How does that add up?

At a recent meeting of diocesan synod (the body that governs the church) I outlined some figures in respect of parish share- the amount parishes pay towards the cost of ministry.
Since then I have been asked for the figures by a number of people, so here they are.

Last year rural parishes were asked to contribute just over £48,500 per paid post. Urban parishes were asked for just under £34,000.

There is no "rocket science" in them. I have simply allocated parishes as "rural" or "urban" (mainly following government descriptions). I have added up the amount paid by rural parishes and the amount paid by urban ones.
I have used the electronic diocesan database to add up the number of stipendiary (paid) posts in urban and rural. I have divided the amount paid by urban parishes by the number people paid to work in urban parishes and likewise for rural.

The difference is significant and thought needs to be given to where stipendiary posts are allocated. That's not to say that only parishes that are rich enough to pay should have a vicar, but urban churches should realise the extent to which they are being supported by the rural. And according to the Commission for Rural Communities, disposable incomes are less in rural areas.

Every vicar should be here

That was the view of one of the trainees at the Three Counties Show. The only excuse they would allow was if officiating at a wedding prevented coming to the Show. Otherwise, all the clergy should be there because there was so much that was so important happening!
Or at least, that was what one trainees thought. They were clergy, lay readers and diocesan workers who were given an introduction to some of the issues currently facing agriculture. They had a morning being taken round the livestock lines and introduced to rural organisations, accompanied by a farmer so they were getting it "straight from the horses mouth."
They heard about EID, SFP, bTB... They met with the NFU, CLA, FCN. Behind all those TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) were very real issues affecting the quality of life for many people.
As well as sending trainees about and about, the church had a hospitality tent to offer refreshment and an oasis of calm in a hectic show. We had visitors from as far north as Fife and as far south as Australia.
We also had people out and about in the showground. In that role I had fascinating conversations about the ethics of Genetically Modified crops, in-vitro fertilization, Global warming,soil conversation, regulation, ... The list seems almost endless.
It was a good, but exhausting, weekend.

What's the gospel for Reggie Perrin?

I loved the first version of Reggie Perrin with Leonard Rossiter. The new version with Martin Clunes is, in my view, equally good. Both have encapsulated the pressures of modern living. Both are disturbingly accurate portrayals of contemporary society - even if now the Rossiter version is dated. It reflected life when it was made.

The programmes have raised, for me, the question of what the Church and Christian faith have to offer for the countless Reggie Perrins at work today. What would happen to Reggie if he ventured through the door of his local church?

Would he be told that coming to church would give him what his leaflet wielding "counsellor" at work can't? Would it help, or would it just add another source of pressure, of things that he should do to his already hopelessly overfull diary?

Would he be signed up an a Christian Basics/Alpha/Emmaus/... course? But in his process driven world would being processed in this way make any difference?

What Reggie needs is a community in which he can behave like a unique human being and be treated like one. Wouldn't it be good if churches could provide that!

MP's expenses

It seems to me that the Telegraph is milking the story as hard as they possibly can and in so doing is damaging our democratic process. I would rather that MPs were doing the job that they were elected to do – running the country - rather than decorating their homes or looking after their gardens. If that means there needs to be allowances paid so they can get on with their job, that seems eminently reasonable to me.

I also appreciate that to do MPs' jobs mean they need residence both in the constituency and in London and there needs to be a system so can happen.

I find it very disturbing that MPs who have kept within the rules are being criticised. Whipping up a hysterical witch hunt may boost the Telegraph’s sales but is, I believe, damaging to our society which needs to work on a principal of trust if it is to work at all.

The Telegraph’s actions might be less hypocritical if they published the amount they paid for the leaked information, published the pay rates their "journalists" get and published full details of journalists expenses

unsung rural hero?

Do you know an unsung rural hero who quietly gets on with keeping their church alive to serve the community?
If so, then nominate them for the award being run jointly between Country Life magazine and the Church of England.
More information here
Entry forms here
The closing date is the end of this month, so don't hang about!

What to ask for

Jesus told his disciples to ask. “Ask”, he said, “and you will receive.” “You may ask for anything in my name,” he said, “and I will do it.”

The sixth Sunday of the Easter season was traditionally at time for asking for God’s blessing on the crops. In an era more closely connected to farming than we are when shipping food round the world was not an option, asking God to bless the crops was really important. If the crops failed then hunger or starvation followed. So Rogation (from the Latin “to ask”) was a really important time.

But how should we use Rogation today? Farmers throughout the world including in this country need our prayers. Many are under stress. Isolation is common. Average earnings are low – less than a vicar’s! Suicide rates remain stubbornly about twice the average.

We depend on farmers just as much for our food today as we ever did. WE may be distanced from them by a complex lengthy distribution system. Never the less they are God's answer to our prayer "Give us this day our daily bread."

So what to ask for when we pray for farmers? The simplest idea is to ask a farmer what needs he (or she) has!

To enable that to happen CARL has arranged a Rogation service at Yew Tree Farm on Monday 18th May at 7.00pm. The "service" will take the form of a walk round the farm stopping at various points to hear from the farmer what happens and what issues he faces. There will be a reflective reading, a prayer & and a hymn. It will all be followed by a pig roast.

All are welcome, but an idea of numbers would be useful.

Subversive broad beans

The photo is of rare purple flowering broad beans. The variety was once fairly common but is now rare. EU regulations don't help. To try and ensure consistency of quality of seed, all seed types have to be categorised and checked.
Because these beans are rare it means it's not worth anyone's time & money to get them categorised, which means that the seeds can't legally be sold in the EU, which means they get rarer, which means....
But I can keep beans from this year's plants and use them next year. And I can give them away.
Whoever thought growing beans would be subversive?

It's really good

It's not often that anyone gets out their mobile to tell their friends to get to the church activity because it's really good, but that was what happened at Countytastic yesterday. The event was a children's country show organised by the Three Counties Agricultural Society www.threecounties.co.uk . So what were we doing that was so good?

We had hot cross bun decorating, we had egg decorating, we were playing in the soil and planting in the soil, we were making pancakes - starting by grinding grain in an old flour mill.

Why were we doing it? Because it was fun and the children enjoyed it and because it's all rooted in the Christian faith.

PANCAKES
Pancake day, Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Lent starts. That is a time Christians remember Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness. During Lent Christians give up 'special' foods, and so before Lent it's time to party using up the rich foods. Known as 'Fat Tuesday' - Mardi Gras - and 'Goodbye to Meat' - Carnival - it's a time of special food and celebration.


PLAYING IN THE SOIL
That is the picture of what God is doing in the story of human creation. The original word for soil is 'adamah' and the word for human is 'Adam'. Playing in the compost, God makes a person he calls ‘Compo.’

GROWING IN THE SOIL
The earth produces our food. Jesus uses the image of sowing and growing to explain our relationship with God. The word of God, he says, is like scattered seed. Some falls on the path and is eaten by birds. Some falls in shallow ground and has no root. Some is choked by weeds. But some lands in good soil and produces a rich harvest. St Paul uses the picture of seed being planted or buried in the ground to illustrate the Christian hope for eternal life

HOT-CROSS BUNS.
The cross on the bun is a reminder of Jesus being executed on Good Friday.

EGGS.
Have long been a symbol of new life. For Christians they are a reminder of Jesus raised from the dead and bursting out of the tomb.

Milking the recession???

Unlike the UK government, the Irish are tackling the recession by trying to reduce government spending. This means there's more Irish cheese on the market because there's less money to keep it in storage to produce "mature" cheese.
With the Irish and UK market having an oversupply of cheese there's been downwards pressure on the farm milk price.
Add to that the increase in the dairy herd on New Zealand's south island and the reduction in demand for dairy products from China.
That all adds together to mean that farm prices are down to between 20-24p a litre at a time when costs are going up. Complying with NVZs (Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations) are increasing expenditure for dairy farmers.
Experts say that the situation should sort itself out in the next 6 to 8 months as more UK producers give up the struggle or decide that investing for the future isn't worthwhile. Whether in the future we'll have the capacity to produce the milk we need is another matter. But we can always get powdered from New Zealand.
And the price of milk at the supermarkets? Tesco and Sainsbury are both currently charging 86p for 2 pints. That's the equivalent of just under 76p per litre!

An insult to farmers

That was what the NFU called the government proposals for sharing the cost of animal disease control between the livesttock industry and the government. I can understand why.
The proposals work on the basis that if the industry has to pay a greater share of the costs to keep itself free of disease, that this will provide an incentive to farmers. This is insulting to farmers for many reasons.

1. Farmers already have substantial costs to bear from disease. The compensation for Foot and Mothh, bird flu or TB only meets a small part of the costs. Increasing costs for farmers wont increase motivation
2. Farmers aren't in the business just for the money! If they werre they would be doing something else! Most farmers have a genuine concern for the welfare of their animals
3. A lot of disease controls are not in farmers hands - they're in government hands. Foot and Mouth (except when it leaks from a Government laboratory) is an imported disease. Farmers have no control of border crossings or scrutiny of portss and airports. That's in government hands.