polly Gibbons
Zena Kazeme
Deborah Boateng & Freya Johnson
Rhian Roberts
Martin Wroe
(…with maybe another guest or two)
7.30pm Friday February 11th
St Luke’s Church
Hillmarton Road
London N7 9JE
St Luke's 11am Service Broadcast
Dear All,
The PCC had a meeting on Wednesday 26 January 2022 and has agreed that in order to both create camera free services at 11am and ensure a provision of Sunday morning services for those unable to attend in person, livestreaming will alternate between the 9.15am and 11am services.
Summary of services up to the next PCC meeting:
Sunday 30th January 11am service will be livestreamed.
Sunday 6th Feb 9.15 service will be livestreamed (not the 11am)
Sunday 13th Feb 11am service livestreamed
Sunday 20th Feb 9.15 service livestreamed
Sunday 27th Feb 11am service livestreamed
The services can be accessed via the St Luke’s Church website
These arrangements will be in place until reviewed at the next PCC meeting on 2 March 2022.
All Souls Sermon 2021
The first three minutes of the existence of our universe went something like this:
In the beginning, there was an infinitely small, infinitely dense point of light. There was nothing, and then the nothing began to grow, quantum fluctuations resulted in forces, and infinitesimal particles.
These particles danced around each other, growing colder and closer to one another until they merged, holding on to one another in the darkness of the universe. These particulate clusters grew and cooled,
and grew and cooled.
Until *poof* a light in the darkness.
The first star. From there, the physical laws of the universe pushed into motion an endless dance of elements and forces, particles and energy which grew more and more complicated until life began. And now, you and I spend our time trying to understand what on earth all of this business is about.
William Penn, the Quaker wrote in 1693, long before we understood the cosmological origins of the universe that
“They that love beyond the World, cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies. Nor can Spirits ever be divided that love and live in the same Divine Principle… Death is but crossing the World, as Friends do the Seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present that love and live in that which is Omnipresent.”
(William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693)
There’s a type of theology that I studied when I was training for ordination called Process theology that suggests that every part of the universe, every person, every event, every emotion and decision is gathered in God’s memory and affects the way that the universe proceeds. What I gather from that is both that those that we love who have died are with us in the heart and memory of God, but also that they still affect our lives, and the lives of everyone they loved. They are still fundamentally part of the universe, but even more, they are now living within the creator of that universe.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sometimes left cold by traditional Christian interpretations of Heaven. I can’t get my head around the idea that we will all meet up again in some far-off heavenly realm.
But, here and now? That’s more comprehensible to me – perhaps I can’t imagine those that I’ve loved and lost away somewhere hanging out with Jesus – but I can feel that they are still with us in some sense.
Carl Sagan, the famous science communicator and astrophysicist once said “We are star stuff” and that is, literally the case. Everything that you are, everything that I am was present at the moment of the Big Bang.
We have changed from energy to matter, from particle to galaxy, from dead to alive -without ever losing a single piece of energy from that initial point of light. We are quite literally, the Big Bang trying to understand itself, we are a part of God’s plan for the universe – and that doesn’t cease to be the case even after death.
And so, when we are faced with the intolerability of grief. The brokenness of our mortal lives and every sadness, every bereavement and every dreadfully missed loved one in this room – we can take some comfort in the knowledge that, scientifically and theologically nothing is ever lost from the universe.
Amen
• Revd Lizzie Campbell
Are We Including You? Inclusion Survey Report
In 2020 we formed an Inclusion Group tasked with improving the justice and inclusivity for our Church family. The group meets approximately once a month online.
The group is - Naomi Jacobs, Mike Poole, Bobby Baker, Meg Wroe, Joy Hinson, Garry Rutter, Jean Wilson and Brian Jackson. We are a blend of people from a range of backgrounds and life experiences.
From our experiences we hope to bring the necessary ingredients required to evolve St Luke’s into as wide a table as possible, where all can come to share freely and equally, in God’s rich diversity of life.
In March 2021 we created a survey questionnaire reaching out to our community and asking ‘Are We Including You?’ Thanks to everyone who completed this survey about how inclusive you feel St Luke’s is.
Our thanks especially to Dr Naomi Lawson Jacobs, who has kindly analysed the data and created a report (May 2021) which you can read in full here:
Naomi sums up the many positive aspects from the survey:
There is a sense that people see St Luke’s as an inclusive church, blessed with gifted people using their talents for the benefit of the church. Many value the church’s ethos of social justice, rooted in its radical, progressive theology and expressed through inclusive liturgy. For some, St Luke’s is a place where it is safe to doubt, and to come wherever they are in their faith.
Many people have appreciated the livestreamed services and online groups, helping to keep the community together in new and creative ways during lockdown. Some said the strong St Luke’s community is caring. Several enjoy the down-to-earth feel of St Luke’s.
But the survey also highlighted some of the barriers we still need to overcome:
Many people talked about finding it hard to break into the St Luke’s community (11 comments), especially socially. Several mentioned not feeling like they belong.
Some of these people found informal socialising hard, e.g. after-church coffee – especially if they are new, or do not know many people, or come to church alone (7 comments).
This is really helpful for us to know, so thanks for the honest responses. We are all part of St Lukes together and want to grow to be a place where everyone feels they belong. The inclusion group are meeting regularly to discuss the findings and work out our response, we aim to come up with a plan of action to take to John our vicar and the PCC and to roll out at St Lukes as soon as possible.
The Desert ‘A place that shapes you…'
Read at St Luke’s in September 2021
The Desert
It goes by many names – darkness, chaos, desert, liminality, the wilderness, gethsemane, the dark forest. But the journey to the new invariably seems to go through this place. It would be much easier all round if it was possible to jump from the old to the new in one sweet move with no pain. But it rarely is.
It’s a place of being stripped of certainty.
A place of insecurity.
A place of unknowing.
A place where you have let go of the old but you can’t yet see the way ahead.
A place of self-doubt.
A place where your internal critic goes into overdrive.
A place where you feel like giving up.
A place of wondering why on earth you embarked on this journey.
It can also be a creative place.
A place of learning.
A place for deep questions about who you are and what you are about.
A place that shapes you.
A place to be silent and listen.
A place you are alone with God.
A place of prayer.
A place of new resolve.
If you find yourself in that place it’s normal.
Try not to run from it too quickly.
Published in Pioneer Practice by Jonny Baker
https://jonnybaker.blogs.com/jonnybaker/
https://www.getsidetracked.co/